WHY? Philosophical Discussions About Everyday Life

Host Jack Russell Weinstein interviews Michael Rosen, a distinguished professor of Ethics and Politics at Harvard University and author of Dignity: Its History and Meaning. Their conversation explores the multifaceted nature of dignity, tracing its historical evolution and examining its significance in contemporary discourse. Rosen, who specializes in political theory and the history of ideas, shares his insights on how dignity shapes our understanding of ethics, rights, and social justice. Throughout the discussion, Jack and Michael engage with various philosophical traditions, emphasizing the importance of dignity in both individual lives and collective society.

Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Marina McCoy, professor of philosophy at Boston College. She is the author of the books Plato on the Rhetoric of Philosophers and Sophists (Cambridge University Press, 2007) , Wounded Heroes: Vulnerability as a Virtue in Ancient Greek Literature and Philosophy (Oxford U Press, 2013), and Image and Argument in Plato’s Republic (SUNY, 2020). Her interests range from ancient philosophy to ethics and the philosophy of mass incarceration and environmental ethics.

Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Cecile Fabre, political philosopher, and Senior Research Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. She is also Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of Oxford, and affiliated with the Faculty of Philosophy, the Department of Politics and International Relations, and Nuffield College, Oxford. Her research interests are in theories of distributive justice; the philosophy of democracy; just war theory; the ethics of foreign policy, with particular focus on the ethics of economic statecraft and the ethics of espionage.

Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Simon Philip Walter May, visiting professor of philosophy at King's College, London, and at Birkbeck College, University of London. May is the author of "Love: A History," published by Yale University Press, 2011.

If you haven't already listened to the June episode, you may need to refresh your download to get the long version. The shorter broadcast version was initially posted.

Jack visits with Adam Lovett, the author of "Democratic Failures and the Ethics of Democracy." (University of Pennsylvania Press) Lovett is a lecturer at Australian Catholic University in the School of Philosophy.

Emily McTernan, author of On Taking Offence, talks about the role of being offended in modern life.

Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Luke William Hunt. Hunt is a former FBI agent, and currently an associate professor at University of Alabama, Department of Philosophy. His most recent book is "Police Deception and Dishonesty – The Logic of Lying."

Jack visits with Mark Robert Rank, author of the forthcoming book, The Random Factor: How Chance and Luck Profoundly Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us."What shapes our economic fortunes? Perhaps what immediately comes to mind are attributes such as education, skills or labour-market experience. Demographics such as age and your parents’ socioeconomic status might also be considered."Yet surprisingly, according to a wide range of social scientists, these factors are only able to explain about 35 per cent of the variance in earnings. In other words, 65 per cent of the differences in individual income defy our standard assumptions."— Quote from an essay by Dr. Rank.

“Should we abolish prisons?” Host Dr. Jack Russell Weinstein discusses that with Tommie Shelby, Caldwell Titcomb Professor of African and African American Studies and of Philosophy at Harvard University.