Things You Can Do

The Hunt for Gollum's Conscience: An LOTRAMAPOD/Things You Can Do Crossover Event

In today's episode, Matthias Austin from the Lord of the Rings AMA Podcast and I talk about Gollum. What motivates him? What's wrong with him? Should we pity him or fear him? Or something else? Come along for a journey into the ethics of Middle Earth where we'll discuss good and evil, pain and addiction, love and pity, and incontinence. Also, Frodo and Sam's Special Boat for Boys™ . 9:30 | Illustrated Hobbit Reddit Post [https://www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/vy7vij/before_the_1966_edition_of_the_hobbit_it_wasnt/] 11:30 | Film Depiction Blog Post [https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2019/11/20/representations-of-gollum-on-screen/] 23:45 | Anti-Climacus (Soren Kierkegaard), The Sickness Unto Death (Normally I try to put the edition and page, but I got this off the internet because I couldn't find my copy of this text - it's probably in a box somewhere in the basement, but I promise a cursory google search will confirm it's factuality!) Things You Can Do, Season 1 Soundtrack [https://youtu.be/y8sgOz-Cjrk]

TYCD: Extra Credit - Utilitarianism, Drowning Hitler, Stealing the Enterprise

In today's Extra Credit, I talk a little (okay, a LOT) more about utilitarianism, some of its strengths and weaknesses, some important thinkers in its history, and my view on why the way that we currently teach it is missing something. 10:05 | RM Hare, "Ethical Theory and Utilitarianism [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/utilitarianism-and-beyond/ethical-theory-and-utilitarianism/FE61351A1594DB4C054DB7DA195C76CD]" 14:16 | JJC Smart, "Extreme and Restricted Utilitarianism," [https://philosophyintrocourse.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/smartextremerestricted.pdf] pg. 353 15:34 | Ibid., pg. 347 ***Godwin's Law [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law] says that the longer a discussion goes on, the more likely it is that someone will invoke a comparison to Hitler. It has conceptual overlap with the logical fallacy reductio ad Hitlerium. 21:32 | John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism, pg. 32 (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2001). 23:09 | Shelly Kagan, "Does Consequentialism Demand Too Much? Recent Work on the Limits of Obligation" [https://bpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/campuspress.yale.edu/dist/7/724/files/2016/01/Does-Consequentialism-Demand-Too-Much-14mwbda.pdf]

Teaser: "The Hunt for Gollum's Conscience" - a LOTR AMA Podcast/Things You Can Do Crossover Event!

Ever wished that I would hang out more with Matthias Austin, host of the acclaimed* podcast The Lord of the Rings AMA Podcast? Well, turns out - me too! Matthias and I sit down and talk about Gollum, a figure regarded with suspicion and hatred, a form cloaked in shadow and deceit. What makes him tick? How should we feel about him? What was JRR Tolkien thinking when he wrote this character? Matthias and I dive in - just the way that we do: with research, thoughtful questions, ethical conundrums, and just a little bit of trivia. Check it out on May 8 when it drops in my feed, or May 11 when it drops over at his feed [https://rss.com/podcasts/the-lord-of-the-rings-ama-podcast/] - subscribe to the Lord of the Rings AMA Podcast wherever you get your podcasts!

Dare to Use Your Own Understanding!

Today we take on the question, "Is it okay to change my values to fit in?" We talk about Utilitarian ethics, Kant's "An answer to the question: What is enlightenment?" and Rabbi Akiva bar Joseph. Also, peep the new segments: Moment of Latin and Ein Moment des Deutsche! 14:10 | An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation by Jeremy Bentham [https://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/bentham1780.pdf ] 16:05 | Ibid. 18:22 | Ibid. 37:34 | "An answer to the question: What is enlightenment?" by Immanuel Kant, trans. by Ted Humphrey [https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/kant_whatisenlightenment.pdf] 43:35 | "Muslim teen reveals father's response to removing hijab," Lamia Estatie, BBC News [https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-39628929]

Mini Ethic-sode #4: Ethical Relativism, Central Capabilities, and L'Wxana Troi

What is up with ethical relativism? How do you know what the right thing to do is when you have multiple conflicting ethical systems across different cultures? What is the Prime Directive? 13:40: Nussbaum, Creating Capabilities, pg. 18. 19:55: Gross Edward and Altman, Mark A. (1993) Captain’s Logs: The Complete Star Trek Voyages. London: Boxtree, pg 220.