Dr. Michael Huemer joins me to discuss moral realism vs. antirealism, ethical intuitionism, phenomenal conservatism, moral disagreement, and much else in moral philosophy.  Ethical Intuitionism  Knowledge, Reality, and Value: A Mostly Common Sense Guide to Philosophy  William Lane Craig vs. Erik Wielenberg  Linktree / The Five Metaethical Positions /  Noncognitivism/expressivism: Moral statements are neither true nor false. Evaluative predicates do not even purportedly refer to any...

Is the intellectual tradition of theism evidence in favor of it? What about the atheistic tradition? ... Does atheism sap your moral motivation? Do Christians even believe in ultimate justice? ... Do contingency arguments succeed? What does it mean for something to be necessary?  Leave a voicemail at (734) 707-1940 (I'm only taking 3-4 calls per episode, so if you've already left one and haven't heard it yet, don't worry) YouTube Twitter @waldenpod...

I'm joined by two proponents of libertarian free will to discuss determinism, the phenomenology of free choices, how "ought implies can" could prove we have the ability to do otherwise, and much else.  linktr.ee/emersongreen YouTube Support the podcast at patreon.com/waldenpod or /counter Listen to our sister show, Counter Apologetics here Music by ichika Nito and used with permission. Twitter @waldenpod @OnPanpsychism Darren (Necessary Being) w/ Bread of Life Necessary Being on Free...

I'm joined by Matthew Adelstein of Deliberation Under Ideal Conditions for Utilitarianism 101. We also talk about a few basic things everyone needs to know to be conversant in moral philosophy.  YouTube Matthew's Channel  Matthew's Blog (Bentham's Bulldog) Consider supporting the show on Patreon here or Counter Apologetics here Listen to our sister show, Counter Apologetics here Music by ichika Nito and used with permission. Twitter @waldenpod @OnPanpsychism linktr.ee/emersongreen

Wild animal suffering – is it possible to do anything about it? Should we do anything about it? Even though the general principles that inform our concern for animal welfare shouldn’t be arbitrarily limited to animals outside the wild, I think intervention on any serious scale would be ill-advised. The natural order is deeply interconnected, dynamic, and awesomely complex. Drastic action, such as ending predation, would plausibly cause the system to collapse into nonexistence or end in some...

Personal identity, the potential evolutionary origins of religion, Bernardo Kastrup and analytic idealism, the Ship of Theseus and substance dualism. Leave a voicemail at (734) 707-1940 YouTube Twitter @waldenpod @OnPanpsychism Patreon.com/waldenpod linktr.ee/emersongreen

Leave me a voicemail at (734) 707-1940 for a new call-in segment! Linktree

A few thoughts on what mysterianism is not. Also, why "What is consciousness?" is a bad question.  Linktree

My opinionated introduction to mysterianism. Inspired by Noam Chomsky, Colin McGinn, and Eric Schwitzgebel, we explore a version of mysterianism that I think may be true. YouTube Support on Patreon Listen to our sister show, Counter Apologetics here Transcript Shane Wagoner - From Physicalism to Mysterianism Music by ichika Nito and used with permission. Twitter @waldenpod @OnPanpsychism linktr.ee/emersongreen

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A few scattered thoughts about internet materialists, underdetermination, neuroscience, the evolution of consciousness, qualia microscopes, and the hard problem of consciousness. YouTube Consider supporting the show on Patreon here or Counter Apologetics here Listen to our sister show, Counter Apologetics here Music by ichika Nito and used with permission. Twitter @waldenpod @OnPanpsychism linktr.ee/emersongreen

If epiphenomenalism is true, mental causation is an illusion. Even if pain and pleasure were inverted, you’d go on behaving the same way you do now, since your conscious states have nothing to do with determining or motivating your physical behavior. This is counterintuitive, to say the least. But it also leaves us completely unable to explain why our conscious states line up appropriately with our actions. We typically think that natural selection molded our mental profile: that which aids...

Ben Burgis recently invited me on his Callin show to speak about the value of “science fiction” thought experiments in applied ethics.  I argue that in the realm of applied ethics, thought experiments often confuse more than they clarify. They don’t map on to the real world cases they’re intended to help with (for various reasons), and we shouldn’t be informing action with scenarios that differ in ethically relevant respects. Applied ethics is about what we should do – it’s a uniquely...

Many leaders in the skeptic community have proven themselves to be untrustworthy sources of information on the topics they speak about. They’ve misled me often about what others believe and why. Moreover, genuine skepticism seems to be far less important to the skeptic community than the kind of conclusions one comes to. Failure to adopt the required list of beliefs disqualifies one from being a real skeptic, it would seem. In today’s episode, I talk about how my atheism caused me to...

I’m joined by philosopher Luke Roelofs to discuss the combination problem for panpsychism, split brain cases, vagueness arguments, illusionism, mental privacy, the general and special composition question, mereological nihilism and universalism, and many other topics related to consciousness and composite subjectivity. Watch on YouTube Combining Minds: How to Think About Composite Subjectivity (Oxford University Press) Amodal Mind Perception: Combining Inferentialism and...

I'm joined by Scott Clifton (Theoretical B******t) to discuss free will skepticism, compatibilism, moral responsibility, revenge, and killing coyotes. Video version - Is free will an illusion?  Scott's channel  Follow me @waldenpod and TBS @TheoreticalBS Consider supporting Walden Pod here or Counter Apologetics here linktr.ee/emersongreen

I respond to Alex O'Connor's arguments against compatibilism, the view that there is no real conflict between determinism and free will. Is free will skepticism the better view, as Alex claims? Will the British ever learn their lesson? CosmicSkeptic - Compatibilism Debunked Subscribe on YouTube here Listen to our sister show Counter Apologetics here Consider supporting Walden Pod on Patreon here or Counter Apologetics here  Follow on Twitter @waldenpod and...

After listening to Very Bad Wizards' new episode about panpsychism, I hit record and commented on a few clips that stood out to me. Subscribe on YouTube here Listen to our sister show Counter Apologetics here Consider supporting the show on Patreon here or Counter Apologetics here An interesting article on panpsychist history by Joe Zadeh Follow on Twitter @waldenpod and @OnPanpsychism linktr.ee/emersongreen

Compatibilism is the thesis that free will is compatible with determinism. In other words, a compatibilist is someone who doesn’t have a quarrel with using the term “free will” and who doesn’t think we need to run around with our hair on fire if determinism turns out to be true. By my lights, free will skeptics and libertarians seem to be entirely wrong about the dramatic consequences that would follow from not possessing libertarian freedom.  As you may have gathered, I’ve finally...

Can we be ultimately responsible for what we do? No one denies that we can be the proximate cause of our actions. I made this episode because I wanted to. But being the proximate cause of an action is compatible with determinism – no determinist in their right mind would deny that I made this episode because I wanted to. So is there a deeper sense of responsibility that can be attributed to human beings? One which absolves God, the world, ancestors, luck, and society of what we choose to...

I’m joined today by Jack Symes, editor of the new book, Philosophers on Consciousness: Talking about the Mind. Jack is a Teacher and Researcher of Philosophy at the University of Liverpool, UK and is also the co-host of The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast. Follow on Twitter @waldenpod and @OnPanpsychism Follow Jack on Twitter @_JackSymes @ThePanpsycast Philosophers on Consciousness: Talking about the Mind Support on Patreon here Listen to our sister show Counter Apologetics...

How can one reconcile the reality of mental causation with the accuracy of “the core theory,” which Sean Carroll hails as explaining all of everyday life? Contrary to Carroll’s intention, his proclamation that the laws underlying the physics of everyday life are completely understood is one of the factors that lead some to adopt Russellian panpsychism. (This episode was recorded as a video, which is available to patrons.) For the full episode, and access to other bonus episodes, subscribe at...

Is a brain necessary for experience? Do we have any good reason to limit the attribution of experience to creatures with complex nervous systems? Actually, no. Some materialists claim that consciousness can only exist in brains–sound reasoning, neuroscience, and physics all point in the same direction. We take a closer look at the reasoning that underlies the claim that complex nervous systems are necessary for experience. A quick note on terminology: In this episode, I use physicalism...

Recently I learned that H.P. Lovecraft had undergone a surprising and dramatic political transformation in the final years of his brief life. I wanted to read a few of Lovecraft's letters and discuss his views on capitalism, socialism, and the influence of the profit motive on artistic expression. (In the middle part of this episode, I also indulge in a bit of culture war stuff, so consider yourself warned.) In these letters from the last several years of his life, his notorious racism seems...

I was recently interviewed by Zac of Adherent Apologetics on the subject of problems with physicalism. We outline a few arguments against the view, including physicalism’s conflict with realism about phenomenal consciousness and anti-emergentism, as well as a couple different forms of the vagueness argument against physicalism. We also talk a bit about the tradition of atheist non-physicalism, which is almost entirely behind the recent rise in interest in alternatives to physicalism. Other...