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TIL: Philosophy

TIL

Get thinking. Add a bit of philosophy to your day.

society & culture philosophy

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4:37

The Spectacle of Life: Unveiling Guy Debord's Society...

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/03/08

Welcome to Philosophy, where we peel away the layers of what we think we know, to reveal the deeper meanings and ideas that shape our world. Today, we're diving into a concept that's more relevant than ever in our hyper-digitized age: "The Society of the Spectacle" by Guy Debord. This episode will explore how Debord's ideas critique our modern society, where reality is increasingly mediated by images and where the authentic social life has given way to its representation. In 1967, a

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4:00

The Philosophy of Solitude: The Power of Being Alone

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/03/07

Welcome to another episode of our podcast, where today, we will explore a concept that seems both simple and profound, an idea that has intrigued philosophers, poets, and thinkers through the ages—the philosophy of solitude: The Power of Being Alone. At its core, solitude is a state of being alone without being lonely. It is a space where one can explore the depths of the self, unfettered by the expectations and influences of society. It’s a journey into the interior, a voyage to discover

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2:00

The Peter Principle: The Paradox of Competence

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/03/06

The Peter Principle is a profound concept introduced by Dr. Laurence J. Peter in his 1968 book, 'The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong'. The core premise of this principle rests on the unnerving observation that in any hierarchical organization, employees tend to be promoted to their level of incompetence. Dr. Peter observed that in most enterprises, promotions are based on the competency employees exhibit in their current roles rather than their potential capabilities to

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1:53

The Veil of Ignorance

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/03/05

Imagine, for a moment, that you're about to design a society from scratch – and you get to decide its laws, social structures, and distribution of resources. But there's a catch: you have to make these decisions behind a "veil of ignorance." That is, you don't know what your own social status, race, gender, or abilities will be in this society. Would your choices change? This thought experiment, conceived by the philosopher John Rawls in his groundbreaking work "A Theory of Justice,"

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The Five Stages of Grief: The Journey Through Human...

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/03/04

The Five Stages of Grief, first popularized by Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, maps out an emotional journey often charted by humans in the wake of loss or hardship. Though it originated in a clinical context meant to describe the processes experienced by terminally ill patients, it has been widely adopted by people navigating various forms of personal trauma. The stages — denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance — do not mark a linear progression but

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The Mere Addition Paradox: Population Ethics and the...

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/03/03

Have you ever wondered how to evaluate the moral value of a world population? Population ethics poses mind-boggling questions, one of them being the "Mere Addition Paradox" leading to what philosopher Derek Parfit termed as the 'Repugnant Conclusion'. Imagine a world, say World A, filled with a billion people all leading extremely happy lives. Now imagine a world, World A+, identical to World A but with an extra billion people who live lives barely worth living but aren't suffering

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The Philosophy of Cynicism: The Radical Pursuit of Truth

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/03/02

The Philosophy of Cynicism might leave a bitter taste in your knowledge-palette due to its modern connotations, but it's not all pessimism and mistrust. It was originally a school of ancient Greek philosophy that promoted, above everything else, radical honesty, asceticism and freedom from societal constraints in search of the truth. Born in the 4th century BC, the Cynics saw society as a trap, filled with false idols and insincere rituals. They believed that man-made conventions such as

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The Principle of Identity: The Unseen Backbone of...

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/03/01

The principle of identity is one of the most fundamental concepts in philosophy, providing the backbone for every logical argument. Although it may seem exceedingly simple - stating that something is itself, it lays a foundation from which all rational discourse and understanding emerge. At its core, the Principle of Identity is summed up in the equation A = A. Basically, it means that any entity, idea or object is identical to itself. In other words, what is, is. While this seems

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The Teleological Argument: The Design and Purpose of...

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/02/29

The teleological argument, derived from the Greek word 'telos' which means 'end' or 'purpose', is a philosophical concept that proposes the existence of God or a designer based on perceived evidence of order, purpose, or design in nature. This postulate is part of the broader field of natural theology. Conceptualized by various philosophers throughout history, with notable contributors including Plato, Aristotle, and Thomas Aquinas, the argument takes the form that the universe, due to

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The Principle of Least Action: A Summation of...

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/02/28

The Principle of Least Action might seem like an obscure, purely scientific concept. Yet, it carries profound philosophical reflections on the operation of natural laws and the universe. This principle, often referred to as the backbone of analytical dynamics – the study of motion, underpins a compelling idea: nature, though infinitely complex, navigates the course of least resistance to perform tasks. First postulated by Pierre-Louis Maupertuis, a French mathematician, the Principle of

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The Perennial Philosophy: The Common Thread of...

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/02/27

In the grand scheme of all philosophical discourse, there exists an idea of a single, unified spiritual truth that underlies all religions and spiritual traditions. This is the concept of the Perennial Philosophy – a philosophical perspective that represents the distilled wisdom of humanity, a shared spiritual heritage transcending geographical, cultural, and historical boundaries. Coined by Leibniz, a leading philosopher of the Enlightenment, 'Perennial Philosophy' or 'Perennialism'

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The Principle of Non-Contradiction: The Foundation of...

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/02/26

Emerging from the ancient schools of philosophy, the principle of non-contradiction (PNC) maintains an integral position in classical logic and reasoning. Being one of the three classic laws of thought, Aristotle articulates this axiom as, "It is impossible for the same thing to belong and not to belong at the same time to the same thing and in the same respect." In simpler terms, a proposition cannot be both true and not true. Simultaneous affirmation and denial are not permitted. If we

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The Uncanny Valley: A Creepy Clash of Human and...

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/02/25

Have you ever felt something was "off" or unnerving about an ultra-realistic robot or a CGI character in a movie? If you've ever sensed a cold shiver or an instinctual creepiness in response to an almost-human, you've encountered what is known as the "uncanny valley" – a concept that dwells in the eerie corridors of philosophy, psychology and robotics. Coined in 1970 by Japanese robotics professor, Masahiro Mori, the term "uncanny valley" comes from a theoretical graph he developed. His

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The Fermi Paradox: The Silence of the Cosmos

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/02/24

Scientists say that there are innumerable stars in the universe, each potentially hosting a host of planets. Given the sheer number of opportunities for life, it would seem reasonable, even highly probable, to conclude that intelligent life exists somewhere else in the universe. Yet, contrary to any expectation, there is a profound silence. Birthed from this puzzling contradiction, the Fermi Paradox is named after the renowned physicist Enrico Fermi who famously asked during a conversation

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The Social Contract: Civilization's Gentle Compromise

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/02/23

The Social Contract is an illuminating concept that has shaped the modern world as we know it. Championed by philosophers like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau during the Enlightenment, the social contract theory suggests that our rules, our rights, our very society, are all born out of implied contracts between individuals as each person surrenders a part of their inherent freedom for societal benefits promised by organized governance. Imagine a world completely devoid

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The Dichotomy of Control: Mastering the Art of Serenity

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/02/22

This fascinating idea sprouted from the deep wisdom of Stoicism, a school of ancient Greek philosophy. The Dichotomy of Control is a straightforward yet life-changing concept that could be the secret to achieving peace amid the restless pace of life and the ceaseless flood of uncertainties. The Dichotomy of Control envisages the world as consisting of two sects of things - those that are within our control, and those that are not. It urges us to differentiate between the factors that we

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The Birth and Death of Stars: The Myth of Eternal...

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/02/21

Travel with me, will you, to the heart of Nietzsche's philosophy - to his myth of eternal recurrence. Friedrich Nietzsche, a bold and controversial German philosopher of the late 19th century, dared to propose an audacious thought experiment to his readers: What if this life, with all its triumphs and tribulations, were to repeat itself endlessly, the same every time, ad infinitum? Would you view it as the cruellest torment, or the ultimate affirmation of life? The idea, at first glance,

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The Bystander Effect: The Silent Witness

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/02/20

The Bystander Effect is at once psychological, philosphical and sociological. It describes a baffling paradox of humanity - in situations where someone is in distress or danger, the greater the number of onlookers, the less likely it is that any one person will step forward to help. Why does this occur? The common explanation boils down to two key factors: diffusion of responsibility and social influence. The feeling of personal responsibility decreases when more bystanders are present -

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The Philosophy of Humanism: Recognizing the Inherent...

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/02/19

You've likely heard the term "humanism" floating around social media and the news, but what does it mean in a philosophical context? Humanism is one of the most influential and widely adhered-to philosophies—one that isn't hung up on dichotomies of dogma or the questions of existence, but instead, focuses on human beings. Humanism is an approach in philosophy that believes in human effort and ingenuity rather than divine or supernatural matters. It's a perspective that underscores the

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The Paradox of Self-Reference: A Twisting Tale of...

TIL: Philosophy ·

2024/02/18

We've all heard those catch-22 statements that leave us in a logical loop. "This statement is false," or "I always lie," are classic examples. Taking a moment to examine these assertions leaves us in a sort of gridlock - our logical minds struggle to find stability in these contradiction-laden sentences. This mind-boggling scenario is precisely what the Paradox of Self-Reference is all about. The paradox springs from sentences, propositions, or any other forms of communication that

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TIL: Philosophy

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