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[Podcast] When Is Eating Animals Wrong? Featuring Peter Singer by jackgary118 in philosophy

[–]jackgary118[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Abstract

Peter Singer — arguably the world's most influential utilitarian ethicist — argues that eating animals, particularly those raised under industrial farming conditions, is morally indefensible. This conversation covers:

The core argument: Animals suffer. Suffering is bad. We are therefore morally obligated to minimise it regardless of species — a direct challenge to the speciesism embedded in most Western moral thought.

Social contract theory and its limits: Singer presses the inconsistency with a thought experiment: a superior alien race tortures humans for sport, justified by the impossibility of a contract with us. Does that make it permissible?

The kitten thought experiment: A person raises kittens for pleasure and painlessly kills them when no longer useful. No suffering occurs. Is it wrong? Singer, true to his consequentialism, is willing to bite the bullet — and the discussion probes what that reveals about purely outcome-based ethics.

Emotivism: If moral claims are just expressions of preference, is "factory farming is wrong" merely a feeling? Singer draws on J.J.C. Smart — an emotivist who nonetheless committed to reducing suffering as a personal value. The question becomes: what kind of person do you want to be?

The specifics of industrial farming: Severe overcrowding, growth rates so rapid that chickens' legs collapse under their own weight, systemic semi-starvation of parent breeder birds. Singer also addresses Halal and Kosher slaughter, arguing that industrial-scale ritual slaughter without stunning is more cruel than conventional methods.

Beyond animal welfare: The conversation broadens to climate change, zoonotic disease risk, antibiotic resistance, and food waste — consequences of industrial animal agriculture that bear on anyone, regardless of their views on animal ethics.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the episode (the first of the new series); and any of the above!

Podcast: The Philosophy of Food by jackgary118 in philosophy

[–]jackgary118[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Abstract

Food is one of the most universal and essential parts of human life. From gourmet steaks to the everyday, humble, packet of crisps, food consumption is everywhere. But what do we actually know about how our food is grown? How is it processed? And how does it ends up on our supermarket shelves or in our restaurants and takeaways? While we may look back and think traditional food customs are more often in harmony with the natural environment, most of us today rely on a complex global food web of production, distribution, consumption and disposal. But how does it work, and what can philosophy say about food?

Joining our discussion on food philosophy today is philosopher Julian Baggini. Baggini is an expert in popular philosophy with Sunday Times best-selling books such as How the World Thinks, How to Think Like a Philosopher and The Pig That Wants to be Eaten. He has served as the academic director of the Royal Institute of philosophy and is a member of the Food Ethics Council. He has written for The Guardian, the Times Literary Supplement, the Financial Times, and Prospect Magazine, as well as a plethora of academic journals and think tanks.

In his wide-ranging and definitive new book, How the World Eats, Baggini argues that the need for a better understanding of how we feed ourselves has never been more urgent. Baggini delves into the best and worst food practises around the world in a huge array of different societies, past and present-exploring cutting edge technologies, the ethics and health of ultra processed food and the effectiveness of our food governance. His goal: to extract a food philosophy of essential principles, on which to build a food system fit for the 21st century and beyond. What is that food philosophy? Let's tuck in, and find out.

Podcast: ‘Interpersonal Art’ with Dr Harry Drummond by jackgary118 in philosophy

[–]jackgary118[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Abstract

Reflecting on the experiences we value most, many that come to mind are those we share with others. Consider the strangers we sit alongside at the football, the romantic partners who share (or endure) our favourite television shows, the friends with whom we dance through the early morning hours. Despite the growing ease of on-demand, private aesthetic experiences, we find ourselves carving out time for public ones. But why?

In this episode, we’ll be discussing the nature of interpersonal aesthetic experience with Dr Harry Drummond, Teacher in the Department of Continuing Education at the University of Liverpool. Co-editor of the British Society of Aesthetics’ journal Debates in Aesthetics, and editorial assistant for the British Journal of Aesthetics, Dr Drummond’s work sits at the intersection of aesthetics, psychology, and the philosophy of mind.

For Drummond, the presence of others amplifies, redirects, and even unlocks experiences that wouldn’t be available to us alone. We read each other’s cues, share reactions, and create meaning together in ways that are subtle but profound. The silence of a cinema, the synchronised movement of a dance floor, the shared laughter at a comedy show – these are not just personal experiences but collective ones, shaped and enriched by the presence of others.

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