Philosophy Talk

Game theory is a set of mathematical techniques for thinking about how people should choose when their choices interact. But real people aren’t exactly rational actors. Can a mathematical model explain real-world decisions? How can game theorists account for the fact that we don’t always know each other—or ourselves? Josh and Ray play no games with economist Jonathan Levin, President of Stanford University.

French philosopher and mystic Simone Weil was also an activist whose goal was to elevate the lower classes.  But she was opposed to the kind of revolution where the oppressed overthrow their oppressors. So, how did she think we could achieve peace and justice? Is it enough to pay the right kind of attention to each other’s suffering? And how does this connect to her conversion to a mystical form of Christianity? Josh and Ray attend to the life and thought with Rebecca Rozelle-Stone from the University of North Dakota, editor of Simone Weil and Continental Philosophy.

Sometimes, we struggle to tell the truth—especially when it's the truth about ourselves. Why did James Baldwin, a prominent Civil Rights-era intellectual and novelist, believe that telling the truth about ourselves is not only difficult but can also be dangerous? How can truth deeply unsettle our assumptions about ourselves and our relations to others? And why did Baldwin think that this abstract concept of truth could play a concrete role in social justice? The Philosophers seek their own truth with Christopher Freeburg from the University of Illinois, author of Counterlife: Slavery after Resistance and Social Death.

What movies of the past year challenged our assumptions and made us think about things in new ways? Josh and guest co-host Jorah Danenberg present our annual Dionysus Awards for the most thought-provoking recent movies:

Best Future-Facing Fantasy That Asks What Makes Us Human (and Whether That’s Even a Good Thing)

Best Tweak on a Classic That Raises Questions about Parents and Children

Best TV Show That Blows Up All Your Theories of Personal Identity

We’re all learning about the world all the time—not just as small children but all the way into old age. But how do we learn how to learn? How much depends on the circumstances of our birth, our upbringing, and our formal education? How can we get better at learning and teaching? And how do we figure out what’s valuable to retain and what’s important to ignore? Josh and guest-host Blakey Vermeule learn from NYU psychologist Catherine Hartley, Director of the Hartley Lab.