United States Australia Brazil Canada Germany India Ireland Japan Mexico New Zealand Philippines South Africa United Kingdom
Philosophy and Science of Human Nature podcast artwork
Society & Culture

Philosophy and Science of Human Nature

by Tamar Gendler
Share this ranking Claiming needs an RSS feed. Contact us.
Listen on Apple Podcasts

Chart positions today · United States

Not on the United States charts we track today.

If you like Philosophy and Science of Human Nature, try…

Latest episodes

  • 25. Tying up Loose Ends

    January 24, 2014 · 0 min

    Professor Gendler begins with brief introductory remarks about the course’s methodology, explaining the approach that was taken to reading and presenting various articles. She continues with a discussion of Cass Sunstein’s work on social…

  • 2. The Ring of Gyges: Morality and Hypocrisy

    January 17, 2014 · 0 min

    After introducing Plato's Republic, Professor Gendler turns to the discussion of Glaucon's challenge in Book II. Glaucon challenges Socrates to defend his claim that acting justly (morally) is valuable in itself, not merely as a means to…

  • 1. Course Introduction

    January 17, 2014 · 0 min

    Professor Gendler explains the interdisciplinary nature of the course: work from philosophy, psychology, behavioral economics, and literature will be brought to bear on the topic of human nature. The three main topics of the course are…

  • 24. Censorship

    March 27, 2012 · 0 min

    Professor Gendler explores some aspects of the question of what sorts of non-rational persuasion are legitimate for a government to engage in. She begins with two modern examples that illustrate Plato’s view on state censorship. She next…

  • 26. Concluding Lecture

    March 27, 2012 · 0 min

    In this concluding lecture, Professor Gendler charts four paths through the course. The first path traces how the course’s three main goals were realized: the goals of introducing students to the discipline of Philosophy though a number of…

Show 7 more episodesShow fewer episodes

  • 23. Social Structures

    March 27, 2012 · 0 min

    Professor Gendler begins by recapping the topic of state legitimacy and then offers a way of understanding the disagreement between Rawls and Nozick as one over what states ought to do given the phenomena of moral luck. She then turns to a…

  • 22. Equality II

    March 27, 2012 · 0 min

    Robert Nozick’s Anarchy, State, and Utopia is presented as a counterpoint to Rawls’ A Theory of Justice. In contrast to Rawls, who puts justice at the center of his theory, Nozick maintains that the primary notion should be rights or…

  • 14. The Trolley Problem

    March 27, 2012 · 0 min

    The discussion of Kant from last lecture continues with a statement and explication of his first formulation of the categorical imperative: act only in such a way that you can will your maxim to be a universal law. Professor Gendler shows…

  • 21. Equality

    March 27, 2012 · 0 min

    The discussion of the legitimacy of government is continued with an introduction to a major 20th century work of political philosophy, John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice. Professor Gendler explores John Rawls’ central claims: that “justice is…

  • 20. The Prisoner's Dilemma

    March 27, 2012 · 0 min

    Two game theoretical problems--the Prisoner’s Dilemma and the Problem of the Commons--are explored in detail. Both collective decision-making scenarios are structured such that all parties making rational choices ensures a less desired…

  • 19. Contract & Commonwealth: Thomas Hobbes

    March 27, 2012 · 0 min

    In the opening part of the lecture, Professor Gendler concludes her discussion of punishment by exploring how Alan Kazdin’s research on effective parenting provides insights about techniques for rehabilitating individuals who violate…

  • 18. Punishment II

    March 27, 2012 · 0 min

    The lecture begins with a consideration of the traditional consequentialist account of punishment–-that punishment is justified by its deterrent effect on future crimes. Traditional criticisms of the view are presented, and John Rawls’…

Full episode archive on Apple Podcasts →

About the show

Philosophy and the Science of Human Nature pairs central texts from Western philosophical tradition (including works by Plato, Aristotle, Epictetus, Hobbes, Kant, Mill, Rawls and Nozick) with recent findings in cognitive science and related fields. The course is structured around three intertwined sets of topics: Happiness and Flourishing; Morality and Justice; and Political Legitimacy and Social Structures.