Elucidations

Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • Episode 103: Brian Leiter explains why we should think about Marx

    This month, Brian Leiter (University of Chicago) makes his third (!) appearance on the program to talk about how Karl Marx can help us understand our current political moment. Click here to listen to our conversation. Karl Marx thought that industrial capitalism had an in-built self-destructive tendency. Capitalism would lead to great technological progress, which…

  • Further reading on the true self

    If you want to follow up on the research Josh Knobe has been doing with his colleagues on the true self, you can check out the following piece for the New York Times: ‘In Search of the True Self,’ Josh Knobe Or, for a more detailed presentation, you can read: “Beliefs About the True Self…

  • Episode 102: Josh Knobe discusses the true self

    This month, we get right into it with Josh Knobe (Yale University) about the notion of a person’s true self. Click here to listen to our conversation. Who are you, deep down, in your core? Maybe it isn’t fully clear what would count as an answer to that question, but it’s still a question we…

  • Further reading on blame and forgiveness

    For those of you who want to delve further into our esteemed guest’s views about blame and forgiveness, check out the following two papers: ‘What’s the Point of Blame?,’ Miranda Fricker ‘Forgiveness—an ordered pluralism,’ Miranda Fricker Happy reading! Matt Teichman

  • Episode 101: Miranda Fricker discusses blame and forgiveness

    This month, Emily and Matt chat with Miranda Fricker (CUNY Graduate Center) about blame and forgiveness. Click here to listen to our conversation. We have a lot of conflicting feelings about blame. When someone does something bad, we feel a strong urge to blame them, and when it all goes down as intended, the person…

  • Further reading on aspiration

    To whet your appetite for Agnes Callard’s incredible forthcoming book on aspiration, here is a chapter-by-chapter summary. Happy reading! Matt Teichman

  • Episode 100: Agnes Callard discusses aspiration

    This month, we sit down with Agnes Callard (University of Chicago) to talk about aspiration. Click here to listen to our conversation. Have you ever wanted to get into something? Maybe you find it really boring to sit through an opera right now, but you think you might be missing something and want to learn…

  • Further reading on Spinoza

    Those of you who are interested in following up on Spinoza will definitely enjoy this incredible graphic book by Ben and Steven Nadler: ‘The Graphic Spinoza,’ Ben Nadler and Steven Nadler Happy reading! Matt Teichman

  • Episode 99: Steven Nadler discusses Spinoza on freedom

    This month, we delve back into the early modern period with Steven Nadler, William H. Hay II Professor of Philosophy, Evjue-Bascom Professor of the Humanities, and Weinstein-Bascom Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Click here to listen to our conversation. Baruch Spinoza is known for his views about how the…

  • Further reading on credibility

    If you’d like to delve further into Jennifer Lackey’s views about credibility excesses, she has generously made her excellent paper ‘Credibility and the Distribution of Epistemic Goods‘ available for you to download. Enjoy! Matt Teichman

Got any book recommendations?

Get In Touch