Philosophy Talk: Select Episodes

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/margaret-cavendish. Margaret Cavendish was a writer of poetry, philosophy, polemics, histories, plays, and utopian fiction. She employed many different genres as a way to overcome access barriers for women and build an audience for her subversive philosophical ideas. So, what was so radical about Cavendish's views? Why did she think all matter, even rocks, was at least partially rational? And how did she anticipate the term "epistemic injustice" 400 years before it was coined? Josh and Ray explore the life and thought of Margaret Cavendish with Karen Detlefsen from the University of Pennsylvania, co-editor of "The Routledge Handbook of Women and Early Modern European Philosophy."

More at www.philosophytalk.org/shows/elisabeth-bohemia. Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia (1618–1680) is best known for her correspondence with René Descartes. In her letters, she articulated a devastating critique of his dualist theory of mind, in particular on the impossibility of mind-body interaction. So what was Elisabeth's own position on the nature of mind? What can we ascertain about her moral and political concerns based on her various correspondences? And how are her ideas still relevant to current debates in philosophy? Josh and Ray explore Elisabeth's life and thought with Lisa Shapiro from McGill University, editor of "The Routledge Handbook of Women and Early Modern European Philosophy."

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/hypatia-alexandria. Hypatia of Alexandria, late antiquity public figure and scholar, made significant contributions to mathematics, philosophy, and astronomy. Her embrace of Neoplatonism was seen as such a threat to the political elite in Alexandria that she was murdered by a mob of Christians. So what made her ideas so dangerous and revolutionary for her time? As a woman in Ancient Egypt, how did she exert power over her own narrative? And should she really be considered a "martyr" for philosophy? Josh and Ray explore Hypatia's life and thought with Edward Watts, Professor of History at UCSD and author of "Hypatia: The Life and Legend of an Ancient Philosopher."

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/mary-midgley. Mary Midgley became one of the best known public intellectuals in the UK, and was one of the first philosophers to talk about climate change. Though she didn’t publish her first book—Beast and Man—till she was 59, she wrote many influential works on science, ethics, and animal rights. So, why did Midgley argue that the climate crisis was ultimately a conceptual problem? What was her criticism of scientism, the view that only science can provide knowledge about the world around us? And why did she think the work of the philosopher is a bit like that of the plumber? Josh and Ray explore her life and thought with Clare Mac Cumhaill from Durham University, co-author of "Metaphysical Animals: How Four Women Brought Philosophy Back to Life." Part of our Wise Women series, generously supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/judith-jarvis-thomson. Judith Jarvis Thomson is best known for arguing that abortion is morally permissible, even granting the fetus the status of person. Her colorful thought experiments illustrate that a right to life does not mean the right to use another person's body to survive. So, what exactly is a right to life and what does it permit or prohibit? Does pregnancy come with certain moral obligations to the fetus? And how can thought experiments, like the Trolley Problem, shed light on these questions? Josh and Ray explore Thomson's life and thought with Elizabeth Harman from Princeton University, author of "When to Be a Hero" (forthcoming). Part of the "Wise Women" series, generously supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/crisis-and-creativity-mayan-mythology. The Popol Vuh, written in 1702, was based on a Mayan oral tradition encompassing creation myths, history, and cosmology. These stories were written in a time of crisis: European colonialism had decimated the Mayan population and destroyed much of their cultural knowledge. How do stories help a society survive and thrive? Can they console us in times of crisis? How much of a culture can historians save in times of devastation? Josh and Ray rewrite history with Edgar Garcia from the University of Chicago, author of "Emergency: Reading the Popol Vuh in a Time of Crisis."

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/american-futures. When Ken Taylor passed away suddenly in 2019, he was working on a manuscript titled "Farewell to the Republic We Once Dreamed of." Was Ken right to think the American experiment is on the verge of collapse? Are we heading for authoritarian rule, a national divorce, or even a civil war? Or could better days be on the horizon? In Ken’s honor, Josh and Ray devote their 2023 end-of-year special to probing the future of the American republic with Barbara Walter from UC San Diego, Tamsin Shaw from New York University, and Rob Reich from Stanford University.