Philosophy Podcast

The rise of science was more mess than method; the untold story of a glorious revolution.

Should there be limits to freedom of speech?

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Is anger a sign of moral seriousness or a dangerous slippery slope?

Love and the philosophy of modern relationships

How would you like your reality? David Chalmers has some suggestions.

Lesson two of this radio instructional focuses on the nervous system and guides you to your 'vegetable body' to recuperate, rest and digest.

Buddhist thought holds that at core there is no real self—two philosophers at the junction of east and west, self and mind.

We mark the passing of Hilary Putnam—and explore some of his key insights.

As we lurch towards a possible referendum on constitutional recognition, at least one political theorist is asking some deep philosophical questions about what that actually means. The deputy vice-chancellor of research at the University of Sydney, Professor Duncan Ivison says we need to ask how an amendment to the Constitution would establish 'just relations' between Indigenous peoples and the state.

Susan Wolf counters the criticisms and fends off the antipathy directed towards the foodie.

Free will is on the run—so why not relax and enjoy a healthy dose of compatibilism.

Aileen Moreton-Robinson has spent her intellectual life exploring racism and power. But it all begins in the bush on Stradbroke Island when her grandfather taught her the skill of tracking. The latest idea to grip her considerable mind is possessive logic and the way it superimposes itself on the land by denying the sovereign will of indigenous people.

Why do we love to deride foodies?

Marcus Tullius Cicero on an undeniable fact of life—and how it fares in our modern utilitarian world?

What’s so wrong with the storehouse model of memory?

What can the plant world teach us about our attitudes towards sentient life?

Since its publication in 2007 Charles Taylor’s magnum opus A Secular Age has gathered great intellectual momentum. His analysis has never been more apt.

Doing it in public might seem like a good thing, but is the truth about philosophy hard to bear?

Political liberalism is a great achievement. But has it come at a heavy cost?

Philosopher Alain de Botton has written a novel called The Course of Love. It is his first piece of fiction in twenty years, and explores ideas of romance, fidelity relationships and marriage.

You may not have thought of democracy as essentially undemocratic, but this week’s guest is no fan of the least-worst system.

Philosopher Alain de Botton has written a novel called The Course of Love. It is his first piece of fiction in twenty years, and explores ideas of romance, fidelity relationships and marriage.

Political philosophy can turn coldly technical and miss the very basis of the original question: how can we best live together?

New research shows insects like ants and bees may have a sense of self similar to humans.

Few contemporary debates have proven more divisive than the treatment of asylum seekers—and the participants often speak different languages. But we're not the first to wrestle with this tension.

Aristotle - why is he one of the most influential thinkers of all time?

Has the modern digital world, with its online platforms, public forums and televised debates, rendered the 'manifesto' defunct?

Global justice necessarily relies on an expanded view of community—but how far can the social contract stretch?

Why do we have disagreements? Not the garden variety types, but the heavier duty ones around moral questions—the stuff which divides families, neighbours, and even entire communities.

What are words worth? Well they are worth thinking about, and that’s what Noam Chomsky has spent a lifetime doing.

What’s so special about your friends?

Meet Dr Homer Reith, the man behind the Minyip Philosophical Society; 90-year-old Peter Tripovich walks around Australia; Chuck Edwards opens his own bagel factory; and Tom Edwards tries to bag a barra.

Would you do something simply because it is the beautiful thing to do?

Does free will exist? It’s an important debate with huge implications: If we are free to make our own decisions, we are accountable for what we do. If we aren't, we're off the hook.

What can a 400-year-old text can tell us about modern day depression and anxiety?

It seems that we owe a lot to the hand, and its grip—literal and metaphoric—on the world.

Sophie has gone to yoga class. Natalie says you are meant to omm three times. Sophie only omms once.

Dreams and dreaming really stirred up Rene Descartes. And so they should, because dreams bring up a bunch of conceptual matters that largely remain unresolved.

David Brooks discusses philosophical humility, pathways to substantive living and his new book The Road To Character.

Mottainai combines elements of Buddhism and Shinto to create a nuanced approach to the environment and wasteful practices.

Science says invisibility is not impossible. What would you do if you could remain unseen?

When choosing to become a vampire isn't that far off from choosing to become a parent.

Appointments, meetings, timetables, schedules, deadlines, departure times, arrival times, clocking on and clocking off. Time spent, time lost, time wasted, time out. Time rules our lives, but what exactly is it?

'Tis the season of love, goodwill, and honed calculations—the rise of the new altruist.

Graduate business schools are not in the habit of teaching existentialism for fun and profit. But it’s possible that today’s captains of commerce are missing a big opportunity to better understand tomorrow’s economic environment.

Scientists and philosophers have been perplexed by our sense of the self for millennia. Now, by investigating neurological conditions which disrupt the self—such as body identity disorder, schizophrenia, and the doppelganger effect—neuroscience is finding new clues.

Ontology and metaphysics—what things are in the world and what might unify them—can set many philosophical traps. Simple questions can lead to strange places.

The sting of shame still hurts. Explaining its enduring hold takes some conceptual rigour.

It’s been said that philosophy can’t cure disease; but it might be able to tell you what one actually is.