Philosophy For Our Times

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Can the radical elements of religion help us today? And how should we view martyrdom and sacrifice? To help us discus the role of religion today we’re joined this week by Marxist literary critic and public intellectual Terry Eagleton who explores the intersection between faith, martyrdom and sacrifice in a post 9/11 age.

Terry Eagleton is widely recognized as a mainstay of British academia. He has published over forty books on topics ranging from Samuel Richardson to banality of evil in his On Evil.

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Humans are not morally superior

Is the meat industry a monstrous tyrant?

Join YouTuber Alex O'Connor for a thought-provoking talk on the ethics, or lack thereof, of eating meat. From a horrifying look at the practices of the meat industry to provocative analogies and compelling arguments, Alex doesn't hold back as he holds up a mirror to our modern dietary culture.

Alex O’Connor, also known by his YouTube alias ‘CosmicSkeptic’, is a prolific philosopher, YouTuber, public speaker and animal welfare activist. His YouTube channel has amassed over 1 million subscribers and discusses issues relating to free speech, free will, animal rights and the philosophical arguments against religion.

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Can we rely on science for the answers?

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Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts' argued Richard Feynman. He held that the best science respects no authority and is not a learnt set of facts, but a rigorous method of questioning in search of a better account. Yet in the pandemic governments and commentators propounded the opposite, that experts should be followed without question. Feynman proposed that good science guesses at theories and then looks to see whether they are supported by the data. But in public debate there is rarely clarity about the theory and little focus on the data.

Should we see science not as an agreed body of knowledge but a method to improve our account of the world? Should science never have been seen as an authority? Or are authorities necessary since we cannot all test all of the theories all of the time?

Author of How The World Thinks Julian Baggini, philosopher of biology Ellen Clarke, and radical philosopher Ben Burgis tackle our diminishing trust in experts and what to do about it. Hosted by Güneş Taylor.

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Why has the concept of consciousness stumped scientists forever? Is there a way of overcoming this impasse?

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Join physicist and philosopher Avshalom Elitzur as he fearlessly accompanies physics to its logical limitations - the understanding of our lived experiences and, most importantly, our consciousness. Elitzur takes Leibniz' challenge to scientists as his starting point and ends by defending what some may term a more mystical interpretation of material reality.

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Is our neurobiology at odds with the modern world?

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We see the remarkable evolution of the human brain as one of the driving factors behind our success as a species. Our neurobiology evolved though to solve challenges in a drastically different world than we find ourselves in today. Might our evolved traits, once advantageous, now be our Achilles heel? For human aggression, inventiveness and a determination to overcome enemies, once evolutionarily effective now risk resource, technology, and nuclear crises each with the potential to bring our species to an end. Can we find ways to change our behaviour before it is too late?

Professor of Theoretical Epidemiology at the University of Oxford Sunetra Gupta, research fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford Anders Sandberg and philosopher of biology Subrena Smith debate whether or not our neurobiology inadequate to deal with the challenges of the 21st century. Güneş Taylor hosts.

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