Philosophy on the Fringes

In this episode, Megan and Frank discuss esotericism, as both a type of, and approach to, knowledge. Are there hidden messages in the classic texts? Can some truths only be approached indirectly? Special guest: Earl Fontanellle of The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP)-----------------------Hosts' Websites:Megan J Fritts (google.com)Frank J. Cabrera (google.com)Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com-----------------------Bibliography:Strauss, L.  - PERSECUTION AND THE ART OF WRITING | JSTORMelzer, A. - Philosophy Between the Lines: The Lost History of Esoteric WritingPhilebus, by PlatoPhaedrus, by PlatoThe Esoteric Plato – The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast (SHWEP)-----------------------Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts-------------------------Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signsLicense code: 0RHIQO3EGPUDF8Z9

In this episode, Megan and Frank discuss the secret CIA mind control program known as MKUltra. Is mind control really possible? What ethical norms should govern human subjects research? And should those rules be flexible in the face of an existential threat?To investigate some of these questions, this episode contains a guest interview with Dr. Justin Bernstein (University of Virginia). Dr. Bernstein joins the podcast to discuss questions relating to research ethics, the relationship between politics and morality, and trust in public health institutions. Hosts' Websites:Megan J Fritts (google.com)Frank J. Cabrera (google.com)Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com-----------------------Bibliography:John Lisle, "Project Mind Control: Sidney Gottlieb, the CIA, and the Tragedy of MKULTRA" (St. Martin's Press, 2025)Reciprocity, Vulnerability, and the Moral Significance of Herd Immunity - Bernstein - 2023 - Journal of Applied PhilosophyInterim Framework for COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation and Distribution in the United StatesJustin Bernstein, Athmeya Jayaram & Brian Hutler, Assessing The Liberty-Based Case Against Pandemic Lockdowns - PhilPapersBuilding trust while influencing online COVID-19 content in the social media world - PMCPolitical Realism | Internet Encyclopedia of PhilosophyWe Built Reality - Hardcover - Jason Blakely - Oxford University PressMachiavelli - The Prince | Project GutenbergRawls - A Theory of Justice: Revised Edition-----------------------Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts-------------------------Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signsLicense code: 0RHIQO3EGPUDF8Z9

In this episode, Megan and Frank reflect on the mission of Philosophy on the Fringes. Why think about "fringe" topics, such as near-death experiences, aliens, and past life memories? Are these topics any weirder than what passes for respectable in mainstream academic philosophy? And most important, does taking fringe topics seriously make one a crank? To investigate some of these questions, this episode contains a guest interview with Dr. Joshua Blanchard (Oakland University). Dr. Blanchard joins the podcast to discuss the "problem of unwelcome epistemic company", the problem of finding yourself in agreement with some morally or intellectually suspect sources.Hosts' Websites:Megan J Fritts (google.com)Frank J. Cabrera (google.com)Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com-----------------------Bibliography:From Aliens to Bigfoot: A Philosopher's Guide to the Strange Audiobook by Frank Cabrera, Megan Fritts, The Great CoursesJoshua Blanchard, The Problem of Unwelcome Epistemic CompanyNeil Levy, When Is Company Unwelcome?Adam Piovarchy, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Ignore Unwelcome Epistemic Company-----------------------Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts-------------------------Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signsLicense code: JY4SF4CQFTHS951X

In this episode, Megan and Frank investigate dreams and dream interpretation. Are dreams random hallucinations? Hidden desires? Messages from the gods? What, if anything, can dreams tell us about ourselves, and how might media shape our dreaming experiences? Thinkers discussed include: Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Artemidorus of Daldianus, Rene Descartes, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Norman Malcom, Eric Schwitzgebel, and David Lynch.Hosts' Websites:Megan J Fritts (google.com)Frank J. Cabrera (google.com)Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com-----------------------Bibliography:Genesis 41 ESV - Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dreams - Bible GatewayDaniel 2 NIV - Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream - In the - Bible GatewaySirach 34 GNT - Dreams Mean Nothing - Foolish people - Bible GatewayArtemidorus' Oneirocritica - Daniel E. Harris-McCoy - Oxford University PressPeter Thonemann - An Ancient Dream Manual: Artemidorus' The Interpretation of DreamsThe Internet Classics Archive | On Dreams by AristotleThe Internet Classics Archive | On Prophesying by Dreams by AristotleLacusCurtius • Cicero — De Divinatione: Book IPlato's Republic Book 9 [Allan Bloom's translation]Sigmund Freud: The Interpretation of DreamsWegner et al. - Dream ReboundDreaming | Norman Malcolm | Taylor & Francis eBooksScientists entered people’s dreams and got them ‘talking’ | Science | AAASHuman Behavior and Psychology | The Great Courses (Episode 14)Eric Schwitzgebel - Why did we think we dreamed in black and white?Dreaming, Philosophy of | Internet Encyclopedia of PhilosophyDescartes - Meditations on First Philosophy-----------------------Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts-------------------------Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signsLicense code: C2OWCCQD2KK3ERKO

In this episode, Megan and Frank investigate aphantasia, the inability to generate mental imagery. What can aphantasia tell us about the nature of the mind, in particular, "the hard problem" of consciousness? Should aphantasia be considered a disorder, or merely another variation in human experience? And is it possible to meaningfully talk about our inner experiences, or would that necessarily constitute a kind of private language? Thinkers discussed include: Adam Zeman, Merlin Monzel, Elizabeth Barnes, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Soren Kierkegaard.Hosts' Websites:Megan J Fritts (google.com)Frank J. Cabrera (google.com)Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com-----------------------Bibliography:Some People Can’t See Mental Images. The Consequences Are Profound | The New YorkerZeman et al. 2015 - Lives without imagery - Congenital aphantasia - PubMedZeman et al. 2020 - Aphantasia-The psychological significance of lifelong visual imagery vividness extremes - PubMedMonzel et al. 2021 - Aphantasia, dysikonesia, anauralia: call for a single term for the lack of mental imagery-Krempel & Monzel 2024 - Aphantasia and involuntary imageryMonzel et al. 2023 -Aphantasia within the framework of neurodivergenceThe Private Language Argument | Issue 58 | Philosophy NowDisability: Definitions and Models (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)The Minority Body: A Theory of Disability | Oxford Academic-----------------------Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts-------------------------Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signsLicense code: QHFDPNIRFW3UXOH3

In this episode, Megan and Frank explore the prophecies of Nostradamus. Nostradamus was a prophet--but what is a prophet? What should we make of his seemingly accurate predictions of major world events? Do prophetic powers imply that the future is determined? Or are we simply bound to an immovable fate? And what, if anything, does Nostradamus have to tell us about our futures? Thinkers discussed include: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Friedrich Nietzsche, Brian Leiter, and David Foster Wallace.Hosts' Websites:Megan J Fritts (google.com)Frank J. Cabrera (google.com)Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com-----------------------Bibliography:Nostradamus : how an obscure Renaissance astrologer became the modern prophet of doom : Gerson, Stéphane (source for biographical details, anxiety vs. fear, and WWII propaganda)The prophecies : a dual-language edition with parallel text : Nostradamus, 1503-1566Nostradamus' grim predictions for 2026 revealedDavid Foster Wallace and the Challenge of Fatalism | Blog of the APAFuture Contingents | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy The Birth of Tragedy, or Hellenism and Pessimism, by Friedrich Nietzsche.The Twilight of the Idols, by Friedrich Nietzsche.Brian Leiter- Moral Psychology with NietzscheMoral Psychology with Nietzsche | Reviews | Notre Dame Philosophical ReviewsNietzsche’s Moral and Political Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Intersubjective Accountability: Politics and Philosophy in the Left Vienna Circle-----------------------Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts-------------------------Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signsLicense code: AJWTULC6PYYNJ7BJ

In this episode, Megan and Frank investigate the Mandela Effect. Why do so many people "remember" Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s, or the Fruit of the Loom logo as containing a cornucopia, or the existence of a movie starring Sinbad as a genie? What explains these collective mis-rememberings: parallel dimensions, a government cover-up, a glitch in the matrix? Or should we just conclude that human memory is inherently unreliable? How do false memories arise, and how can we distinguish the real from the imagined? Despite our cultural obsession with preserving every memory, could there be some value in forgetting the past? Thinkers discussed include Augustine of Hippo, Friedrich Nietzsche, Edmund Husserl, and Elizabeth Loftus.Hosts' Websites:Megan J Fritts (google.com)Frank J. Cabrera (google.com)Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com-----------------------Bibliography:The Visual Mandela Effect as Evidence for Shared and Specific False Memories Across PeopleThe Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False MemoriesUnderstanding Memory and the Human Lifespan | PlusLoftus & Pickrell 1995 - The formation of false memories.Loftus & Palmer 1974 - Reconstruction of automobile destruction: An example of the interaction between language and memoryChloe Wall - Knowing (from) me, knowing (from) you: Essays on memory and testimonyTotal recall: the people who never forget | Memory | The GuardianNietzsche: 'On the Genealogy of Morality' and Other Writings-----------------------Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts-------------------------Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signsLicense code: OEYM6IYHOOWN8GSB

In this episode, Megan and Frank discuss the alternative medicine practice known as "Reiki," a kind of touch energy healing. What is Reiki, and how is it supposed to work? Is there scientific evidence of Reiki's effectiveness, or is it all just a placebo? And if so, would that really be a problem?Hosts' Websites:Megan J Fritts (google.com)Frank J. Cabrera (google.com)Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com-----------------------Bibliography:Frontiers | Does Reiki Benefit Mental Health Symptoms Above Placebo?What is Reiki? Energy Healing and Chakra Work — Lisa KernDoes Reiki Work? - The AtlanticEvidence and explanation in Cicero's On DivinationTylenol Is Popular and Safe, Yet Nobody Knows How It Works | Scientific AmericanSiegel - Predictive Analytics, Revised and UpdatedThe Phantom Pattern Problem - Gary Smith; Jay Cordes - Oxford University PressA radical new hypothesis in medicine: give patients drugs they know don’t work | VoxThe weird power of the placebo effect, explained | VoxThe Power of Mind over Body | PlusPlacebos Work—Even Without Deception | Harvard Medical SchoolHume, David: Causation | Internet Encyclopedia of PhilosophyResearchers are still working to prove that antidepressants are more effective than placeboMedical Nihilism - Jacob Stegenga - Oxford University Press-----------------------Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts-------------------------Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signsLicense code: GAXUNUBZXURBJU22

In this episode, Megan and Frank examine the Apocalypse. How should we define "the apocalypse"? How does religious apocalyptic thought apply in a secular context? What are the dangers of apocalyptic thinking? And why do we always seem to be in the end times? This episode pays special attention to the book Apocalypse Without God: Apocalyptic Thought, Ideal Politics, and the Limits of Utopian Hope by Ben Jones. Other thinkers discussed include: Machiavelli, Hobbes, Engels, and Rawls.Hosts' Websites:Megan J Fritts (google.com)Frank J. Cabrera (google.com)Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com-----------------------Bibliography:Ben Jones - Apocalypse without GodRevelation 1 NIV - Prologue - The revelation from Jesus - Bible GatewayThe Rapture Was Predicted to Happen Today. TikTok Has Some Advice. - The New York TimesAI 2027Opinion | An Interview With the Herald of the Apocalypse - The New York TimesLectures on the History of Moral Philosophy — Harvard University PressRoland Boer - Revelation and Revolution: Friedrich Engels and the Apocalypse-----------------------Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts-------------------------Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signsLicense code: ZFG8LUQL3TOVMSUP

In this episode, Megan and Frank continue their discussion of the Illuminati. Here, the focus is on the afterlife of the Bavarian Order. How did conspiracy theories involving the Illuminati arise? Why is so much pop culture full of Illuminati imagery? And are there any good reasons to believe in such conspiracy theories? Thinkers discussed include: Dostoyevsky, Kierkegaard, and Maarten Boudry.-----------------------Hosts' Websites:Megan J Fritts (google.com)Frank J. Cabrera (google.com)Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com-----------------------Bibliography:Michael Taylor- Illuminati in the US - American History Hit | AcastThe Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Illuminati (Primary source documents)CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: IlluminatiKierkegaard - The Crowd is UntruthThe Grand Inquisitor, by Feodor DostoevskyBarruel - Memoirs Illustrating The History Of JacobinismFrom Thomas Jefferson to Bishop James Madison, 31 January 1800Did an Illuminati Conspiracy Theory Help Elect Thomas Jefferson? - POLITICONesta Webster - World revolution; the plot against civilizationZionism versus Bolshevism - ChurchillBoudry, Maarten - Why We Should Be Suspicious of Conspiracy Theories. A Novel Demarcation Problem [Reddit] why do the large shadow organizations leave clues that could lead to their downfall?Megan Fritts & Frank Cabrera, Fake News and Epistemic Vice: Combating a Uniquely Noxious MarketAre Republicans and Conservatives More Likely to Believe Conspiracy Theories? - PMCThe psychological and political correlates of conspiracy theory beliefsIs Conspiracy Theorising Irrational? - Neil LevyPredictors of belief in conspiracy theoryConspiracy theory and cognitive style: a worldview-----------------------Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts-------------------------Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signsLicense code: ZILRIT8XNZAA6LYZ