Mark Schroeder, a professor of philosophy at the University of Southern California and author of many books, joins Spencer to talk about his new book, When Things Get Personal. One of the book's key ideas is the signal/noise distinction. Roughly, this amounts to the distinction between what truly reflects on a person and what reflects on external influences on that person's thought and behavior. Personal relationships require us to draw this distinction somehow, and drawing it in the wrong place leads to various relationship dysfunctions. 

Honestly, a great episode! After a 5-year Hiatus, Christian Miller returns to the podcast to talk about his new book, The Honesty Crisis, which addresses six ways in which technology undermines the virtue of honesty. Topics include AI student cheating, sermon plagiarism by pastors, and the extent to which the norms of honesty are more flexible in certain contexts.

Longtime friend Brother Dunstan Enzor -- a monk briefly famous for telling a United Airlines customer service representative "I love you; God bless you; I'll pray for you-- but you have not been helpful" -- joins Spencer to dissect a great work of literature-- John Milton's Paradise Lost. The topics that come up include the nature of free will, the privative account of evil, the problem of evil, and the apophatic approach to knowing God. 

Before we can think rigorously about whether God exists, we need to know what "God" is supposed to refer to in the first place. That's the theme of this episode. Perry Hendricks, Nevin Climenhaga, and Steve Kershnar join Spencer Case to interrogate the notion of God. Is God defined by a single property such as "the greatest possible being" or must we say that God describes a being with a special collection of logically unrelated properties (e.g., all good, all knowing, and all powerful). Can God be responsible for his actions? Can any being have each of these properties to the maximal degree?

The great Mike Huemer returns to Micro-Digressions to talk about ways in which the American legal system is morally problematic. Topics include plea bargaining and jury nullification. For more discussion of these topics, see Huemer's book, Justice Before the Law. 

Craig White, Ben Burgis, and Daniel Kodsi join Spencer Case to discuss--and debate--the Iran War.

Gordon Barnes joins Spencer to talk about the issues he discusses in his new book, Applied Epistemology: An Introduction. 

Eric Wiland joins Spencer to discuss his book, Guided by Voices: Moral Testimony, Advice, and Forging a 'We'. In the ensuing discussion, Eric and Spencer cover a wide range of topics, including how moral testimony can generate moral understanding, what sort of responsibility those who give advice have for the actions of those who act on it, and further lessons about standpoint epistemology and collective agency.

Full professor of philosophy at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and sometimes David Cross impersonator Ryan Jenkins returns to Micro-Digressions to discuss the dangers of AI. The conversation covers such matters as the AI-alignment problem and why Chat GPT can't be horny.

Mark Oppenheimer from Brain in a Vat discusses controversies surrounding hate speech in South Africa.

Philosophers J.P. Andrew, Mark Oppenheimer, Jason Werbeloff, Nicholas Delon, and Jason Brennan discuss their worst philosophical nightmares.

Marcus Arvan returns to MD to talk about his new book, Why It's Ok to be a Moderate, which you can find here:

Amazon.com: Why It's OK to Be a Moderate: 9781032613864: Arvan, Marcus: Books

Nathan Cofnas joins Spencer Case to discuss the nature of the political ideology/movement known as "wokeness." Cofnas argues that wokeness follows from accepting environmental differences combined with post-Christian morality. Case partly agrees with this analysis, but places greater emphasis on moral egalitarianism than empirical egalitarianism. Both interlocutors agree that wokeness isn't going away anytime soon, despite wishful thinking to the contrary. 

Cofnas' newsletter can be found here:

https://ncofnas.com/

Oliver Traldi challenges the standard conservative model of academic freedom in his article, "Defusing Academic Freedom." Link here:

Defusing Academic Freedom

Spencer and Oliver discuss. Topics include: does the university have a univocal purpose? Does a truth norm really justify academic freedom as it's ordinarily understood and practiced. 

Jake Monaghan joins Spencer to discuss his new book, Ethical Policing. The discussion covers such questions as: what makes policing legitimate? What sorts of considerations undermine that legitimacy? How can police appropriately balance order and respect for individual freedom in a non-ideal world?

Matthew Adelstein returns to Micro-Digressions to talk about the arguments for the existence of God at the top of his tier list. You can find his complete ranking of arguments for God's existence here:

Arguments For God Tier-list - by Bentham's Bulldog

Mike Huemer and His Offensiveness Steve Kershnar join Spencer to discuss free will and moral responsibility.

Matthew Adelstein, the prolific young writer who posts at "Bentham's Bulldog" on Substack, has recently attracted attention for a tier ranking of philosophical arguments for the existence of God. Matthew and Spencer discuss the arguments at the bottom of his list, ascending from arguments that get an "F" to one in the C tier. 

Sarah Malanowski and Nicholas Baima join Spencer Case to discuss their book Why it's Ok to be a Gamer. They cover common objections to gaming, such as the claim that gaming is addictive and violent games promote violence.  They also consider ways that video games can promote friendships and cultivate virtue. Finally, they debate the supposed vice of being a "tryhard."

Featuring rants by Matt Lutz (on a priori knowledge and the politicization of the university) Travis Timmerman (on the film "Megalopolis") Spencer Case (on the depraved adulation of Luigi Mangione) and Ben Burgis (on the hypocrisy of "heterodox" liberals on Palestine).

Featuring rants from Matthew Adelstein (on shrimp welfare), Mark Oppenheimer (on missing the golden age of universities), Craig White (on the folly and immorality of American involvement in Ukraine) David Baker (on the wrongness of peacetime conscription) and Jason Werbeloff (on common misconceptions about AI).

Michael Huemer returns to the podcast to discuss more of the issues in his self-published book, Progressive Myths (which you can buy on Amazon for a mere $12.50). Mike and Spencer discuss the gender pay gap, the claim that women don't lie about sexual assault, and the sex-gender distinction.

Michael Huemer returns Micro-Digressions to discuss his new self-published book, Progressive Myths, which you can purchase here for a mere $12.50:

Progressive Myths: Huemer, Michael: 9798332272073: Amazon.com: Books

Discussed here: Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and George Floyd cases, as well as some of the general patterns of police violence; the science of climate change and masking (compared with what activists say about these things), and the causes of progressive myths. 

Dave Baker returns to Micro-Digressions to finish the discussion of nuclear weapons. Topics this time include the development of the hydrogen bomb, the problems with developing missile defense systems, and nuclear proliferation.

Is the possession of nuclear weapons morally justified? Was it a mistake to invent them to begin with? Dave Baker joins Spencer to discuss these and other questions about nuclear war. (Correction: Joseph Stalin died in 1953, not 1952).

You may have heard that there's an election going on in the U.S. A big one in fact. This episode is a debate about the records of one of the candidates, Joe Biden. Matt Lutz, noted error theorist and Biden enthusiast, returns to the podcast to argue that Americans are insufficiently appreciative of Biden's performance on the economy and foreign policy. Spencer provides pushback on Biden's various student loan repayment schemes and immigration.

Errata: The student loan repayment plan that Biden unveiled on July 18, 2024, was an expansion of an already existing program, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, and not an entirely new program. The costs of this expansion are estimated to be a mere 1.2 billion. 

Mike Huemer rejoins Spencer to discuss the nature of consciousness. They consider the reasons for thinking that consciousness can't be physical and some prominent physicalist rejoinders to dualist arguments. 

Here's a link to Mike's excellent "Fake Nous" substack:

Fake Noûs | Michael Huemer | Substack

Come for Spencer's funeral home jokes; stay for the unanticipated discussion of the movie Her. Travis Timmerman and Spencer Case resume their discussion about death. This time they talk about annihilationism, the idea that being annihilated is an intrinsically bad thing for the annihilated person, as well as popular arguments that immortality would be a bad thing for creatures like us.

Ben Burgis rejoins Spencer to defend Marx's record. 

This episode tackles one of the most controversial topics of the day (really, most days over the last several decades): Israel/Palestine. Craig White, a former diplomat and the author of Iraq: The Moral Reckoning, and Mark Oppenheimer of Brain in a Vat podcast fame join Spencer to discuss the issue. 

Ryan W. Davis, a philosophy professor at Brigham Young University, joins Spencer Case to discuss the ethics and politics of gun ownership in the US. Check out his new book, Why it's OK to Own a Gun (Routledge, 2024).

What is death? Does fear of death affect our everyday lives? And will your death harm you or not? Travis Timmerman, associate professor at Seton Hall University, joins Spencer to discuss these and other questions. Timmerman is coeditor, along with Michael Cholbi, of a fine anthology on the philosophy of death, Exploring the Philosophy of Death and Dying. Purchase your copy here:

https://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Philosophy-Death-Dying-Contemporary/dp/1138393584/ref=sr_1_1?crid=15H1NSANTN5NL&keywords=exploring+the+philosophy+of+death+and+dying&qid=1706235275&sprefix=%2Caps%2C656&sr=8-1

It's the end of the year again and time to rant! This year's collection of rants includes:

• Jarrod Blair on bad habits that crush the philosophical spirit
• Matthew Adelstein on the stupidity and depravity of Effective Altruism critics
• Matt Lutz on possible world confusions
• Mark Oppenheimer on the Israel-Gaza war
• Oliver Traldi on the university presidents' testimony to Congress
• JP Andrew on naturalism as a dogma in philosophy
• Spencer Case on scientific dogmatism
• Jason Werbeloff on moralizing vegetarians
• Alex Byrne on social construction

Links:
Virtue Vibes Podcast:
https://www.virtuevibes.org/

Bentham's Bulldog substack:
https://benthams.substack.com/

Brain in a Vat podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brain-in-a-vat/id1509951964

Humean Being Substack:
https://humeanbeing.substack.com/

Oliver Traldi rejoins Spencer Case to discuss the nature of political beliefs. Topics they cover include the bad incentives that influence political beliefs, how political beliefs should be defined, and the need for (and possibility of) politically neutral language in which to discuss political issues.

His Offensiveness Stephen Kershnar returns to the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about the philosophy of law. This leads to a discussion of the Students For Fair Admissions (SFFA) Supreme Court Case. Music: "Sweet, Man" by Jeremy Mohney.  Available for download $1 here: https://jeremymohneymusic.bandcamp.com/

Kevin Vallier joins Spencer Case to talk about social trust and the role it plays in the psychological and moral foundations of liberal societies. 

Alex Byrne discusses the controversy around his article on pronouns in the Journal of Controversial Ideas.  Byrne and Matt Lutz debate the meaning of the word 'woman.' Alex's view is that women are adult human females, whereas Matt thinks that the word is ambiguous between that traditional definition and a trans-inclusive meaning. We can be tolerant and accept both are legitimate meanings of the word. The conversation eventually comes to focus on the idea that the meanings of words are outcomes of social negotiations of various kinds. Spencer concludes the episode with some thoughts on how this might mean that semantics is morally entangled.  

Commentator Charles "Concealed Weapon" Cooke joins Spencer to discuss American identity and patriotism.  

MIT philosophy professor Alex Byrne and podcast regular Matt Lutz join Spencer to discuss an article that recently appeared in the Journal of Controversial Ideas entitled "A Defense of Merit in Science." The article, which was written by 27 co-authors, including many social scientists, alleges that the "liberal epistemology" that underlies science is under threat by the institutionalized influence of identity-based ideologies. (The article doesn't use the term "wokeness", but the left identitarian ideologies whose influence it critiques  can plausibly be called "woke.") The three conversation partners consider the strengths and weaknesses of the article and also evaluate some of the objections critics have raised. 

Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff of Brain in a Vat join Spencer to discuss one of their favorite subjects: thought experiments. 

Keshav Singh joins Spencer to discuss Sikh religion and philosophy.  ("Sikh" is pronounced with the short 'i'  sound, and not like "seek"). They cover they history and basic tenets of the Sikh faith, its idea of divinity, and the Sikh idea that "haumai", meaning roughly obsession with oneself, is the root of all human evil. Keshav's personal webpage is here:

 https://www.keshavsingh.com/

Johnny the Anomaly joins Spencer Case to argue that the potential benefits of genetic enhancement outweigh the risks (Spencer is skeptical).

The electronic version of Anomaly's book, Creating Future People: The Ethics of Genetic Enhancement can be downloaded free at Amazon for Kindle or here:

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-mono/10.4324/9781003014805/creating-future-people-jonathan-anomaly?_gl=1*1ui59as*_ga*MjA2NDM2ODk5NS4xNjcxNzM5MTQ4*_ga_0HYE8YG0M6*MTY4MDE0OTA5My44LjAuMTY4MDE0OTA5My4wLjAuMA..

Mike Huemer joins Spencer Case for a wide-ranging discussion about epistemology. Mike argues that you should trust the experts rather than relying on your own "critical thinking"; Spencer's not so sure.  They also discuss two strategies for rejecting the Brain-in-a-Vat argument for external world skepticism. 

Music: "April Kisses" by Eddie Lang (1929), www.openaccessmusic.org

Ryan Jenkins, professor of philosophy at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, rejoins Spencer for the first time since the inaugural episode of Micro-Digressions to resume the conversation about how technology can make our lives worse. The topics discussed include anti-Covid measures, government and corporate surveillance, content moderation on social media, and (taking a page from Oliver Burkeman's Four Thousand Weeks), the ways in which technology encourages us to instrumentalize our everyday experiences.

Featuring: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff from the Brain in the Vat podcast ranting against each other,  Perry Hendericks on  biased refereeing, Bob Pasnau on contemporary philosophy versus history of philosophy, Matt Lutz on probability and China's zero Covid meltdown,  Mike Burke on woke enablers, Spencer Case on why moral extremism is bad, and Oliver Traldi on conceptual engineering. 

Jim Skidmore joins Spencer to continue the discussion of Singer's argument in "Famine, Affluence, and Morality."

The first of a two-part series on Peter Singer's famous argument that we must give our expendable income to highly effective charities.  This episode features guest Travis Timmerman of Seton Hall University. (Note: Jim Skidmore participated in the first part of this conversation, but his audio wasn't useable due to technical difficulties. That explains a few references to a third participant. Skidmore will appear in part 2). 

Philippe Lemoine returns to Micro-Digressions to talk about the difference between realism and idealism in foreign policy thinking, and why he thinks excessive idealism led to the ongoing Russo-Ukraine war.

Benedict Beckeld joins Spencer Case to talk about his new book Western Self-Contempt: Oikophobia in the Decline of Civilizations. They discuss the phenomenon of oikophobia, which is roughly contempt for one's home country or culture, the decline of philosophy of history, and other topics.

Big news: Spencer is a father! Jessica Flanigan, mother of four and philosopher, is this episode's guest. The topics they cover include: what are babies' minds like? Do we have good reasons to become parents (or to avoid becoming parents)? Do we have any special duties toward our offspring? Special appearance by new mother Han Ruimei, Spencer's wife. The picture is of their son, Elijah Han Case (Han Yilai). 

This first recorded episode of Micro-Digressions has been re-edited for improved sound quality and flow. Justin Kalef and Spencer Case discuss their worries about hyper-politicization, and together develop a case that society requires politically neutral ground.

Ben Burgis joins Spencer to discuss G.A. Cohen's defense of socialism, and objections to it. They also discuss the difference between Marxism and utopian socialism, different conceptions of political freedom, and other topics. 

Jason Brennan joins Spencer to discuss the many problems that afflict the university as an institution, all of which stem from bad incentives. They also discuss the psychology of extremism and bad faith engagement. This intro and outro music is "Eddie's Twister" by Eddie Lang (1927).

This episode is a companion to the recent moral experts roundtable article in Quillette. Oliver Traldi rejoins Spencer, along with first-time guests Bo Winegard and  Geoffrey Miller, to discuss the philosophical and social problems of moral expertise. Over the course of the episode, they touch on the concept of expertise, the moral realism/anti-realism debate, and the extent to which values do (and should) influence scientific research. 

Matt Lutz returns to the podcast to explain his (in his opinion, very neglected) solution to the "counter-induction parody" argument, which is used to bolster Hume's notorious argument for inductive skepticism. Spencer makes a big personal announcement.

What's so bad about hypocrisy? What difference does an agent's intentions make to the morality of his or her action?  Craig White joins Spencer Case to discuss these questions, and to register his objections to the unrealistic thought experiments that some moral philosophers deploy.  

Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff, the two South African hosts of the irreverent and fearless Brain in a Vat podcast, join Spencer to discuss the uses of philosophy its role in a flourishing human life. Along the way, they also discuss the permissibility of outsourcing your religious duties to an AI and other surprising topics.

Jeff McMahan, White's professor of philosophy at Oxford University and author of Killing in War and other books, joins Spencer to talk about the ethics of participating in wars and other topics.

Peter Jaworski, a philosophy professor at the Georgetown University McDonough school of business, and Rob Gressis, a philosophy professor at California State University Northridge, join Spencer to debate the pros and cons of open borders.

Mary Beth ("no hyphen") Willard of Weber State University joins Spencer and his wife, May to discuss the relationship between beauty and moral goodness. They pay particular attention to the question of whether an artist's moral character can ever affect the aesthetic or moral qualities of his or her art. Subjects include Bill Cosby and the blues artist Louisiana Red .

Two guests, Nathan Nobis and Christopher Kaczor, join Spencer to discuss the ethics of abortion.

Is there something bad about being too good? Might belief in objective morality distort our moral behavior? Marcus Arvan joins Spencer Case to discuss.

Stephen Kershnar joins Spencer Case to discuss the moral quandaries surrounding affirmative action and other forms of discrimination on the basis of race and gender.

Many people claim to have experiences of God. Others have experiences that cause them to lose faith. What is the significance of these experiences? Chad McIntosh and Spencer Case discuss. 

What is Critical Race Theory and why is it evil (if it is in fact evil)? Sam Hoadley-Brill and Oliver Traldi join Spencer Case to discuss the culture war controversy surrounding CRT. They discuss the proper way of defining CRT, the relationship between CRT and figures like Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo, and the pros and cons of the anti-"CRT" bills. 

What is Bitcoin, anyway? Craig Warmke joins Spencer Case to discuss his view that Bitcoin is a kind of fictional substance that nonetheless has real economic value. 

Francesca Minerva joins Spencer Case to discuss the launch of the new Journal of Controversial Ideas, which allows scholars to publish peer reviewed research anonymously to avoid backlash. 

Holly Lawford-Smith joins Spencer to defend her website, No Conflict They Said (.org). This   collects anonymous stories from women who say they have been negatively affected by the intrusion of biological males into what have been female only spaces. Critics allege that this website is transphobic. Spencer and Holly discuss  these criticism, the extent to which trans-activism is influencing academic philosophy, and some potential downsides to anti-"conversion therapy" laws. 

Crispin Sartwell joins Spencer Case to discuss the nature of knowledge, the relationship between aesthetics and knowledge, and other themes. 

Matt Lutz, an associate professor of philosophy at Wuhan University, joins Spencer Case to discuss philosophical conundrums about disagreement. Must we alter our beliefs in the face of disagreement? If so, then how much and in what circumstances? Along the way, they discuss the Wuhan lockdown -- which Matt experienced firsthand -- conspiracy theories, and something called "explanationism."  

Tyler Paytas rejoins Spencer Case on Micro-Digressions to discuss the irrationality of anger and fear. They also touch on retributivism and strategies for overcoming anger and fear.

Philosophers of science disagree about what, if anything, distinguishes science from other bodies of knowledge, and other areas of inquiry. It's clear science commands a great deal of authority. But is this authority always a good thing? Spencer Case and Philippe Lemoine discuss the ways in which that authority can be misused and corrupted. 

Liberalism has recently been subjected to criticisms from both the political left and the right. But what is liberalism, anyway? Do these recent arguments against it carry any weight? Spencer Case discusses these and other questions with Prof. Patrick Lee Miller of Duquesne University.

You probably think of yourself as a good person. But how sure are you that, if faced with certain sorts of social pressures, you wouldn't do something really terrible? There is, unfortunately, a evidence that most people aren't nearly as good as they believe themselves to be. Christian Miller, author of The Character Gap, discusses some of this evidence and why it matters.

Guest Oliver Traldi and Spencer Case discuss the phenomenon of so-called "cancel culture."

Spencer Case and Dan Kaufman discuss the importance of disposition to philosophy, and the difference between wisdom and knowledge. 

Relativism about some domain is the rejection of truth standards independent of some perspective or standpoint. It may be implied in the slogan: "What's true for me may not be true for you." Should we accept relativism about morality or anything else? Spencer Case discusses with Robert Gressis, who teaches philosophy at California State University, Northridge.

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Spencer Case and Jacy Reese Anthis, a co-founder of the Sentience Institute, discuss effective altruism, vegan activism and debate whether strong moral convictions presuppose moral realism.

It seems like our lives are more and more consumed with politics. Is that true? Is that a bad thing if it is true? Spencer Case and Justin Kalef, a philosophy professor at Rutgers University, discuss. 

May we believe whatever we like? Philosopher Tyler Paytas and Spencer Case discuss. 

Inspired by J.S. Mill, philosophy professor Daniel Jacobson presses the case for free speech.

What could go wrong? Ryan Jenkins, an associate professor of philosophy at Cal Poly San Louis Obispo, discusses some of the dangers of technological advancement. (Note that this was recorded in August 2019, before the COVID-19 crisis).