Cancel Panic

11/26/21 • 62 min

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The HBS hosts discuss so-called “cancel culture” and the panic surrounding it.

For some, “canceling” is an essential tool of social justice. For others, it is a threat to free speech. In this episode, we try to identify what cancelation involves (de-platforming, boycotting, public criticism, shaming), what it doesn’t involve (actual silencing), and just how common it is (not common enough to constitute a “culture,” we think). Is cancel culture itself evidence of a moral panic, or is there a cancel panic being manufactured by the canceled?

In 2014, the #MeToo movement gave a name to the (long-practiced) practice of “calling-out” on social media. By 2015, “calling-out” had already evolved to “canceling.” Who are the cancelers? Who are the canceled? And how many different kinds of “mobs” are there on Twitter, anyway?

Full episode notes at this link.

The HBS hosts discuss so-called “cancel culture” and the panic surrounding it.

Full episode notes at this link.

Previous Episode

Thought Experiments

The HBS hosts discuss the pedagogical pros and cons of thoughts experiments.

Philosophy has its own laboratory! While it doesn’t have graduated cylinders or Bunsen burners, it is a “clean room” in which philosophers can distill the essential elements of a theory. We talk about the pros and cons of thought experiments, their uses, and their abuses. We give some examples of famous thought experiments and, yes, we talk about the trolley problem.

Full episode notes at this link.

Next Episode

Legally Right, Morally Wrong

The HBS host discuss the criminal justice system’s failure to produce morally right outcomes.

The "not guilty" verdicts in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial made plain the often dramatic difference between what is legally permissible and what is morally permissible. In this episode, we talk about where that difference should be maintained and where it should be diminished or abolished.

Full episode notes at this link.