philosophy bites

Galen Strawson on Panpsychism

Is there something that it is like to be an electron? That sounds implausible. Yet Galen Strawson believes this is the best explanation of how things are. Find out why.

Listen to Galen Strawson on Panpsychism

Listen to an earlier interview with Galen Strawson on the Sense of Self

Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy

Tim Crane on Animal Minds

What sort of thoughts can animals have? Tim Crane discusses the intriguing issue of what apes and monkeys are capable of thinking about in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Listen to Tim Crane on Animal Minds

Listen to an earlier Philosophy Bites interview with Tim Crane on Mind and Body

Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy

Frank Jackson on What Mary Knew

Frank Jackson is responsible for one of the most famous thought experiments in the philosophy of mind, one that was intended to show that qualia, the 'feely' aspects of our exprience can't be explained by physicalism. This is sometimes known as The Knowledge Argument. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast he talks about the thought experiment and explains why he has changed his mind about it.

Listen to Frank Jackson on What Mary Knew

Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy

Ned Block on Consciousness

Ned Block explores some of the philosophical problems of consciousness in conversation with Nigel Warburton in the latest episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Block believes that not all phenomena of consciousness are directly available to us. Sound contradictory? Listen to the podcast to hear why he believes this.

Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Listen to Ned Block on Consciousness

Sabine Döring on Emotion

What is an emotion? Is an emotion the same as a mood? What part should the emotions play in our life and in our understanding of what it is to be human? Sabine Döring discusses these questions with Nigel Warburton in this episode of Philosophy Bites.

Listen to Sabine Döring on Emotion

Barry C. Smith on Neuroscience

In this interview for Philosophy Bites Barry C. Smith, the new director of the Institute of Philosophy in London, discusses the impact of recent discoveries in neuroscience (including blind sight and mirror neurones) on our understanding of the mind and our senses.

Listen to Barry Smith on Neuroscience

Jennifer Hornsby on Human Agency

What is it for someone to do something on purpose? Jennifer Hornsby gives her account in conversation with Nigel Warburton.

Listen to Jennifer Hornsby on Human Agency

A.C. Grayling on Descartes' Cogito

Anthony Grayling, author of a recent biography of René Descartes, explores Descartes' Cogito argument, the pivotal argument of the Meditations, in conversation with Nigel Warburton in this episode of Philosophy Bites.

Listen to A.C. Grayling on Descartes' Cogito Argument

Read Simon Blackburn's review of Grayling's biography of Descartes

Tim Crane on Mind and Body

In this latest interview for Philosophy Bites Tim Crane addresses the question of how the mind relates to the body. How could a piece of soft tissue think and feel?

Listen to Tim Crane on Mind and Body

Read Tim Crane's blog at the Institute of Philosophy

David Papineau on Physicalism

Is the mind physical? Can we explain all human conscious experience in terms of physical events? David Papineau believes that we can. In this interview for Philosophy Bites he explains what physicalism is, why he believes it to be true, and how it can be defended against various criticisms.

Listen to David Papineau on Naturalism