Shows
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastConundrums of Academic FreedomTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Oliver Traldi challenges the standard conservative model of academic freedom in his article, "Defusing Academic Freedom." Link here:Defusing Academic FreedomSpencer and Oliver discuss. Topics include: does the university have a univocal purpose? Does a truth norm really justify academic freedom as it's ordinarily understood and practiced. 2025-07-2357 min
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy Podcast"You're Under Arrest!" On Ethical PolicingTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Jake Monaghan joins Spencer to discuss his new book, Ethical Policing. The discussion covers such questions as: what makes policing legitimate? What sorts of considerations undermine that legitimacy? How can police appropriately balance order and respect for individual freedom in a non-ideal world?2025-06-221h 31
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastBetter Arguments for the Existence of GodTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Matthew Adelstein returns to Micro-Digressions to talk about the arguments for the existence of God at the top of his tier list. You can find his complete ranking of arguments for God's existence here:Arguments For God Tier-list - by Bentham's Bulldog2025-05-191h 34
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastFree Will and Responsibility: Huemer vs. KershnarTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Mike Huemer and His Offensiveness Steve Kershnar join Spencer to discuss free will and moral responsibility.2025-03-281h 06
The Good FightSpencer Case on Defending PatriotismEditor’s Note: This podcast was produced as part of Persuasion’s partnership with the Civil Discourse @ MIT program, at which Spencer Case spoke late last year on the topic “Does Citizenship Require Patriotism?” To learn more about Civil Discourse @ MIT, visit the program’s website here, and to see prior episodes in the series click here.
Spencer Case hosts Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy Podcast. He's the author of many academic philosophy articles and coauthor of Is Morality Real? A Debate. He is currently an assistant teaching professor in the Bowling Green State University philosophy department.
In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Sp...2025-03-011h 00
The Good FightSpencer Case on Defending PatriotismEditor’s Note: This podcast was produced as part of Persuasion’s partnership with the Civil Discourse @ MIT program, at which Spencer Case spoke late last year on the topic “Does Citizenship Require Patriotism?” To learn more about Civil Discourse @ MIT, visit the program’s website here, and to see prior episodes in the series click here.Spencer Case hosts Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy Podcast. He's the author of many academic philosophy articles and coauthor of Is Morality Real? A Debate. He is currently an assistant teaching professor in the Bowling Green State University philosophy department. ...2025-03-011h 01
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastNot-So-Great Arguments for the Existence of GodTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Matthew Adelstein, the prolific young writer who posts at "Bentham's Bulldog" on Substack, has recently attracted attention for a tier ranking of philosophical arguments for the existence of God. Matthew and Spencer discuss the arguments at the bottom of his list, ascending from arguments that get an "F" to one in the C tier. 2025-02-241h 32
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastThe Virtuous GamerTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Sarah Malanowski and Nicholas Baima join Spencer Case to discuss their book Why it's Ok to be a Gamer. They cover common objections to gaming, such as the claim that gaming is addictive and violent games promote violence. They also consider ways that video games can promote friendships and cultivate virtue. Finally, they debate the supposed vice of being a "tryhard."2025-01-201h 21
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastRant-a-thon 2024! (Part 2)Tell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Featuring rants by Matt Lutz (on a priori knowledge and the politicization of the university) Travis Timmerman (on the film "Megalopolis") Spencer Case (on the depraved adulation of Luigi Mangione) and Ben Burgis (on the hypocrisy of "heterodox" liberals on Palestine).2024-12-261h 31
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastRant-a-thon 2024! (Part 1)Tell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Featuring rants from Matthew Adelstein (on shrimp welfare), Mark Oppenheimer (on missing the golden age of universities), Craig White (on the folly and immorality of American involvement in Ukraine) David Baker (on the wrongness of peacetime conscription) and Jason Werbeloff (on common misconceptions about AI).2024-12-211h 12
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastProgressive Myths about Sex and GenderTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Michael Huemer returns to the podcast to discuss more of the issues in his self-published book, Progressive Myths (which you can buy on Amazon for a mere $12.50). Mike and Spencer discuss the gender pay gap, the claim that women don't lie about sexual assault, and the sex-gender distinction.2024-11-281h 13
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastProgressive MythsTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Michael Huemer returns Micro-Digressions to discuss his new self-published book, Progressive Myths, which you can purchase here for a mere $12.50:Progressive Myths: Huemer, Michael: 9798332272073: Amazon.com: BooksDiscussed here: Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and George Floyd cases, as well as some of the general patterns of police violence; the science of climate change and masking (compared with what activists say about these things), and the causes of progressive myths. 2024-10-211h 51
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastNuclear War, Part 2Tell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Dave Baker returns to Micro-Digressions to finish the discussion of nuclear weapons. Topics this time include the development of the hydrogen bomb, the problems with developing missile defense systems, and nuclear proliferation.2024-09-251h 25
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastNuclear WarTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Is the possession of nuclear weapons morally justified? Was it a mistake to invent them to begin with? Dave Baker joins Spencer to discuss these and other questions about nuclear war. (Correction: Joseph Stalin died in 1953, not 1952).2024-08-171h 32
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastCome on, man! Debating the Joe Biden presidencyTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!You may have heard that there's an election going on in the U.S. A big one in fact. This episode is a debate about the records of one of the candidates, Joe Biden. Matt Lutz, noted error theorist and Biden enthusiast, returns to the podcast to argue that Americans are insufficiently appreciative of Biden's performance on the economy and foreign policy. Spencer provides pushback on Biden's various student loan repayment schemes and immigration.Errata: The student loan repayment plan that Biden unveiled on July 18, 2024, was an expansion...2024-07-201h 31
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastConsciousness and the selfTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Mike Huemer rejoins Spencer to discuss the nature of consciousness. They consider the reasons for thinking that consciousness can't be physical and some prominent physicalist rejoinders to dualist arguments. Here's a link to Mike's excellent "Fake Nous" substack:Fake Noûs | Michael Huemer | Substack2024-06-181h 24
THE P.O.C. (PATTERN OF CONDUCT) PODCAST©1/9/2021 FEDERAL GROUP STALKING & MONITORING 18 U.S.C. §§2261A(1) & 2261A(2) (#S.I.I.S.)DOCUMENTATION OF THE STATE'S ONGOING CRIMINAL PATTERN OF CONDUCT WHILE I REMAIN HOMELESS SLEEPING OVERNIGHT AT THIRD PARTY FACILITATING VENUE- ONTARIO MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND ART LOCATED AT 225 S. EUCLID AVE., ONTARIO, CA. THIS DOCUMENTATION CAPTURES THE STATE FOLLOWING ME AS I GO TO AND FROM THIS LOCATION.
THIS DOCUMENTATION CAPTURES THE CRIMINAL FACILITATION, CRIMINAL HARASSMENT AND CRIMINALLY THREATENING CONDUCT OF THE STATE ACTING VIA STATE FACILITATING VENUES INCLUDING THE SAN BERNARDINO SUPERIOR COURT, THE CALIFORNIA COURT OF APPEALS, 4TH DISTRICT, 2ND DIVISION AND THE CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT- EACH OF WHICH ARE DOCUMENTED UPON EN...2024-06-042h 35THE P.O.C. (PATTERN OF CONDUCT) PODCAST©1/8/2021 FEDERAL GROUP STALKING & MONITORING 18 U.S.C. §§2261A(1) & 2261A(2) (#S.I.I.S.)DOCUMENTATION OF THE STATE'S ONGOING CRIMINAL PATTERN OF CONDUCT WHILE I REMAIN HOMELESS SLEEPING OVERNIGHT AT THIRD PARTY FACILITATING VENUE- ONTARIO MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND ART LOCATED AT 225 S. EUCLID AVE., ONTARIO, CA. THIS DOCUMENTATION CAPTURES THE STATE FOLLOWING ME AS I GO TO AND FROM THIS LOCATION.
THIS DOCUMENTATION CAPTURES THE CRIMINAL FACILITATION, CRIMINAL HARASSMENT AND CRIMINALLY THREATENING CONDUCT OF THE STATE ACTING VIA STATE FACILITATING VENUES INCLUDING THE SAN BERNARDINO SUPERIOR COURT, THE CALIFORNIA COURT OF APPEALS, 4TH DISTRICT, 2ND DIVISION AND THE CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT- EACH OF WHICH ARE DOCUMENTED UPON E...2024-06-044h 29THE P.O.C. (PATTERN OF CONDUCT) PODCAST©5/5/2020 FEDERAL GROUP STALKING & MONITORING 18 U.S.C. §§2261A(1) & 2261A(2) (#S.I.I.S.)DOCUMENTATION OF THE STATE’S ONGOING CRIMINAL PATTERN OF CONDUCT WHILE I REMAIN INSIDE OF THE PRIVATE RESIDENCE OF THIRD PARTY, TRACEE BANKS, AT THIRD PARTY FACILITATING VENUE- WOODSIDE SENIOR APARTMENTS LOCATED AT 408 W. G ST., ONTARIO, CA. THIS DOCUMENTATION CAPTURES THE GROUP STALKING AND MONITORING, CRIMINAL FACILITATION, CRIMINAL HARASSMENT AND CRIMINALLY THREATENING CONDUCT OF THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AS I REMAIN AT THIRD PARTY FACILITATING VENUE- WOODSIDE SENIOR APARTMENTS.
THIS DOCUMENTATION ALSO CAPTURES THE CRIMINAL PATTERN OF CONDUCT WHILE I REMAIN KIDNAPPED BY THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT PURS...2024-06-011h 12THE P.O.C. (PATTERN OF CONDUCT) PODCAST©5/3/2020 FEDERAL GROUP STALKING & MONITORING 18 U.S.C. §§2261A(1) & 2261A(2) (#S.I.I.S.)DOCUMENTATION OF THE STATE’S ONGOING CRIMINAL PATTERN OF CONDUCT WHILE I REMAINED INSIDE OF THE PRIVATE RESIDENCE OF THIRD PARTY, TRACEE BANKS, AT THIRD PARTY FACILITATING VENUE- WOODSIDE SENIOR APARTMENTS LOCATED AT 408 W. G ST., ONTARIO, CA. THIS DOCUMENTATION CAPTURES THE GROUP STALKING AND MONITORING, CRIMINAL FACILITATION, CRIMINAL HARASSMENT AND CRIMINALLY THREATENING CONDUCT OF THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AS I REMAIN AT THIRD PARTY FACILITATING VENUE- WOODSIDE SENIOR APARTMENTS.
THIS DOCUMENTATION ALSO CAPTURES THE CRIMINAL PATTERN OF CONDUCT WHILE I REMAIN KIDNAPPED BY THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT PURSUA...2024-06-0145 minTHE P.O.C. (PATTERN OF CONDUCT) PODCAST©5/2/2020 FEDERAL GROUP STALKING & MONITORING 18 U.S.C. §§2261A(1) & 2261A(2) (#S.I.I.S.)DOCUMENTATION OF THE STATE’S ONGOING CRIMINAL PATTERN OF CONDUCT WHILE I REMAIN INSIDE OF THE PRIVATE RESIDENCE OF THIRD PARTY, TRACEE BANKS, AT THIRD PARTY FACILITATING VENUE- WOODSIDE SENIOR APARTMENTS LOCATED AT 408 W. G ST., ONTARIO, CA. THIS DOCUMENTATION CAPTURES THE GROUP STALKING AND MONITORING, CRIMINAL FACILITATION, CRIMINAL HARASSMENT AND CRIMINALLY THREATENING CONDUCT OF THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AS I REMAIN AT THIRD PARTY FACILITATING VENUE- WOODSIDE SENIOR APARTMENTS.
THIS DOCUMENTATION ALSO CAPTURES THE CRIMINAL PATTERN OF CONDUCT WHILE I REMAIN KIDNAPPED BY THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT PURSUA...2024-06-0130 minTHE P.O.C. (PATTERN OF CONDUCT) PODCAST©5/1/2020 FEDERAL GROUP STALKING & MONITORING 18 U.S.C. §§2261A(1) & 2261A(2) (#S.I.I.S.)DOCUMENTATION OF THE STATE’S ONGOING CRIMINAL PATTERN OF CONDUCT WHILE I REMAIN INSIDE OF THE PRIVATE RESIDENCE OF THIRD PARTY, TRACEE BANKS, AT THIRD PARTY FACILITATING VENUE- WOODSIDE SENIOR APARTMENTS LOCATED AT 408 W. G ST., ONTARIO, CA.
THIS DOCUMENTATION CAPTURES THE GROUP STALKING AND MONITORING, CRIMINAL FACILITATION, CRIMINAL HARASSMENT AND CRIMINALLY THREATENING CONDUCT OF THE ONTARIO POLICE DEPARTMENT, ONTARIO FIRE DEPARTMENT, AND AMR AMBULANCE. THIS DOCUMENTATION CAPTURES THE GROUP STALKING AND MONITORING, CRIMINAL FACILITATION, CRIMINAL HARASSMENT AND CRIMINALLY THREATENING CONDUCT OF THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AS I REMAIN AT THIRD PA...2024-06-011h 03THE P.O.C. (PATTERN OF CONDUCT) PODCAST©KIDNAPPING BY ENTITY WITH INTENT TO OBSTRUCT JUSTICE VIA FICTITIOUS PROSECUTION-THE PEOPLE v SPENCER, CASE NO. FWV19001471THE STATE'S CRIMINAL ACT OF OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE VIA FICTITIOUS PROSECUTION - THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA v. ERICA LORRAINE SPENCER, FWV19001471. THE FICTITIOUS PROSECUTION IS A COOPERATIVE CRIMINAL ACT OF OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE BY THE ENTITY THAT IS ENGAGED IN FEDERAL GROUP STALKING & MONITORING WHICH INCLUDES THE ONTARIO POLICE DEPARTMENT, THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT (WEST VALLEY DETENTION CENTER AND GLEN HELEN REHABILITATION CENTER), THE RANCHO CUCAMONGA SUPERIOR COURT, THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE, THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, AND THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. THE FICTIT...2024-06-011h 02THE P.O.C. (PATTERN OF CONDUCT) PODCAST©KIDNAPPING BY ENTITY WITH INTENT TO OBSTRUCT JUSTICE VIA FICTITIOUS PROSECUTION- THE PEOPLE v SPENCER, CASE NO. MWV20000640THE STATE'S CRIMINAL ACT OF OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE VIA FICTITIOUS PROSECUTION - THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA v. ERICA LORRAINE SPENCER, MWV20000640. THE FICTITIOUS PROSECUTION IS A COOPERATIVE CRIMINAL ACT OF OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE BY THE ENTITY THAT IS ENGAGED IN FEDERAL GROUP STALKING & MONITORING WHICH INCLUDES THE ONTARIO POLICE DEPARTMENT, THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT (WEST VALLEY DETENTION CENTER, GLEN HELEN REHABILITATION CENTER, AND CENTRAL DETENTION CENTER), THE RANCHO CUCAMONGA SUPERIOR COURT, THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE, THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY PROBATION DEPARTMENT, AND TH...2024-06-014h 24THE P.O.C. (PATTERN OF CONDUCT) PODCAST©THEFT OF PROPERTY BY ENTITY AND UNLAWFUL DENIAL OF LEGAL RELIEF- SPENCER v. BILL & WAG’S, INC., CASE CIVDS1930644THE STATE’S CRIMINAL ACT OF OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE VIA THEFT OF PROPERTY BY ENTITY AND UNLAWFUL DENIAL OF LEGAL RELIEF- ERICA LORRAINE SPENCER v. BILL AND WAG’S, INC. , CIVDS1930644.
THEFT OF PROPERTY BY ENTITY AND THE UNLAWFUL DENIAL OF LEGAL RELIEF BY STATE- FACILITATING VENUE, THE SAN BERNARDINO SUPERIOR COURT, IS A COOPERATIVE CRIMINAL ACT OF OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE BY THE ENTITY THAT IS ENGAGED IN FEDERAL GROUP STALKING & MONITORING WHICH INCLUDES THE ONTARIO POLICE DEPARTMENT, OFFICER J. MEZA (NO. 20302) OF THE ONTARIO POLICE DEPARTMENT, BARRY PLOTKIN (CBN 41518), JUDGE LYNN M. PONCIN (CBN 18...2024-06-014h 08THE P.O.C. (PATTERN OF CONDUCT) PODCAST©EVASION OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY ENTITY WITH INTENT TO OBSTRUCT JUSTICE- SPENCER v. THE PEOPLE, CASE NO. CIVDS1927330THE STATE'S CRIMINAL ACT OF OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE VIA EVASION OF SERVICE OF PROCESS- ERICA LORRAINE SPENCER v. PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, CIVDS1927330. EVASION OF SERVICE OF PROCESS TO THE CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL IS A COOPERATIVE CRIMINAL ACT OF OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE BY THE ENTITY THAT IS ENGAGED IN FEDERAL GROUP STALKING & MONITORING WHICH INCLUDES THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, JUDGE THOMAS GARZA (CBN 167014), THE SAN BERNARDINO SUPERIOR COURT, THE CALIFORNIA APPEALS COURT FOURTH DISTRICT, DIVISION 2, AND THE CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT. EVASION OF SERVICE OF PROCESS IS THE STATE’S METHOD OF INSULATING THE ENTITY FROM EXP...2024-06-012h 07
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastDeath and Immortality (Thinking About Death Part 2)Tell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Come for Spencer's funeral home jokes; stay for the unanticipated discussion of the movie Her. Travis Timmerman and Spencer Case resume their discussion about death. This time they talk about annihilationism, the idea that being annihilated is an intrinsically bad thing for the annihilated person, as well as popular arguments that immortality would be a bad thing for creatures like us.2024-05-221h 20
Zone of RiskDelay, Delay, Delay: Case No. 23-CR-80101-CANNONRobert had the pleasure of sitting down with the estimable Roger Parloff to discuss the unending delays in the classified documents case against the former president. Roger and Robert also talked about the latest in the Manhattan case against defendant Trump.Roger is an award-winning journalist and a senior editor of Lawfare. He has his fingers on the pulse of the classified documents case and he, along with the rest of the team at Lawfare, have a series of ongoing episodes called Trump’s Trials and Tribulations. In the N.Y. Dispatch episodes, Lawfare covers the day-to-day ha...2024-05-2044 min
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastThinking about MarxismTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Ben Burgis rejoins Spencer to defend Marx's record. 2024-04-291h 19
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastDebating Israel/PalestineTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!This episode tackles one of the most controversial topics of the day (really, most days over the last several decades): Israel/Palestine. Craig White, a former diplomat and the author of Iraq: The Moral Reckoning, and Mark Oppenheimer of Brain in a Vat podcast fame join Spencer to discuss the issue. 2024-03-311h 36
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastIs it Ok to Own a Gun?Tell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Ryan W. Davis, a philosophy professor at Brigham Young University, joins Spencer Case to discuss the ethics and politics of gun ownership in the US. Check out his new book, Why it's OK to Own a Gun (Routledge, 2024).2024-02-241h 14
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastThinking about Death, Part 1Tell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!What is death? Does fear of death affect our everyday lives? And will your death harm you or not? Travis Timmerman, associate professor at Seton Hall University, joins Spencer to discuss these and other questions. Timmerman is coeditor, along with Michael Cholbi, of a fine anthology on the philosophy of death, Exploring the Philosophy of Death and Dying. Purchase your copy here:https://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Philosophy-Death-Dying-Contemporary/dp/1138393584/ref=sr_1_1?crid=15H1NSANTN5NL&keywords=exploring+the+philosophy+of+death+and+dying&qid=1706235275&sprefix=%2Caps%2C656&sr=8-12024-01-251h 32
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastRant-a-Thon 2023Tell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!It's the end of the year again and time to rant! This year's collection of rants includes:Jarrod Blair on bad habits that crush the philosophical spiritMatthew Adelstein on the stupidity and depravity of Effective Altruism criticsMatt Lutz on possible world confusionsMark Oppenheimer on the Israel-Gaza warOliver Traldi on the university presidents' testimony to CongressJP Andrew on naturalism as a dogma in philosophySpencer Case on scientific dogmatismJason Werbeloff on moralizing vegetariansAlex Byrne on social constructionLinks:Virtue Vibes Podcast:https://www.virtuevibes.org/2023-12-202h 14
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastPolitical Beliefs (with Oliver Traldi)Tell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Oliver Traldi rejoins Spencer Case to discuss the nature of political beliefs. Topics they cover include the bad incentives that influence political beliefs, how political beliefs should be defined, and the need for (and possibility of) politically neutral language in which to discuss political issues.2023-11-191h 09
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastDiscriminating for the Greater Good Part 2: Law and Affirmative ActionTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!His Offensiveness Stephen Kershnar returns to the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about the philosophy of law. This leads to a discussion of the Students For Fair Admissions (SFFA) Supreme Court Case. Music: "Sweet, Man" by Jeremy Mohney. Available for download $1 here: https://jeremymohneymusic.bandcamp.com/2023-10-301h 30
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastTrust and the liberal orderTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Kevin Vallier joins Spencer Case to talk about social trust and the role it plays in the psychological and moral foundations of liberal societies. 2023-09-291h 11
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastGender, Pronouns and Linguistic NegotiationTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Alex Byrne discusses the controversy around his article on pronouns in the Journal of Controversial Ideas. Byrne and Matt Lutz debate the meaning of the word 'woman.' Alex's view is that women are adult human females, whereas Matt thinks that the word is ambiguous between that traditional definition and a trans-inclusive meaning. We can be tolerant and accept both are legitimate meanings of the word. The conversation eventually comes to focus on the idea that the meanings of words are outcomes of social negotiations of various kinds. Spencer concludes t...2023-08-071h 20
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastAmerican PatriotismTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Commentator Charles "Concealed Weapon" Cooke joins Spencer to discuss American identity and patriotism. 2023-07-011h 23
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastWokeness in Science: Critiquing a critiqueTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!MIT philosophy professor Alex Byrne and podcast regular Matt Lutz join Spencer to discuss an article that recently appeared in the Journal of Controversial Ideas entitled "A Defense of Merit in Science." The article, which was written by 27 co-authors, including many social scientists, alleges that the "liberal epistemology" that underlies science is under threat by the institutionalized influence of identity-based ideologies. (The article doesn't use the term "wokeness", but the left identitarian ideologies whose influence it critiques can plausibly be called "woke.") The three conversation partners consider the strengths and w...2023-06-091h 14
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastThought experiments (Special Brain in a Vat co-production)Tell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff of Brain in a Vat join Spencer to discuss one of their favorite subjects: thought experiments. 2023-05-221h 15
Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy PodcastSikh Metaphysics and EthicsTell Spencer your thoughts about this episode!Keshav Singh joins Spencer to discuss Sikh religion and philosophy. ("Sikh" is pronounced with the short 'i' sound, and not like "seek"). They cover they history and basic tenets of the Sikh faith, its idea of divinity, and the Sikh idea that "haumai", meaning roughly obsession with oneself, is the root of all human evil. Keshav's personal webpage is here: https://www.keshavsingh.com/2023-04-211h 11