Brain in a Vat

Latest Episodes:

Mark Oppenheimer²: The Limits Of Free Speech? Sep 27, 2020

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Is cancel culture destroying our institutions? Should Holocaust deniers have the right to speak? What is hate speech, and should it be illegal?

Brain in a Vat Store: smarturl.it/Lockdownbook

Harpers Letter: https://harpers.org/a-letter-on-justice-and-open-debate/

Let's Talk About Sex With Raja Halwani Sep 20, 2020

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Is it wrong to only have a sexual preference for certain races? Can you have sex without being objectified? Is there a moral limit on our sexual fantasies?

Store: http://smarturl.it/LockdownBook

Thumbnail Art: The Yoshiwara Prostitute by Kikugawa Eizan

David Benatar: The Meaning of Life Sep 13, 2020

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What does it all mean? If we live on a pail blue dot in a vast and uncaring universe can our lives have cosmic meaning? Is it better never to have been born?

Should You Volunteer To Get Covid? With Dustin Crummett Sep 06, 2020

Show notes

Could purposely infecting volunteers with the Coronavirus help us reach herd immunity or develop a vaccine more rapidly? Is it wrong to expose people to the risk of death, even if they consent? Thumbnail Art: Hold Your Breath Paulina Siniatkina

Gorgeous or Grotesque? With Amanda Ballen Sep 02, 2020

Show notes

Can you be revolted and attracted to the same person? Can concepts be beautiful? Does art need to create sensations to be enjoyed? IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12490350/ Thumbnail Art: A Grotesque Old Woman by Quentin Matsys

Crime and Punishment With Doug Husak Aug 23, 2020

Show notes

Who deserves to be punished? Should the State kill killers and rape rapists? Should we abolish the police and the prison system?

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/braininavat IMDB:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12490350/

Is Cultural Relativism Racist? With Justin Kalef Aug 16, 2020

Show notes

Culturals groups have different beliefs about what is morally right and wrong. Does a tolerant outlook mean that we should accept these different beliefs as correct? What if those beliefs are discriminatory?

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/braininavat

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12490350/

Thumbnail Art: The Dinner Party by Sam Walsh

What is Love? With Raja Halwani Aug 09, 2020

Show notes

Is love everlasting? Can we love more than one person at the same time?

Do we choose our lovers for the wrong reasons?

http://rajasmusingsconfusings.blogspot.com/

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/braininavat

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12490350/

Thumbnail Art: The Lovers by Rene Magritte

Are You Evil? Aug 02, 2020

Show notes

Is it wrong to root for the bad guy in a horror movie? Is evil a matter of who you are or what you do? What makes an action supremely evil?

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/braininavat

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12490350/

Thumbnail Art: The number of the beast is 666 by William Blake

What's Wrong with Moral Grandstanding? With Brandon Warmke Jul 26, 2020

Show notes

What do Greta Thunberg, #BLM and #Metoo have in common? Are these moralising quests to end climate change, racism and sexism motivated by the will to do good, or merely the will to look good?

Grandstanding: The Use and Abuse of Moral Talk https://www.amazon.com/Grandstanding-Use-Abuse-Moral-Talk-ebook/dp/B0851PR3DB/

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/braininavat

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12490350/

Thumbnail Art: J. C. Leyendecker The Politician

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