Explore every episode of the podcast Philosophy on the Fringes
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biohacking | 20 May 2024 | 00:49:07 | |
In this episode, Megan and Frank tackle the growing trend of "hacking" one's biology to increase longevity and possibly attain immortality. Are biohackers right to fear death, though? Would immortality be desirable? And is the human condition worth preserving? Thinkers discussed include: Epicurus, Bernard Williams, Schopenhauer, John Martin Fischer, Martha Nussbaum, and J.R.R. Tolkien. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: What Is Biohacking And How Does It Work? – Forbes Health Challenging Bryan Johnson On His “Never Die” Biohacking Protocol (youtube.com) Letter to Menoeceus by Epicurus (mit.edu) Is Death Bad for You? by Shelley Kagan (chronicle.com) Williams on Immortality.pdf (nd.edu) John Martin Fischer Response to Williams Gift of Ilúvatar | The One Wiki to Rule Them All | Fandom Schopenhauer - The vanity of existence Brooke Alan Trisel, Human extinction and the value of our efforts Being and Becoming in Modern Physics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Megan Fritts, Arresting Time's Arrow: Death, Loss, and the Preservation of Real Union ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: DEKZTEGOGV2Q0TH7 | |||
| Myths, Pt. 2 | 24 Apr 2024 | 01:22:54 | |
In this episode, Megan and Frank continue their discussion of myths and mythology. Join them as they further explore different approaches to interpreting and understanding myth. How have creation myths differed across cultures? Should myth be regarded as an allegory? Is the point of myth to justify society’s norms? Is myth a tool for exploring the subconscious aspects of our minds? And do we have any use for myth in the modern world? Thinkers discussed include Joseph Cambell, Carl Jung, Karl Popper, and Mary Midgley. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Powell - A Short Introduction to Classical Myth (earlhaig.ca) (Chs. 2-3 for an excellent overview of theories of myth) Classical Mythology - Prof. Vandiver (A great lecture series we learned a lot from) Myth in Human History - Grant Voth (Another great lecture series we drew from) Myth and Knowing: An Introduction to World Mythology (quoted a few times in the episode) Teaching Jung - Kelly Bulkeley; Clodagh Weldon (Ch. 5 by Robert Segal was very helpful!) Campbell's "Other" Monomyth - The Hero's Journey: Life's Great Adventure A Secular Age — Charles Tayllor Conjectures & Refutations - Karl Popper The Myths We Live By - Mary Midgley ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: LRDE4XFUJKAMEDIZ | |||
| Kids | 31 May 2023 | 00:43:13 | |
The kids are alright… or are they? On today’s episode, Megan and Frank cover the following topics: is childhood a morally horrible stage of life? What does the “good life” look like for a kid? Should children get the right to vote for elected officials? Can young children understand philosophical questions and reasoning? And if so, should we be bringing philosophy to the youth? ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Frank J. Cabrera - Research (google.com) Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Paul, LA. - Transformative Experience - Oxford University Press (oup.com) Kazez, J. - Old Age as a Stage of Life - Journal of Applied Philosophy - Wiley Online Library Cicero — De Senectute [On Old Age] (uchicago.edu) Mill, J.S. - On Liberty (Ch. 3) Sandel, M. - the Case Against Perfection - The Atlantic Big Ideas for Little Philosophers (penguinrandomhouse.com) Social Contract Theory | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Feminist Critique) Nussbaum, M. - Frontiers of Justice (Ch. 2, "Disabilities and the Social Contract) Rowlands, M. - Contractarianism and Animal Rights Wiland, E. - Should Children Have the Right to Vote? Brennan, J. - Against Democracy | Princeton University Press Aristotle - Nicomachean Ethics (Bk. 1, Sect. 3) Philosophy for Children (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Do Kids Have a Fundamental Sense of Fairness? - Scientific American Augustine - Confessions, (Bk. 1, Ch. 7) ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: LBJAOXPIK1VAALIR | |||
| Extra-Terrestrial Life | 14 May 2023 | 00:44:47 | |
Why did early modern philosophers posit legions of blissful aliens to help solve the problem of evil? Is life essentially terrestrial? Does SETI count as a scientific enterprise? If Martians could talk, would we ever be able to understand them? Join Megan and Frank as they philosophize about our friends from the final frontier! Hosts' Websites: Frank J. Cabrera - Research (google.com) Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Defense Department announces new UFO task force - CBS News Plutarch • On the Face in the Moon (Part 1 of 4) (uchicago.edu) Lucretius - On the Nature of Things by Lucretius (mit.edu) Pearce, K. - Space Aliens and Skeptical Theism (blog.kennypearce.net) Draper, P. (1989) Pain and Pleasure: An Evidential Problem for Theists on JSTOR Fantastically Wrong: Why the Guy Who Discovered Uranus Thought There's Life on the Sun | WIRED There Is Only One Other Planet In Our Galaxy That Could Be Earth-Like, Say Scientists (forbes.com) Rare Earth hypothesis: Why we might really be alone in the universe | Astronomy.com Pseudoscience and the Demarcation Problem | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (utm.edu) A More Parsimonious Explanation for UFO Abduction on JSTOR 75 Years Ago, 'War Of The Worlds' Started A Panic. Or Did It? : The Two-Way : NPR Whitmore, J. (1995). Religious Dimensions of the UFO Abductee Experience ("UFO abductions seem to be primarily an American phenomenon; although several important cases have been reported outside the U.S., some argue that abductions are mainly confined to this country.", p. 81) ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: CWK7B5OYQTUXZOER | |||
| Dating Apps | 16 Apr 2023 | 00:44:16 | |
From Tinder to FarmersOnly, dating apps not only help us meet the love of our life, they also raise new philosophical questions! Does an endless stream of potential partners arrest our romantic agency? Is it morally wrong to care about looks? Why do these apps function like games--and has this gameplay forced our digital love lives into a functional flop? Join Frank and Megan as they discuss all these questions, as well as their own experiences, or lack thereof, in the world of online dating. Hosts' Websites: Frank J. Cabrera - Research (google.com) Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Key findings about online dating in the U.S. | Pew Research Center Kierkegaard - The Seducer's Diary | Princeton University Press Existentialism is a Humanism, Jean-Paul Sartre 1946 (marxists.org) Is It Bad to Prefer Attractive Partners? - William D’Alessandro (see social science references contained therein) C. Thi Nguyen - How Twitter gamifies communication - PhilPapers Paradox of Hedonism | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (utm.edu) ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: XZ0M3FIAMJSIK86P | |||
| Polytheism | 12 Mar 2023 | 00:43:35 | |
Is there a goddess of Victory? A deity governing the sea? What about a god of the door hinge? In this episode, Megan and Frank discuss polytheism—the belief in many gods—from both historical and philosophical perspectives. They try to show that examining polytheism can help us think more clearly about the concept of “god”. Hosts' Websites: Frank J. Cabrera - Research (google.com) Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: City of God (St. Augustine) (newadvent.org) Xenophanes (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) The Internet Classics Archive | The Republic by Plato (mit.edu) LacusCurtius • Cicero — De Natura Deorum I.1‑19 (uchicago.edu) LacusCurtius • Cicero — De Divinatione: Book II (uchicago.edu) Estate Planning in Hellenic Antiquity: Aristotle's Last Will and Testament The Internet Classics Archive | Metaphysics by Aristotle (mit.edu) On Counting Gods | TheoLogica: An International Journal for Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Theology (uclouvain.be) (by Dale Tuggy) Eric Steinhart, On the plurality of gods - PhilArchive David Lewis, Philosophical Papers, Volume 1 - PhilPapers (page xi) Gravity and Grace - 1st Edition - Simone Weil - Routledge Book Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, by David Hume (Part 5) Monotheism - Monotheism in world religions | Britannica Oration of Constantine (Eusebius) (newadvent.org) ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: ZYVY5ICVVNMBBD3H | |||
| Road House | 26 Feb 2023 | 00:40:38 | |
What philosophical lessons can we draw from the action movie Road House? In this episode, Megan and Frank do philosophy alongside Patrick Swayze's legendary character Dalton, examining the nature of pain, the limits of pacifism, and whether one can find the meaning of life while being a bouncer. Footnotes: 1) Road House is NOT a family friendly movie. 2) Prior viewing of Road House is not required for listening. Clips of some of the scenes we discuss can be found here: Road House (1/11) Movie CLIP - Three Simple Rules (1989) HD - YouTube Road House (2/11) Movie CLIP - Pain Don't Hurt (1989) HD - YouTube JcPenny's Came Here Because of Me.wmv - YouTube ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Frank J. Cabrera - Research (google.com) Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography The Internet Classics Archive | The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (mit.edu) (Ch. 4) The Internet Classics Archive | The Enchiridion by Epictetus (mit.edu) Is the Sage Free from Pain? (wku.edu) by Jan Edward Garrett Jeremy Bentham: An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (utilitarianism.com) (Ch. 5) Pacifism | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (utm.edu) Nietzsche’s Moral and Political Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Opioids and the Brain - How do changes in the brain begin? - PursueCare Frontiers | Cognition and Pain: A Review (frontiersin.org) Congenital Insensitivity to Pain Overview - GeneReviews® - NCBI Bookshelf (nih.gov) ------------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: LOEVGA6IP8O5FQSV | |||
| Bigfoot | 11 Feb 2023 | 00:42:41 | |
Is Bigfoot carelessly categorized amongst the less credible cryptids? Megan and Frank discuss the possibility of the existence of this hairy hominid, debate the weight of evidence from eye-witness testimony, and try to get to the bottom of why Frank just can't believe. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Frank J. Cabrera - Research (google.com) Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: If Bigfoot Were Real - Scientific American Blog Network (by Darren Naish) The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Natural History of Pliny, Volume II., by Pliny the Elder. (Book VII, Ch. 2) Jane Goodall on How to Change Minds and Why She Isn't Ruling Out Bigfoot | GQ Knowledge: A Very Short Introduction by Jennifer Nagel (Ch. 6) Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: GXITJWQZJVEP5XV8 | |||
| New Year's Resolutions | 09 Feb 2023 | 00:30:34 | |
What is a resolution? Are popular New Year's resolutions too self-centered? What can the ancients teach us about maintaining our resolutions and avoiding temptation? And is the very practice of making New Year's resolutions irrational? These are just some of the questions we explore in this episode. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Frank J. Cabrera - Research (google.com) Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ------------------------ Bibliography: New Year’s Resolutions Statistics And Data – Forbes Health The resolution solution: Longitudinal examination of New Year's change attempts - ScienceDirect A Medieval Man’s New Year’s Resolutions (medievalists.net) Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: 0TQXA2M8GGXGEUKZ | |||
| Myths, Pt. 1 | 01 Apr 2024 | 00:50:36 | |
In this episode, Frank and Megan discuss myths and mythology. What role has myth played in philosophy? What's the relationship between myths, history, and truth? And did the ancients really believe their myths? Join us as we engage with thinkers such as Thales of Miletus, Plato, Aristotle, Herodotus, Augustine, Paul Veyne, and R.G. Collingwood. This is the first part of a two-part episode. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Powell - A Short Introduction to Classical Myth (earlhaig.ca) (Main source for claims about history of word "mythos" and its use in Plato/Herodotus/Aristotle. Highly recommended!) Lehoux - All things are full of gods": naturalism in the classical world R. G. Collingwood - The Idea of History The Herodotus - The Histories (See also BBC "In Our Time" podcast episode on Herodotus) Thucydides - The History of the Peloponnesian War (See also BBC "In Our Time" podcast episode on Thucydides) Plato’s Myths - (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Julia Annas - Plato's Myths of Judgement (Discusses Aristotle critique of Plato's geography in the myth in the Phaedo) Paul Veyne - Did the Greeks Believe in Their Myths? Dana L. Burgess - Review of Veyne's "Did the Greeks Beleive in Their Myths?" Augustine - Two Books on Genesis ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: VYYZJBODHJSDWNZP | |||
| Luck | 04 Mar 2024 | 00:57:07 | |
On this episode, Frank and Megan discuss the nature of luck. Are people lucky because good things happen to them, or do good things happen to them because they are lucky? Can we make our own luck, or is it outside of our control? Is even virtue itself subject to the whims of fortune? And if everything is determined, is anything truly lucky? ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: What is 'lucky girl' syndrome and does it actually work? The Natural History of Pliny, Vol I., by Pliny the Elder. The Prince, by Nicolo Machiavelli The Oedipus Trilogy, by Sophocles Hales (2016) - Why Every Theory of Luck is Wrong Stoutenburg (2019) - In defense of an epistemic probability account of luck ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: OE1WRYCSDRS6SLYG | |||
| Near Death Experiences | 05 Dec 2023 | 00:55:15 | |
On this episode, Frank and Megan discuss near death experiences (NDEs). Are NDEs evidence that the mind is separate from the body? Are there any plausible skeptical explanations that explain the data? What might NDEs tell us about particular spiritual and religious worldviews? And could NDEs have something to teach us about humanity's deepest hopes and fears? ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Near-Death Experiences Evidence for Their Reality - PMC (nih.gov) Dell’Olio, Do near-death experiences provide a rational basis for belief in life after death? J.M. Fischer, University Professor Lecture: Near-Death Experiences: The Stories They Tell G.R. Habermas, Evidential Near‐Death Experiences A. J. Ayer – ‘What I Saw When I Was Dead’ Afterlife (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) K. Augustine - Hallucinatory Near-Death Experiences » Internet Infidels Susan Blackmore Near-Death Experiences: In or out of the body? (discussion of Sagan's explanation) Lehoux - The Trouble with Taxa | What Did the Romans Know? An Inquiry into Science and Worldmaking (discussion of garlic and magnets) ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: I0NNKBBUOCKXBD02 | |||
| American Football | 04 Nov 2023 | 00:56:54 | |
On today’s episode, Frank and Megan are going to the gridiron to talk about football. What are the metaphysical identity conditions for sports teams? What makes a rule a good rule? Why is steroid use banned, but special training encouraged? Is the Super Bowl a distinctly American ritual? Will data analysts replace coaches? And does the extreme injury risk of football make it America’s most immoral pastime? ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0 | Triumph Books The Only Good Reason to Ban Steroids in Baseball: To Prevent an Arms Race - The Atlantic Full Body Swimsuit Now Banned for Professional Swimmers - ABC News (go.com) How The NFL Uses Analytics, According To The Lead Analyst Of A Super Bowl Champion (forbes.com) 4th down aggressiveness increasing rapidly across NFL | AP News NFL running backs meet to discuss position’s depressed wages | NFL | The Guardian Collective Force of Head Hits Increases Odds of CTE, Study Says - The New York Times (nytimes.com) BU Finds CTE in Nearly 92 Percent of Ex-NFL Players Studied | The Brink | Boston University Study finds CTE in 40 percent of athletes who died before 30 - ABC News (go.com) Could CTE in the NFL Be Solved by OSHA? - Global Sport Matters Ship of Theseus | Definition, Examples, & Solutions | Britannica Virtue Ethics and Consequentialism in Early Chinese Philosophy (pp. 101-117) Pragmatism and Reference (pp. 195-6 discusses the Browns/Ravens case) ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: RZMGXZY5O2AIXNTQ | |||
| Alchemy | 27 Aug 2023 | 00:48:42 | |
In this episode, Megan and Frank explore the hidden philosophical insights of alchemy. Some of the questions they discuss include: what is the history and nature of alchemy?; is alchemy more like magic, or science? what does the practice of alchemy tell us about the alchemical view of the natural world?; what was the philosopher's stone?; and is the spirit of alchemy still alive today? ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: The Secrets of Alchemy, Principe (uchicago.edu) The Alchemy Reader - From Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton (cambridge.org) A preliminary reassessment of Newton's alchemy (Chapter 11) - The Cambridge Companion to Newton The Case Against Perfection - Michael Sandel - The Atlantic Anti-Aging Techniques Taken to Extreme by Bryan Johnson - Bloomberg Philosophy Between the Lines: The Lost History of Esoteric Writing, Melzer (uchicago.edu) ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: 5J75WDQQ28SJKVBZ | |||
| Alcohol | 07 Aug 2023 | 00:53:09 | |
On today’s episode, Megan and Frank work up the liquid courage to tackle one of philosophy’s most notorious recruiters: alcohol. Are we different people when we’re inebriated, or simply more free to act on our deepest desires? Was the prohibition movement justified? Is wine-tasting all bogus, or are sommeliers detecting something real? And does alcohol induce mystical experiences? ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Cassius Dio, Roman History 49.36 Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle (mit.edu) (Book 2) That One Should Disdain Hardships: The Teachings of Roman Stoic Drunkenness: Losing Our Grip on Reason | Choosing Freedom A Kantian Guide to Life Kirsten Ditterich-Shilakes, “Muse in a Stem Glass Art, Wine, and Philosophy” Quill Kukla, “Nonideal Theory of Sexual Consent” | Watch Prohibition | Ken Burns | PBS The 1800s: When Americans Drank Whiskey Like it was Water Americans are drinking more now than when Prohibition became law Kevin W. Sweeney, "Is There Coffee or Blackberry in My Wine?" A.C. Noble |The Wine Aroma Wheel Official Website Ophelia Deroy, "The Power of Tastes: Reconciling Science and Subjectivity" Managing Diacetyl (“Buttery” Flavor) Production During MLF Barry C. Smith, “The Objectivity of Tastes and Tasting” Wine-tasting: it's junk science | Wine | The Guardian Think wine connoisseurship is nonsense? Blind-tasting data suggest otherwise A New Study Answers The Question: Does Blind Wine Tasting Work? William James, “The Varieties of Religious Experience” ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: EZOCM133QSX3TAVC | |||
| Secularism | 12 Jul 2023 | 00:53:22 | |
In this episode, Megan and Frank discuss the concept of secularism. How should we think about the emergence of, and reasons for, modern secular cultures? Do secular societies create secular citizens? How did the ancient conception of the secular/sacred distinction differ from the contemporary separation of church and state? What challenges does secularism face today? And can the secular realm exist alongside the sacred? ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Frank J. Cabrera - Research (google.com) Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Liberalism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Etymology of "Saeculum" - Wiktionary A Secular Age — Charles Taylor | Harvard University Press Secularism: A Very Short Introduction - Andrew Copson - Oxford University Press (oup.com) French Secularism Leaves Little Room for Religion - The Atlantic Belgium to become second EU country to recognize Buddhism | Reuters John Locke, A Letter concerning Toleration (uchicago.edu) Obama’s 2006 Speech on Faith and Politics - The New York Times (nytimes.com) Public Reason (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Patrick Deneen: The New Right’s Man in the Ivory Tower - POLITICO Slowdown in the Rise of Religious Nones (gallup.com) ‘New Age’ beliefs common among religious, nonreligious Americans | Pew Research Center ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: U2OPXUSOE40ZLA10 | |||
| The Fermi Paradox | 21 Jun 2023 | 00:55:46 | |
In a special follow-up to episode 6 on extra-terrestrial life, Megan and Frank examine the Fermi Paradox. The Fermi Paradox holds that the observable universe ought to (on a set of plausible assumptions) contain evidence of extra-terrestrial life. Yet, no such life has ever been credibly observed. What, if anything, best explains our seemingly significant celestial solitude? Beyond the Fermi Paradox, they also explore two other questions: is ET life compatible with various religious worldviews? And are alien abduction reports a kind of religious experience? Hosts' Websites: Frank J. Cabrera - Research (google.com) Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Ezra Klein | What the Heck Is Going On With These U.F.O. Stories? - The New York Times (nytimes.com) The Great Silence (2018) - Milan M. Ćirković - Oxford University Press (oup.com) (The book we draw heavily from in the episode) Milan M. Ćirković - Fermi's Paradox - The last challenge for copernicanism? (An article which covers most of the main themes of the 2018 book) Milan M. Cirkovic - Our Attitude Toward Aliens Proves We Still Think We’re Special - Nautilus (Short, popular piece on Fermi Paradox) Whitmore, J. (1995). Religious Dimensions of the UFO Abductee Experience ("UFO abductions seem to be primarily an American phenomenon; although several important cases have been reported outside the U.S., some argue that abductions are mainly confined to this country.", p. 81) Plotinus (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) The Experience Machine | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (utm.edu) ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: HU4PAS2LONZMNQOU | |||
| Past Life Memories | 14 Apr 2025 | 01:08:14 | |
In this episode, Megan and Frank investigate the strange phenomenon of past life memories. Are past life memories evidence for reincarnation? Is what we remember a good guide to who we are? And how might a single identity span different lifetimes? Thinkers discussed in this episode include Plato, Pythagoras, Thomas Reid, J.M.E. McTaggart, and Michael Sudduth. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: The Next Dalai Lama: Preparing for Reincarnation and Why It Matters to India Claire White, Robert M. Kelly & Shaun Nichols, Remembering Past Lives Thomas Reid, Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man Children Who Report Memories of Past Lives - Division of Perceptual Studies The Case of James Leininger_ An American Case of the Reincarnation Type Jim Tucker - Response to Sudduth’s “James Leininger Case Re-Examined” The Science of Reincarnation—VIRGINIA Magazine The Philosophy of Dr. McTaggart. S2, Episode 6: The Self and Survival (Mar. 27th, 2018) – Hi-Phi Nation New evidence shows false memories can be created | UW News ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: ZMHYPZTDWFJ3QXU2 | |||
| Prehistory | 01 Mar 2025 | 00:59:06 | |
In this episode, Megan and Frank discuss the philosophical dimensions of prehistory. What and when is the “prehistoric”? How was prehistory "discovered", and what explains our fascination with it? Is ancient archeology safe from our biases? And how did archaic man’s meaning-making differ from our own? Thinkers discussed include: Colin Renfrew, Hegel, Charles Taylor, Mircea Eliade, and Wittgenstein. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Prehistory: The Making of the Human Mind - Colin Renfrew Hegel's Lectures on the Philosophy of History Cave of Forgotten Dreams - Official Trailer | HD | IFC Films Bewitched by an Elf Dart: Fairy Archaeology, Folk Magic and Traditional Medicine in Ireland - Dowd A Secular Age — Harvard University Press Theory and Observation in Science (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) From things to thinking: Cognitive archaeology - Currie & Killin Cognitive Archaeology and the Minimum Necessary Competence Problem - Killin & Pain An Ape's View of the Oldowan - Wynn & McGrew Neuroscience, evolution and the sapient paradox - Colin Renfrew Sapient paradox: Why humans got stuck in prehistory -Gossip Trap- Big Think The Myth of the Eternal Return | Princeton University Press Eliade_Mircea_The_Sacred_and_The_profane_1963 Wittgenstein - Notebooks, 1914 - 1916, 2nd Edition | Wiley ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: AAO0Q7IZMGVTLFJH | |||
| Astrology | 23 Dec 2024 | 00:56:00 | |
In this episode, Megan and Frank examine astrology. What is astrology, and why do people practice it? What are the strongest objections to astrology? Should astrology count as a science? If not, why not? What can the case of astrology teach us about the role of science in a democratic society? And why does the ancient practice of reading the stars prompt us to ponder the deepest aspects of human experience? Thinkers discussed include: Aristotle, Cicero, Ptolemy, Karl Popper, Thomas Kuhn, Imre Lakatos, Paul Feyerabend, Carl Sagan, Ian James Kidd, and Massimo Pigliucci. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Philosophy of Science and the Occult | State University of New York Press (first section is an invaluable resource, containing the 1975 manifesto, Feyerabend's critique, and articles summarizing statistical studies disconfirming astrology) Cabrera - Evidence and explanation in Cicero's On Divination LacusCurtius • Ptolemy — Tetrabiblos LacusCurtius • Cicero — De Divinatione: Book I A double-blind test of astrology | Nature Readings in the Philosophy of Science: From Positivism to Postmodernism (See for short selections from Popper, Kuhn, and Lakatos) Ian James Kidd - Why did Feyerabend Defend Astrology? Integrity, Virtue, and the Authority of Science (An excellent paper that very much informed our discussion of the science & society question) M. Pigliucci - Was Feyerabend Right in Defending Astrology? A Commentary on Kidd ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: YYRPW29K1IDMU76F | |||
| Ghosts and Hauntings | 29 Oct 2024 | 00:53:44 | |
In this episode, Megan and Frank investigate ghosts and hauntings. Are ghosts some kind of spirit, physical beings, or something in between? Is there a natural explanation for ghostly encounters? And what can ghosts teach us about the depths of human experience? Thinkers discussed include: Descartes, Philip Goff, and Beverley Clack. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Ghosts of Philosophy LaBossiere | A Philosopher's Blog Victorian ectoplasm-producing mediums: freaks or fakes? | Children's books | The Guardian Philip Goff, Ghosts and Sparse Properties The wisdom of ghosts - Clack | Religious Studies | Cambridge Core Braude, Immortal Remains: The Evidence for Life After Death Podemore, et al. - Phantasms of the Living The Best Ghost Story - by Alexander J. Zawacki LEGION OF THE DAMNED - ghostwalkbrighton.co.uk Time | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Megan Fritts, Arresting Time's Arrow: Death, Loss, and the Preservation of Real Union ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: KKPO6KMRESVX1ZQD | |||
| Hypnosis | 25 Sep 2024 | 00:55:01 | |
In this episode, Megan and Frank examine hypnosis. What evidence is there that hypnosis is a real phenomenon, and why does hypnosis have a dubious reputation? Does hypnosis alleviate pain, or just mask it? What is the nature of hypnotic consciousness? And does hypnosis prove there’s no true self? Thinkers discussed include: William James, Ernest and Josephine Hilgard, Derek Parfit, Sigmund Freud, and Tim Bayne. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Uncovering the new science of clinical hypnosis The Morpheus Clinic for Hypnosis Hypnosis and Conscious States: The Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective Hypnosis to quit smoking: What to know Neural functional correlates of hypnosis and hypnoanalgesia: Role of the cingulate cortex Hypnotic Suggestion and the Modulation of Stroop Interference Hypnosis in the Relief of Pain Mary Haight, Hypnosis and the Philosophy of Mind Hypnosis in History - American Hypnosis Association Hidden observer - Oxford Reference Hidden Observer APA Dictionary The split brain: A tale of two halves | Nature Derek Parfit. Here's why he mattered. | Vox Tim Bayne, Hypnosis and the unity of consciousness Tim Bayne - The Unity of Consciousness | Oxford Academic (oup.com) Bilingual “I Hear a Pickle/ Oigo Un Pepinello” (kidizen.com) ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: DC5U47IEPMLOLTFG | |||
| The Enneagram | 30 May 2025 | 01:00:26 | |
In this episode, Megan and Frank investigate the Enneagram. Is the Enneagram a legitimate science of personality? What even is personality? And how much of our lives does personality determine? Join them as they examine the classic book, "Discovering Your Personality Type: The Essential Introduction to the Enneagram" by Don Richard Riso & Russ Hudson. Other thinkers discussed include: Aristotle, Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Popper, Thomas Kuhn, and John Doris. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Don Richard Riso & Russ Hudson - Discovering Your Personality Type Empirical Approaches to Moral Character (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Pseudoscience and the Demarcation Problem | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche Situationism, Moral Improvement, and Moral Responsibility | The Oxford Handbook of Moral Psychology Virtue Ethics | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: O6ZNDALO7DL2LNHE | |||
| The Illuminati: Conspiracy Theories | 09 Jul 2025 | 01:01:22 | |
In this episode, Megan and Frank continue their discussion of the Illuminati. Here, the focus is on the afterlife of the Bavarian Order. How did conspiracy theories involving the Illuminati arise? Why is so much pop culture full of Illuminati imagery? And are there any good reasons to believe in such conspiracy theories? Thinkers discussed include: Dostoyevsky, Kierkegaard, and Maarten Boudry. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Michael Taylor- Illuminati in the US - American History Hit | Acast The Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Illuminati (Primary source documents) CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Illuminati Kierkegaard - The Crowd is Untruth The Grand Inquisitor, by Feodor Dostoevsky Barruel - Memoirs Illustrating The History Of Jacobinism From Thomas Jefferson to Bishop James Madison, 31 January 1800 Did an Illuminati Conspiracy Theory Help Elect Thomas Jefferson? - POLITICO Nesta Webster - World revolution; the plot against civilization Zionism versus Bolshevism - Churchill Boudry, Maarten - Why We Should Be Suspicious of Conspiracy Theories. A Novel Demarcation Problem [Reddit] why do the large shadow organizations leave clues that could lead to their downfall? Megan Fritts & Frank Cabrera, Fake News and Epistemic Vice: Combating a Uniquely Noxious Market Are Republicans and Conservatives More Likely to Believe Conspiracy Theories? - PMC The psychological and political correlates of conspiracy theory beliefs Is Conspiracy Theorising Irrational? - Neil Levy Predictors of belief in conspiracy theory Conspiracy theory and cognitive style: a worldview ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: ZILRIT8XNZAA6LYZ | |||
| The Illuminati: Bavarian Order | 09 Jul 2025 | 01:04:03 | |
In this episode, Megan and Frank investigate the Bavarian Order of the Illuminati, a secret society founded in 1776 by the Enlightenment philosopher Adam Weishaupt. This conversation covers who the Illuminati were, what they believed, and how they attempted to bring about a "new world order." Thinkers discussed include: Adam Weishaupt, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Mencius, and Alasdair MacIntyre. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: The Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Illuminati (Primary source documents) CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Illuminati Illuminaten - Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism Perfectibilists | Independent Publishers Group After Virtue - A Study in Moral Theory - Alasdair MacIntyre How Mengzi came up with something better than the Golden Rule | Aeon Ideas ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: CUCILUBPXFZKKTOP | |||
| The Apocalypse | 06 Oct 2025 | 01:00:16 | |
In this episode, Megan and Frank examine the Apocalypse. How should we define "the apocalypse"? How does religious apocalyptic thought apply in a secular context? What are the dangers of apocalyptic thinking? And why do we always seem to be in the end times? This episode pays special attention to the book Apocalypse Without God: Apocalyptic Thought, Ideal Politics, and the Limits of Utopian Hope by Ben Jones. Other thinkers discussed include: Machiavelli, Hobbes, Engels, and Rawls. Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Ben Jones - Apocalypse without God Revelation 1 NIV - Prologue - The revelation from Jesus - Bible Gateway The Rapture Was Predicted to Happen Today. TikTok Has Some Advice. - The New York Times Opinion | An Interview With the Herald of the Apocalypse - The New York Times Lectures on the History of Moral Philosophy — Harvard University Press Roland Boer - Revelation and Revolution: Friedrich Engels and the Apocalypse ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: ZFG8LUQL3TOVMSUP | |||
| The Mandela Effect | 26 Dec 2025 | 01:11:37 | |
In this episode, Megan and Frank investigate the Mandela Effect. Why do so many people "remember" Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s, or the Fruit of the Loom logo as containing a cornucopia, or the existence of a movie starring Sinbad as a genie? What explains these collective mis-rememberings: parallel dimensions, a government cover-up, a glitch in the matrix? Or should we just conclude that human memory is inherently unreliable? How do false memories arise, and how can we distinguish the real from the imagined? Despite our cultural obsession with preserving every memory, could there be some value in forgetting the past? Thinkers discussed include Augustine of Hippo, Friedrich Nietzsche, Edmund Husserl, and Elizabeth Loftus. Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: The Visual Mandela Effect as Evidence for Shared and Specific False Memories Across People The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories Understanding Memory and the Human Lifespan | Plus Loftus & Pickrell 1995 - The formation of false memories. Chloe Wall - Knowing (from) me, knowing (from) you: Essays on memory and testimony Total recall: the people who never forget | Memory | The Guardian Nietzsche: 'On the Genealogy of Morality' and Other Writings ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: OEYM6IYHOOWN8GSB | |||
| Reiki & Alternative Medicine | 24 Nov 2025 | 01:06:44 | |
In this episode, Megan and Frank discuss the alternative medicine practice known as "Reiki," a kind of touch energy healing. What is Reiki, and how is it supposed to work? Is there scientific evidence of Reiki's effectiveness, or is it all just a placebo? And if so, would that really be a problem? Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Frontiers | Does Reiki Benefit Mental Health Symptoms Above Placebo? What is Reiki? Energy Healing and Chakra Work — Lisa Kern Does Reiki Work? - The Atlantic Evidence and explanation in Cicero's On Divination Tylenol Is Popular and Safe, Yet Nobody Knows How It Works | Scientific American Siegel - Predictive Analytics, Revised and Updated The Phantom Pattern Problem - Gary Smith; Jay Cordes - Oxford University Press A radical new hypothesis in medicine: give patients drugs they know don’t work | Vox The weird power of the placebo effect, explained | Vox The Power of Mind over Body | Plus Placebos Work—Even Without Deception | Harvard Medical School Hume, David: Causation | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Researchers are still working to prove that antidepressants are more effective than placebo Medical Nihilism - Jacob Stegenga - Oxford University Press ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: GAXUNUBZXURBJU22 | |||
| The Prophecies of Nostradamus | 28 Jan 2026 | 01:05:49 | |
In this episode, Megan and Frank explore the prophecies of Nostradamus. Nostradamus was a prophet--but what is a prophet? What should we make of his seemingly accurate predictions of major world events? Do prophetic powers imply that the future is determined? Or are we simply bound to an immovable fate? And what, if anything, does Nostradamus have to tell us about our futures? Thinkers discussed include: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Friedrich Nietzsche, Brian Leiter, and David Foster Wallace. Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Nostradamus : how an obscure Renaissance astrologer became the modern prophet of doom : Gerson, Stéphane (source for biographical details, anxiety vs. fear, and WWII propaganda) The prophecies : a dual-language edition with parallel text : Nostradamus, 1503-1566 Nostradamus' grim predictions for 2026 revealed David Foster Wallace and the Challenge of Fatalism | Blog of the APA Future Contingents | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy The Birth of Tragedy, or Hellenism and Pessimism, by Friedrich Nietzsche. The Twilight of the Idols, by Friedrich Nietzsche. Brian Leiter- Moral Psychology with Nietzsche Moral Psychology with Nietzsche | Reviews | Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Nietzsche’s Moral and Political Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Intersubjective Accountability: Politics and Philosophy in the Left Vienna Circle ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: AJWTULC6PYYNJ7BJ | |||
| Aphantasia | 18 Mar 2026 | 01:00:10 | |
In this episode, Megan and Frank investigate aphantasia, the inability to generate mental imagery. What can aphantasia tell us about the nature of the mind, in particular, "the hard problem" of consciousness? Should aphantasia be considered a disorder, or merely another variation in human experience? And is it possible to meaningfully talk about our inner experiences, or would that necessarily constitute a kind of private language? Thinkers discussed include: Adam Zeman, Merlin Monzel, Elizabeth Barnes, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Soren Kierkegaard. Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Some People Can’t See Mental Images. The Consequences Are Profound | The New Yorker Zeman et al. 2015 - Lives without imagery - Congenital aphantasia - PubMed Krempel & Monzel 2024 - Aphantasia and involuntary imagery Monzel et al. 2023 -Aphantasia within the framework of neurodivergence The Private Language Argument | Issue 58 | Philosophy Now Disability: Definitions and Models (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) The Minority Body: A Theory of Disability | Oxford Academic ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: QHFDPNIRFW3UXOH3 | |||
| Dreams | 20 Apr 2026 | 01:00:09 | |
In this episode, Megan and Frank investigate dreams and dream interpretation. Are dreams random hallucinations? Hidden desires? Messages from the gods? What, if anything, can dreams tell us about ourselves, and how might media shape our dreaming experiences? Thinkers discussed include: Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Artemidorus of Daldianus, Rene Descartes, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Norman Malcom, Eric Schwitzgebel, and David Lynch. Hosts' Websites: Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Genesis 41 ESV - Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dreams - Bible Gateway Daniel 2 NIV - Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream - In the - Bible Gateway Sirach 34 GNT - Dreams Mean Nothing - Foolish people - Bible Gateway Artemidorus' Oneirocritica - Daniel E. Harris-McCoy - Oxford University Press Peter Thonemann - An Ancient Dream Manual: Artemidorus' The Interpretation of Dreams The Internet Classics Archive | On Dreams by Aristotle The Internet Classics Archive | On Prophesying by Dreams by Aristotle LacusCurtius • Cicero — De Divinatione: Book I Plato's Republic Book 9 [Allan Bloom's translation] Sigmund Freud: The Interpretation of Dreams Dreaming | Norman Malcolm | Taylor & Francis eBooks Scientists entered people’s dreams and got them ‘talking’ | Science | AAAS Human Behavior and Psychology | The Great Courses (Episode 14) Eric Schwitzgebel - Why did we think we dreamed in black and white? Dreaming, Philosophy of | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Descartes - Meditations on First Philosophy ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: C2OWCCQD2KK3ERKO | |||