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Virtual Reality: Do We Need an Ethical Code?

June 21, 2016 by reqdevtest 2 Comments

A friend of mine just got back from a conference on animal cruelty. Among scientific data and philosophical arguments against it, the audience was also offered a short "visit" to a factory farm, in virtual reality. From their comfortable seats in a Berlin University, using a phone-based VR headset, participants were transported into an exceptionally cruel environment, with the  Continue Reading …

Episode 104: Robert Nozick’s Libertarianism (Citizen Edition)

October 27, 2014 by Mark Linsenmayer

On Anarchy, State & Utopia (1974), ch. 1-3 and 7. What moral limits should we put on government power? Nozick thinks that the only legitimate functions of government are protection and enforcement of contracts. Contra Rawls, Nozick's "entitlement" version of justice doesn't look at income inequality or any other pattern of holdings, but only at whether holdings were  Continue Reading …

Episode 104: Robert Nozick’s Libertarianism

October 27, 2014 by Mark Linsenmayer 37 Comments

On Anarchy, State & Utopia (1974), ch. 1-3 and 7. What moral limits should we put on government power? Nozick thinks that the only legitimate functions of government are protection and enforcement of contracts. Contra Rawls, Nozick's "entitlement" version of justice doesn't look at income inequality or any other pattern of holdings, but only at whether holdings were  Continue Reading …

Precognition of Ep. 104: Robert Nozick

October 26, 2014 by Mark Linsenmayer 1 Comment

Seth Paskin introduces Anarchy, State, and Utopia about libertarianism and the limits of legitimate government power. Watch for the full discussion to be released in a couple of weeks. Read more about the topic and get the book.  Continue Reading …

Precognition of Ep. 104: Robert Nozick

October 26, 2014 by Mark Linsenmayer

Seth Paskin introduces Anarchy, State, and Utopia about libertarianism and the limits of legitimate government power. Listen to the full discussion. Read more about the topic and get the book.  Continue Reading …

Topics for #103 & #104: Thoreau and Nozick

October 7, 2014 by Mark Linsenmayer 8 Comments

 Continue Reading …

“You Didn’t Build That.” Political Ethics Summary in the Wash Post

July 31, 2012 by Mark Linsenmayer 13 Comments

In this Washington Post editorial on Ezra Klein's Wonkblog by Dylan Matthews, we get an attempt to connect philosophy to current political discourse, with the conclusion "...which is perhaps why, in general, politicians don’t spend a lot of time listening to philosophers." The issue is desert, as in "do rich people deserve to keep their money?" Matthews characterizes the  Continue Reading …

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About The Partially Examined Life

The Partially Examined Life is a philosophy podcast by some guys who were at one point set on doing philosophy for a living but then thought better of it. Each episode, we pick a text and chat about it with some balance between insight and flippancy. You don’t have to know any philosophy, or even to have read the text we’re talking about to (mostly) follow and (hopefully) enjoy the discussion

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