philosophy

#482 David Pearce: Transhumanism, The Hedonistic Imperative, and Abolishing Suffering

Jun 14, 2021

David Pearce is a prominent figure within the transhumanism movement and one of the co-founders of the World Transhumanist Association, currently rebranded and incorporated as Humanity+. He approaches ethical issues from a lexical negative utilitarian perspective. Pearce maintains a series of websites devoted to transhumanist topics and what he calls the "hedonistic imperative", a moral obligation to work towards the abolition of suffering in all sentient life. His self-published internet manifesto, The Hedonistic Imperative (1995), outlines how pharmacology, genetic engineering, nanotechnology and neurosurgery could converge to eliminate all forms of unpleasant experience from human and non-human life, replacing suffering with "gradients of bliss". Pearce calls this the "abolitionist project". More»
#481 Saul Smilansky: 10 Moral Paradoxes

Jun 11, 2021

Dr. Saul Smilansky is a Professor at the Department of Philosophy of the University of Haifa, Israel. He works primarily on normative and applied ethics, the free will problem, and the meaning of life. He is the author of Free Will and Illusion (Oxford University Press 2000), and 10 Moral Paradoxes (Blackwell 2007). More»
#475 Lee McIntyre - The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience

May 28, 2021

Dr. Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University. He is interested in comparative methodology across the natural and social sciences. He is the author of books like Post-Truth, and The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience. More»
#474 Andrew Norman - Mental Immunity; Reason, Critical Thinking, Beliefs, and Morality

May 27, 2021

Dr. Andrew Norman teaches philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University. He works on the conceptual and historical foundations of humanism. He has published widely on the nature of reason and the teaching of wisdom, and written books on critical thinking and the structure of dialogue. Dr. Andrew Norman is the former Director of CMU’s Ethics, History and Public Policy program, and is interested in constructive engagement with the religious and in developing naturalistic alternatives to destructive religious mythologies. He speaks regularly on such topics as reason and faith, science and religion, the foundations of ethics, and the evolutionary, cultural, and attitudinal roots of prosocial behavior. He is the author of Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think. More»
#469 Tim Maudlin: Philosophy of Physics, Quantum Mechanics, and Metaphysics

May 14, 2021

Dr. Tim Maudlin is Professor of Philosophy at New York University. Her has interests primarily focused in the foundations of physics, metaphysics, and logic. His books include Quantum Non-Locality and Relativity, Truth and Paradox and The Metaphysics Within Physics. He is a member of the Academie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences and the Foundational Questions Institute (FQXi). He has been a Guggenheim Fellow. More»
#468 Andreas Elpidorou: How Boredom, Frustration, and Anticipation Lead us to the Good Life

May 13, 2021

Dr. Andreas Elpidorou is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Louisville. He specializes in the philosophical study of the mind and has published extensively on the nature of emotions (especially, boredom), consciousness, and cognition. He is best known for his work on the function and value of boredom. He is the co-author of Consciousness and Physicalism: A Defense of a Research Program (Routledge, 2018), the co-editor of Philosophy of Mind and Phenomenology: Conceptual and Empirical Approaches (Routledge, 2016), and the author of the recent book, Propelled: How Boredom, Frustration, and Anticipation Lead us to the Good Life. More»
#462 David Papineau: The Metaphysics of Sensory Experience

Apr 29, 2021

Dr. David Papineau is Professor of Philosophy at King's College London, having previously taught for several years at Cambridge University where he was a fellow of Robinson College. He was President of the British Society for Philosophy of Science for 1993-5, President of the Mind Association for 2009-10, and President of the Aristotelian Society for 2013-14. He’s also the author of 9 books, including Philosophical Naturalism, Thinking About Consciousness, and Knowing the Score. His new book is The Metaphysics of Sensory Experience. More»
#457 Michael Strevens - The Knowledge Machine: How Irrationality Created Modern Science

Apr 16, 2021

Dr. Michael Strevens is Professor of Philosophy at New York University. He works on the philosophy of science, where his interests include explanation, complex systems, probability, confirmation, the social structure of science, and causation; the psychology of concepts; and the philosophical applications of cognitive science. He is the author of The Knowledge Machine: How Irrationality Created Modern Science. More»
#456 Henry Greely - CRISPR People: The Science and Ethics of Editing Humans

Apr 15, 2021

Dr. Henry Greely is currently the Deane F. and Kate Edelman Johnson Professor of Law and Professor by courtesy of Genetics at Stanford University, and also an Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He specializes in the ethical, legal, and social implications of new biomedical technologies, particularly those related to neuroscience, genetics, or stem cell research. He is a founder and president of the International Neuroethics Society; a member of the Multi-Council Working Group of the NIH’s BRAIN Initiative, whose Neuroethics Working Group he co-chairs; a member of the Committee on Science, Technology, and Law of the National Academies; and chair of California’s Human Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee. He’s also the author of The End of Sex and the Future of Human Reproduction, and more recently, CRISPR People: The Science and Ethics of Editing Humans. More»
#446 Pedro Galvão: Três Diálogos Sobre a Morte

Mar 22, 2021

THIS INTERVIEW IS IN PORTUGUESE. More»