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Common Room Philosophy

Common Room Philosophy

By Common Room Philosophy

A podcast by Toby Tremlett featuring long-form interviews with philosophers.
Listen if you want to hear in-depth but accessible conversations with philosophers which reveal why they entered into philosophy, and the ideas that keep them there.
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3| Schopenhauer on Boredom, Loneliness and Compassion- with David Bather Woods

Common Room PhilosophyJun 21, 2020

00:00
49:30
12| The Philosophy of Evil — with David Bather Woods
Mar 18, 202201:02:59
11| Can fiction help us see the world as it really is? — Iris Murdoch, her Literature and Philosophy, with Miles Leeson

11| Can fiction help us see the world as it really is? — Iris Murdoch, her Literature and Philosophy, with Miles Leeson

This episode is an interview with Miles Leeson. Miles is the director of research at the Iris Murdoch research centre at Chichester university, and the host of the Iris Murdoch society podcast. 

In this episode we discuss the novelist and philosopher Iris Murdoch, the links between her explicitly philosophical work and her literature, and her answer to the question “can fiction help us see the world as it really is?”. 

It seems that fiction has a troubled place within our culture. If we think of science as the only valid way to discover reality, then what does fiction become? It may be seen as an entertaining expression of personal voice or fantasy, but it would have a very dubious claim to revealing reality. In this podcast, we explore how Murdoch's work pushes against this view.

We discuss:

- Who Iris Murdoch was, and what here primary concerns in Philosophy were

- The role of art and 'vision' in her philosophical arguments and fiction

- Whether Murdoch believes in a moral reality

- Whether fiction can help us see the world as it really is


Some links:

Miles's recommended first Murdoch book: 

https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Iris-Murdoch/The-Nice-And-The-Good/141113

And first Murdoch philosophy book:

https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Iris-Murdoch/Existentialists-And-Mystics--Writings-on-Philosophy-and-Literature/16396120

Miles's five books interview on Iris Murdoch:

https://fivebooks.com/best-books/iris-murdoch-miles-leeson/

The Iris Murdoch Society Podcast:

https://soundcloud.com/user-548804258

If you have any feedback for the show, positive or critical, it would be very welcome. Check out the anonymous feedback form here: https://forms.gle/XWRA5RtGgREmLtTh6


Mar 01, 202258:49
10| How to listen better: to poetry and philosophy- with Karen Simecek
Jun 19, 202101:01:57
9| Moral Deference and Practical Deliberation - with Adina Covaci

9| Moral Deference and Practical Deliberation - with Adina Covaci

This episode is an interview with Warwick Philosopher Adina Covaci. We discuss her route into philosophy, why ethics professors might not act ethically and her recent argument for the wrongness of regularly deferring to others on your moral opinions. 

Listen to this podcast for an exploration of questions such as:

What book would Adina send back to her 16 year old self?

Why is it wrong to repeatedly engage in moral deference? 

What is practical deliberation, and why is it important to our lives?

Is obeying government Covid-19 guidelines an example of repeated moral deference?

This interview was conducted and edited by Toby Tremlett

Follow us on Twitter @RoomPhilosophy for the chance to ask questions that could be featured in our interviews.

If you have any feedback for the show, positive or critical, it would be very welcome. Check out the anonymous feedback form here: https://forms.gle/XWRA5RtGgREmLtTh6

Nov 28, 202049:32
8| The Rule of the Knowers, Justified Protests and the Duties of Democratic Citizens- with Sameer Bajaj

8| The Rule of the Knowers, Justified Protests and the Duties of Democratic Citizens- with Sameer Bajaj

This episode is the second part of an interview with political philosopher Sameer Bajaj. (It can be listened to out of order)

Listen to this podcast for an exploration of questions such as:

What is the best theoretical challenge to democracy?

Should we replace elected officials with citizens selected at random?

Why should we vote when individually we are causally inconsequential?

What justifies protest? 

This interview was conducted and edited by Toby Tremlett

Follow us on Twitter @RoomPhilosophy for the chance to ask questions that could be featured in our interviews. 

Oct 02, 202054:22
7| What Makes a Democracy Democratic?- with Sameer Bajaj

7| What Makes a Democracy Democratic?- with Sameer Bajaj

This episode is part 1 of an interview with political philosopher Sameer Bajaj. Sameer's research focuses on democracy and the duties of democratic citizens. In this part of the conversation, we discuss Sameer's path into philosophy, the books that every democratic citizen should read, and whether the US and the UK are actually democratic. 

Come back next week for part 2 of our conversation, where we will discuss the best theoretical objections to democracy, the question of which protests are justified and much more. 

This interview was conducted and edited by Toby Tremlett

Sep 25, 202030:50
6| How to be a Good Ancestor: Thinking and Acting for the Future- with Roman Krznaric

6| How to be a Good Ancestor: Thinking and Acting for the Future- with Roman Krznaric

This episode is an interview with public philosopher Roman Krznaric. Roman is a founding member of the school of life, and has previously published books on empathy (Empathy: why it matters and how to get it) and redefining existentialism for the modern world (carpe diem regained). We discuss issues of empathy in this episode, but the discussion is focused around the ideas and problems raised by Roman's new book: The Good Ancestor- how to think long-term in a short term world.

Listen to this episode for an exploration of questions like:

Why should we help future generations when there are so much suffering and injustice in the world today?

How can we use creativity to help us empathise with future generations? 

What should the goal of humanity be?

And many more...

This interview was conducted and edited by Toby Tremlett

Sep 06, 202001:21:47
5| Knowledge, Great Philosophers and Philosophy of Mind -with Barney Walker

5| Knowledge, Great Philosophers and Philosophy of Mind -with Barney Walker

This episode is an interview with Warwick Philosophy's Barney Walker. We discuss how his interest in philosophy began, what it is to be a good or even great philosopher, how the difference between knowledge and true belief matters and the subject matter of philosophy of mind. 

Listen to this episode for an exploration of questions like:

What is a great philosopher and who actually was one? 

How should we approach the questions about the nature of inquiry that arise from Plato's Meno?

What is philosophy of mind, and why does it lead to such counter-intuitive theories?

This interview was conducted and edited by Toby Tremlett

Aug 19, 202048:55
4| Testimony, Self-knowledge and the aims of Philosophy- with Guy Longworth

4| Testimony, Self-knowledge and the aims of Philosophy- with Guy Longworth

This episode is an interview with Warwick Philosophy's Guy Longworth. We discuss how his interest in philosophy began and was maintained, his ideas around testimony and self knowledge, and how ambitious philosophers should be in the claims that they make. 

Listen to this episode for an exploration of questions such as:

What is philosophy for?

What is at stake in research about testimony?

Is there a tension between an interest in Austin, a philosopher who in many respects had quite a modest view of the appropriate aims of good philosophy, with an interest in philosophers in the rationalist tradition, who often had much more grand ambitions?

This interview was conducted and edited by Toby Tremlett. 

Jul 05, 202050:39
3| Schopenhauer on Boredom, Loneliness and Compassion- with David Bather Woods
Jun 21, 202049:30
2| The History of Philosophy: its value and limitations- with David Bather Woods

2| The History of Philosophy: its value and limitations- with David Bather Woods

This episode is part one of an interview with Warwick Philosophy's senior teaching fellow David Bather Woods. David has taught extensively on the history of philosophy as well as researching the work of Arthur Schopenhauer. In this first part of the interview we discuss David’s path into philosophy before moving on to discuss the value of studying the history of philosophy, and how we can address the problem of its lack of diversity.

Interview conducted and edited by Toby Tremlett.

Jun 18, 202028:16
1| Chinese Philosophy, Daoism and a Philosophy of Comparisons- with Max Lacertosa

1| Chinese Philosophy, Daoism and a Philosophy of Comparisons- with Max Lacertosa

This episode is an interview with Warwick Philosophy's newly appointed teaching fellow Massimiliano Lacertosa. Max is interested in Chinese Philosophy (specifically Daoism) and in this interview we discuss questions such as: How can a course on "Chinese Philosophy" be taught without being too reductive? What is the benefit of approaching Philosophy comparatively? What does "Chinese Philosophy" even mean? If you are a student at Warwick and you were interested to read more about the contents of this episode, have a look at the reading lists for Max's courses below: https://courses.warwick.ac.uk/modules/2020/PH3A6-15 https://courses.warwick.ac.uk/modules/2020/PH150-15 

This interview was conducted and edited by Toby Tremlett.

Jun 11, 202046:47