Scott Hershovitz on Law and Morality

What is a question? It seems obvious, but perhaps it isn't. Lani Watson has just published a book on the topic. She thinks that true questions can be identified by their function, not by their form. She explains what she means by this and why questions matter so much in philosoph ... Show More

The utilitarian philosopher Peter Singer has controversial views about when it is acceptable to end a human life. In conversation with David Edmonds he explains his approach, using examples from a range of areas, including infanticide. Some listeners may find some aspects of this ... Show More

The Chinese philosopher Songzi (382 BCE – 305 BCE) maintained that the appropriate response to insults was indifference, not aggression. Jing Hu, a philosopher at Concordia University, Montreal puts his thinking about insults and about the related concept of shame in context, and ... Show More

Scott Hershovitz is the Thomas G. and Mabel Long Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan. He directs the University’s Law and Ethics Program and he co-edits Legal Theory.  Scott writes about law and philosophy. His academic work has appeared in ... Show More

Moral and Political Philosophy: how should we live? What constitutes a just state? 

On this episode of the podcast, we continue our discussion of Kant, this time focusing on ethics. We begin with a thought experiment that calls into question whether or not lying is morally justifiable if it results in preserving human life. Next, we discuss the nature of moralit ... Show More

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sam Harris speaks with Martha C. Nussbaum about her philosophical work. They discuss the relevance of philosophy to personal and political problems, the influence of religion, the problem of dogmatism, the importance of Greek and Roman philosoph ... Show More

Michael Shermer and Jeff Sebo explore moral philosophy, focusing on animal rights, sentience, and consciousness. They discuss the definitions of morality, ethical pluralism, and the divide between consequentialism and deontology. The conversation examines who belongs in our moral ... Show More

Here's an idea from one of my group classes - laws and justice. I think it's a really interesting topic to discuss. Are there any laws we shouldn't be following?What laws would you make?What laws would you abolish?We also look at a few good and relevant expressions here. Hope you ... Show More

In this episode, we discuss The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt, which explores questions of morality. We take a look at the three principles about morality that form the basis of the book and why people have different understandings of right and wrong. We also briefly talk abou ... Show More

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sam Harris speaks with Erik Hoel about the nature of moral truth. They discuss the connection between consequentialism and Effective Altruism, the problems with implementing academic moral philosophy, bad arguments against consequentialism, the ... Show More