PHILOSOPHY FOR THE REAL WORLD

Episode 9. A troubling business ethics issue. Potemkin terrorism, or How the information industry is playing us.

As explained in Episode 3, the two warring tribes narrative that virtually the entire news/information/opinion industry promotes is false. Companies do this because it’s profitable. This episode explains the mechanism they use—Potemkin terrorism.

Episode 8. Absorbing a distorted view of history without noticing it.

Can simple, ordinary objects in our environment be giving us a distorted view of history? Are there any practical, negative impacts?

Episode 7. A biological basis to ethics: flourishing.

One of the simplest, most practical, and objective approaches to ethics is actually based in biology–the concept of flourishing. This episode looks at Martha Nussbaum’s explanation of the concept.

Episode 6. Our problem isn’t voter fraud, it’s voter ignorance and incompetence.

This is the first episode to look at a practical question related to social and political philosophy. We look at “social contract theory” and an interesting question it raises about who should be entitled to vote.

Episode 5. Saint Augustine. Vice contains its own punishment.

Episode 2 described the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates’ idea that “vice harms the doer.” This episode describes the remarkably similar idea advanced by the fourth century Christian thinker Saint Augustine that vice contains its own punishment.