Tag Archives: Justice

Is Privilege Real? by Gregory Salmieri

February 26, 2020Podcastconcepts, fairness, history, Justice, Philosophy, principles, privilege, race, rights, systemsphilosophy-for-living-on-earth

Many people believe that privilege—the idea that special rights or advantages are available only to a particular person or group—is a problem. While there are advantages, such as the wealth and location of one’s parents, that are not a choice, there are reasons to be skeptical about whether or not privilege is a problem. For example, many United States immigrants start with nothing, but succeed through hard work.

Does the concept of privilege only apply in a specific context? How does it apply to issues of race?

Join David Birnbaum as he interviews philosopher Gregory Salmieri on the question: Is privilege real?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:06:19 — 60.7MB)

Subscribe: RSS | More

What’s Wrong with “Virtue Signaling”? by Ben Bayer

January 29, 2020PodcastAyn Rand, Ben Bayer, ethics, Justice, Philosophy, public, The Virtue of Selfishness, values, vanity, virtuephilosophy-for-living-on-earth

Think about celebrities who tweet about their politics all the time, or think about companies who want you to buy their products because they’re supposedly eco-friendly. Some say that these are symptoms of an epidemic that’s coursing it’s way through social media and through our political discourse generally, an epidemic they call “virtue signalling”.

Ben Bayer, a fellow at The Ayn Rand Institute, has some questions about this. You’re said to be a virtue signaller when you promote some cause or criticize some figure people love to hate in a way that doesn’t involve much cost, but which draws attention to your own right way of thinking.

What, if anything, is wrong with this kind of behavior? Is there a kind of behavior here at all or do the critics of virtue signalling lump together lots of different things? Is speaking out ineffective only because it’s speaking? Does profiting from the judgment of others make you insincere?

Join Ben Bayer and explore the question: What’s wrong with “virtue signalling”?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00:55 — 55.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS | More

Can You Take Credit for Who You Are? by Ben Bayer

August 14, 2019Podcastachievement, Ben Bayer, blank slate, build, character, credit, determinism, epistemology, free will, Justice, morality, Podcast, self-madephilosophy-for-living-on-earth

What makes you who you are? Is it nature or nurture—or a bit of both? Or does that very way of framing the question leave out something very important, namely—you? Can you take credit for who you are? If so, how? We can’t and we don’t create ourselves out of nothing. Some people are born…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:03:49 — 58.4MB)

Subscribe: RSS | More