Tag Archives: religion

Posted on

089: Ep85 – God Is a Question

Philosophy Bakes Bread radio show & podcast

Dr. William IrwinIn episode 85 of Philosophy Bakes Bread, Eric Thomas Weber and Anthony Cashio interview Dr. William Irwin today about his most recent book, God Is a Question, Not an Answer published in December 2018 with Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.

Image of a chalk board featuring question marks, with the cover of Dr. Irwin's book over top of it, which reads: 'God Is a Question, Not an Answer: Finding Common Ground in Uncertainty.'

Dr. Irwin is Herve A. LeBlanc Distinguished Service Professor and Chair of Philosophy at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He is also the author of The Free Market Existentialist (2015) and of Little Siddartha (2018). In addition, he is also the editor of numerous books on philosophy and popular culture, including: Seinfeld and Philosophy (1999), The Simpsons and Philosophy (2001), and The Matrix and Philosophy (2002). He was editor of these books and then General Editor of the Popular Culture and Philosophy Series through Open Court Publishing. In 2006, Irwin left Open Court to become the General Editor of The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series, which includes Metallica and Philosophy (2007) and Black Sabbath and Philosophy (2012), among other volumes.

Listen for our “You Tell Me!” questions and for some jokes in one of our concluding segments, called “Philosophunnies.” Reach out to us on Facebook @PhilosophyBakesBread and on Twitter @PhilosophyBB; email us at philosophybakesbread@gmail.com; or call and record a voicemail that we play on the show, at 859.257.1849. Philosophy Bakes Bread is a production of the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA). Check us out online at PhilosophyBakesBread.com and check out SOPHIA at PhilosophersInAmerica.com.


(1 hr)

Click here for a list of all the episodes of Philosophy Bakes Bread.

 

 

Subscribe to the podcast!

We’re on iTunes and Google Play, and we’ve got a regular RSS feed too!

Logo for Spotify that links to the Spotify page for Philosophy Bakes Bread.iTunes logo.Google PlayRSS logo feed icon and link.

 

 

 

Notes

  1. William Irwin’s God Is a Question, Not an Answer (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2019).
  2. Kamel Daoud, The Mersault Investigation (New York: Other Press, 2015).
  3. Albert Camus, The Stranger (New York: Knopf, 1993).
  4. William Irwin, Little Siddhartha: A Sequel (Brunswick, ME: Shanti Arts Publishing, 2018).
  5. Richard Rorty, “Human Rights, Rationality, and Sentimentality,” in Stephen Shute, ed. On Human Rights: Oxford Amnesty Lectures (New York: Basic Books, 1994), 111-134.
  6. Bill’s philosophunny reference: Saturday Night Live’s “NPR Delicious Dish: Schweddy Balls,” Season 24, 1998:

 

 

You Tell Me!

For our future “You Tell Me!” segments, Bill asked the following question in this episode:

“What’s the last big issue that you could admit that you were wrong about?”

Let us know what you think! Via Twitter, Facebook, Email, or by commenting here below.

Posted on

082: Ep78 – Demons and Other Unusual Mental States

Philosophy Bakes Bread radio show & podcast

Dr. Tadd Ruetenik

In this 78th episode of Philosophy Bakes Bread Eric Thomas Weber and Anthony Cashio interview Dr. Tadd Ruetenik, Professor of Philosophy at Saint Ambrose University, on “Demons and Other Unusual Mental States.” Tadd is the author of The Demons of William James: Religious Pragmatism Explores Unusual Mental States, out this year with Palgrave MacMillan.

Cover of Ruetenik's book, 'The Demons of William James.'

Tadd is the winner of the 2018 Ila and John Morrow Prize from the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy. He teaches American philosophy, critical thinking, philosophy of life, and philosophy of religion. In addition to The Demons of William James, Tadd’s publications have been featured in The Pluralist, Contemporary Pragmatism, Teaching American Literature, the journal of Philosophy and Theology, and the Journal of Religion and Health, and have been on topics ranging from Animal Ethics, to Jane Addams and Christian Science.

Listen for our “You Tell Me!” questions and for some jokes in one of our concluding segments, called “Philosophunnies.” Reach out to us on Facebook @PhilosophyBakesBread and on Twitter @PhilosophyBB; email us at philosophybakesbread@gmail.com; or call and record a voicemail that we play on the show, at 859.257.1849. Philosophy Bakes Bread is a production of the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA). Check us out online at PhilosophyBakesBread.com and check out SOPHIA at PhilosophersInAmerica.com.

(1 hr)

Click here for a list of all the episodes of Philosophy Bakes Bread.

 

Subscribe to the podcast!

We’re on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, and even now on YouTube, and we’ve got a regular RSS feed too!

Google Play
Logo for Spotify that links to the Spotify page for Philosophy Bakes Bread.
iTunes logo.
RSS logo feed icon and link.
Logo for how to subscribe to Stitcher.

 

 

 

Notes

Tadd Ruetenik, rocking out.
Tadd from his rock and roll days.
  1. William James, Varieties of Religious Experience (New York: Penguin Classics, 1902 / 1982).
  2. William James, The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy (New York: Dover Publications, 1905)
  3. Daemon, according to Merriam Webster.
  4. “Leonora Piper,” on Encyclopedia.com.
  5. “Hypnosis today,” according to the American Psychological Association.
  6. Suggestion, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.
  7. In this episode, Weber refers to the American Medical Association’s retraction of hypnosis as a form of treatment. See this release for demonstration of what he was referring to. Nevertheless, according to the Mayo Clinic, hypnosis has shown strong evidence of helping to alleviate pain associated with cancer. See James H. Stewart, “Hypnosis in Contemporary Medicine,” Proceedings of the Mayo Clinic 80, Issue 4 (April 2005): 511–524.
  8. “What Is Christian Science?” on ChristianScience.com.
  9. “What Is Scientology?” on Scientology.org.
  10. “Salem Witch Trials” on History.com.

 

 

You Tell Me!

For our future “You Tell Me!” segments, Tadd asked the following question in this episode:

“If you passed away and could speak to someone living, what would you want to say to them?”

Let us know what you think! Via Twitter, Facebook, Email, or by commenting here below.

Posted on

080: Ep76 – Evil, Suffering, God, & Ethics

Philosophy Bakes Bread radio show & podcast

In this 76th episode of Philosophy Bakes Bread Eric Thomas Weber and Anthony Cashio interview Jack Symes, host of The Panpsycast philosophy podcast, on the theme “Evil, Suffering, God, and Ethics.”

Jack Symes.

Jack graduated from the University of Liverpool in philosophy (BA and MA) and went on as a postgraduate in Teaching Studies at the University of Birmingham. Jack is currently teaching philosophy at King Edward VI High School for Girls. Jack also hosts the weekly Panpsycast philosophy Podcast. The Panpsycast describes itself as an “’informal and informative’ philosophy podcast that supports teachers, students and academics in philosophy, which also aims to awaken fellow free-thinkers worldwide and inspire a new generation of philosophers.” The show has over 70,000 subscribers!

Listen for our “You Tell Me!” questions and for some jokes in one of our concluding segments, called “Philosophunnies.” Reach out to us on Facebook @PhilosophyBakesBread and on Twitter @PhilosophyBB; email us at philosophybakesbread@gmail.com; or call and record a voicemail that we play on the show, at 859.257.1849. Philosophy Bakes Bread is a production of the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA). Check us out online at PhilosophyBakesBread.com and check out SOPHIA at PhilosophersInAmerica.com.

(1 hr 8 mins)

Click here for a list of all the episodes of Philosophy Bakes Bread.

 

Subscribe to the podcast!

We’re on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, and even now on YouTube, and we’ve got a regular RSS feed too!

Google Play

Logo for Spotify that links to the Spotify page for Philosophy Bakes Bread.

iTunes logo.

 

 

RSS logo feed icon and link.

Logo for how to subscribe to Stitcher.

 

 

 

Notes

  1. The logo for the Panscycast, featuring a head and colorful brain.The Panpsycast podcast.
  2. “Cosmological argument,” in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
  3. “Heraclitus,” in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy..
  4. “Parmenides,” in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy..
  5. Rober Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
  6. Peter Singer and utilitarianism.
  7. The Abrahamic God, refers to the God of Abraham, of the traditions of Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. See Rabbi Marc Gellman and Monsignor Thomas Hartman, “Abrahamic Faiths All Worship the Same God,” The Chicago Tribune, June 6, 2003.
  8. The OOO God: Ominopotent (all powerful), Omniscient (all knowing), and Omnibenevolent (all good).
  9. Stephen Law’s blog, philosopher of religion.
  10. Kenneth Hill, population expert.
  11. The Problem of Evil or the Problem of Suffering, in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
  12. “Theodicies,” the technical term for responses to the problem of evil.
  13. Young Jack Symes.Young Jack Symes photo. Why? Because the photo is adorable and suffering is a heavy topic 😉
  14. Telos, which refers to purpose.
  15. Sudio headphones.
  16. Albert Camus, “The Myth of Sisyphus.”
  17. “William James,” in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, a psychologist and philosopher and one of the founders of the tradition known as American Pragmatism. From The Varieties of Religious Experience, Jack quotes James, who wrote that “Good-humor is a philosophic state of mind; it seems to say to Nature that we take her no more seriously than she takes us. I maintain that one should always talk of philosophy with a smile.”
  18. Charles Pidgen on the “is/ought” dichotomy in Philosophy Now.
  19. “Jeremy Bentham,” in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
  20. Christian Miller, on The Character Gap.

 

 

You Tell Me!

For our future “You Tell Me!” segments, Jack asked the following question in this episode:

“Why is a good God significantly more reasonable than an evil God?”

Let us know what you think! Via Twitter, Facebook, Email, or by commenting here below.

Posted on

077: Ep73 – The Character Gap

Philosophy Bakes Bread radio show & podcast

In this 73rd episode of the Philosophy Bakes Bread radio show and podcast, Eric Thomas Weber and Anthony Cashio interview Christian Miller on “The Character Gap,” the title of his recent book.

Dr. Christian Miller.

Christian is the A. C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University, where he has been the recipient of grant support from the John Templeton Foundation and the Templeton World Charity Foundation for both The Character Project and The Beacon Project. In addition to his books on moral character and 85 academic articles, Christian has written for The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Slate, and The Dallas Morning News.

Listen for our “You Tell Me!” questions and for some jokes in one of our concluding segments, called “Philosophunnies.” Reach out to us on Facebook @PhilosophyBakesBread and on Twitter @PhilosophyBB; email us at philosophybakesbread@gmail.com; or call and record a voicemail that we play on the show, at 859.257.1849. Philosophy Bakes Bread is a production of the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA). Check us out online at PhilosophyBakesBread.com and check out SOPHIA at PhilosophersInAmerica.com.

(1 hr 4 mins)

Click here for a list of all the episodes of Philosophy Bakes Bread.

 

 

Subscribe to the podcast!

We’re on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, and even now on YouTube, and we’ve got a regular RSS feed too!

Logo for Spotify that links to the Spotify page for Philosophy Bakes Bread.iTunes logo.Google PlayRSS logo feed icon and link.

 

 

 

Notes

  1. Christian Miller, The Character GapThe cover to Dr. Miller's book, 'The Character Gap.' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017).
  2. Even Honest Abe was sometimes a politician first. See Jackie Mansky, “When Lincoln Was More a Politician Than an ‘Honest Abe’,” Smithsonian Magazine, February 16, 2017.
  3. Psychologist Daniel Batson.
  4. The John Templeton Foundation.
  5. The Character Project.
  6. The Beacon Project.
  7. Mother Theresa biography.
  8. Gandhi biography.
  9. Jesus biography.
  10. Confucius biography.
  11. Pluralism defined.
  12. “Moral relativism” entry in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

 

 

You Tell Me!

For our future “You Tell Me!” segments, Christian posed the following question in this episode:

“How good do you think your own character is and what steps might you take in your life to improve it?”

Let us know what you think! Via Twitter, Facebook, Email, or by commenting here below.

 

Posted on

Inaugural Meeting of the Shining Network SOPHIA Chapter

Photos and a One-Sheet from the group's first event

The Shining Network SOPHIA Chapter kindly shared with the SOPHIA national office some photos from their August 2018 event and a wonderful One-Sheet Document, available here, on “The Nature of Good and Daily Life.” What follows are photos from their inaugural event at Kamala Nehru College at the University of Delhi in New Delhi, India.

Thank you to SOPHIA member Dr. Geetesh Nirban of Kamala Nehru College!