Epistemology and Metaphysics

In this first lecture, using Descartes famous argument for the claim “I think therefore I am’, we examine how to identify and evaluate arguments. 

In the second lecture we examine first the famous ‘Wilt Chamberlain’ thought experiment that demonstrates a retention between freedom and equality, then arguments for and against two famous moral theories; deontology and utilitarianism. 

In the fourth and final lecture, we examine the notion of ‘objective fact’ on which scientific theories are built; what sort of fact is such that we can build a scientific theory on it? 

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosopher Karl Popper's article "Towards A Rational Theory Of Tradition", found in his book Conjectures and Refutations. It focuses specifically on his discussion of how science develops historically. Popper does not think ... Show More

Robin Ince and Brian Cox are joined on stage by V for Vendetta author and legendary comic book writer Alan Moore, cosmologist Ed Copeland, and science broadcaster Dallas Campbell to ask whether Cosmology is really a science? Do scientific theories need to be testable to make them ... Show More

Science is supposed to be an unbiased way to uncover nature’s secrets. Through blinded experiments, rigorous peer review and replication—we’ve been told that by using the scientific method we’ll find trustworthy facts. But, with many scientific findings largely regarded as ‘wrong ... Show More

What subjects did Kant explore in his works? What questions did he seek to answer? In our seventh episode of Kant Talk 2.0, we discuss Kant’s position on religion given the fact that he was a philosopher of the Enlightenment, which was an era that emphasized the power of Reason a ... Show More

Since Newton had his initial revelation about gravity, our understanding of this fundamental concept has evolved in unexpected ways. In this week’s episode, theoretical physicist Claudia de Rham and co-host Janna Levin discuss the ways our current understanding of gravity needs t ... Show More

Second lecture in the 2011 John Locke Lecture Series. Philosophy is a demanding intellectual discipline, with many facets: logic, epistemology, philosophy of nature and science, metaphysics, ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of art, rhetoric, philosophy of language and min ... Show More

Hegel and Speculative Realism (Palgrave MacMillan, 2023) has two main objectives. Firstly, to assess the speculative realist formulations of the real regarding the ‘withdrawn’ object, radical contingency, the absolute register of extinction, and the current interest in ‘powers ph ... Show More

The quest for a theory of everything – explaining all the forces and particles in the universe – is arguably the holy grail of physics. While each of our main theories of physics works extraordinarily well, they also clash with each other. But do we really need a theory of everyt ... Show More

Some see the world of thought divided into two types of ideas: evolutionary and revolutionary ideas. However, the truth can be more nuanced than that; evolutionary ideas can spur revolutions, and revolutionary ideas may be necessary to create incremental advancements. General rel ... Show More