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    Philosophy

    Very Bad Wizards

    Very Bad Wizards is a podcast featuring a philosopher (Tamler Sommers) and a psychologist (David Pizarro), who share a love for ethics, pop culture, and cognitive science, and who have a marked inability to distinguish sacred from profane. Each podcast includes discussions of moral philosophy, recent work on moral psychology and neuroscience, and the overlap between the two.

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    Latest Episodes:
    Episode 107: Winking Under Oppression (with Manuel Vargas) Jan 24, 2017
    Show notes

    The philosopher and pride of Bakersfield, CA Manuel Vargas joins us to talk about culpability under conditions of oppression. How should we treat wrongdoers when their actions and character are shaped in part by their oppressive circumstances? Is it disrespectful not to blame oppressed people for their bad behavior? Can being oppressed make you more culpable in some circumstances? And what's the point of holding people culpable anyway? Plus, the differences between "Hispanic" and "Latino/Latina/Latinx" and an exciting announcement: VBW merch!

    Special Guest: Manuel Vargas.

    Support Very Bad Wizards

    Links:

    • Our new VBW shirts are here! Very Bad Wizards | Teespring — Shirts, hoodies, mugs, and stickers! This time there are two slightly different designs, and a few colors to choose from!
    • Nelson Walkom (listener/musician/artist who suggested the VBW "repugnant" t-shirt design)
    • Manuel Vargas, that's who!
    • Latino - Wikipedia
    • Bakersfield, California - Wikipedia
    • Situationism (psychology) - Wikipedia
    • Action theory (philosophy) - Wikipedia
    • Gary Watson - USC Gould School of Law
    • Break Beat
    • "The Social Constitution of Responsible Agency: Oppression, Politics, and Moral Ecology" in The Social Dimensions of Responsibility. Edited by Marina Oshana, Katrina Hutchinson, and Catriona Mackenzie. New York: Oxford University Press, Forthcoming.
    Episode 106: American Grandstand Jan 10, 2017
    Show notes

    David and Tamler take a break from moral grandstanding to talk about moral grandstanding. How often do we moralize to make us look respectable? Does grandstanding make us more cynical about ethical debates? Does it contribute to outrage exhaustion and increased polarization? Most importantly, who does it more, David or Tamler? Plus: some of our favorite answers to this year's Edge.org question. (You can read the paper by Justin Tosi and Brandon Warmke on the links page.)

    Support Very Bad Wizards

    Links:

    • What Scientific Term or Concept Ought to Be More Widely Known? | Edge.org
    • Edge.org - Brian Eno "The Confirmation Bias"
    • Edge.org - Daniel Rockmore "The Trolley Problem"
    • Edge.org - Michael Gazzaniga "The Schnitt"
    • Edge.org - Sean Carroll "Bayes' Theorem"
    • Edge.org - Lisa Randall "Effective Theory"
    • Tosi, J., & Warmke, B. (2016). Moral Grandstanding. [full text preprint]
    • Gross Anatomy: In This Political Climate, When Are We Right to Feel Disgusted? | News & City Life | Houstonia
    • Minson, J. A., & Monin, B. (2012). Do-gooder derogation disparaging morally motivated minorities to defuse anticipated reproach. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 3(2), 200-207.
    • Acknowledgement of Traditional Aboriginal Territory in British Columbia | Safe Harbour - Respect for All
    • Leave Britney Alone (Complete)
    • Newman, G. E., & Cain, D. M. (2014). Tainted Altruism When Doing Some Good Is Evaluated as Worse Than Doing No Good at All. Psychological science, 25(3), 648-655.
    Episode 105: Wizards With (Reactive) Attitudes Dec 28, 2016
    Show notes

    David and Tamler go back to basics--discussing a paper (Victoria McGeer on responsibilty and Strawson) and arguing about restorative justice. What is the function of attitudes like resentment and anger? Do they presume anything metaphysics of agency? Why is Josh Greene trying to erode the moral scaffolding of society? Plus we talk about the latest Aeon troll piece on why sexual desire is wrong.

    Support Very Bad Wizards

    Links:

    • Why sexual desire is objectifying – and hence morally wrong | Aeon Ideas
    • Satoshi Kanazawa - Wikipedia
    • Victoria McGeer
    • Co-reactive attitudes and the making of moral community Final MS, forthcoming in In Emotions, Imagination and Moral Reasoning, eds., C. MacKenzie & R. Langdon. Macquarie monographs in Cognitive Science. Psychology Press, 2010.
    • Roskies, A. (2006). Neuroscientific challenges to free will and responsibility. Trends in cognitive sciences, 10(9), 419-423.
    • Greene, J., & Cohen, J. (2004). For the law, neuroscience changes nothing and everything. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 359(1451), 1775-85.
    • Pizarro, D.A. & Helzer, E. (2010). Freedom of the will and stubborn moralism. In Baumeister, R.F., A.R. Mele, and K. D. Vohs (Eds.) Free will and consciousness: How might they work? (pp. 101-120) Oxford University Press.
    Episode 104: Smelling Salts for Morality: Our Top 3 Movies About Empathy (with Paul Bloom) Dec 14, 2016
    Show notes

    Paul Bloom takes some time away from his "Waking Up" appearances to join us for a very special movie episode: our top three films about empathy. Can movies help us understand the experiences of people who live completely different lives? Do serial killers need empathy to effectively torture their victims? Does empathy make you want to blow up the world, or lead naked men into black liquid-y voids? Plus Paul and David try to bully Tamler into watching "Westworld." Also, buy Paul's new book (link below) "Against Empathy"! [Note: this episode is heavy on the spoilers. If you're worried, check the links below--they contain the titles for each movie in the order discussed on the podcast].

    Special Guest: Paul Bloom.

    Support Very Bad Wizards

    Links:

    • Against Empathy by Paul Bloom [amazon.com affiliate link]
    • Paul Bloom on Sam Harris' "Waking Up" podcast
    • Review: 'Against Empathy,' or the Right Way to Feel Someone's Pain - The New York Times
    • Ex Machina (2015) - IMDb (Paul's Pick)
    • The Revenant (2015) - IMDb (David's Pick)
    • Nightcrawler (2014) - IMDb (Tamler's Pick)
    • Never Let Me Go (2010) - IMDb (Tamler's Pick)
    • The Cabin in the Woods (2012) - IMDb (Paul's Pick)
    • Tangerine (2015) - IMDb (David's Pick)
    • Sullivan's Travels (1941) - IMDb (Tamler's Pick)
    • Break Music: Built-In Frown by peez [soundcloud.com]
    • The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - IMDb (Paul's Pick)
    • Being John Malkovich (1999) - IMDb (David's Pick)
    • Under the Skin (2013) - IMDb (Tamler's Pick)
    Episode 103: Very Bad Utopias Nov 29, 2016
    Show notes

    It’s the Thanksgiving episode! David and Tamler give thanks to their listeners and Patreon supporters with an episode chosen by our top Patreon subscribers (it was the most enjoyable election we've had all month). It was close, we had a bunch of great suggestions (that we'll refer to for upcoming episodes), but the winner was this topic from Bryan Farrow:

    "In the vein of the Republic and Rationalia, I want to hear Peez and Tamler draft a constitution for "Oz", a sovereign state that maximizes whatever they cherish most. (Honor and porn, presumably.)"

    Bryan’s wish is our command. Welcome to “Honoraria†and “Puerto Ricoâ€, currently at war over the five paragraph essay. Plus, Dave relates how it feels to get the bulk of the critical feedback for once. And we talk about a few other things we’re grateful for â€" including students who don’t try to bullshit us, “honeybunsâ€, academic PEDs -- and Tamler says a few words about his Mom.

    Support Very Bad Wizards

    Links:

    • Gross Anatomy | News & City Life | Houstonia
    • "Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging" by Sebastian Junger [amazon.com affiliate link]
    • Very Bad Wizards is creating a Biweekly Podcast | Patreon
    Episode 102: Red, Black, and Blue Nov 15, 2016
    Show notes

    David and Tamler stumble their way through talking about the election results, how Trump got elected, the role of racism, sexism, the liberal bubble, complacency, economic anxiety - and find they're just as confused as everyone else. In the second segment, we lighten things up a little (really!) and discuss the Black Mirror episode "San Junipero" (available on Netflix). Spoiler talk so try to see the episode before listening.

    Support Very Bad Wizards

    Links:

    • Wes Alwan's Facebook post about the election [facebook.com] — Telling the millions of uneducated white rust belt voters who put Obama in office in 2008 and 2012 that they are evil bigots is not a strategy for winning an election.
    • Glenn Greenwald on Who's to Blame for Trump's Election
    • What So Many People Don't Get About the US Working Class by Joan Williams [hbr.org]
    • I Will Never Underestimate White People's Need to Preserve Whiteness Again [verysmartbrothas.com]
    • Episode Break Music [soundcloud.com]
    • Black Mirror - San Junipero [imdb.com]
    • Heaven is a Place on Earth by Belinda Carlisle [youtube.com]
    • Charlie Brooker Shares 'San Junipero' Playlist from Black Mirror [ew.com]
    • Mr. Robot Virtual Reality Experience [youtube.com] — Step inside the world of Mr. Robot like never before and experience a pivotal moment from Elliot's past. Written and directed by Sam Esmail.
    Episode 101: Having Desert and Eating It Too Nov 01, 2016
    Show notes

    Why do we call Mozart a creative genius? He created his music, but do we also think that he created himself? How do we determine who deserves praise as an artist? What about athletes? What standards do we use - do they involve a strong notion of free will that's incompatible with determinism? If not, why should we think that moral praise and blame require agents to act with that sort of free will? David and Tamler argue over how much we can learn about moral responsibility from our responsibility practices in the domains of arts and sports. Plus, it's Halloween – time to rev up the campus culture wars. Do concerns about "cultural appropriation" amount to a "war on Halloween"?

    Support Very Bad Wizards

    Links:

    • Oregon Student Government: Dressing Up as Any Character Is Cultural Appropriation, Not Okay - Hit & Run : Reason.com
    • Russell, P. (2008). Free will, art and morality. The Journal of ethics, 12(3-4), 307-325. [academia.edu]
    • Infernal Affairs - Wikipedia
    • Paul Gauguin - Wikipedia
    Episode 100: It's a Celebration Oct 13, 2016
    Show notes

    David and Tamler have their 100th episode hijacked briefly before taking it back like Wesley Snipes in Passenger 57. To celebrate the milestone Tamler pops some champagne, Dave sips his high priced Ivy League bourbon, and we both take a quiz designed by MIT that assesses our moral worldview and determines how driverless cars should be programmed. In the second segment we answer a bunch of questions our listeners submitted on Facebook and Twitter for an AMA. (We didn't get to all of them, and some were cut not because they were bad questions but because our answers were incoherent. But we did our best.) Plus, has David changed his mind about Straw Dogs? How would we argue if we switched positions in our big fights? And we expose the vast Partially Examined Life conspiracy that keeps us down in the iTunes (and Linux) ratings.

    Special Guests: Eliza Sommers and Isabella Pizarro.

    Support Very Bad Wizards

    Links:

    • Moral Machine — MIT Media Lab's Self-Driving Car Moral Test
    • Garfield Minus Garfield
    • Bem, D. J. (2011). Feeling the future: experimental evidence for anomalous retroactive influences on cognition and affect. Journal of personality and social psychology, 100(3), 407.
    • Simmons, Joseph P., Leif D. Nelson, and Uri Simonsohn. "False-positive psychology undisclosed flexibility in data collection and analysis allows presenting anything as significant." Psychological science (2011): 0956797611417632. [haas.berkeley.edu]
    Episode 99: Mockingbirds, Destructo-Critics, and Mr. Robot Sep 27, 2016
    Show notes

    David and Tamler tackle three topics on their last double digit episode. First, should a middle school perform "To Kill a Mockingbird" even if they have to use bad language the "n-word," and talk about sexual assault? Tamler relates a story involving his daughter (who was supposed to play Scout) and a playwright who refused to allow his play to be censored. But when it comes to drama, middle school's got nothing on social psychology. Next, David and Tamler break down the latest controversy surrounding Princeton psychologist Susan Fiske's leaked column about the bullying destructo-critics and methodological terrorists that are challenging the establishment in the field. Finally, they give a spoiler-filled analysis of season 2 of Mr. Robot, a polarizing season for many fans. Tamler's suffering from a little theory fatigue, but David blows his mind with his explanation of what's really going on with the Dark Army and F-Society. Have you ever cried during sex?

    Links
    • To Kill a Mockingbird stage play [stageagent.com]
    • Mob Rule or the Wisdom of Crowds? Susan Fiske's forthcoming column in the APS Observer [verybadwizards.com]
    • Andrew Gelman's blog post about Susan Fiske's column [andrewgelman.com]
    • Ioannidis, J. P. (2005). Why most published research findings are false. PLoS Med, 2(8), e124. [plos.org]
    • The Hardest Science blog by Sanjay Srivastava (@hardsci)
    • sometimes i'm wrong blog by Simine Vazire (@siminevazire)
    • The 20% Statistician blog by Daniel Lakens (@lakens)
    • Too Many Cooks [youtube.com]
    • Bitcoin explained and made simple [youtube.com]
    • Key generation [wikipedia.org]

    Support Very Bad Wizards

    Episode 98: Mind the Gap Sep 13, 2016
    Show notes

    David and Tamler break down the biggest question in moral philosophy -- can we derive value judgments from a set of purely factual claims? Like the Scottish Philosopher David Hume they're surprised when the usual copulation of propositions 'is' and 'is not' suddenly turn into conclusions in the form of 'ought' and 'ought not.' And what's the deal with all these copulating propositions anyway? Aren't they a little young for that? Do propositions practice safe copulation? Is proposition porn about to be the new fad? They also talk about Moore's Open Question Argument, which introduced the term "naturalist fallacy," and respond to angry criticism over last episode's Rationalia segment.

    Links
    • Listener C. Derek Varn's blog post: "The Dogmatic Slumber of Neil deGrasse Tyson" [symptomaticcommentary.wordpress.com]
    • Hume's Moral Philosophy [Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]
    • Is-ought problem [wikipedia.org]
    • GE Moore's Moral Philosophy [Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]
    • Open-question argument [wikipedia.org]
    • The Naturalistic Fallacy [wikipedia.org]

    Support Very Bad Wizards

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