On the way

FromPhilosopher's Zone

Start listening View podcast show

On the way

FromPhilosopher's Zone

ratings:

Length:

31 minutes

Released:

Feb 24, 2019

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

John Kaag is a philosopher who travelled to the Swiss Alps with the aim of putting into practice some of Nietzsche's recommendations for "becoming who you are". In his memoir Hiking With Nietzsche, what he finds is that following in the footsteps of the great German thinker requires big shoes.

Released:

Feb 24, 2019

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

The simplest questions often have the most complex answers. The Philosopher's Zone is your guide through the strange thickets of logic, metaphysics and ethics.

Skip carousel

African philosophy and the West: How do you articulate African philosophy in a Western academic environment? And what gets lost in the project of “translating” the former into the categories of the latter? by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
On the way: John Kaag is a philosopher who travelled to the Swiss Alps with the aim of putting into practice some of Nietzsche's recommendations for "becoming who you are". In his memoir Hiking With Nietzsche, what he finds is that following in the footsteps of the g by Philosopher's Zone
31 min listen
Ethics and absolutes in the classroom: The trouble with morality is that reasonable people keep disagreeing on what’s right and wrong. The science, as they say, isn’t settled. So that being the case, how can we argue for fixed moral standards to which everyone should sign up? And how should we by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
Enid Blyton—the moral of the story: She might not be in vogue these days, but for one Cambridge philosopher Enid Blyton is serious moral business. by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
Envy has its reasons: One of the seven deadly sins—which is sometimes excusable. by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
Proof and beauty: Mathematicians routinely refer to complex proofs in aesthetic terms, citing their 'elegance' or 'beauty'. This has partly to do with the social aspect of such proofs—far from being a hermetic or exclusively cerebral practice, mathematics has never strayed by Philosopher's Zone
26 min listen
Bots, bankers and big brother: Would you trust a killer robot more than a banker? This philosopher does, and has his reasons. by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
Existentialism and crisis: Existentialism entered the popular consciousness after World War 2, and for many it still has a mid-century ring to it. But how does it look look today, especially in an age where the unfolding environmental crisis calls for something more than radical hu by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
The world in a different light: Iris Murdoch’s philosophical vision: In a century that produced a dizzying array of philosophers and philosophical approaches, few philosophers were as distinctive, and stood out quite so conspicuously, as Iris Murdoch (1919-1999). by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
Stones rolling and the joy of ordinary objects: The structure of the universe is written in stone—maybe. by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
Devotion, democracy and Duterte: Is religious language incompatible with democratic politics, as philosopher Richard Rorty believed? Not in the Philippines, where religion and democracy are working together as close allies—with troubling implications for justice and human rights. by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
Philosophy for children: the why and the how: Children are natural philosophers — so why don’t we routinely teach them how to do philosophy? Some issues around that debate were aired at a recent public panel hosted by the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia. by Philosopher's Zone
49 min listen
Robot dogs dream of consciousness: What makes the human mind so distinctive? Perhaps the answer is in your dreams. by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
Autonomy, self, and substances: Substance abuse lets you say ‘it wasn’t me’. Then who was it? by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
The Reformation: What's not to like?: Is it just a coincidence that the five-hundredth anniversary of the Reformation falls on the same year that Britain is trying to 'Brexit'? by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
The shadow of eugenics: Eugenics is a science that seems to belong back in the darkest days of the 20th century. But today, 'newgenics' has people worried, as reproductive technologies make it more possible to filter out certain genetic disorders. Does this colour our notion of what constitutes a 'desirable' or 'undesirable' human subject? by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
Animals and the philosophy of friendship: Some of our best friends are animals. So where does that leave some humans we know? by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
Getting stuck: The midlife mess: Your midlife crisis: it’s more than you think. by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
Guilty or not guilty: Second in a two-part series on Indian philosophy. Buddhism teaches that the self is an illusion—so what do we do with self-conscious emotions like guilt and shame? The answer lies in an ancient series of Indian Buddhist texts: the Abhidharma. by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
A tale of two universes: Philosophy and modern physics: a case of the irrelevant versus the impractical? by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
Carlo Rovelli and his quantum problem: Carlo Rovelli on the desperate need for some conceptual engineering to dig quantum thinking out of a deep black hole. by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
On Evil: 'Evil' is one of those words that seem to convey moral clarity—we all feel we know evil when we see it. But there was once a time when 'evil' simply referred to mundane mischance or wrongdoing; its transformation into something almost metaphysical is a relatively recent turn. by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
Martin Luther King: political philosopher: We don’t routinely think of political figures as philosophers, but when but comes to Martin Luther King maybe we should. King was a deep thinker with a remarkably coherent vision of the moral life and a bracing take on some of the fundamental questions of political philosophy. by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
The value of thought experiments: Drop those test tubes, take off your lab coat, pull up a comfy chair and think your way to scientific truth. by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
Parental guidance recommended: The nature of Family could be more than a Christmas puzzle. by Philosopher's Zone
26 min listen
Awesome ethics and the art of mushroom blading: Forget the meaning of life; an ethical definition of awesome is far more important. by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
The philosophy of parenting—part 2: Brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and those weird second cousins you never talk to… how might we define family—and why it matters. by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
Rock star philosopher, and rocks: Revisiting celebrity thinker Henri Bergson, and a philosopher-geologist on rocks, science and climate change. by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
The philosophy of parenting—part 3: Every parent knows the guilt that comes from being a ‘bad parent’—after you’ve lost your temper, given in to a tantrum and spoiled your precious little angel! It might affect how the child grows up, but how can you work that out? by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen
Fuelling free will: Alfred Mele spent four years and four million dollars trying to get to the bottom of free will. He learnt that it was like petrol. by Philosopher's Zone
25 min listen

More Episodes from Philosopher's Zone

Skip carousel

Hegel, nature and the Anthropocene: Modernity has us in a terrible bind. We know that our Western habits of growth and consumption are destroying the planet, and that we need to stop exploiting the natural world for our benefit. But at the same time, our very identity as modern humans is grounded in the notion of endless growth, self-determination and the domination of nature. The work of the 18th century German philosopher GWF Hegel provides a fascinating diagnosis of our condition. Can it also offer a cure? by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
The phenomenology of love: There’s a venerable philosophical tradition devoted to explaining what love is, and it stretches back to the ancient Greeks. What philosophy hasn’t had so much to say about is the phenomenology of love – the question of what love feels like. This week we’re getting inside the experience. by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
Conspiracy theories, anti-Semitism and fun: You don’t have to be stupid to be a conspiracy theorist. Many people who buy into paranoid fantasies about stolen Presidential elections and sinister global Jewish cabals are perfectly sane, well-educated individuals. So why do they fall for these myths? This week we consider the possibility that the attraction is primarily aesthetic, and that the experience is fun. As for why the perennial focus on Jews: the answer can be found in a peculiar tension between philosophical monism and the worldview of the TV series Curb Your Enthusiasm. by Philosopher's Zone
39 min listen
Adoption and moral obligation: There are an estimated 16.2 million documented orphans worldwide. It’s a problem of crisis proportions, which makes it perhaps strange that so many of us consider adoption as more of a last resort than a first-order obligation – to be considered only if the path to having genetically-related children is blocked. This week we’re looking at the justifications for genetic preference in families, and asking how these justifications stack up against the moral duty to adopt. by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
Identity politics: Identity politics is grounded in the appeal to a stable, unified self and the authority of testimony. But this week we’re asking whether that foundation is solid, and if deconstructing it might allow for a more flexible approach to social justice. by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
Beauty: aesthetic or moral ideal?: These days, beauty is a moral imperative, an ideal to live by, and one according to which we judge ourselves and others. As a result, we increasingly shape our identities around our bodies – and not just our actual bodies with their lumps and bumps, but our imaginary future bodies: thin, smooth and firm. Gradually our notion of the good life comes to be centred on physical appearance, and this causes a range of harms which until now, philosophers have not taken seriously enough. by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
Rupture and hope: In a world shaken by war, pandemic and climate crisis, hope is a precious resource. It can be fragile, fleeting and hard to find. But what exactly does hope mean? It has clear Christian overtones, and a venerable theological tradition behind it. This week we're talking about the ways in which the theological informs the secular, and exploring how hope plays out in the political arena. We also hear a personal story of rupture and trauma, and a perspective on hope that accommodates the tunnel as well as the light at the end. by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
Sex, death and chilli sauce: In order to come to terms with death, we need to come to terms with sex – but this can involve a double bind for women. Is the age-old association of women with death and sexuality helpful or harmful? And what does this all have to do with chilli sauce? by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
Philosophy and myth: Since the Enlightenment, philosophy has come to regard myth as something of an embarrassment – and today, we often tend to view “myth” as synonymous with “falsehood”, or at least as a throwback to pre-rational, superstitious human culture. Myths are also held to be suspect in political theory, where the memory of "blood and soil" Nazi ideology is still fresh. Is there a role for myth in secular democratic politics, and in modern philosophy? by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
The predicament of existence: Most of us agree that pain is part of life, that none of us can escape it, and that death comes for all of us in the end. And yet many of us feel that life is worth it; that the pleasure of life outweighs the suffering. Anti-natalist philosophy takes a different view. The anti-natalist believes that pain outweighs pleasure, so much so that it's morally wrong to bring a child into the world. What follows from this? Should we not only abstain from procreation but seek to stop non-human animals from doing the same? What about the innate biological drive to reproduce? And are happy people the victims of false consciousness? by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
Moral beauty and art: Movies and TV series increasingly feature leading characters that are morally repugnant, and yet we respond positively to their charisma. Why do we like them so much on screen? And is our emotional investment in their stories indicative of moral failure on our own part? This week we're exploring ideas of moral beauty, moral ugliness, and the strange ways in which artists - even in apparently morally neutral fields like architecture - can play with our notions of good and evil. by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
Philosophers in love: Philosophy can sometimes be an exercise in abstract, "pure" reason, unsullied by the demands of the body or the contingencies of history. But this week we're placing history and corporeality front and centre, with a look at the intimate lives of four eminent philosophers, and asking how their private entanglements shaped their public work. by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
The ethics of uterus transplantation: If a woman wants to experience pregnancy but can't, the answer could be a uterus transplant. The technology is promising, if still very new — but how ethically sound is it? by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
Extremism: Extremism is a slippery concept. Its connotations are perjorative but at a glance, it can be difficult to see what differentiates extremism from more acceptable forms of fringe belief such as radicalism. Is it possible to be an extremist in the name of a morally worthy cause? and how should we deal with extremists in our midst? by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
Trans-national adoption and "blending in": At the end of the Korean War in 1953, the government launched an adoption program for orphans, most of whom went to white families in the USA and western Europe. Since then, an estimated 200,000 South Korean children have been adopted to Western countries. This week’s guest has conducted field research to explore their experience of the “trans-racial adoption paradox”: the feeling of belonging culturally while embodying difference, and the challenges faced by adopted people of colour navigating predominantly white communities and social worlds. by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
Efficiency, productivity, excess: These days we’re constantly pushed to be more efficient – at work, of course, but also in our leisure pursuits and even while we sleep (“hacking your sleep cycle” to extract maximum benefit from the nocturnal hours is a staple of wellness magazine articles). How did we get here? And how can we get back to a state that’s less pressured, a state governed by principles other than accumulation and profit? by Philosopher's Zone
41 min listen
Consciousness and contemplation: What is consciousness? Why do we have it? How can the physical stuff of the world give rise to something as mysterious as first-person experience? Philosophy, science and contemplative traditions have all struggled with these questions - and this week, we're talking about a new Centre for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies that brings these disciplines together. by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
Art and climate: Our current climate crisis is, as much as anything else, a crisis of communication. Artists have a unique opportunity to step in and deliver environmental messages in a way that speaks to the emotions and the gut. And in doing this, they're reconfiguring the conceptual map of what art is supposed to be. Can a public sleepover in a town hall to raise awareness of disaster preparedness be called “art”? And what role do mystery and aesthetics play in this sort of work? by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
China, Confucius and the courtyard: For more than three millennia, most buildings in China were configured around a central courtyard. This week’s guest believes that the courtyard helps us to understand Chinese society and culture, as well as Confucian philosophy. Today, with increasing numbers of people living in urban apartment buildings, the courtyard has become something of a period piece. What does this tell us about Chinese thought and identity in the modern world? by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
Stuff: Many of us these days are buried beneath an avalanche of stuff – everyday objects that seem to proliferate in the cupboard while our back is turned. Our obsession with material technology infects our view of human history, as many anthropologists judge the progress of past civilisations on the basis of how much stuff they generated, or “failed” to generate. And the production of stuff threatens our future, with the looming catastrophe of climate change and the growing tide of microplastics. by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
What we talk about when we talk about race: The 19th century notion of race as something rooted in biology and genetics is a well-debunked idea whose time has passed. But the more recent liberal conception of race as a social construct fails to acknowledge the ways in which race is lived in and through the body (something the COVID pandemic has thrown into sharp relief). by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
The death of analytic philosophy?: With profound challenges posed by feminism, postcolonialism and critical race theory, could the long-heralded demise of analytic philosophy finally be on the horizon? And what exactly do we mean when we talk about analytic philosophy anyway – is it a science, a tradition or little more than a style? by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
Restlessness: Feeling a little distracted lately? Most of us are, and not just lately. We tend to view withering attention spans and the compulsion to seek change for its own sake as curses of the social media era, but restless dissatisfaction has been the subject of philosophical inquiry for centuries. by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen
Structural injustice and individual responsibility: Who is responsible for structural injustice? The answer is “practically everybody” - but that can be just another way of saying “effectively nobody”. So what responsibility do individuals bear for structural injustice? And how can this responsibility be acted upon, without falling into practices of blaming and shaming? by Philosopher's Zone
28 min listen

Related podcast episodes

Skip carousel

Andrew Monaghan, "Russian Grand Strategy in the Era of Global Power Competition" (Manchester UP, 2022): An interview with Andrew Monaghan by New Books in Political Science
71 min listen
The Signal and The Noise: On this week's show, we share two of our favorite interviews. Motley Fool CEO Tom Gardner talks Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Tesla with best-selling author David Kirkpatrick. And we revisit our interview with writer and statistician Nate Silver,... by Motley Fool Money
40 min listen
McKenzie Wark, "General Intellects: Twenty-One Thinkers for the Twenty-First Century" (Verso, 2017): McKenzie Wark’s new book offers 21 focused studies of thinkers working in a wide range of fields who are worth your attention... by New Books in Buddhist Studies
64 min listen
Jared Diamond on the State of the World Environment: Jared Diamond on the State of the World Environment by Science Talk
24 min listen
Ignorance: Strategic ignorance and knowledge resistance. by Thinking Allowed
28 min listen
144. Antonio Damasio (neuroscientist & philosopher) – Where is My Mind?: Where do cultures come from? The answer is as old as life itself. by Think Again – a Big Think Podcast
64 min listen
Tim Wu and Madeleine Brand | The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads by ALOUD @ Los Angeles Public Library
81 min listen
#274 - A Theory of Everyone: A Dialogue with Michael Muthukrishna by Converging Dialogues
97 min listen
#161 — Rise & Fall: A Conversation with Jared Diamond by Making Sense with Sam Harris
43 min listen
How to Use Analytics to Make Better Social Media Decisions: Neil Hoyne, the Chief Measurement Strategist at Google, joins the Social Pros podcast to talk about the untapped potential of data and how marketers and social pros alike can leverage it. Huge thanks to our amazing sponsors for helping us make this... by Social Pros Podcast
42 min listen
The Meaning of Life with Martin Hägglund: Yeah, we’re going there. In one of our mailbag episodes, Chris Hayes joked about doing an hourlong meditation on mortality. Surprisingly, more than a few of you spoke up in favor of the idea, and one of our #WITHpod listeners suggested checking out a book called “This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom” by philosopher Martin Hägglund. In his book, Hägglund takes on some of the most fundamental questions we face if, in fact, this one life is all we have. Say there’s no afterlife - what does it then mean to mourn, to love, and to be a human on this planet? What do we owe each other and what do we owe ourselves? So this week, we look at one of the biggest and scariest and, depending how you look at it, most beautiful questions yet: what if this is it? RELATED READING: This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom by Martin Hägglund Hey Chicago! Grab the last few standing room only tickets for our November 12th event with Nikole Hannah-Jone by Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast
51 min listen
L.A. Paul on Vampires, Life Choices, and Transformation: L.A. Paul talks about her book Transformative Experience with host Russ Roberts. She explores the uncertainties surrounding the transformative experiences that we choose and that happen to us without choosing. How should we think about the morality and personal impact of these kinds of experiences, especially when some decisions are very hard or impossible to reverse? Examples include becoming a vampire, having children, religion, and other life experiences and choices. by EconTalk
75 min listen
105. Are You an Old Master, or a Young Genius? David W. Galenson.: David W. Galenson is an economics professor at The University of Chicago. He's also a visiting professor at other schools, such as MIT. David is an unusual economist in that he studies the economics of art. Have you ever noticed how some young... by Love Your Work
63 min listen
Will Storr on why you are not yourself by The Gray Area with Sean Illing
88 min listen
Dr. Jay Garfield on Healthy Realities by A Skeptic's Path to Enlightenment
51 min listen
Awakening your genius with Ozan Varol by The Keith Law Show
36 min listen
CM 087: Steven Sloman on the Knowledge Illusion: Few of us realize how dependent we are on the people and objects around us for our knowledge. But Steven Sloman does. He reveals that we are constantly accessing expertise stored in our communities, our technologies, and in our environment. In fact, by Curious Minds at Work
34 min listen
TMBA594: Predictions About the Near Future - The Sovereign Individual: This week's episode is another installment of "The Re-Readables", a series in which we revisit some of our favorite business books to find out if they stand the test of time. Greg Gerber has become something of a regular contributor here on the Podcast. Greg is the founder of BitLift, and he is our go-to guy for all things blockchain and cryptocurrency. Greg joins us this week to talk about a book that has become eerily prescient, particularly among the cryptocurrency crowd. The Sovereign Individual by James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg was published back in 1997, but the insights and topics in the book were not only far ahead of their time, but they remain eerily relevant today. In today's podcast, you'll hear our thoughts on why this book is still so important, why it's important for entrepreneurs to be able to see into the future, and how we can consider the ideas within The Sovereign Individual w by Tropical MBA: Entrepreneurship & Founder Lifestyle
63 min listen
Kevin Kelly - The Inevitable: Kevin Kelly is the founding executive editor of Wired magazine, and a former editor/publisher of the Whole Earth Review. He has also been a writer, photographer, conservationist, and student of Asian and digital culture.WATCH FOR FREE: https://londonreal by London Real
138 min listen
Genetics and Morality: Professor Sandel considers how we should use our ever-increasing scientific knowledge. by The Reith Lectures
43 min listen
John Maynard Keynes and The Price of Peace: Author Zachary Carter discusses the themes behind his new book — “The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes.” As one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century, Keynes continues to have broad influence... by Capital Ideas Investing Podcast
46 min listen
The Meritocracy Trap by Slate Money
53 min listen
How to Be Great at Your Job with Justin Kerr: On today’s episode, I spent time with Justin Kerr. Justin is a self-described efficiency monster, He is the author of the rogue corporate playbooks How to Write an Email and How to Be a Boss. He is also the mouthpiece of the MR CORPO podcast and has been by A Productive Conversation
41 min listen
Simon Critchley, "Bald: 35 Philosophical Short Cuts" (Yale UP, 2021): An interview with Simon Critchley by New Books in Critical Theory
67 min listen
122. David Eagleman (neuroscientist) – Your Creative Brain: Bending, breaking, & blending: How humans remake the world. Neuroscientist David Eagleman on creativity. by Think Again – a Big Think Podcast
47 min listen
469 - Robert Wright (Author and Journalist): Robert Wright is an American journalist and author who writes about science, history, politics, and religion. He has written five books: Three Scientists and Their Gods: Looking for Meaning in an Age of... by Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan
118 min listen
PNTV: The Inner Citadel by Pierre Hadot: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius by Heroic with Brian Johnson | Activate Your Best. Every Day.
17 min listen
Mark Solms - The Hidden Spring.: In today’s episode, Mark Solms generously summarizes his latest book “The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness” and highlights -in ten clear principals- his thoughts. He shows us how the source of consciousness is deeply bound up wit... by Talks On Psychoanalysis
48 min listen
They: What Muslims and Non-Muslims Get Wrong About Each Other, Sarfraz Manzoor and Ros Urwin: In this week's episode Sarfraz Manzoor speaks to Ros Urwin about his investigative journey across Britain in search of the roots of division - from the fear that Islam promotes violence, to the suspicion that Muslims wish to live segregated lives,... by Intelligence Squared
46 min listen
444 - Eric Weiner (Author of The Socrates Express): Eric Weiner is a popular speaker and author of the New York Times bestseller The Geography of Bliss, Man Seeks God, The Geography of Genius and The Socrates Express. He is a former foreign correspondent for NPR and the author of numerous articles... by Tangentially Speaking with Christopher Ryan
93 min listen

Discover this podcast and so much more

On the way

On the way

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from Philosopher's Zone

Related podcast episodes