Tag Archives: Philosophy

Scholars’ Circle – Being informed in Democratic Societies -/- What is Love? – December 29 , 2019

First, why do people seem to know so little about politics? And what does that mean for democracy? We speak with Arthur Lupia author of Uninformed: Why People Know So Little About Politics and What We Can Do About It.[ dur: 27 mins. ]

Finally, what is love? Is it emotional? Is it biological? Can it be summoned by rational decision and how does it play out in society? [ dur: 28 mins. ]

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Propaganda in democratic society -/- Silencing science, how and why – December 31, 2017

First, how does propaganda work, particularly in democratic settings? This is part 1 of our 2 part interview with Professor Jason Stanley. ( Hear Part 2 )[ dur: 26 mins. ]

  • Jason Stanley is Professor of Philosophy at Yale University. He is the author of How Propaganda Works , Know How and Knowledge and Practical Interests (Lines of Thought)

Then, what are the ways cience is being silenced? And to what end? We gain insight from Professor Shaun Hendy. [ dur: 32 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit:  TheBigQ

  • Shaun Hendy, Professor of Physics at University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is the author of Silencing Science.

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Propaganda in democratic society, Part 2 of 2 -/- Ways States Resist President Donald Trump agenda – January 29, 2017

First, how propaganda works, particularly in democratic settings. Jason Stanley is the author of How Propaganda Works. This is part two of a two part interview. Hear part one [ dur: 25 mins. ]

Then, throughout US history conflict has risen between states’ rights to self-govern and the power of national government to pass laws applying across the country. With Donald Trump as president, many cities and states are gearing up to resist his agenda. How will states’ rights figure into the resistance? IS secession a real possibility? Sanford Levinson is the author of The Undemocratic Constitution and Nullification and Secession in Modern Constitutional Thought. [ dur: 33mins. ]

Find books authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – American Football and Domestic Violence -/- Philosophy and Politics of Humor – January 1, 2017

Domestic violence is just one of the many problems of violent sports. We’ll take a close look at American Football and its discontents. We are joined by Steve Almond. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, we look at the origins, philosophy and politics of humor. [ dur: 30 mins. ]

Find books authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle-The-Presidents-Club-/-Truth-about-Lying-April 12th, 2015

First, we speak with Nancy Gibbs about one of the worlds most exclusive and influential clubs. Nancy Gibbs is Time magazine’s managing editor, and co-author of The Presidents Club: Inside the Worlds Most Exclusive Fraternity.[ dur: 29 mins. ]

  • Nancy Gibbs is the managing editor of TIME. She is the co-author of The Presidents Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity.

Next, on The Scholars’ Circle we look at deception and lying. Some scholars say that deception is ubiquitous and normal in all human interactions, that lying is useful and possibly even biological. Others suggest that there is a cost to lying even for white lies. What is the truth about lying? [ dur: 29 mins. ]

  • Sissela Bok is a Sr. Fellow at Harvard University and formerly a Professor of Philosophy at Brandeis University. She is the author of Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life.
  • David Livingstone Smith is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of New England. He is the author of Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind.
  • Charles V. Ford is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology in the School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is the author of Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit.

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Feb. 16th, 2014

First, we’ll revisit the 1926 founding of Black History Month. [ dur: 15 mins. ]

  • VP Franklin, Distinguished Prof. History at UC Riverside; Author of Living Our Stories, Telling Our Truths: Autobiography and the Making of the African-American Intellectual Tradition editor of Journal of African American History.

Then, they may have been some of the world’s greatest thinkers but they were also great failures at love. [ dur: 15 mins. ]

  • Andrew Shaffer is the author of, Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love, and Literary Rogues: A Scandalous History of Wayward Authors.

Finally, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, what is love? Is it emotional? Biological? Can it be summarized by rational decision? How does it play out in society? [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Simon May is a Visiting Professor of Philosophy at Kings College, London. His books include, Love: A History and Nietzsche’s Ethics and his War on “Morality”
  • Bennett W. Helm is a Professor of Philosophy at Franklin & Marshall College. His books include, Love, Friendship, and the Self: Intimacy, Identification, and the Social Nature of Persons and Emotional Reason: Deliberation, Motivation, and the Nature of Value.
  • Dr. Robert Epstein is Senior Research Psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology. He is currently working on a book called Making Love: How People Learn To Love, and How You Can Too, which is based on his research on how love emerges over time in arranged marriages. He is also the author of, Cognition, Creativity, and Behavior: Selected Essays.

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Oct. 27th, 2013

First, what do dictators, CEOs, and political leaders have in common? We’ll explore some of their strategies for getting and keeping power with Alastair Smith, coauthor of, The Dictator’s Handbook: Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics..

  • Alastair Smith, Professor of Politics, NYU.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, we look at deception and lying. Some scholars say that deception is ubiquitous and normal in all human interactions, that lying is useful and possibly even biological. Others suggest that there is a cost to lying even for white lies. What is the truth about lying?

  • Sr. Fellow Sissela Bok, Harvard University. Former Professor of Philosophy at Brandeis University. Author of Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life
  • David Livingstone Smith,  Professor of Philosophy, University of New England.  Author of Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind
  • Charles V. Ford,  Professor of Psychiatry at School of Medicine, University of Alabama. Author of Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Feb. 10th, 2013

For this Valentine’s week:

First, we look at the global advances for marriage equality, just in time for the landmark Supreme Court cases. [ dur. 15  mins. ]

  • Jenny Pizer is Senior Counsel and Director of Law and Public Policy at Lambda Legal.

Then, they may have been some of the world’s greatest thinkers but they were also great failures at love.[ dur. 12 mins. ]

  • Andrew Shaffer is the author of, “Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love,” and “Literary Rogues: A Scandalous History of Wayward Authors.”

Finally, on the Scholars’ Circle, what is love? Is it emotional? Biological? Can it be summarized by rational decision? How does it play out in society? [  dur. 28 mins. ]

  • Simon May is a Visiting Professor of Philosophy at Kings College, London. His books include, “Love: A History” and “Nietzsche’s Ethics and his War on Morality’.”
  • Bennett W. Helm is a Professor of Philosophy at Franklin & Marshall College. His books include, “Love, Friendship, and the Self: Intimate Identification and the Sociality of Persons,” and “Emotional Reason: Deliberation, Motivation, and the Nature of Value.”
  • Dr. Robert Epstein is Senior Research Psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology. He is currently working on a book called “Making Love: How People Learn To Love, and How You Can Too,” which is based on his research on how love emerges over time in arranged marriages. He is also the author of, “Teen 2.0: Saving Our Children and Families from the Torment of Adolescence,” and “Cognition, Creativity, and Behavior: Selected Essays.”

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Feb. 3rd, 2013

Can the Lord of the Rings trilogy act as a means to understand complex politics and international relations? Our guest says, indeed, it can. [ dur. 30 mins. ]

  • Patrick James, Professor of International Relations and Director of the Center for International Studies at the University of Southern California. He is the author of, “The International Relations of Middle-earth: Learning from The Lord of the Rings.”

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, we look at deception and lying. Some scholars say that deception is ubiquitous and normal in all human interactions, that lying is useful and possibly even biological. Others suggest that there is a cost to lying even for white lies. What is the truth about lying? [ dur. 28 mins. ]

  • Sissela Bok is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, and formerly a Professor of Philosophy at Brandeis University. Her many books include the seminal, “Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life,” “Secrets: on the Ethics of Concealment and Revelation,” and “A Strategy for Peace: Human Values and the Threat of War.”
  • David Livingstone Smith is Professor of Philosophy at the University of New England. He is the author of several books including, “Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind,” “Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave and Exterminate Others,” and “Hidden Conversations: An Introduction to Communicative Psychoanalysis.”
  • Charles V. Ford, M.D., is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, in the School of Medicine at the University of Alabama. His books include “Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit.”

Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]