Bad Philosophy

In a world, divided by history, separate but equal, teetering on the brink of the cosmos, one podcast dares to defy the axioms and go where no podcast has gone bef… well you get the idea. This week we’re talking Anathem!  Neal Stephenson‘s latest work of spec-fic awesomery is ripe with headiness, so we decided to bring on couple of powerhouses in the brain department. Former-KTXT and current Llano Idea DJ Benjamin Brown returns to duke it out in a literary smackdown for the ages with veteran Bad Philosopher and aspiring YouTube reviewer Kevin Saunders. If this were a book, it’d be a genuine page-turner. But you read with your ears, right? Of course you do. So have a listen…

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You also have the option to watch our live Stickam recording below. Join us next Sunday at 12pm CST for Episode 41!

This week’s post-show song pimpage: “Mandelbrot Set” by Jonathan Coulton

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aging, Alan Turing, Amazon, Anathem, anime, apocalypse, Aquinas, Aristotle, Audible, Ben Brown, books, Canticle for Liebowitz, Christian Science, communication, Cory Doctorow, Cryptonomicon, cyberpunk, DRM, Dune, economics, Galileo, history, Isaac Asimov, J. R. R. Tolkien, Kevin, Kindle, KTXT, mathematics, Mendeleev, meta, Neal Stephenson, Occam's Razor, physics, piracy, pirates, Plato, publishing, Pythagorean Theorem, quantum physics, religion, Richard Feynman, Rifftrax, Robert Heinlein, sci-fi, science, scientology, Skype, Snow Crash, Special Relativity, sports, Starship Troopers, Stephen, technology, The Baroque Cycle, The Day After Tomorrow, The Llano Idea, The Long Now Foundation, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, The World Without Us, TV, Twilight, Variable Star, WWII, XKCD

Ethics is a tricky subject. For some, it’s subjective; anything goes. For others, it can be quite objective; right and wrong can be determined. Here at Texas Tech, ethics has become a full-blown initiative, though perhaps not as full-blown as some would like. Joining us to shine some light on the subject from the inside is Tech philosopher Dr. Daniel Nathan, alongside myself and jelly baby-munching mainstay Kevin Saunders. Do the right thing, folks: have a listen…

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This week’s post-show song pimpage: “Do the Right Thing” by George Strait

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Bernie Madoff, Chicago, copyright, Daily Toreador, diversity, Dr. Nathan, education, ethics, Freakonomics, genocide, intelligence, Kant, Kevin, mathematics, Michigan, moral relativism, movies, normative ethics, pedagogy, plagiarism, politics, Predictably Irrational, SACS, Stephen, Steven Levitt, Texas Tech University, values, zombies

After a completely unintended hiatus brought on by the super-unfortunate necessity to re-edit this episode, it’s finally here! And it’s a good one, folks. Dr. Mark Webb, now chairman of the Texas Tech philosophy department joins me for his third appearance on the show, alongside Numero Uno Fanboy Jed Cummins and national traveler Kevin Saunders. We discuss charity, education, and the Turkish movement that’s sweeping the world. Also, trolleys. Enjoy!

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This week’s post-show song pimpage: “Birdhouse in Your Soul” by They Might be Giants

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apathy, Aristotle, Bill Gates, Buddhism, charity, Christianity, Confucianism, Dell, Dr. Webb, education, ethics, gay rights, government, homosexuality, human nature, Islam, Jediah, Kevin, Linux, Maslo's Hierarchy of Needs, metaphysics, Miami University, Mickey Rooney, moral realism, relativism, religion, Skype, smoking, Stephen, Turkey, values, women's right

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve lost a lot of celebrities–Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, even Billy Mays. It’s been tragic, but it got us here at BF thinking… what will happen to our social graphs when we pass on? We decided to answer this pressing question in possibly our most daring setup ever; inside a car going 70 MPH down a freeway. Why? Because, y’know… we could. Intrepid driver Matt Legler, Numero Uno co-pilot Jed Cummins, official iPhone 3G Sexy videographer Aaron Baxter and I were joined by Kevin Saunders via Skype over Jed’s tethered iPhone. Check out Aaron’s short video of the craziness, get your will in order, and enjoy this week’s totally road-trippin’ BF…

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2Pac, Aaron, AIM, archival, baseball, Beatlemania, celebrities, death, Douglas Adams, encryption, ethics, Facebook, Fake Steve Jobs, Farah Fawcett, Flickr, funerals, George Orwell, Helen Keller, Hichhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, history, identity, iPhone, Jediah, Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic Park, Kevin Rose, lawyers, marketing, Matt, Michael Jackson, music, privacy, Satan, security, Skype, social media, social networking, Stephen, Steve Gibson, The Beatles, Tony LaRussa, trust, Twitter, World of Warcraft, Xbox Live, YouTube