The Untitled Philosophy Podcast

In this episode David and I discus the importance of relationships in life and how they can not only give meaning, but give you something to strive towards and live for.

This week David and I explore some possible versions of the meaning of life. Well, to be clear, we are looking at Taylor, Nietzsche and Sartre. Over the next few podcasts we will be covering a few other versions and finally give you our own version of meaning in life. 

Today's episode is all about existence and pain (suffering).  Philosophers like David Benatar have argued that coming into existence  is always going to be a harm. Life is filled with pleasures, but the  pains are always going to be much worse. If this is the case, are we  always doing something morally wrong when we bring new people into the  world? Can we logically say that we are harming people by creating them  or harming future possible people that could be created? David and I try  to tackle these problems while still holding on to our sanity.

What is a vaccine passport? Well, we don't exactly know yet. It is some  kind of identification to prove you are vaccinated, but what form that  will take is unclear. In this episode David and I try to figure out  exactly what vaccine passports are, what they will look like and (most importantly) what the pros and cons of implementing them are.

In this episode David and I discuss the question 'why have children'  through the lens presented by Christine Overall in her book "Why Have  Children? The Ethical Debate". The main takeaway is that we really don't  have any solid reason (be they utilitarian or deontological) to have  children. This by no means results in us saying don't have kids, but it  does question the societal pressure to procreate.

David and I talk a little about this rather influential and popular philosophical argument as to why abortion is (normally) immoral. We also discuss a few other popular case examples including the pod people and the famous violinist created by Judith Thompson. Hope you enjoy this shorter episode! Note: Judith Jarvis Thompson - A Defense of Abortion   Don Marquis - Why Abortion is Immoral

Two white guys talk about bodily autonomy. That's it. Recently the state of Mississippi had proposed some rather interesting and potentially dangerous legislation on the topic of abortion which got us thinking. In this episode, David and I discuss the many laws and myths that surround the abortion debate in North America that are still present to this day. Our focus is not on any one side, rather the myths that act as dividing lines.

David and I discuss the myths and origins behind superheros, what they  can tell us about our moral ideals and how quickly a hero can become a  villain. Want to feel old? Miss the good old days? This episode is a  blast from the past in the worst kinds of ways.

Critical thinking, wrestling and hockey? Can one episode really pack so  much in? This week David and I discuss a new way to look at critical  thinking in relation to media literacy. The SIFT method has some very  positive upside for the casual learner, but can only take you so far.  The SIFT method, at its core, is a defense against all the online fake  news, misinformation and rabbit holes we call find ourselves bombarded  with.

There is more and more being said on a daily basis about the state of  the 2021 Olympics and the Japanese preparedness (or lack there of), so  David and I thought it best to go over some of the clear public health  concerns at play. What reasons are there to go forward with the Tokyo  Olympics and do those reasons outweigh general public health concerns?