Philosophy Bites

Must it be? Do I really have a choice about what I do? I seem to be able to reason about what I will do, but do I have a choice about how I weight the different choices available? And where does luck come in? Paul Russell discusses the thorny question of whether or not we have control over our lives for this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.  Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Why bother studying the Humanities? Surely when resources are limited we should be concentrating on subjects that have clear economic benefits, shouldn't we? Not necessarily. Martha Nussbaum, author of Not For Profit, argues for the continuing importance of Humanities subjects, particularly Philosophy, in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

When a group of people acts together we can hold that group morally and legally responsible. But how does the group decide to act? Is a decision of the group simply the majoritarian sum of individual group members' views? Princeton philosopher Philip Pettit, who has written a book about this topic with Christian List of the LSE, discusses these issues with Nigel Warburton for the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

What is a law of nature? Is it merely a generalisation about how things behave? Or does it have a different status? Helen Beebee investigates these questions in conversation with Nigel Warburton for this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Adam Smith, the great thinker of the Scottish Enlightenment, is best known as an economist. But much of his work was philosophical, and even his economic thinking is probably best understood as part of a larger project of attempting a science of humanity. Nick Phillipson, author of an acclaimed biography of Adam Smith, discusses Smith's philosophical agenda in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

What is Philosophy? We asked some of our contributors this question for this bonus episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

What is moral responsibility? Are there ever grounds for saying that we have diminished responsibility? Gideon Rosen addresses these questions in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy

Does inequality really matter? Or should we be more concerned with raising the standards of the least well off than any disparity between those who have and those who have not? Alex Voorhoeve of the London School of Economics discusses these questions with David Edmonds in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Gottlob Frege was one of the founders of the movement known as analytic philosophy. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Michael Dummett explains why his ideas about how language relates to the world have been so important. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Since John Locke declared the child's mind a blank slate, philosophers have long debated the degree to which language-learning is innate. Are there are universal grammatical features that all languages share? Daniel Everett, who has spent many years among the Piraha, an Amazonian people who have a highly unusual language, believes that some of Noam Chomsky's claims about language acquisition are mistaken. Listen to him discussing the nature of language with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with The Institute of Philosophy

What is a portrait? What can it reveal? Cynthia Freeland explores the nature of portraits in this interview with Nigel Warburton for the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy. A book, Philosophy Bites, based on 25 interviews, is now available from Oxford University Press.

Many people think that the idea of experiments in philosophy is a contradiction. Joshua Knobe disagrees. He is at the forefront of a new movement known as Experimental Philosophy. David Edmonds interviews him in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.  Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy. There is now a Philosophy Bites book published by Oxford University Press - further details are available on www.philosophybites.com

If you saw a child drowning in a shallow pond would you save that child? If you would, why don't you give the small amount of money necessary to save a child from starvation or disease in parts of Africa? Peter Singer argues that the differences between the two cases are not as great as they first appear in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy - http://www.philosophy.sas.ac.uk

What is exploitation? Hillel Steiner discusses this question with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with The Institute of Philosophy www.philosophy.sas.ac.uk  

We interpret each others' words all the time. How do we do this? What part do intentions play? Does this have any implications for interpreting laws? Stephen Neale discusses these issues in conversation with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in assocation with the Institute of Philosophy - for further information about the Institute see www.philosophy.sas.ac.uk

What gives meaning to a life? Susan Wolf discusses this question with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Pat Churchland argues that we may need to modify our concepts in the light of recent brain research in this episode of the podcast Philosophy Bites. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy (www.sas.philosophy.ac.uk).

Why shouldn't you eat meat? Jeff McMahan argues that there are no good reasons not to be a vegetarianism (and many good reasons for being one) in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast David Chalmers discusses the philosophical implications of the artificial intelligence of the future - an imaginable time when machines are more intelligent and more powerful than humans. 

Is it possible to be both utopian and realistic in political philosophy? In his second interview for the Philosophy Bites podcast Raymond Geuss argues that utopianism and realism need not be incompatible.