Episode 227: A Terrible Master (David Foster Wallace's "This Is Water").
Very Bad Wizards21 Joulu 2021

Episode 227: A Terrible Master (David Foster Wallace's "This Is Water").

David and Tamler dive into David Foster Wallace's celebrated and surprisingly earnest Kenyon College commencement speech "This is Water". How can we escape the prison and prism of our (literally) self-centered perspective? Can we choose to adjust our natural default settings, take a break from our running inner monologue, and pay attention to what's in front of us right now? Is DFW appealing to Buddhist ideas or something more general that you can be found across all spiritual traditions?

Plus we ask the AI ethics program "Ask Delphi" some tough moral questions (spoiler alert: "just the tip" is "rude"), and almost get into a big fight about the potential of AI ethical robots (but we're saving that argument for a future episode).

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Episode 63: Stalemates and Closets (with Sam Harris)

Episode 63: Stalemates and Closets (with Sam Harris)

Sam Harris gets back in the VBW ring for another round on moral responsibility, ethical theories, and the grounds for our obligations to other people. Are we at a genuine stalemate when it comes to bl...

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Episode 62: Brain Jizz and "Black Mirror"

Episode 62: Brain Jizz and "Black Mirror"

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Episode 61: Putting a Little Meaning in Your Life

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19 Tammi 20151h 15min

Episode 60: Drunk on Intuitions

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Dave and Tamler argue some more about the role of emotion and intuition in blame judgments, and then offer some moral psychology-related recommendations for your New Year's viewing and reading pleasur...

2 Tammi 20151h 12min

Episode 59: Tumors All the Way Down (With Sam Harris)

Episode 59: Tumors All the Way Down (With Sam Harris)

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16 Joulu 20142h 32min

Episode 58: Do the Right Thing (with Yoel Inbar)

Episode 58: Do the Right Thing (with Yoel Inbar)

Film critic, VBW regular, and social psychologist Yoel Inbar joins David and Tamler to talk about Spike Lee's controversial 1989 film, Do the Right Thing, a movie about a day in the life of a small Br...

2 Joulu 20141h 30min

Episode 57: Free Willie

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18 Marras 201445min

Episode 56: Moral Heroes and Drunk Utilitarians

Episode 56: Moral Heroes and Drunk Utilitarians

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