Episode 127: Moral Luck
Very Bad Wizards14 Nov 2017

Episode 127: Moral Luck

David and Tamler dip back into the Thomas Nagel well, and discuss the problem of "moral luck." Why do we blame drunk drivers who hit someone more than drunk drivers who make it home OK? Why do we judge people for things that are beyond their control (when we have strong intuitions that uncontrollable acts don't deserve blame)? Does moral luck ultimately swallow all of our behavior? Can we truly embrace the view that "actions are events and people are things" or are we stuck with another unsolvable clash of competing perspectives (just like the problem of absurdity)?

Plus, Dave exposes himself on the Partially Examined Life, Tamler self-censors, and somehow we discuss Hollywood harassment and stand-up comedy without mentioning Louis CK. (But only because we recorded this episode about five hours before the NY Times story broke.)

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Episoder(335)

Episode 322: A Theater of Simultaneous Possibilities (William James' "The Stream of Thought")

Episode 322: A Theater of Simultaneous Possibilities (William James' "The Stream of Thought")

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Episode 321: The Journey Begins (Plus Blind Ranking Philosophers)

Episode 321: The Journey Begins (Plus Blind Ranking Philosophers)

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Episode 320: Forgive Me (Kafka's "A Hunger Artist")

Episode 320: Forgive Me (Kafka's "A Hunger Artist")

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Episode 319: The Shadow of the Object (Freud's "Mourning and Melancholia")

Episode 319: The Shadow of the Object (Freud's "Mourning and Melancholia")

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Episode 318: A PTA Meeting

Episode 318: A PTA Meeting

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Episode 317: For Shame

Episode 317: For Shame

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30 Sep 20251h 23min

Episode 316: A Four-Letter Man (Hemingway's "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber")

Episode 316: A Four-Letter Man (Hemingway's "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber")

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Episode 315: Ceaseless Striving (Schopenhauer's Pessimism)

Episode 315: Ceaseless Striving (Schopenhauer's Pessimism)

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