What is Meta-Ethics? What separates Meta-Ethics from other branches of moral philosophy? How should we understand the nature of moral properties, ethical statements, moral judgments and moral reasons? What is moral goodness? Are there any moral facts? If so, what are they and where are they located? Are there objective, absolute moral values or is moral value relative? What are the semantics of moral language? What’s the best way to analyze or define ethical terms such as ‘good’, ‘ought’, and ‘right’. Should we be internalists or externalists about moral reasons? And how do moral attitudes motivate action?

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What is skepticism? Are there different varieties of skepticism? Is skepticism primarily an epistemological issue? What’s the aim of a skeptical argument? Should skeptical arguments be taken seriously? If so, why? What’s philosophically significant about skepticism? Can a certain amount of skepticism be healthy? What’s the best strategy for responding to skeptical arguments? Is there a rational response that could be offered against the skeptic? If not, what sort of implications are we left to deal with? Are we all just brains in vats?

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What sort of thing is the mind? And what’s the relationship between the mind and the body, between mental things and physical things? Is the mind composed of some sort of non-physical substance? Or is the mind just a particular sort of physical substance, perhaps organized in a distinctive way? Is there some other way of understanding the relationship between mind and body? Are minds merely brains? Are mental states just identical to certain kinds of brain states? Are mental states nothing more than certain dispositions to behave in certain ways? What is the nature of consciousness? Is it possible for a purely physical object to be conscious? Could a sophisticated machine be conscious? What is the nature of thought? How does the mind represent the world? Are the content of our thoughts determined by the brain or by the environment? What’s the relation between the philosophy of mind, psychology, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, cognitive science and other fields with interest in human minds?

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What is the philosophy of language? How does the philosophy of language differ from linguistics, or from other branches of philosophy? Why do philosophers study language? What is the purpose of language? How does language relate to the mind, both of the speaker and the interpreter? How does language relate to the world? What is the nature of meaning? What is the relation between meaning and reference? How are sentences composed into a meaningful whole, and what are the meanings of the parts of sentences? Why do expressions have the meanings they have? How do words and sentences acquire meanings?

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What is Intelligent Design Theory? Is Intelligent Design Theory a scientific theory? Why or why not? If so, is it a good theory? What is the philosophical significance of the debate about intelligent design? How is Intelligent Design Theory different from other theories or theses involving design? What claims are Intelligent Design Theorists committed to? What claims are they not committed to? What is the explanatory aim of Intelligent Design Theory? Are we justified in teaching Intelligent Design Theory in public schools? What would make it justified or unjustified? Do certain religious views force one to decide between intelligent design and evolution? If so, why?

What is the philosophy of science? What is it that philosophers of science do? What sort of issues is the philosophy of science interested in investigating? What is the relationship between science and the philosophy of science? How do philosophers add to the work of scientists? Do scientists need philosophers of science? Can the structure and history of science tell us anything about how to do philosophy? What scientific fields ought to be studied more by philosophers of science?

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What is logic? What does it mean to think logically? Can anyone be logical? What sorts of issues are logicians interested in reconciling? Is being logical better than being illogical? Is it always better? If so, why? Why should people think logically? What benefits are there to thinking in a logically consist manner? Are there different kinds of logic? If so, how should we evaluate the merits of a particular logical system?

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What is political philosophy? What does the discipline of political philosophy encompass? What’s the relation between political philosophy and politics? Is there any relevance in theorizing about ideal states? Do we need a state at all? What’s the best way to evaluate different forms of government? How should the relation between an individual’s rights and an individual’s duties to the state be adjudicated? How should a state that is in power be modified, improved or dispensed with?

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What is art? How should art be judged? Does aesthetic value lie in the eye of the beholder? Or is aesthetic value objective in some way? What is bad art?

Philosophy 101 Series (Episode 7)

The Philosophy 101 Series is designed to give the beginning philosopher (or non-philosopher) a brief introduction to the basic questions, concerns and methodologies associated with the various branches of philosophical inquiry.

Does God exist? What are the arguments that have been offered for the existence of God? Are reason and faith incompatible? What about the problem of evil? Are miracles real?

Philosophy 101 Series (Episode 6)

The Philosophy 101 Series is designed to give the beginning philosopher (or non-philosopher) a brief introduction to the basic questions, concerns and methodologies associated with the various branches of philosophical inquiry.

What is ethics? What sorts of issues do ethicists consider? What’s the distinction, if any, between ‘ethics’ and ‘morality’? How should we determine right and wrong? What are the various ethical theories that have been developed by philosophers? Are values intrinsic or extrinsic? Should morality be legislated? Do we have a duty to help others?

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What is knowledge? How do we know what we know? What conditions need to be met in order to say that someone knows something? Is there anything that we cannot know? Why is the study of ‘epistemology’ so important.

Philosophy 101 Series (Episode 4)

The Philosophy 101 Series is designed to give the beginning philosopher (or non-philosopher) a brief introduction to the basic questions, concerns and methodologies associated with the various branches of philosophical inquiry.

What is reality? What really exists? Is anything real at all? Why is there something rather than nothing? Is there a reality independent of our minds? Why is the study of ‘metaphysics’ important?

Philosophy 101 Series (Episode 3)

The Philosophy 101 Series is designed to give the beginning philosopher (or non-philosopher) a brief introduction to the basic questions, concerns and methodologies associated with the various branches of philosophical inquiry.

What is the status of philosophy today? Are people interested in philosophy? Should people be interested in philosophy? If so, how should people be introduced to various philosophical issues?

Philosophy 101 Series (Episode 2)

The Philosophy 101 Series is designed to give the beginning philosopher (or non-philosopher) a brief introduction to the basic questions, concerns and methodologies associated with the various branches of philosophical inquiry.

What is philosophy? What does it mean to do philosophy? What are the major branches of philosophical inquiry? Is philosophy important? What counts as ‘philosophy’ anyway? Is everyone a philosopher? This is the show that started it all folks!

Philosophy 101 Series (Episode 1)

The Philosophy 101 Series is designed to give the beginning philosopher (or non-philosopher) a brief introduction to the basic questions, concerns and methodologies associated with the various branches of philosophical inquiry.