Episode 290: Blinded by the Light (Plato's Cave Pt. 2)

Episode 290: Blinded by the Light (Plato's Cave Pt. 2)

David and Tamler continue their discussion of Plato's allegory of the cave. We talk about the connections with mystical traditions including Gnosticism, Sufism, and Buddhist paths to awakening. We also dig deeper into what Socrates calls 'dialectic' – what allows this method to journey towards the first principle (the Form of the Good) and then double back to justify the initial assumptions made at the start? And if only philosophers can embark on this journey, why does everyone think of them as useless and corrupt?

Plus we look at some research that attempts to provide empirical support for 'terror management theory' which makes us yearn for the unfalsifiability of Ernest Becker's The Denial of Death.

Links

Schimel, J., Hayes, J., Williams, T., & Jahrig, J. (2007). Is death really the worm at the core? Converging evidence that worldview threat increases death-thought accessibility. Journal of personality and social psychology, 92(5), 789. [researchgate.net]

Many Labs 4: Failure to replicate Mortality Salience Effect With and Without Original Author Involvement [ucpress.edu]

Neoplatonism [wikipedia.org]

Neoplatonism and Gnosticism [wikipedia.org]

Plato's Unwritten Doctrines [wikipedia.org]

Episoder(336)

Episode 8: Dishonesty, Character, and Dan Ariely

Episode 8: Dishonesty, Character, and Dan Ariely

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Episode 7: Psychopaths and Utilitarians Pt. 2 (Now with more poo poo)

Episode 7: Psychopaths and Utilitarians Pt. 2 (Now with more poo poo)

After a clip from The Third Man, Dave and Tamler continue their discussion from Episode 6 on Ted Bundy, utilitarians, and trolley problems. They also talk about Tamler's TED talk envy, inappropriate a...

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Episode 6: Trolleys, Utilitarians, and Psychopaths (Part 1)

Episode 6: Trolleys, Utilitarians, and Psychopaths (Part 1)

Tamler contemplates ending it all because he can't get 'Call Me Maybe' out of his head, and Dave doesn't try to talk him out of it. This is followed by a discussion about drones, psychopaths, Canadian...

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Episode 5: Revenge, Pt. 2: The Revenge

Episode 5: Revenge, Pt. 2: The Revenge

Dave and Tamler continue their discussion about their favorite topic. They talk about the evolutionary origins of retributive behavior, cross-cultural differences in revenge norms, and the proportion...

8 Okt 20121h 5min

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Episode 4: Revenge, Pt. 1

Dave allows Tamler to rant about Sam Harris's strawman attacks on moral relativism before launching into discussion about revenge, justice, True Grit, and Michael Dukakis. Though they differ on many i...

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Episode 3: "We believe in nothing!" (Cultural diversity, relativism, and moral truth)

Episode 3: "We believe in nothing!" (Cultural diversity, relativism, and moral truth)

Tamler and Dave discuss recent work in philosophy and psychology about the differences in moral values and practices across cultures. We talk about the implications of moral diversity: does it mean t...

8 Sep 20121h 1min

Episode 2: The "Dangerous Truth" about Free Will (Free Will and Morality, Pt. 2)

Episode 2: The "Dangerous Truth" about Free Will (Free Will and Morality, Pt. 2)

Tamler and David discuss whether giving up our belief in free will makes us more likely to abandon our moral standards. Links "You Can't Handle the Truth!" Jesse Bering "Scientists say free will pro...

1 Sep 20121h 13min

Episode 1: Brains, Robots, and Free Will (Free Will and Morality Pt. 1)

Episode 1: Brains, Robots, and Free Will (Free Will and Morality Pt. 1)

Dave and Tamler start out talking about the new wave of skepticism about free will and moral responsibility in the popular press from people like Sam Harris and Jerry Coyne. Neuroscience figures hea...

30 Aug 20121h 10min

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