The Insightful Thinkers Podcast

Replicability is the hallmark of science. Science values replication so much that as long a study is sufficiently replicated, the claims it makes are considered valid even if they conflict with accepted theories. We trust scientific findings because experiments repeated under the same conditions produce the same results. Or do they?   https://www.insightfulthinkersmedia.com/   References:    Bausell, R. B. (2021). The problem with science the reproducibility crisis and what to do about it. Oxford University Press.   Fidler, Fiona and John Wilcox, "Reproducibility of Scientific Results", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2021 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).   Romero, F. (2019). Philosophy of Science and The Replicability Crisis.

We’ve all heard about ambition, but who can definitively say they know what it is? Some philosophers have seen ambition as virtuous, some have seen it as pernicious. Does ambition merely produce outward success with only little personal fulfillment or are there are positive outcomes of ambition? This episode discusses scientific research on the causes and consequences of ambition.   https://www.insightfulthinkersmedia.com/   References:    Judge, T. A., & Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D. (2012). On the value of aiming high: The causes and consequences of ambition. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(4), 758–775.

If emotions are universal, morality would be objective since everyone would feel a similar way about what is good and bad. Beauty, also, would no longer be in the eye of the beholder, since beautiful things would elicit similar reactions universally. If, conversely, human emotions are purely dependent on one’s cultural group, then ethics and aesthetics are relative and subjective. This episode discusses what is so often the direct output of emotions: facial expressions. What has science discovered in this area? Part 2 of a 2-part series.   https://www.insightfulthinkersmedia.com/   References:    Griffiths, P. E. (2003). Emotions. In S. P. Stich & T. A. Warfield (Eds.), The Blackwell guide to philosophy of mind (pp. 256–309). Blackwell.   Hwang, H., & Matsumoto, D. (2016). In M. K. Mandal & A. Awasthi (Eds.), Understanding facial expressions in communication (pp. 19–57). Springer.

If emotions are universal, morality would be objective since everyone would feel a similar way about what is good and bad. Beauty, also, would no longer be in the eye of the beholder, since beautiful things would elicit similar reactions universally. If, conversely, human emotions are purely dependent on one’s cultural group, then ethics and aesthetics are relative and subjective. This episode discusses what is so often the direct output of emotions: facial expressions. Where did research into this area begin? Part 1 of a 2-part series.   https://www.insightfulthinkersmedia.com/   References:    Griffiths, P. E. (2003). Emotions. In S. P. Stich & T. A. Warfield (Eds.), The Blackwell guide to philosophy of mind (pp. 256–309). Blackwell.   Hwang, H., & Matsumoto, D. (2016). In M. K. Mandal & A. Awasthi (Eds.), Understanding facial expressions in communication (pp. 19–57). Springer

In the early to mid 1900s, behaviorism dominated psychology in the United States. Seeking to make psychology more scientific and objective, behaviorists sought to study only observable behaviors, completely ignoring the mind’s role in generating these behaviors. However, with the dawn of the cognitive revolution in the 1950s, it soon became clear that the mind not only can, but must, be considered in the study of psychology.   https://www.insightfulthinkersmedia.com/   References:    Gardner, H. (1998). The mind's new science: a history of the cognitive revolution. Basic Books.   Greenwood. (2015). A Conceptual History of Psychology. Cambridge University Press.   Mazur, J. E. (2017). Learning and behavior. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.   Miller, G. A. (2003). The cognitive revolution: a historical perspective. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7(3), 141–144.   Mischel, W. (2020). Psychology. Encyclopedia Britannica.  

Joseph Goebbels, the propaganda minister of Nazi Germany, once said, “With sufficient repetition and a psychological understanding of the people concerned, it would not be impossible to prove that a square is, in fact, a circle." Noam Chomsky argues that propaganda like this is, by no means, unique to Nazi Germany. This episode discusses Chomsky’s perspective on the use of propaganda in the U.S. media.   https://www.insightfulthinkersmedia.com/   References:    Barsamian, D., & Chomsky, N. (2015). Propaganda and the public mind conversations with Noam Chonsky. Pluto Press.   Benkler, Y., Faris, R., & Roberts, H. (2018). Network propaganda: manipulation, disinformation, and radicalization in American politics. Oxford University Press.   Chomsky, N. (2006). Media control: the spectacular achievements of propaganda. Seven Stories Press.   Mullen, A., & Klaehn, J. (2010). The Herman-Chomsky Propaganda Model: A Critical Approach to Analysing Mass Media Behaviour. Sociology Compass, 4(4), 215–229.

We often hear talk about the “Dark Ages.” However, it is a misconception that a thousand-year period of stagnation and obscurity ever existed. Where did the term originate and how did it come to infiltrate the global vernacular?   https://www.insightfulthinkersmedia.com/   References:    Captivating History (2019). The Misconception of the Dark Ages. In The Dark Ages: A Captivating Guide to the Period Between the Fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance.   Falk, S. (2020). Prologue: The Mystery Manuscript. In The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Science. New York, NY : W.W. Norton & Company.   Mommsen, T.E. (1942). Petrarch’s Conception of the 'Dark Ages.' Speculum, 17(2). 226-242.   Nelson, J.L. (2007). The Dark Ages. History Workshop Journal, 63, 191-201.  

It is difficult to understand how other species perceive the world since we humans see the world in our own way. Though we may never fully grasp how other species perceive the world, we can gain insights from scientific research. What does research tell us about how dolphins "see" things?   https://www.insightfulthinkersmedia.com/   References:    Kremers, D., Célérier, A., Schaal, B., Campagna, S., Trabalon, M., Böye, M., . . . Lemasson, A. (2016). Sensory Perception in Cetaceans: Part I—Current Knowledge about Dolphin Senses as a Representative Species. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 4.

In 1896, the two most influential thinkers in the field of developmental psychology were born. Seeking to understand the development of the human mind, both Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky revolutionized the field despite their opposing views surrounding a key question: To what extent do social factors play a role in the development of the mind?   https://www.insightfulthinkersmedia.com/   References:    Burner, J. (1997). Celebrating Divergence: Piaget and Vygotsky. Human Development, 40(2), 63–73.   Derry, J. (2013). Vygotsky and Piaget: A case of different Philosophies. In Vygotsky, philosophy, and education (pp. 68–84). Wiley Blackwell.   DeVries, R. (2000). Vygotsky, Piaget, and Education: a reciprocal assimilation of theories and educational practices. New Ideas in Psychology, 18(2-3), 187–213.   Lilienfeld, S. O., Lynn, S. J., Namy, L. L., & Woolf, N. J. (2011). Human Development. In Psychology: from inquiry to understanding (2nd ed., pp. 358–403). Pearson.   Lourenço, O. (2012). Piaget and Vygotsky: Many resemblances, and a crucial difference. New Ideas in Psychology, 30(3), 281–295.   Semmar, Y., & Al-Thani, T. (2015). Piagetian and Vygotskian Approaches to Cognitive Development in the Kindergarten Classroom. Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology, 5(2).   Tenzer, A. (1990). Vygotsky and Piaget. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 26(1), 46–52.

Progressivism, a belief in new ideas, modern methods and change, arises in educational contexts when there is a discrepancy between the existing educational system and the perceived needs of the system. At this point, ideas begin to emerge to move education forward. What are these ides, who had them, and how have they been applied to educational practices? https://www.insightfulthinkersmedia.com/ References: Darling, J., Nordenbo, S. E. (2010). Progressivism. In N. Blake, P. Smeyers, R. Smith, P. Standish (Eds.), The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Education (pp. 288–308). Blackwell. Thomas, G. (2021). Education: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.