The Ideal

The Ideal - Truth and Personhood | Dr. Ladelle McWhorter

This week on The Ideal, we are joined by Professor Ladelle McWhorter for a deep dive into the intersections of power, identity, and freedom. We walk through the core arguments of McWhorter’s work, particularly Unbecoming Persons: The Rise and Demise of the Modern Moral Self. We focus on how institutions and social norms define our modern identity.  Professor Ladelle McWhorter is a distinguished scholar whose work bridges the gap between early modern philosophy and contemporary social issues. She currently holds the Stephanie Bennett-Smith Chair in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Richmond, where she is also a Professor of Philosophy. Unbecoming Persons: The Rise and Demise of the Modern Moral Self:  https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/U/bo253760523.html

The Ideal - Spinoza and Unbelief | Dr. Steven Nadler

Host Shawn Edwards sits down with world-renowned scholar and Pulitzer Prize finalist Professor Steven Nadler to unravel the enduring mystery of Spinoza’s true beliefs. We dive headfirst into the debate of whether Spinoza's "God or Nature" implies a deeply spiritual pantheism or a radical, materialistic atheism. Plus, we get an exclusive look into Professor Nadler's upcoming book, Spinoza, Atheist, where he settles the score on just how radical the 17th-century philosopher actually was. Dr. Steven Nadler is the Vilas Research Professor and the William H. Hay II Professor of Philosophy, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Director of the Institute for Research in the Humanities at UW-Madison.