ThoughtCast® » Philosophy http://www.thoughtcast.org An online watering hole for ideas. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:02:22 +0000 en hourly 1 ThoughtCast® by ThoughtCast, 2005 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ jenny@thoughtcast.org (Jenny Attiyeh) jenny@thoughtcast.org (Jenny Attiyeh) http://www.thoughtcast.org/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg ThoughtCast® http://www.thoughtcast.org 144 144 An online watering hole for ideas. A podcast and public radio interview program with authors, academics and intellectuals. jenny attiyeh, thoughtcast, interview, author, public radio, academic, books, poetry, Jenny Attiyeh Jenny Attiyeh jenny@thoughtcast.org no no Talks@Harvard Book Store: Sean Dorrance Kelly http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/talksharvard-book-store-sean-dorrance-kelly/ http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/talksharvard-book-store-sean-dorrance-kelly/#comments Thu, 11 Aug 2011 03:53:42 +0000 Jenny http://www.thoughtcast.org/?p=1666
Sean Dorrance Kelly

(photo by Jenny Attiyeh)

Sean Dorrance Kelly, a voluble, high-octane philosopher and Harvard professor, spoke at the Harvard Book Store recently about his latest creation: All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age,  which he co-wrote with Hubert Dreyfus, another professor of philosophy, this time at Berkeley.

ThoughtCast was there, and made this recording. (28 minutes.)
So take a listen, and let us know what you think!

]]> http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/talksharvard-book-store-sean-dorrance-kelly/feed/ 0 Rebecca Goldstein: the atheist with a soul http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/rebecca-goldstein-the-atheist-with-a-soul/ http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/rebecca-goldstein-the-atheist-with-a-soul/#comments Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:33:06 +0000 Jenny http://www.thoughtcast.org/?p=962 Note: this interview was broadcast on WGBH, Boston’s NPR station for news and culture!
Rebecca Goldstein
Rebecca Goldstein

Rebecca Goldstein’s latest work, called 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction, is perhaps best described as a hybrid. It is indeed a novel, with its share of psychology, mathematics and academic politics, but it concludes with an appendix outlining these 36 arguments, as well as their rebuttals, in the language not of fiction, but of philosophy. So, as in many of Goldstein’s earlier novels, this one manages to fold ideas into art.
ThoughtCast spoke with Rebecca in her home in the Leather District, in downtown Boston.
Click here (28 minutes) to listen.
Click here (90 minutes) to listen to a discussion with Rebecca Goldstein and Steven Pinker, sponsored by PEN New England.  It’s titled Mind-Body Problems: A Conversation About Science, Fiction and God, and focuses mainly on Rebecca’s latest novel.

Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker
Rebecca Goldstein received her doctorate in philosophy from Princeton, and went on to teach philosophy before trying her pen at fiction. Her first novel, The Mind-Body Problem, was a critical success, and she went on to write 5 other novels, including Properties of Light, Mazel, and The Dark Sister. She has also written non-fiction studies of the mathematician Kurt Gödel, and the philosopher Baruch Spinoza.

In addition to being Rebecca’s husband, Steven Pinker is Harvard College Professor and Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, and one of the world’s leading authorities on language and the mind. He’s written seven books (so far) including The Blank Slate, How the Mind Works and The Stuff of Thought.

]]> http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/rebecca-goldstein-the-atheist-with-a-soul/feed/ 1 0:28:00 Note: this interview was broadcast on WGBH, Boston’s NPR station for news and culture! Rebecca Goldstein Rebecca Goldstein’s latest work, called 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction, is perhaps best described as a hy[...] Note: this interview was broadcast on WGBH, Boston’s NPR station for news and culture! Rebecca Goldstein Rebecca Goldstein’s latest work, called 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction, is perhaps best described as a hybrid. It is indeed a novel, with its share of psychology, mathematics and academic politics, but it concludes with an appendix outlining these 36 arguments, as well as their rebuttals, in the language not of fiction, but of philosophy. So, as in many of Goldstein’s earlier novels, this one manages to fold ideas into art. ThoughtCast spoke with Rebecca in her home in the Leather District, in downtown Boston. Click here (28 minutes) to listen. Click here (90 minutes) to listen to a discussion with Rebecca Goldstein and Steven Pinker, sponsored by PEN New England.  It’s titled Mind-Body Problems: A Conversation About Science, Fiction and God, and focuses mainly on Rebecca’s latest novel. Steven Pinker Rebecca Goldstein received her doctorate in philosophy from Princeton, and went on to teach philosophy before trying her pen at fiction. Her first novel, The Mind-Body Problem, was a critical success, and she went on to write 5 other novels, including Properties of Light, Mazel, and The Dark Sister. She has also written non-fiction studies of the mathematician Kurt Gödel, and the philosopher Baruch Spinoza. In addition to being Rebecca’s husband, Steven Pinker is Harvard College Professor and Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, and one of the world’s leading authorities on language and the mind. He’s written seven books (so far) including The Blank Slate, How the Mind Works and The Stuff of Thought. Ideas, Literature, Philosophy, Religion Jenny Attiyeh no no The “New Biology” with Steven Pinker, Noga Arikha & Melvin Konner http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/the-new-biology-with-steven-pinker-noga-arikha-melvin-konner/ http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/the-new-biology-with-steven-pinker-noga-arikha-melvin-konner/#comments Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:17:51 +0000 Jenny http://www.thoughtcast.org/?p=879 Brave New World?
Brave New World?
The Center for the Humanities at Tufts University recently held a panel discussion on “The New Biology and the Self”, an apt topic for the likes of Steven Pinker, the Harvard College Professor and Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University,  Noga Arikha, a historian of ideas and the author of Passions and Tempers: A History of the Humours, and  Melvin Konner, a professor of anthropology and assoc. professor of psychiatry and neurology at Emory University. The panel was moderated by Tufts professor Kevin Dunn.
Click here to listen (73 minutes.)

And to listen to a talk by Steven Pinker on the Forum Network, click here!

]]> http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/the-new-biology-with-steven-pinker-noga-arikha-melvin-konner/feed/ 1 1:13:19 Brave New World? The Center for the Humanities at Tufts University recently held a panel discussion on “The New Biology and the Self”, an apt topic for the likes of Steven Pinker, the Harvard College Professor and Johnstone Family[...] Brave New World? The Center for the Humanities at Tufts University recently held a panel discussion on “The New Biology and the Self”, an apt topic for the likes of Steven Pinker, the Harvard College Professor and Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University,  Noga Arikha, a historian of ideas and the author of Passions and Tempers: A History of the Humours, and  Melvin Konner, a professor of anthropology and assoc. professor of psychiatry and neurology at Emory University. The panel was moderated by Tufts professor Kevin Dunn. Click here to listen (73 minutes.) And to listen to a talk by Steven Pinker on the Forum Network, click here! Philosophy, Science Jenny Attiyeh no no The Journal of Henry David Thoreau http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/the-journal-of-henry-david-thoreau/ http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/the-journal-of-henry-david-thoreau/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:08:08 +0000 Jenny http://www.thoughtcast.org/?p=845 Note: an audio version of this interview aired on WGBH radio in Boston!

Henry David Thoreau is justly famous for his book Walden, which tells the story of the two years he spent living by the pond, in the Concord woods. But he also wrote a journal, which he started at age 20 in 1837, and kept up until 1861, shortly before he died. This diary of Thoreau’s daily thoughts and experiences has just been published by New York Review Books Classics, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this autumn. Edwin Frank, the editor of the series, speaks with ThoughtCast at the Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

To watch a shorter version of this interview, go to the NY Review Books Classics blog  A Different Stripe!  And to read a review on Thoreau’s Journal by intellectual historian John Summers, click here!

]]> http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/the-journal-of-henry-david-thoreau/feed/ 1 The “Puzzle of Existence” with Jim Holt http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/the-puzzle-of-existence-with-jim-holt/ http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/the-puzzle-of-existence-with-jim-holt/#comments Sat, 25 Jul 2009 20:59:51 +0000 Jenny http://www.thoughtcast.org/?p=748 Note: this interview was broadcast on the WGBH public radio affiliate WCAI, on the Cape and Islands!
Jim Holt (photo: Michael Todd)
Jim Holt (photo: Michael Todd)

In this ThoughtCast interview, science writer Jim Holt takes us on a jaunty tour of being and nothingness, existence and emptiness, quantum tunneling and the uncertainty principle. The author of Stop Me If You’ve Heard This: A History and Philosophy of Jokes, Holt lends his wit to a dissection of the puzzle of existence, which happens to be the topic of his forthcoming book. A frequent contributor to The New York Times and other publications, Holt approaches his subject with a personal, philosophical and scientific point of view. But does he solve the puzzle? Well, the book’s not done yet, is it…

Click here to listen (28 minutes.)

]]> http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/the-puzzle-of-existence-with-jim-holt/feed/ 9 0:28:00 Note: this interview was broadcast on the WGBH public radio affiliate WCAI, on the Cape and Islands! Jim Holt (photo: Michael Todd) In this ThoughtCast interview, science writer Jim Holt takes us on a jaunty tour of being and nothingness, exi[...] Note: this interview was broadcast on the WGBH public radio affiliate WCAI, on the Cape and Islands! Jim Holt (photo: Michael Todd) In this ThoughtCast interview, science writer Jim Holt takes us on a jaunty tour of being and nothingness, existence and emptiness, quantum tunneling and the uncertainty principle. The author of Stop Me If You’ve Heard This: A History and Philosophy of Jokes, Holt lends his wit to a dissection of the puzzle of existence, which happens to be the topic of his forthcoming book. A frequent contributor to The New York Times and other publications, Holt approaches his subject with a personal, philosophical and scientific point of view. But does he solve the puzzle? Well, the book’s not done yet, is it… Click here to listen (28 minutes.) Ideas, Philosophy, Religion, Science Jenny Attiyeh no no Jonah Lehrer on Emotional Hijacking and “How We Decide” http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/jonah-lehrer-on-emotional-hijacking-and-how-we-decide/ http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/jonah-lehrer-on-emotional-hijacking-and-how-we-decide/#comments Mon, 20 Jul 2009 06:05:08 +0000 Jenny http://www.thoughtcast.org/?p=725 Note: this interview was broadcast on WGBH in Boston as well as on the WGBH Cape and Islands affiliate WCAI/WNAN!
Jonah Lehrer
Jonah Lehrer (photo credit: Lori Duff)

Jonah Lehrer, the precocious author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist, has come out with a new book called How We Decide. He spoke at the Harvard Book Store, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Click here to listen (28 minutes.)

After his talk, ThoughtCast spoke with Lehrer briefly about the value of emotion in rational decision making, the power of wishful thinking to hijack our reason, and the potential to retrain the brain via the mind. According to Lehrer, we’d generally be better off sticking to our instincts, our initial reaction or impulse, rather than over-think things. Calm, cool deliberation, it turns out, doesn’t always lead to the best results. Jonah Lehrer is a Contributing Editor at Wired Magazine, and has written for The New Yorker, Nature, Seed, The Washington Post and The Boston Globe.
Click here to listen to this rather noisy interview (8:50 minutes.)

]]> http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/jonah-lehrer-on-emotional-hijacking-and-how-we-decide/feed/ 2 0:08:48 Note: this interview was broadcast on WGBH in Boston as well as on the WGBH Cape and Islands affiliate WCAI/WNAN! Jonah Lehrer (photo credit: Lori Duff) Jonah Lehrer, the precocious author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist, has come out with a n[...] Note: this interview was broadcast on WGBH in Boston as well as on the WGBH Cape and Islands affiliate WCAI/WNAN! Jonah Lehrer (photo credit: Lori Duff) Jonah Lehrer, the precocious author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist, has come out with a new book called How We Decide. He spoke at the Harvard Book Store, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Click here to listen (28 minutes.) After his talk, ThoughtCast spoke with Lehrer briefly about the value of emotion in rational decision making, the power of wishful thinking to hijack our reason, and the potential to retrain the brain via the mind. According to Lehrer, we’d generally be better off sticking to our instincts, our initial reaction or impulse, rather than over-think things. Calm, cool deliberation, it turns out, doesn’t always lead to the best results. Jonah Lehrer is a Contributing Editor at Wired Magazine, and has written for The New Yorker, Nature, Seed, The Washington Post and The Boston Globe. Click here to listen to this rather noisy interview (8:50 minutes.) Economics, Ideas, Philosophy, Psychology, Science Jenny Attiyeh no no Kwame Anthony Appiah: the Cosmopolitan Philosopher http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/philosopher-kwame-anthony-appiah/ http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/philosopher-kwame-anthony-appiah/#comments Tue, 10 Jul 2007 07:50:07 +0000 Jenny http://thoughtcast.org/casts/philosopher-kwame-anthony-appiah Note: This program was broadcast on WCAI, an affiliate of WGBH, Boston.
Kwame Anthony Appiah (Photo: Greg Martin)
Princeton Philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah discusses cosmopolitanism on ThoughtCast!
Born in England and raised in Ghana, Appiah is half English and half African. And perhaps because of this, he’s fascinated with the concept of identity, and the power it wields over people. But rather than wage identity politics, Appiah encourages us instead to be good global citizens, interested in and accepting of each other. In short, cosmopolitan. But also, at least a little bit “contaminated”… Appiah’s written a book on the subject: it’s called Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers.

Click here: to listen. (42 minutes)

]]> http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/philosopher-kwame-anthony-appiah/feed/ 1 0:41:54 Note: This program was broadcast on WCAI, an affiliate of WGBH, Boston. Kwame Anthony Appiah (Photo: Greg Martin) Princeton Philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah discusses cosmopolitanism on ThoughtCast! Born in England and raised in Ghana, Appiah [...] Note: This program was broadcast on WCAI, an affiliate of WGBH, Boston. Kwame Anthony Appiah (Photo: Greg Martin) Princeton Philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah discusses cosmopolitanism on ThoughtCast! Born in England and raised in Ghana, Appiah is half English and half African. And perhaps because of this, he’s fascinated with the concept of identity, and the power it wields over people. But rather than wage identity politics, Appiah encourages us instead to be good global citizens, interested in and accepting of each other. In short, cosmopolitan. But also, at least a little bit “contaminated”… Appiah’s written a book on the subject: it’s called Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers. Click here: to listen. (42 minutes) Ideas, Philosophy, Politics Jenny Attiyeh no no Faith and Philosophy with Harvey Cox and Simon Blackburn http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/faith-and-philosophy-with-harvey-cox-and-simon-blackburn/ http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/faith-and-philosophy-with-harvey-cox-and-simon-blackburn/#comments Fri, 08 Jun 2007 18:27:29 +0000 Jenny http://www.thoughtcast.org/?p=356 Note: this program was broadcast on the WGBH public radio sister stations WCAI/WNAN, on the Cape and Islands, and on WRNC-LP!
Harvey Cox
Simon Blackburn
In this half-hour, ThoughtCast talks with two very different men, with one thing in common — a belief in humanism. Harvey Cox, the renowned Harvard Divinity School Professor and author of The Secular City and When Jesus Came to Harvard, talks with ThoughtCast about his faith, and the religious resurgence taking place here in America and abroad. Cox has a unique take on Christianity — while he doubts the Resurrection, he celebrates the life of Jesus, and urges us all to follow in his footsteps, and take his teachings to the streets, to enact them in our flawed, real, and secular world.
Simon Blackburn on the other hand rejects religion but embraces the wisdom of philosophy. He too is an author — of Truth: A Guide, Think and Being Good, among others — and he teaches philosophy at the University of Cambridge, in England. What he offers is a philosophy that’s not just for the educated elite, but for the rest of us!

Click here: to listen (29 minutes)

And to listen to a WGBH Forum Network lecture moderated by Harvey Cox, on the Boston civil rights movement, click here!

]]> http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/faith-and-philosophy-with-harvey-cox-and-simon-blackburn/feed/ 2 0:29:12 Note: this program was broadcast on the WGBH public radio sister stations WCAI/WNAN, on the Cape and Islands, and on WRNC-LP! Harvey Cox Simon Blackburn In this half-hour, ThoughtCast talks with two very different men, with one thing i[...] Note: this program was broadcast on the WGBH public radio sister stations WCAI/WNAN, on the Cape and Islands, and on WRNC-LP! Harvey Cox Simon Blackburn In this half-hour, ThoughtCast talks with two very different men, with one thing in common — a belief in humanism. Harvey Cox, the renowned Harvard Divinity School Professor and author of The Secular City and When Jesus Came to Harvard, talks with ThoughtCast about his faith, and the religious resurgence taking place here in America and abroad. Cox has a unique take on Christianity — while he doubts the Resurrection, he celebrates the life of Jesus, and urges us all to follow in his footsteps, and take his teachings to the streets, to enact them in our flawed, real, and secular world. Simon Blackburn on the other hand rejects religion but embraces the wisdom of philosophy. He too is an author — of Truth: A Guide, Think and Being Good, among others — and he teaches philosophy at the University of Cambridge, in England. What he offers is a philosophy that’s not just for the educated elite, but for the rest of us! Click here: to listen (29 minutes) And to listen to a WGBH Forum Network lecture moderated by Harvey Cox, on the Boston civil rights movement, click here! Ideas, Philosophy, Religion Jenny Attiyeh no no Economist Amartya Sen on “Identity and Violence” http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/economist-amartya-sen-on-identity-and-violence/ http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/economist-amartya-sen-on-identity-and-violence/#comments Sun, 19 Nov 2006 09:41:52 +0000 Jenny http://thoughtcast.org/casts/economist-amartya-sen-on-identity-and-violence Note: this interview was broadcast on WGBH Radio.  And here’s a PRX review of the program!

Amartya Sen
Amartya Sen, the distinguished economist, philosopher, Nobel laureate and Harvard professor, talks with ThoughtCast about “Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny.”

This new book examines the unfortunate connection between violence and our tendency to identify with one key trait — our ethnicity, or religion, for example — to the exclusion of all others. Sen argues that we can combat this tendency by rejecting this narrowly defined, limited sense of identity, and embracing a broader, richer and more complex understanding of ourselves.
Amartya Sen was born in West Bengal, India (now Bangladesh) and teaches economics at Harvard University. He is known in the wider world for his work on the causes of famines.
Note: Susan Wennemyr served as associate producer on this program.
Click here: to listen (28:30 minutes).
To listen to a panel on “Combating Global Poverty” that includes Sen, click here to access WGBH’s Forum Network.

]]> http://www.thoughtcast.org/philosophy/economist-amartya-sen-on-identity-and-violence/feed/ 9 0:28:31 Note: this interview was broadcast on WGBH Radio.  And here’s a PRX review of the program! Amartya Sen Amartya Sen, the distinguished economist, philosopher, Nobel laureate and Harvard professor, talks with ThoughtCast about “Iden[...] Note: this interview was broadcast on WGBH Radio.  And here’s a PRX review of the program! Amartya Sen Amartya Sen, the distinguished economist, philosopher, Nobel laureate and Harvard professor, talks with ThoughtCast about “Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny.” This new book examines the unfortunate connection between violence and our tendency to identify with one key trait — our ethnicity, or religion, for example — to the exclusion of all others. Sen argues that we can combat this tendency by rejecting this narrowly defined, limited sense of identity, and embracing a broader, richer and more complex understanding of ourselves. Amartya Sen was born in West Bengal, India (now Bangladesh) and teaches economics at Harvard University. He is known in the wider world for his work on the causes of famines. Note: Susan Wennemyr served as associate producer on this program. Click here: to listen (28:30 minutes). To listen to a panel on “Combating Global Poverty” that includes Sen, click here to access WGBH’s Forum Network. Economics, Ideas, Philosophy Jenny Attiyeh no no