PODCAST

I Learned Nothing

A philosophy podcast for curious idiots, by curious idiots.

society & culture philosophy

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01:34:41

ILN EP 145: The Philosophy of Religion, Part II

I Learned Nothing ·

2021/09/09

Pat was feeling righteous so Ben finishes him off with the thrilling conclusion of our two part series, The Philosophy of Religion. If you learn nothing else, learn this: If you're not Catholic, you're going to Hell.

01:21:58

ILN EP 144: Philosophy of Religion, Part I

I Learned Nothing ·

2021/08/08

Pat was feeling epiphanic so Ben brings him into the fold. The Religious Fold, that is! Don't worry. We haven't gone religious. But Pat couldn't help ask: What does is it all mean, Basil? And why is God involved? It seems that we as humans always need to talk about the Great Beyond, even if (or especially because) we claim to not believe in it. What a world! Listen in as Ben and Pat talk about what and why we believe in Him, Her, They, It and whatever you call Religion! (tl;dr Roman Catholicism is

01:56:30

ILN EP 143: The Ethics of AI, Part II

I Learned Nothing ·

2021/06/27

Pat was feeling empathetic so Ben continues to interrogate Pat about his thoughts on Artificial Intelligence and their capacity to feel. Do androids dream of electric sheep? Or will their thoughts be lost in time like tears in rain? Also, in a stunning twist, Ben presents Pat with a thought experiment involving love, betrayal, friendship, and Allen Iverson (AI). Listen in to the epic conclusion of our AI ethics.

01:53:36

ILN EP 142: The Ethics of AI, Part I

I Learned Nothing ·

2021/06/17

Pat was feeling robotic so Ben electrifies him with a spirited discussion about the Ethics of AI (Allen Iverson). In this heavy two-parter, Ben & Pat explore the philosophical & ethical implications of Artificial Intelligence. At what point can Artificial Intelligence be considered to have an inner, subjective life akin to humans? Would such being have rights and responsibilities like other moral agents? Can a robot be programmed to be the Funniest Person In Austin? The answers to these questions

02:07:45

ILN EP 141: Rudolf Steiner

I Learned Nothing ·

2021/05/29

Pat was feeling esoteric so Ben's coming in hot with a spiritual alternative to the dry, academic Western philosophy he's been torturing Pat with for the past 4 years. That's right. Holy shit. It's been 4 years of this. Thanks for listening? Anyway! Ben teaches Pat about Rudolf Steiner, a German philosopher turned cult leader who founded the spiritual/esoteric practice called Anthroposophy. Steiner believed wholeheartedly in a spiritual dimension not hitherto accessed by the Western scientific

01:36:52

ILN EP 140: Panpsychism

I Learned Nothing ·

2021/05/11

Pat was feeling self-conscious so Ben opens his eyes to the wild and wonderful world of universal consciousness. In our latest episode, Ben teaches Pat about hottest new philosophy since Existentialism: Panpsychism. Have you ever suspected that trees feel pain? That rocks can yearn? That your toilet plots revenge? If so, then Panpsychism is for you! Listen to find out why.

01:23:42

ILN EP 139: Jean-Paul Sartre, Part II

I Learned Nothing ·

2021/05/11

Pat was feeling inauthentic so he calls on Benjamin C. Cholok, sygil of authenticity himself, to summon the horny spirit of Jean Paul Sartre once again and wrest Pat's struggling spirit from the yawning jaws of bad faith once and for all. Dramatic, no? Listen in for the full picture! Dao you doin?

01:40:16

ILN EP 138: Jean-Paul Sartre, Part I

I Learned Nothing ·

2021/04/05

Pat was feeling existential AGAIN so Ben brings out the big guns: the stinkiest, most wall-eyed Frenchman this side of the 20th Century, Jean-Paul Sartre. King of Existentialism, widely acclaimed philosopher and writer, and all-around prankster, Jean-Paul Sartre features heavily in this two-part episode about himself. To understand him is to understand teenagers everywhere. Enjoy!

01:20:49

ILN EP 137: Time Travel Paradoxes

I Learned Nothing ·

2021/03/17

Pat was feeling asynchronous so Ben sets his ass straight with a few mINd BeNdInG TIME TRAVEL PARADOXES. Hoo boy, is this one a doozy. Thanks for listening and remember to check out our Patreon to get bonus episodes for $5/month. C'maaaaaannnnnn. Also, buy Kyrgies slippers for those filthy feet of yours: kyrgies.com. Use ILK @ checkout for 15% OFF.

02:23:14

ILN EP 136: Antinatalism

I Learned Nothing ·

2021/01/24

Pat was feeling despondent so Ben perks him up with the cheery, not-at-all-controversial philosophy of antinatalism. In a nutshell, this theory argues that with all the suffering and pain life brings, it's unethical to bring new people into the world, both because of the inevitable risks of being alive plus the fact that it's inherently a non-consensual act. And then you die! A philosophy for surly teenagers everywhere, it was most vocally supported by Romanian writer and hit at parties Emil Cioran

01:43:10

ILN EP 135: Grue

I Learned Nothing ·

2020/12/18

Pat was feeling KINDA BLUE so Ben floors him with the absolutely jazzy color theory of hep cat/philosopher Nelson Goodman and his controversial theory of Grue. Grue is a new color Goodman invented but it's also an innovative new critique of the Problem of Induction. How do we confirm that something is green if we also no that those green things will become grue after time t? Then how do we confirm that anything is green after time t if they were blue? What if they were blue before time t? Ugh, never

01:47:16

ILN EP 134: Hélène Cixous

I Learned Nothing ·

2020/12/02

Pat was feeling phallogocentric so Ben turns him on to the earth-shattering philosophy of Hélène Cixous, THE post-structural feminist of the 20th Century. Taking her cue from philosopher/smoking pompadour Jacques Derrida (who Ben suspects was also Hélène's occasional fuck-buddy) his theory of deconstruction, Cixous proposed that women (as well as men) should break free of the constraints of logocentric writing (prose, analytical, etc) in order to more fully express their femininity, rather than have

01:28:36

BONUS PATREON EPISODE 3!!! ILN PAT-REON EP 47: The...

I Learned Nothing ·

2020/10/31

Folks! We're releasing YET ANOTHER free Pat-reon Bonus Episode, piping hot and fresh from the vault!! Pat was feeling a little “down under” so he flips the script and teaches Ben a thing or two about a thing or two. In this installment, we learn about Australia’s Great Emu War of 1932, easily one of the most humiliating military engagements in modern history. Listen to learn who won! And if you want more, join our Patreon for just $5 a month. We love you.

01:30:35

ILN EP 132: G. E. Moore

I Learned Nothing ·

2020/10/13

Pat was feeling gaslit, so Ben clears the air by introducing philosophy's savior of common sense: G. E. Moore. As one third of the Triumvirate of analytic philosophy (including the pervert Bertrand Russell and closet-case Ludwig Wittgenstein), G.E. Moore spearheaded the revolt in British philosophy against the oppressive yoke of German Idealism and ushering in the current analytic turn we see today. He also called bullshit on dogmatic skepticism with his "proof" of an external world: Here's one hand

01:43:39

ILN EP 131: Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?

I Learned Nothing ·

2020/09/08

Pat was feeling abstract so Ben dives deep into the deepest question of all time: What accounts for the prolific recorded output of Flying Burrito Brother Gram Parsons? No, although that is a mystifying one. In Episode 131 of I Learned Nothing, Ben and Pat tackle the Big One (because why not): Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing??? This one goes back past recorded history. It's the question we all ask ourselves as soon as we're coherent enough to ask questions. A lot of the greats have

01:27:38

ILN EP 130: Evil

I Learned Nothing ·

2020/08/11

Pat was feeling naughty so Ben tempts him with a comprehensive discussion of the ancient concept of Evil. Evil as a moral or ethical notion has plagued us and bewitched us since we as a species could first distinguish right or wrong. Evil is fundamental, primordial, and horrifying. The Eldritch entity of ethical concepts, the term "Evil" has been applied to people, actions, motives, and institutions throughout history. Some people, however, don't even think it exists. Isn't that nuts? Let's dirty,

01:51:18

ILN EP 129: Roko's Basilisk

I Learned Nothing ·

2020/07/19

Pat was feeling pretty satisfied with himself on his precious little birthday so Ben decides to dash his spirits with the Internet 2.0's hottest new meme paradox: Roko's Basilisk. Roko's Basilisk is a thought experiment outlined in 2010 by SOME GUY on SOME BLOG that has disturbed nerds and lurkers alike, causing some to even have nervous breakdowns. Imagine a powerful AI that retroactively punishes all those humans who don't actively contribute to it's creation once knowing about it. Now that I told

01:11:18

ILN EP 128: JL Austin

I Learned Nothing ·

2020/07/02

Pat was feeling loquacious as usual so Ben takes this opportunity to lay out the nuanced and penetrating philosophy of British nerd/superspy JL Austin. This guy is famous for being one of the most original philosophers of the 20th Century, focusing mainly on language and its role in constructing our very reality. Austin's main contribution was his theory of Speech Acts -- how utterances in our language constitute more than just propositions describing states of affairs, but also serve as actions

01:18:01

ILN EP 127: The Sleeping Beauty Problem

I Learned Nothing ·

2020/06/19

Pat was feeling sleepy so Ben regales him with one of the most infuriating thought experiments of all time: The Sleeping Beauty Problem. Concocted by Ben's very own thesis adviser Professor Adam Elga (seriously), The Sleeping Beauty Problem was submitted to the world in 2000 and it has boggled minds ever since. Listen to the episode to hear the full scenario, but here let it be asked: Are you a Halfer? Or a Thirder? We all hate this.

01:26:23

ILN EP 126: Giorgio Agamben

I Learned Nothing ·

2020/06/09

Pat and Ben were both feeling sad, confused, and powerless, so Ben drives that feeling home by discussing the troubling and disheartening political philosophy of contemporary Italian political theorist Giorgio Agamben. Tying together several disparate threads from both ancient and modern political traditions, Agamben distills his unique view on modern politics into his best known theories of the State of Exception and Homo Sacer. In this episode, Ben attempts to connect Agamben's thought to the very

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