Philosophical Examples

It is not often in the world of radio and podcasts that something truly gripping to me comes along, but ever since iTunes introduced a new service called iTunes U, a way institutions of higher learning can present content in podcast form to students and interested parties around the world, I have become more and more interested.

There are many, many worthwhile sources of content on iTunes U sponsored by legitimate universities all around the world, and I may even write about some of them later, but for now, I would like to highlight a fascinating radio program sponsored by Stanford University, called Philosophy Talk.

"The program that questions everything... except your intelligence."

This program is exceptional for a lot of reasons, but firstly, it is supremely legitimate. It is hosted by Ken Taylor, Professor and Chair of Stanford University's Department of Philosophy, and John Perry, Henry Waldgrave Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Stanford University, and every week they are accompanied by an expert on the topic of discussion. The topics range in diverse philosophical issues including Aging, Global Poverty and International Aid, Intelligent Design, Friendship, and more. The program discusses current philosophical views on these subjects and how these issues may effect the way we live our lives, helping the listener form philosophies for themselves on issues they may not have previously thought about.

What is even more impressive to me is the faithful execution of the program's motto: "The program that questions everything... Except your intelligence." On this show, callers are allowed to contribute to the discussion, and some callers may not be quite as well educated as others or may submit shaky reasoning, but the hosts are always consistently respectful and focus in the the caller's best points and even clarify what they may be trying to say.

The reason this is so incredible to me is because I've been trying to find philosophical role models, people whose philosophy and human relations skills I can truly admire and hope to emulate, but these examples have come very scarce to me.

In the media and especially in other podcasts, hosts always seem to want to abolish or publicly defame something and/or forcefully convert the viewer to a certain way of thinking rather than discuss issues respectfully and look at things from other people's perspectives. These poor examples usually come across as fanatical and intolerant. I do not, nor do I think many reasonable people would, admire either characteristic.

I want very much to find someone able to question life, be open-minded, but not cynical. I want to admire someone who displays consistently admirable human relation skills. The guys on Philosophy Talk very closely fit this description, and so I love to listen to them, and I feel like the program has a lot to offer, not just in content, but also in spirit.

There are ten podcasts of Philosophy Talk available on iTunes U, and dozens and dozens more available on the Philosophy Talk website. Each show is a little less than an hour long. They are well worth the time.