Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode, or listen to a preview. Citizens can get the entire second part here. On Reasons and Persons (1984), ch. 10-13, featuring Mark, Wes, Dylan and Seth. What makes a person the same over time? Parfit used Locke as a starting point: It's a matter of continuity of memory: I am the same person as my younger self because there are Continue Reading …
Ep. 261: Derek Parfit on Personal Identity (Part Two for Supporters)
Continuing on Reasons and Persons (1984), ch. 10-13. Continuing from where we left off, we consider more closely Bernard Williams' response to Parfit and how Parfit turns that argument back on itself. In defending physicalism against Lockean memory conceptions of personal identity, Williams presented a situation in which you're about to undergo some torture. I tell you that Continue Reading …
Ep. 261: Derek Parfit on Personal Identity (Part One for Supporters)
On Reasons and Persons (1984), ch. 10-13, featuring Mark, Wes, Dylan and Seth. What makes a person the same over time? Parfit used Locke as a starting point: It's a matter of continuity of memory: I am the same person as my younger self because there are overlapping chains of memory. Even if I and earlier me don't share any specific memories (Locke's actual criterion), Continue Reading …
Bonus: (sub)Text #3: Spielberg’s “AI: Artificial Intelligence”: What Is It to Be Human? (Part One)
For Episode 3 of (sub)Text, Wes discusses Steven Spielberg's AI: Artificial Intelligence with David Kyle Johnson, philosophy professor at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Note: Part two will NOT be appearing on this feed. Become a PEL Citizen to get the full discussion. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to learn how. You’ll find David's Great Courses Continue Reading …
(sub)Text #3: Spielberg’s “AI: Artificial Intelligence”: What Is It to Be Human? (Citizens Only)
For Episode 3 of (sub)Text, Wes discusses Steven Spielberg's AI: Artificial Intelligence with David Kyle Johnson, philosophy professor at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. You’ll find his Great Courses lectures here, including a course on Science Fiction as Philosophy. Philosophers are wont to talk about artificial intelligence in terms of thinking and Continue Reading …
Episode 175: Blade Runner: Androids and Humanity (Part One)
On Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1967) and the films Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and Blade Runner (1982). What makes us human? Dick's novel about androids emphasized their lack of empathy, while the movie adaptations portrayed the "replicants" as plenty capable of emotion, but unjustly treated as servants or targets. Attention: The second half of Continue Reading …
Ep. 175: Blade Runner: Androids and Humanity (Citizen Edition)
On Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1967) and the films Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and Blade Runner (1982). What makes us human? Dick's story about androids emphasized their lack of empathy, while the movie adaptations portrayed the "replicants" as plenty capable of emotion, but unjustly treated as servants or targets. All of these works are about a Continue Reading …
Episode 90: Sci-Fi and Philosophy with Guest David Brin
Discussing David Brin's novel Existence (2012) with the author. What's the point of thinking? Brin sees the future as a pressing threat, and Existence speculates that the reason we don't see evidence of life on other planets is that no species survives its technological adolescence. The solution? We need to be smarter than our parents and work to give our kids the tools to Continue Reading …
Precognition of Ep. 90: Sci-Fi and Philosophy with David Brin
Mark Linsenmayer introduces our discussion with David Brin of his book Existence. Listen to the episode. Read more about the topic and get the book. Continue Reading …
Precognition of Ep. 90: Sci-Fi and Philosophy with David Brin
Mark Linsenmayer introduces our discussion with David Brin of his book Existence. Listen to the episode. Read more about the topic and get the book. Continue Reading …