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Philosophical Problems

Philosophical Problems

Jack Reynolds and Andrew Brennan

In this subject we examine some of the central problems that have captivated philosophers throughout millennia, as well as those that scientific advances and cultural changes have only recently brought to our attention. These might include: where did the universe come from? Might a machine think? Is time travel possible? Is it morally acceptable to eat meat, or to design children genetically? Does the world suggest the existence of a designer, a God? Students will focus on examining the merits of the various arguments on these issues, dealing with each philosophical problem for a week. Students will be introduced to most of the major philosophical areas, including epistemology (what can we know?), metaphysics (what is the nature of reality?), ethics, personal identity, and philosophy of mind.
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Top 10 Philosophical Problems Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Philosophical Problems episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Philosophical Problems for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Philosophical Problems episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Philosophical Problems - The Consciousness Conundrum II

The Consciousness Conundrum II

Philosophical Problems

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05/07/13 • 50 min

In this lecture we discuss two competing solutions to the mind-body problem. First, we look at the identity theory of mind, or reductive materialism, which says that the mind is identical to the brain. Then, we look at property dualism, which agrees with the materialist that there is only one type of substance but differs on the type of properties the substance can have.

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

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Philosophical Problems - Brain-snatched II

Brain-snatched II

Philosophical Problems

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04/18/13 • 51 min

This lecture continues the discussion of scepticism introduced in the preceding lecture. There is discussion of different views about what the consequences would be for someone who accepted scepticism, and of some of the arguments that have been given for rejecting scepticism.

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

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Philosophical Problems - Brain-snatched I

Brain-snatched I

Philosophical Problems

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04/16/13 • 49 min

This lecture deals with philosophical scepticism about the physical world. This is the idea that we do not really have any evidence (at all!) for any of our ordinary beliefs about the world around us, because we cannot rule out the possibility that all our experience is some sort of massive illusion. We look at the detail of the argument for this startling view, and at one of the responses that may be made to it. The lecture refers to Chapter 3, "Brain-Snatched", in Stephen Law's book, The Philosophy Gym.

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

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Philosophical Problems - Creationism and Science II

Creationism and Science II

Philosophical Problems

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04/11/13 • 47 min

This lecture builds a more sophisticated response to the demarcation problem (over and above Popper’s response) that includes ideas from Kuhn, Lakatos and Thagard. I outline some of the weakest points in the creationists’ arguments and conclude by mentioning a couple of recent points of interest in the debate.

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

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Philosophical Problems - Creationism and Science

Creationism and Science

Philosophical Problems

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04/09/13 • 47 min

This lecture looks at what creationism is all about and some of the arguments that proponents of creationism use to argue that it is science. I ask what it is about science that makes it ‘science’. I outline an Popper’s theory of falsification as a response to the demarcation problem and finish by looking at a possible creationist response to the issue of falsification.

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

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Philosophical Problems - Philosophy Essay Writing

Philosophy Essay Writing

Philosophical Problems

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03/28/13 • 38 min

This lecture provides some advice about writing essays in philosophy.

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

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Philosophical Problems - Free Will II

Free Will II

Philosophical Problems

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05/22/13 • 50 min

While the question concerning the truth of determinism may be an empirical question, that is, it will be settled by the various sciences, philosophers are particularly interested in whether or not the hypothetical truth of determinism would rule out free will. In this lecture, we look at two opposing positions on this issue: those who think that determinism is compatible with having free will (compatibilists) and those think that determinism undermines freedom (incompatibilists).

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

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Philosophical Problems - Free Will I

Free Will I

Philosophical Problems

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05/20/13 • 50 min

If the world is causally determined, does this mean people no longer have free will? Or is being free compatible with determinism. In this lecture, I discuss two opposing positions regarding the existence of free will even though both agree that genuine free will is incompatible with determinism. On the one hand, there are hard determinists who think that because determinism is true, then this means that free will does not exist. On the other hand, there are libertarians who think that the falsity of determinism leads to the actual existence of an agent that chooses freely.

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

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Philosophical Problems - Artificial Intelligence II

Artificial Intelligence II

Philosophical Problems

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05/14/13 • 45 min

Two of the most vocal critics of the idea that information processing machines may be said to think, or show intelligence, are Hubert Dreyfus and John Searle. This lecture briefly addresses some of Dreyfus' thoughts in this regard, which hinge on the contrast between know-how and knowledge-that, before turning to consider Searle's famous "Chinese Room" thought experiment and the various replies that have been made to it.

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

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Philosophical Problems - Artificial Intelligence I

Artificial Intelligence I

Philosophical Problems

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05/09/13 • 43 min

This lecture introduces students to the work of Alan Turing and the project of creating Artificial Intelligence that he played a significant role in inaugurating. We consider some of the objections to standard forms of AI (but not necessarily all) posed by Hubert Dreyfus in various of his books.

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

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FAQ

How many episodes does Philosophical Problems have?

Philosophical Problems currently has 14 episodes available.

What topics does Philosophical Problems cover?

The podcast is about Humanities, Society & Culture, University, Courses, Podcasts, Education, Social Sciences and Philosophy.

What is the most popular episode on Philosophical Problems?

The episode title 'Free Will II' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Philosophical Problems?

The average episode length on Philosophical Problems is 46 minutes.

How often are episodes of Philosophical Problems released?

Episodes of Philosophical Problems are typically released every 5 days.

When was the first episode of Philosophical Problems?

The first episode of Philosophical Problems was released on Mar 5, 2013.

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