The Eristicrats

In this episode, we discuss the three key attributes of the Christian God - omnibenevolence, omnipotence and omniscience. We discuss the potential problems that arise from these different qualities, such as the question of whether God can do the illogical and if God's omniscience prohibits human free will. We look at the perspectives of many scholars, including Aquinas, Anselm, Augustine and Boethius.

In this episode we are grateful to be joined by our greatly knowledgeable friend Ned Evans ( Marxist philosopher). Together we understand what conditions in society led to the rise in Liberation theology as a contextual theology. Then we will understand what Marxism is and how it interacts with liberation theology according to scholars such as the 'Boff' Brothers and Gutierrez. Finally, we discuss the fundamental compatibility/ incompatibility of Christianity and marxism.

In this episode, we contrast the views of Aquinas and Freud on conscience, guilt and moral responsibility. We explore the three key aspects of Aquinas's understanding of conscience: Ratio, Synderysis and Conscientia. We also look at the three concepts that Freud believes result in our experience of conscience and importantly guilt. These are the Id, the Ego and the Super-Ego. We end the episode with a debate on falsifiability. Enjoy!

In this episode, we go through different forms of secularisation and the impact that they have had on different countries such as France. In addition, we discuss the impact of secularization on both schools and governments, while also delving deeper into what secularization is and if it is a postitive or nagative impact on western culture, through the lens of popular new atheist Richard Dawkins and other counterpart scholars such as Terry Eagleton.

In this episode, we explore the Feminist Theology of Mary Daly and Rosemary Radford Ruether. We discuss their perspectives on God as male and the potential problems this raises for Feminists and compare their ultimate judgements on Christianity: should it be reformed or entirely abandoned? As always, we end with a debate evaluating whether Daly can be a source of inspiration.

In this episode, we discuss the changing role of gender in society and the estrangement of the Church's views on family and sexuality from our increasingly secular society. Then, we will discuss the potential merits and flaws of this change in our societies' value systems and gender roles.

In this episode, we explore the practical side of pluralism. We look at different perspectives on interfaith dialogue, from exclusivist, inclusivist and pluralist perspectives. We also discuss the scriptural reasoning movement which is hailed as one of the most successful attempts at fruitful interfaith dialogue. We apologise for the poor audio quality of this episode. It was not recorded in our usual location, so the acoustics were far from optimal.

In this episode we discuss the theology of religions from three broad perspectives: Exclusivism, Inclusivism and Pluralism. We explore two key questions of epistemology and soteriology, asking if more than one religion can save and if more than one religion can be True.

In this episode, we dive into the world of meta-ethics. We begin with Hume, exploring the is-ought problem and its consequences for claims about what 'Good' is. We share possible responses to the problem: Naturalism, Intuitionism and Emotivism; as always, we end with a discussion. Enjoy!

In this episode we explore different ways that Christians establish moral systems. We consider three methods: Theonomous, Heteronomous and Autonomous and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each of them. We show that none of these views is perfect and discuss the challenges of biblical interpretation. Finally we debate the self evidence of moral principles, Christian consistency in ethics and the role of the Church as an arbiter of morality for Christians

In this episode we review the action-packed and stress filled life of Bonhoeffer that induced his provocative and thought evoking theology. In addition, we question the relevance of his ideas in a post christian, 'stable' society, and finally discussing the practicality of Bonhoeffer's 'actions over words' ethical mentality.

In this episode we discuss the man responsible for all theology and the foundation of this series: Jesus Christ. We take three distinct angles on his work and the holistic meaning behind his sermons, stories and miracles. Therefore, ask was it Jesus' wisdom, liberation of the weak or resurrection that justifies the authority we defer to him today?

In this episode we bring together various themes running throughout our podcast from the soul to arguments for God by William Paley and Augustine and Aquinas’ Natural Law. By converging these themes we attempt to saw whether it is truly possible to know God. This episode is done with recurring guest Evie Joyce and a general QandA from the educated public towards the end with queries on the topic of faith and religion.

In this episode we discuss the Christian eschatological teachings of heaven and hell. We take from Dante's Divine comedy and the parable of 'the sheep and the goats' to fully appreciate Christian heaven and hell. Then we dive into the election debate and how far humanity can go towards salvation with our own deeds, referencing Augustine, Calvin, Luther and Tillich. Finally ended with a debate over the subliminal meanings we can take form the sheep and the goats.

In this episode we discuss the life of St. Augustine, his views on human nature and his understanding of Original Sin. We discuss differing interpretations of his views and debate whether Augustine is ultimately too pessimistic in his view of human nature.

In this episode we discuss how both Utilitarianism, virtue and Kantian ethics can be used to guide business morally. In addition, we look at the effects of colonialism and now globalisation on the world economy and various positive and negative effects of them, finally ending with a discussion on the importance of human dignity for business consideration.

Joined by two guests, fellow philosophy students, we outline various laws and case studies in the field and then discuss applications of both Fletcher's Situation ethics and Thomastic natural law for the case studies; finally comparing their differing responses to Euthanasia.

In this episode we discuss possibly the most prevalent ethical theory to date and how we use it in our lives without even realising. In addition, we cover multiple short fallings of the theory and finally debate the effectiveness of its different iterations.

In this episode we discuss how the context of Kantian ethics and how relevant the theory is to contemporary ethics. In addition, we look at various criticisms of the theory, some posed by Kant himself! Finally, we end the episode with a discussion of the importance of 'Duty' to ethics.

In this episode, we sing the praises and stand in the pitfalls of Fletcher’s situation ethics. Looking at some critiques from the insightful D.Z.Phillips and Bob Wadholm, we discuss how relevant this 20th century theory is still relevant today.

In this episode we discuss the applications of Aquinas natural law in contemporary normative situations. Moreover, we look at many powerful criticisms of the theory that might undermine natural law’s integrity.

In this episode, we go over the core principles of ethics and look at the different bases of morality. Moreover, by by considering the conflicting perspectives of Aquinas and Sartre we delve deeper into meta-ethics and the concept of ‘good’

In this episode we discuss the problem of evil in Christian theology. By looking at the origin of the critique with Epicurus and J.L.Makie, and the many apologist’s attempts at theodicy.

In this episode we attempt to answer the question of whether religious experience is a valid argument to say that ‘God’ exists. We do this by looking at the pragmatic concepts noted by William James and Swinburne. Also, the more theological approach’s of Ninian Smart and Rudolf Otto.

In this episode we discuss if it is possible to ‘prove’ the existence of God through logic and reason. We do this by employing St Anselm’s ontological argument and Kant’s insightful critiques of it.

In this episode we discuss whether we can conclude God exists by looking at the world around us and its complexity. We do this by evaluating both teleological and cosmological arguments.

In this episode we discuss the ideas revolving around “soul mind and body”. Looking at the Christian perspectives of Descartes and Aquinas. While also exploring Ancient Greek and contemporary secular interpretations of souls through scholars such as B.F.Skinner and Richard Dawkins.

In this episode we discuss how Aristotle creates a cosmology based around his empirical understanding of the world. We also constant his ideas to Plato and his Ancient Greek background.

In this episode we review plato’s greatest theory’s and ideas while also exploring Athenian society and how that influenced his philosophy.

In this episode we cover the main overview of the A-level philosophy course and some A-level thought questions and how to answer them.