Patterson In Pursuit: Philosophy | Politics | Religion

Great show this week covering the social justice warrior phenomenon - the origins, causes, and damage that could be created if these people gain political power. We also talk about the liberalisation of New Zealand during the 80's, "trickle-down ideologies", and the impact of relativism in higher ed. My guest is Dr. Jamie Whyte, who has a background in philosophy, studied at Cambridge, and saw first-hand the popularity of irrationalism within the academic system.   Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

What were the indigenous beliefs of the Māori people of New Zealand? How did they view the world? How did they react when met with the first Christian settlers? I'm joined by Dr. Hirini Kaa to help me answer these questions. We talk about the Maori worldview, history, religion, and impact of colonialism on New Zealand's indigenous people. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

What is truth? Can we know anything about it? Is truth about propositions, or is it about the world? Can a proposition be true and false at the same time? What about the infamous liar's paradox? My guest this week thinks that logical contradictions are unavoidable - but also that they aren't as big a deal as classical logicians make them out to be. I think contradictions are a very big deal, so naturally, we have a great discussion. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

This is Part II of the conversation I had with T.K. Coleman about race relations in the United States. We continue talking about the importance of intention versus action - focusing on people feelings versus focusing on their behavior. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

A timely interview on the subject of race in America. Ideas matter, and some of them matter urgently. This is one of those topics where respectful, honest, and reasonable conversation is in high demand and short supply. I hope my guest T.K. Coleman will spend a few more episodes diving into the subject with me, because we only scratched the surface here. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

The theory of physicalism does not fully explain all the phenomena that I experience. The toolbox of concepts must expand. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

Omnipotent. Omniscient. Omnibenevolent. These are the descriptions that theists often give when talking about God. But are they the only conceptions of God that are possible? My guest today is Dr. John Bishop, who has written about non-standard conceptions of theism. We talk about his criticisms of the OmniGod, in addition to some fundamental concepts about faith and belief. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

Do we live in a post-truth world? What does that term even mean? I'm joined by Dr. Robert Nola, who has been teaching at the University of Auckland for almost half a century. We discuss fundamental questions about truth, talk about what "post-truth" means, and also cover the methodology of "faith" in the philosophy of religion. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

What is the cause of somebody's stroke? Is it the laws of physics? The mechanics of biology? Or perhaps it's caused by the choices that they made? Is it all of the above? My guest today is Dr. Mario De Caro, who has an interesting answer to these questions. He is a metaphysical pluralist, who believes in multiple categories of existence and causation, each of which is not reducible to the other. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

The bittersweet paradox is another popular irrationalist argument, which claims that two mutually exclusive things can be experienced together - happy and sad, black and white, bitter and sweet. Once again, this type of argument falls short, and precise language clears up any confusion. It conflates the appearance of mutual exclusivity with actual mutual exclusivity. If two things are mutually exclusive, then they cannot be experienced together. If they are experienced together, it's a demonstration that they aren't mutually exclusive. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

Merry Christmas and Bah Humbug! This is an analysis of my interview with a Christian theologian from Cambridge. I wasn't a big fan of his argument, which ultimately rested on a dubious distinction between "who" and "what." Also in this episode: my attempt at rationally explaining the connection between Jesus and the Christian God. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

Drug prohibition causes more harm than good - that's the argument from libertarians like Dr. Jeff Miron of Harvard. He analyzes the topic from an economic and practical standpoint. In this episode, we also discuss the role of government in providing a social safety net. Can private charity do a better job than public charity? Jeff thinks so, and I agree with him. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

For the last decade, I've been searching for certain foundations, and finally, I've found them. Logic represents the foundation for all knowledge, and it's the subject of my first book on philosophy: Square One: The Foundations of Knowledge. If you are interested in objective truth, certain knowledge, and logic, then pick up a copy. Anybody can read it and understand - it's not written for academics, and it doesn't contain useless jargon. All of my work - present and future - draws from the ideas in Square One. If I've made a mistake here, you can confidently discard the rest of my worldview without hesitation. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

Though it's bound to upset people, I don't think being in the military is honorable. I think it's a sign of weakness, and in most circumstances, it causes more harm than good. Submitting to orders is not noble. Killing people because you were commanded to isn't courageous. Believing propaganda is not respectable. Soldiers are how they've been used: as political pawns for ambitious men. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

What are numbers? What are concepts? Do they exist, or do we just act like they exist? I'm joined by Dr. Jody Azzouni of Tufts University. He's a philosopher who has been arguing for nominalism for years - the idea that numbers and abstract objects don't exist at all.  His position is a wonderful contrast to the previous interviews I've done on this topic, where the guests have been Platonists. My own views sit in-between nominalism and Platonism. I think abstract objects exist, but they do not exist in a Platonic realm. They exist in our minds. When we stop thinking about them, they stop existing. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

If consciousness can't be explained within the conceptual toolbox of physicalism, then what's an alternative theory? Are we stuck with dualism? This is my breakdown of the interview with Professor Bram about consciousness, machine intelligence, and the implications of rejecting reductive physicalism. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

Since recorded history, people have been talking about "religious" or "spiritual" experiences. It's a shame that intellectuals are no longer able to discuss them openly. It's become taboo. Fortunately, my guest doesn't care about taboos, and he shares some details about his own religious experiences, and I do as well. We're not the only intellectuals with these experiences, and it's about time we start talking about it. The ideas are too important to leave unexamined. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

Cultures are not delicate flowers that must be preserved until the end of time. Cultures emerge from different individuals trying to best navigate life. Cultures have positive traits and negative traits. As humans, we should steal the positive and leave the negative behind. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

It all started with mashed potatoes... Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe

Buddhist philosophy focuses on some of the most difficult questions in philosophy - what is the "self"? What is the self's relationship to consciousness? Are there meaningful boundaries in the universe, or is everything a mental construction? To help me answer these questions, I'm joined by Dr. Janet Gyatso of Harvard University, who is the Hershey Professor of Buddhist Studies.   Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe