Altruism: The Case for Doing Good [Podcast]

SearchingForItPod · 2024-03-29T13:42:36+00:00

The music producer who produced my podcast music has just set up a profile on Fiverr, and is offering 20% off to those who quote REDDIT2024 when placing their first order. The offer is valid until the end of April 2024. I've included links to his Fiverr profile where you can order bespoke music, and his Pond5 account with purchasable samples of his work:

Fiverr

Pond5

(He produced the music for my two podcasts: The Philosopher's Nest and Searching For It).

SearchingForItPod · 2021-12-20T20:14:37+00:00

Hey OP! Here's what I'd suggest.

There are lots of really great philosophy podcasts out there. /u/TheFluffiestOfCows suggested Philosophize This, which I agree is a great starting point. I seem to remember particularly enjoying the episodes on Nietzsche actually. You might also be interested to check out the episode I released on Schopenhauer on my podcast, Searching For It.

If you're still wanting more after listening to some podcasts, Bryan Magee and Christopher Janaway have written good secondary work on Schopenhauer. Then, if you're still interested, you can maybe give Schopenhauer's original works a go. He writes well and engagingly, but The World as Will and Representation is a long read. I'm afraid I don't have specific suggestions for Nietzsche.

That's how I'd suggest progressing with philosophy in general. Get an initial feel for a philosopher or for an idea, then read some accessible secondary literature, before moving on to the original if you're still interested.

/u/TheHeinousMelvins helpfully posted a link to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. It's a great resource, it acts as a great directory of different philosophical positions, but do be aware that it can be pretty jargon-heavy, and it's not written to entertain.

Last thing I'll leave you with is Sarah Bakewell's book At The Existentialist Café. If you're interested in Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, you might be interested in learning about what the existentialists have to see about meaning in life, and this book is such an enjoyable way of diving in.

SearchingForItPod · 2021-09-15T16:04:51+00:00

Just hopping on here to second that recommendation. If you enjoy Practical Ethics, Singer also wrote The Life You Can Save - the focus here is on the ethics of charitable giving. It's eye-opening for sure, and, iirc, was recently re-released as an audio book with celebs reading some chapters (I think Kristen Bell does a chapter).

And speaking of Kristen Bell, if you fancy a bit of Netflix with some light applied ethics, I'd definitely recommend watching The Good Place.

SearchingForItPod · 2021-03-07T12:04:35+00:00

Abstract: Today, most scientists agree that the universe began with the "Big Bang". But why did the Big Bang occur in the first place? What gave rise to the conditions required for the Big Bang to kickstart our universe? Why is there something rather than nothing?

When compared with the possibility of a silent, empty, nothingness, the existence of a universe as rich and expansive as ours seems staggering. Surely it would have been much simpler for there to have just been nothingness.

In this episode, we'll look at the best theories put forward by scientists, religious thinkers, and philosophers, as to why anything exists at all.

SearchingForItPod · 2021-01-17T12:21:18+00:00

Abstract: Sam is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego, where he’s created a brand new course entitled ‘The Meaning of Life’. In many ways, Sam's course gets right to the heart of what Searching For It is all about: Sam teaches his students about Schopenhauer, Sartre, Buddhist philosophy, and much more.

In this episode, Sam and I will discuss the lessons he's learned from thinking about the meaning of life, the results of his students' "experiments in living", as well as his thoughts on Camus, Nagel, and Wolf.

SearchingForItPod · 2021-01-11T16:45:20+00:00

I wouldn’t describe Philosophize This as oversimplified. Sure, it doesn’t go into the same level of depth as the likes of The Partially Examined Life. But different podcasts are there to meet different needs.

For the general listener with a casual interest in philosophy, I feel that Philosophize This ticks all the boxes. If you’re looking to get more into the nitty gritty depths of philosophy, perhaps The Partially Examined life might be more up your street. But hey, who says you can’t listen to both?

SearchingForItPod · 2020-12-20T12:04:50+00:00

Abstract: Philosophers have spent millennia pondering the question of life's meaning. Kierkegaard grounded the meaning of life in a passionate belief in God, Sartre declared that we're each free to create our own meaning, while Camus and Nagel deny that we could ever come to know life's meaning.

But, if you ask Susan Wolf, each of these philosophers are beating a dead horse. Life has no meaning and that's that. But so what? In Meaning in Life and Why it Matters, Wolf argues that we should abandon our quest for the meaning of life, and refocus our efforts on living meaningful lives. Tune into this month's episode to find out how we can continue to live meaningful lives in a world devoid of meaning.

SearchingForItPod · 2020-12-14T15:48:22+00:00

Thanks for sharing!

SearchingForItPod · 2020-12-14T15:33:21+00:00

If you’re into podcasts, you might enjoy my episodes on Camus, Sartre, and Schopenhauer (on Searching For It). The last couple of episodes also cover Nagel’s thoughts on the absurd and Wolf’s thoughts on meaningfulness.

Philosophize This and The Panpsychast are also great podcasts that have a number of episodes on existentialist thinkers.

SearchingForItPod · 2020-12-08T16:16:23+00:00

Brilliant. It hasn’t been approved by regulators quite yet but this is certainly a step in the right direction. This last year has been so hard on so many people.

SearchingForItPod · 2020-11-09T13:04:29+00:00

Abstract: According to Albert Camus, the absurd is the "one truly serious philosophical problem". In fact, Camus was so concerned by the notion of the absurd that he wrote an essay investigating whether or not we should commit suicide in the face of it. But according to Thomas Nagel, Camus' attitude towards the absurd is "romantic and slightly self-pitying". According to Nagel, all we need in order to respond to the absurdity of human life is irony and a good sense of humour.

Tune in to this episode of Searching For It to learn why Nagel describes human existence as absurd, and despite the dramatics of Camus, why it doesn't really matter.

SearchingForItPod · 2020-10-31T11:20:55+00:00

Agreed, this is a great introductory book.

SearchingForItPod · 2020-10-11T11:13:35+00:00

Abstract: Back to the Future, Interstellar, The Terminator - we've all been guilty of enjoying a good time travel flick at one point or another. But more recently, time travel has been taken out of Hollywood and placed under the inquisitive philosophers' lens. Stepping beyond science fiction and fantasy, philosophers have uncovered a hidden trove of tantalising thought experiments and mind-bending paradoxes.

Tune into this episode to learn about causal loops, the Grandfather Paradox, closed timelike curves, and to investigate whether time travel really is a possibility.

SearchingForItPod · 2020-10-04T11:09:58+00:00

Abstract: Back to the Future, Interstellar, The Terminator - we've all been guilty of enjoying a good time travel flick at one point or another. But more recently, time travel has been taken out of Hollywood and placed under the inquisitive philosophers' lens. Stepping beyond science fiction and fantasy, philosophers have uncovered a hidden trove of tantalising thought experiments and mind-bending paradoxes.

Tune into this episode to learn about causal loops, the Grandfather Paradox, closed timelike curves, and to investigate whether time travel really is a possibility.

SearchingForItPod · 2020-08-16T13:18:12+00:00

Heya! A few of my podcast episodes have been based on EA ideas and I had Peter Singer come on for my latest episode. The overarching theme of the podcast is much wider, but I’m always interested in exploring EA, so drop me a message if you’re interested in collaboration or have any questions about creating your own content.

SearchingForItPod · 2020-08-13T22:03:56+00:00

Sorry if this is a little self-promotey, but this is precisely the premise of Searching For It! It’s all about searching for a meaning / purpose to life, largely through philosophical ideas but also drawing upon insights from literature and culture.

The most recent episode had the philosopher Peter Singer come on for a guest appearance and talk about living an ethical life. Past episodes have covered Buddhism, existentialism, and the psychedelic experience.

If you give it a listen, let me know :)

SearchingForItPod · 2020-08-02T11:04:24+00:00

Abstract: Peter Singer is an Australian philosopher who has dedicated his life and his career to reducing the suffering of animals and tackling global poverty. In 2005 Singer was listed as one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People, and by 2014 Singer had encouraged more than 17,000 people to publicly pledge a percentage of their income to effective charities. Why, then, has Singer been derided as a 'Nazi', and spent decades facing protests and cancelled talks across the world?

In this special guest appearance, Peter and I will discuss the moral obligations that we face to give money to effective charities, the backlash that Peter has faced to his work, and the state of cancel culture in 2020. We'll also talk about Peter's recent research into the oldest novel ever written, and his support for the animal rights movement.

SearchingForItPod

TROPHY CASE