The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

On David Hume's An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751). What is morality, and how can we know it?

Hume claims that we simply find ourselves with sentiments morally approving and disapproving of various things. Characterizing these post hoc, we can say that in general we approve of what brings utility, and this explains the existence of most laws and mores. These may vary by culture because conditions change the utility calculation in different environments.

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Luvell Anderson (Philosophy prof. at U of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign) joins Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al to discuss Ryan Coogler's new vampire siege/black studies film starring Michael B. Jordan. We talk about the film's comments on black freedom, black music, the church, why the film needed twins, whether the vampires were even necessary, the film's humor and structure, and more.

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Continuing on The Problem of Empathy. What does it mean to say that we know other people's mental states "non-primordially"? We talk about Stein's project of explaining how empathy is possible, what it gets us, and how her answers differ from Scheler's.

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Greg teaches philosophy (and is Interim Provost at Ashland, loves Xenophon, and runs a podcast. We reflect on the dangers of radon and other "natural" things. How might one of our government agencies become more natural, and would we want that? Are fart jokes the most naturally funny kind? Then, Greg the trucker visits Empty Street and embezzles dead mules.

Bill was thrust from the final portion of the call, so Mark and Greg engage in some philosophy podcast shop talk. He returns for the Post-Game after Greg's departure to reflect on the episode and specifically identify the naturalistic fallacy.

We put our recent episodes on moral phenomenology into perspective, anticipating our upcoming Hume discussion and going through some other options to enrich this study of sentiment vs. rational intuition. Plus, more potential author-guests and recent philosophy book coverage.

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