Episode 110, ‘The Philosophy of Islam’ with Mohammad Saleh Zarepour (Part II - Further Analysis and Discussion)

Welcome to ‘Episode 110 (Part II of II)’, in which we’ll be discussing evil and the afterlife with Dr Zarepour.

“How did the universe come into existence?” It’s a question that most of the world’s religions seek to answer. According to the Abrahamic faiths, the world can only exist with the existence of a being who was not caused by something other than itself – and this they call ‘Yahweh’, ‘Allāh’, or ‘God’. Philosophical arguments to this end come in many forms, one of which – from the medieval Islamic philosopher Ibn Sina (known in the West as ‘Avicenna’) ­­­– claims that we can prove the existence of this necessary being with absolute certainty. If something can exist there must be an uncaused being, and from this concept alone, Avicenna says that we can deduce every other property that Muslims attribute to Allāh.

In this interview, we’ll be discussing Avicenna and the philosophy of Islam with Dr Mohammad Saleh Zarepour. Currently Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Manchester, Dr Zarepour completed his first PhD at the Tarbiat Modares University in Iran and his second PhD at the University of Cambridge. Publishing extensively in philosophy of religion – and having worked on major initiatives such as the Global Philosophy of Religion Project – it is safe to say that Saleh is one of the world’s leading experts in Islamic philosophy.

Islam claims to solve the problem of existence, but its implications extend far beyond the origin of the cosmos. Allāh is a being invested in his creation – a being that will judge, reward, or punish us for our good and bad deeds, who permits us to live and to suffer – and differs from the God of Judaism and Christianity in his nature and actions. Thus, we should ask not only whether belief in Allāh’s necessity is reasonable, but whether the beliefs of Muslims are more (or less) reasonable than those of their Abrahamic cousins.

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This episode is produced in partnership with The Global Philosophy of Religion Project at University of Birmingham, led by Yujin Nagasawa and funded by the John Templeton Foundation.

Contents

Part I. Allāh

Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 110, ‘The Philosophy of Islam’ with Mohammad Saleh Zarepour (Part I - Allāh)

Welcome to ‘Episode 110 (Part I of II)’, in which we’ll be discussing the nature and existence of Allāh with Mohammad Saleh Zarepour.

“How did the universe come into existence?” It’s a question that most of the world’s religions seek to answer. According to the Abrahamic faiths, the world can only exist with the existence of a being who was not caused by something other than itself – and this they call ‘Yahweh’, ‘Allāh’, or ‘God’. Philosophical arguments to this end come in many forms, one of which – from the medieval Islamic philosopher Ibn Sina (known in the West as ‘Avicenna’) ­­­– claims that we can prove the existence of this necessary being with absolute certainty. If something can exist there must be an uncaused being, and from this concept alone, Avicenna says that we can deduce every other property that Muslims attribute to Allāh.

In this interview, we’ll be discussing Avicenna and the philosophy of Islam with Dr Mohammad Saleh Zarepour. Currently Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Manchester, Dr Zarepour completed his first PhD at the Tarbiat Modares University in Iran and his second PhD at the University of Cambridge. Publishing extensively in philosophy of religion – and having worked on major initiatives such as the Global Philosophy of Religion Project – it is safe to say that Saleh is one of the world’s leading experts in Islamic philosophy.

Islam claims to solve the problem of existence, but its implications extend far beyond the origin of the cosmos. Allāh is a being invested in his creation – a being that will judge, reward, or punish us for our good and bad deeds, who permits us to live and to suffer – and differs from the God of Judaism and Christianity in his nature and actions. Thus, we should ask not only whether belief in Allāh’s necessity is reasonable, but whether the beliefs of Muslims are more (or less) reasonable than those of their Abrahamic cousins.

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/contemplates the Necessary Existent

This episode is produced in partnership with The Global Philosophy of Religion Project at University of Birmingham, led by Yujin Nagasawa and funded by the John Templeton Foundation.

Contents

Part I. Allāh

Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 108, The Richard Dawkins Interview (Part II - Further Analysis and Discussion)

Welcome to ‘Episode 108 (Part II of II)’, in which we’ll be continuing our discussion with Professor Richard Dawkins.

The flight of a hummingbird, the sprint of a cheetah, the breath of a whale, a daisy turning towards the sunlight. Given the complexity of the natural world, we can understand why – before the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species – people believed that the universe was the work of an intelligent designer. These days, however – although creationism continues to be defended by religious fundamentalists – the scientific consensus is that the world’s organisms evolved through the long and arduous process of natural selection. ‘With a complete physical explanation,’ say the new atheists, ‘there’s no need to appeal to the supernatural.’

In this interview, we’ll be discussing atheism with Professor Richard Dawkins. It’s no exaggeration to say that Richard Dawkins is one of the most influential scientists, and the most famous atheist, of all time. Alongside his invaluable contributions to evolutionary biology, his books – including The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, and The God Delusion – have a readership in the tens of millions, resulting in numerous prestigious awards and recognition as ‘the world’s top thinker’.

‘Although atheism might have been logically tenable before Darwin’, says Dawkins, ‘Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist.’ It is time we seized that possibility: that we embrace the godless universe, craft our own meaning, and stop suffering fools gladly.

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Contents

Part I. Why I'm an Atheist

Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 108, The Richard Dawkins Interview (Part I - Why I'm an Atheist)

Welcome to ‘Episode 108 (Part I of II)’, in which we’ll be discussing the existence of God with Professor Richard Dawkins.

The flight of a hummingbird, the sprint of a cheetah, the breath of a whale, a daisy turning towards the sunlight. Given the complexity of the natural world, we can understand why – before the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species – people believed that the universe was the work of an intelligent designer. These days, however – although creationism continues to be defended by religious fundamentalists – the scientific consensus is that the world’s organisms evolved through the long and arduous process of natural selection. ‘With a complete physical explanation,’ say the new atheists, ‘there’s no need to appeal to the supernatural.’

In this interview, we’ll be discussing atheism with Professor Richard Dawkins. It’s no exaggeration to say that Richard Dawkins is one of the most influential scientists, and the most famous atheist, of all time. Alongside his invaluable contributions to evolutionary biology, his books – including The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, and The God Delusion – have a readership in the tens of millions, resulting in numerous prestigious awards and recognition as ‘the world’s top thinker’.

‘Although atheism might have been logically tenable before Darwin’, says Dawkins, ‘Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist.’ It is time we seized that possibility: that we embrace the godless universe, craft our own meaning, and stop suffering fools gladly.

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Contents

Part I. Why I'm an Atheist

Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 102, The Richard Swinburne Interview (Part II - Further Analysis and Discussion)

Welcome to ‘Episode 102 (Part II of II)’, in which we’ll be concluding our discussion with Richard Swinburne.

The existence of God is the most discussed, and perhaps the most important, question in philosophy. For the majority of the world’s population, God provides meaning, morality, metaphysics, and hopefully, salvation.

A rich history of scholarship defending God’s existence has meant theism has long been considered to be a reasonable worldview; however, with the rise of secularism and the new atheist movement, a fiery and passionate debate has ensued: one of science vs. religion. Our question: can the two be reconciled?

In this episode, we’ll be discussing God’s existence with one of contemporary philosophy’s most influential thinkers, Professor Richard Swinburne. Best known for his great trilogy of books – The Coherence of Theism, The Existence of God, and Faith and Reason – Professor Swinburne’s impact on philosophy of religion has been enormous... from high school classrooms to university halls, every teacher knows his name and every student must wrestle with his work.

According to Swinburne, theism is the friend – and not the enemy – of science; for God ‘explains everything that we observe’, from the universe’s existence and the scientific laws which operate within it, to its extraordinary miracles and conscious creatures. ‘If we want a complete explanation of the universe’, says Swinburne, ‘then science needs God.’

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Contents

Part I. Is there a God?

Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 102, The Richard Swinburne Interview (Part I - Is there a God?)

Welcome to ‘Episode 102 (Part I of II)’, in which we’ll be discussing the existence of God with Richard Swinburne.

The existence of God is the most discussed, and perhaps the most important, question in philosophy. For the majority of the world’s population, God provides meaning, morality, metaphysics, and hopefully, salvation.

A rich history of scholarship defending God’s existence has meant theism has long been considered to be a reasonable worldview; however, with the rise of secularism and the new atheist movement, a fiery and passionate debate has ensued: one of science vs. religion. Our question: can the two be reconciled?

In this episode, we’ll be discussing God’s existence with one of contemporary philosophy’s most influential thinkers, Professor Richard Swinburne. Best known for his great trilogy of books – The Coherence of Theism, The Existence of God, and Faith and Reason – Professor Swinburne’s impact on philosophy of religion has been enormous... from high school classrooms to university halls, every teacher knows his name and every student must wrestle with his work.

According to Swinburne, theism is the friend – and not the enemy – of science; for God ‘explains everything that we observe’, from the universe’s existence and the scientific laws which operate within it, to its extraordinary miracles and conscious creatures. ‘If we want a complete explanation of the universe’, says Swinburne, ‘then science needs God.’

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Contents

Part I. Is there a God?

Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 98, The William Lane Craig Interview (Part II - Further Analysis and Discussion)

Welcome to ‘Episode 98 (Part II of II)’, in which we’ll be discussing Christianity and evil with William Lane Craig.

Christianity is the largest religion in the world: with almost 2.5 billion followers across the globe, nearly one in three people have faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Essential to the Christian worldview is the belief that the universe was created by a maximally great God: a being who is invested in the moral lives of his people and offers salvation to all who embrace his teachings. He is a God of three persons, a God of maximal power and intelligence, and a God who loves us all unconditionally. For many Christians, this belief is a matter of faith, but is this faith reasonable?

Joining us this episode to discuss the nature and existence of God is Visiting Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology and Professor of Philosophy at Houston Baptist University, Dr William Lane Craig. With over thirty books and two hundred publications, Dr Craig has had a profound and lasting impact on academic debates within philosophy and theology. As well as being one of the leading philosophers of our time, Dr Craig’s work extends beyond the dusty chalkboards of university campuses. As the founder of the hugely popular non-profit organisation Reasonable Faith, Dr Craig is best known for his online lectures and for taking on the world’s most prominent philosophers and scientists in defence of Christianity. In the words of James Porter Moreland, ‘It is hard to overstate the impact that William Lane Craig has had for the cause of Christ. He is simply the finest Christian apologist of the last half century.’

Without God, says Craig, morality is groundless, metaphysics is hopeless, and life is meaningless. The God of Christianity is the wellspring from which all life and values come into being. It is God who made us without dust, and it is to God to whom we shall return.

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This episode is produced in partnership with The Global Philosophy of Religion Project at University of Birmingham, led by Yujin Nagasawa and funded by the John Templeton Foundation.

Contents

Part I. Reasonable Faith

Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 98, The William Lane Craig Interview (Part I - Reasonable Faith)

Welcome to ‘Episode 98 (Part I of II)’, in which we’ll be discussing the existence of God with William Lane Craig.

Christianity is the largest religion in the world: with almost 2.5 billion followers across the globe, nearly one in three people have faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Essential to the Christian worldview is the belief that the universe was created by a maximally great God: a being who is invested in the moral lives of his people and offers salvation to all who embrace his teachings. He is a God of three persons, a God of maximal power and intelligence, and a God who loves us all unconditionally. For many Christians, this belief is a matter of faith, but is this faith reasonable?

Joining us this episode to discuss the nature and existence of God is Visiting Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology and Professor of Philosophy at Houston Baptist University, Dr William Lane Craig. With over thirty books and two hundred publications, Dr Craig has had a profound and lasting impact on academic debates within philosophy and theology. As well as being one of the leading philosophers of our time, Dr Craig’s work extends beyond the dusty chalkboards of university campuses. As the founder of the hugely popular non-profit organisation Reasonable Faith, Dr Craig is best known for his online lectures and for taking on the world’s most prominent philosophers and scientists in defence of Christianity. In the words of James Porter Moreland, ‘It is hard to overstate the impact that William Lane Craig has had for the cause of Christ. He is simply the finest Christian apologist of the last half century.’

Without God, says Craig, morality is groundless, metaphysics is hopeless, and life is meaningless. The God of Christianity is the wellspring from which all life and values come into being. It is God who made us without dust, and it is to God to whom we shall return.

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/loves you unconditionally

This episode is produced in partnership with The Global Philosophy of Religion Project at University of Birmingham, led by Yujin Nagasawa and funded by the John Templeton Foundation.

Contents

Part I. Reasonable Faith

Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 93, ‘The Philosophy of Hinduism’ with Jessica Frazier (Part II - Death, Evil, and Suffering)

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Welcome to 'Episode 93 (Part II of II)’, in which we’ll be speaking to Jessica Frazier about consciousness, reincarnation, morality, and the problem of evil.

Hinduism is the world’s oldest living religion, and it won’t be disappearing any time soon. This ancient worldview currently boasts over one billion devotees, making it the third most popular religion in the world. Despite its popularity, scholarship in philosophy of religion continues to ignore its influence, with academic papers on the Abrahamic faiths vastly outnumbering those devoted to Hinduism. Our classrooms don’t paint a prettier picture. In UK schools, Hinduism is scarcely taught in comparison to the other major world religions, with reports showing that educators lack the confidence and subject knowledge to teach Hinduism properly. Fortunately, thanks to the work of scholars such as Jessica Frazier, things are changing.

Jessica Frazier is Lecturer in Theology and Religion at Trinity College, Oxford and Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. Frazier is one of the world’s leading experts on Hindu philosophy, reshaping and globalising philosophy of religion for the 21st century. As well as being the founding editor of the Journal of Hindu Studies, she is best known for her books Reality, Religion and Passion, The Bloomsbury Companion to Hindu Studies, and most recently, Hindu Worldviews: Theories of Self, Ritual and Reality. Far from your ivory tower academic, Jessica is a committed public philosopher, broadening the horizons of academics and the general public through her captivating writing style and regular media appearances. 

As we will see, Frazier’s work demonstrates Hinduism's rich and insightful philosophical tradition; a tradition that can shed light on life’s greatest questions: from the nature of life, god and suffering, to the fundamental structure of reality.

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/creates something out of something

This episode is produced in partnership with The Global Philosophy of Religion Project at University of Birmingham, led by Yujin Nagasawa and funded by the John Templeton Foundation.

Contents

Part I. Fundamental Reality

Part II. Death, Evil, and Suffering

Episode 93, ‘The Philosophy of Hinduism’ with Jessica Frazier (Part I - Fundamental Reality)

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Welcome to 'Episode 93 (Part I of II)’, in which we’ll be speaking to Jessica Frazier about Hindu metaphysics.

Hinduism is the world’s oldest living religion, and it won’t be disappearing any time soon. This ancient worldview currently boasts over one billion devotees, making it the third most popular religion in the world. Despite its popularity, scholarship in philosophy of religion continues to ignore its influence, with academic papers on the Abrahamic faiths vastly outnumbering those devoted to Hinduism. Our classrooms don’t paint a prettier picture. In UK schools, Hinduism is scarcely taught in comparison to the other major world religions, with reports showing that educators lack the confidence and subject knowledge to teach Hinduism properly. Fortunately, thanks to the work of scholars such as Jessica Frazier, things are changing.

Jessica Frazier is Lecturer in Theology and Religion at Trinity College, Oxford and Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. Frazier is one of the world’s leading experts on Hindu philosophy, reshaping and globalising philosophy of religion for the 21st century. As well as being the founding editor of the Journal of Hindu Studies, she is best known for her books Reality, Religion and Passion, The Bloomsbury Companion to Hindu Studies, and most recently, Hindu Worldviews: Theories of Self, Ritual and Reality. Far from your ivory tower academic, Jessica is a committed public philosopher, broadening the horizons of academics and the general public through her captivating writing style and regular media appearances. 

As we will see, Frazier’s work demonstrates Hinduism's rich and insightful philosophical tradition; a tradition that can shed light on life’s greatest questions: from the nature of life, god and suffering, to the fundamental structure of reality.

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/creates something out of something

This episode is produced in partnership with The Global Philosophy of Religion Project at University of Birmingham, led by Yujin Nagasawa and funded by the John Templeton Foundation.

Contents

Part I. Fundamental Reality

Part II. Death, Evil, and Suffering

Episode 88, Buddhism (Part V - Further Analysis and Discussion)

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Welcome to 'Episode 88 (Part V of V)’, where we’ll be concluding our discussion of Buddhism, as well as engaging in some further analysis.

Jack was walking down a street. It was a day like any other. As ever, his mind was a flurry of thoughts, worries, and anxieties, stimulated by coffee and the bright light of his phone. In a bid to relieve his stress, he put his phone in his pocket, and tried to notice the details he would usually ignore. 

As he walked past the pharmacy, he saw a sick man coughing and spluttering; he was throwing medication back to stop his disease from decaying his body. Jack kept walking and came across an old woman waiting at a bus stop. She was fragile, crooked, and anxious; clearly age had taken much from her. Crossing the road away from the bus stop, he waited for the traffic to pass. Driving slowly past him was a hearse: a coffin on full display, surrounded by flowers, proceeded by a stream of weeping mourners. 

Jack fell to his knees, overwhelmed with despair, “we all get sick, we all age, and we all die. We cannot escape this fate!” His head against the pavement, he didn’t move for almost an hour. When he got up, he was approached by a homeless man, to whom he said, “sorry, I don’t have any change.” The man replied, “It is you who needs a little change, young monk. I know why you fall to your knees in despair: the inescapable suffering of life weighs on us all. Let me tell you of someone who was once like you, who tried to remove suffering from our minds… let me tell you the story of Siddhartha Gotama, The Buddha.”

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This episode is proudly sponsored by Gaston Luga backpacks.

Head over to www.gastonluga.com and get 10% off any purchase with the discount code PANPSYCAST10.

Contents

Part I. The Life of Siddhārtha Gautama

Part II. The Four Noble Truths

Part III. The Cycle of Life

Part IV. The Eightfold Path

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 88, Buddhism (Part IV - The Eightfold Path)

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Welcome to 'Episode 88 (Part IV of V)’, where we’ll be discussing Buddhist practices and the eightfold path.

Jack was walking down a street. It was a day like any other. As ever, his mind was a flurry of thoughts, worries, and anxieties, stimulated by coffee and the bright light of his phone. In a bid to relieve his stress, he put his phone in his pocket, and tried to notice the details he would usually ignore. 

As he walked past the pharmacy, he saw a sick man coughing and spluttering; he was throwing medication back to stop his disease from decaying his body. Jack kept walking and came across an old woman waiting at a bus stop. She was fragile, crooked, and anxious; clearly age had taken much from her. Crossing the road away from the bus stop, he waited for the traffic to pass. Driving slowly past him was a hearse: a coffin on full display, surrounded by flowers, proceeded by a stream of weeping mourners. 

Jack fell to his knees, overwhelmed with despair, “we all get sick, we all age, and we all die. We cannot escape this fate!” His head against the pavement, he didn’t move for almost an hour. When he got up, he was approached by a homeless man, to whom he said, “sorry, I don’t have any change.” The man replied, “It is you who needs a little change, young monk. I know why you fall to your knees in despair: the inescapable suffering of life weighs on us all. Let me tell you of someone who was once like you, who tried to remove suffering from our minds… let me tell you the story of Siddhartha Gotama, The Buddha.”

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/escapes the cycle of rebirth
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This episode is proudly sponsored by the Reading Our Times podcast.

You can find Reading Our Times on all major streaming sites, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Deezer.

For more information, please visit www.theosthinktank.co.uk.

Contents

Part I. The Life of Siddhārtha Gautama

Part II. The Four Noble Truths

Part III. The Cycle of Life

Part IV. The Eightfold Path

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 88, Buddhism (Part III - The Cycle of Life)

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Welcome to 'Episode 88 (Part III of V)’, where we’ll be discussing Buddhist metaphysics.

Jack was walking down a street. It was a day like any other. As ever, his mind was a flurry of thoughts, worries, and anxieties, stimulated by coffee and the bright light of his phone. In a bid to relieve his stress, he put his phone in his pocket, and tried to notice the details he would usually ignore. 

As he walked past the pharmacy, he saw a sick man coughing and spluttering; he was throwing medication back to stop his disease from decaying his body. Jack kept walking and came across an old woman waiting at a bus stop. She was fragile, crooked, and anxious; clearly age had taken much from her. Crossing the road away from the bus stop, he waited for the traffic to pass. Driving slowly past him was a hearse: a coffin on full display, surrounded by flowers, proceeded by a stream of weeping mourners. 

Jack fell to his knees, overwhelmed with despair, “we all get sick, we all age, and we all die. We cannot escape this fate!” His head against the pavement, he didn’t move for almost an hour. When he got up, he was approached by a homeless man, to whom he said, “sorry, I don’t have any change.” The man replied, “It is you who needs a little change, young monk. I know why you fall to your knees in despair: the inescapable suffering of life weighs on us all. Let me tell you of someone who was once like you, who tried to remove suffering from our minds… let me tell you the story of Siddhartha Gotama, The Buddha.”

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/escapes the cycle of rebirth
Gaston+Luga+Panpsycast.jpg

This episode is proudly sponsored by Gaston Luga backpacks.

Head over to www.gastonluga.com and get 10% off any purchase with the discount code PANPSYCAST10.

Contents

Part I. The Life of Siddhārtha Gautama

Part II. The Four Noble Truths

Part III. The Cycle of Life

Part IV. The Eightfold Path

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 88, Buddhism (Part II - The Four Noble Truths)

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Welcome to 'Episode 88 (Part II of V)’, where we’ll be discussing the central teachings of Buddhism, the four noble truths.

Jack was walking down a street. It was a day like any other. As ever, his mind was a flurry of thoughts, worries, and anxieties, stimulated by coffee and the bright light of his phone. In a bid to relieve his stress, he put his phone in his pocket, and tried to notice the details he would usually ignore. 

As he walked past the pharmacy, he saw a sick man coughing and spluttering; he was throwing medication back to stop his disease from decaying his body. Jack kept walking and came across an old woman waiting at a bus stop. She was fragile, crooked, and anxious; clearly age had taken much from her. Crossing the road away from the bus stop, he waited for the traffic to pass. Driving slowly past him was a hearse: a coffin on full display, surrounded by flowers, proceeded by a stream of weeping mourners. 

Jack fell to his knees, overwhelmed with despair, “we all get sick, we all age, and we all die. We cannot escape this fate!” His head against the pavement, he didn’t move for almost an hour. When he got up, he was approached by a homeless man, to whom he said, “sorry, I don’t have any change.” The man replied, “It is you who needs a little change, young monk. I know why you fall to your knees in despair: the inescapable suffering of life weighs on us all. Let me tell you of someone who was once like you, who tried to remove suffering from our minds… let me tell you the story of Siddhartha Gotama, The Buddha.”

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/escapes the cycle of rebirth
reading-our-times-4ewYVvfaqWH-5rwVhZKeRxP.1400x1400.jpg

This episode is proudly sponsored by the Reading Our Times podcast.

You can find Reading Our Times on all major streaming sites, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Deezer.

For more information, please visit www.theosthinktank.co.uk.

Contents

Part I. The Life of Siddhārtha Gautama

Part II. The Four Noble Truths

Part III. The Cycle of Life

Part IV. The Eightfold Path

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 88, Buddhism (Part I - The Life of Siddhartha Gautama)

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Welcome to 'Episode 88 (Part I of V)’, where we’ll be discussing the life of the Buddha.

Jack was walking down a street. It was a day like any other. As ever, his mind was a flurry of thoughts, worries, and anxieties, stimulated by coffee and the bright light of his phone. In a bid to relieve his stress, he put his phone in his pocket, and tried to notice the details he would usually ignore. 

As he walked past the pharmacy, he saw a sick man coughing and spluttering; he was throwing medication back to stop his disease from decaying his body. Jack kept walking and came across an old woman waiting at a bus stop. She was fragile, crooked, and anxious; clearly age had taken much from her. Crossing the road away from the bus stop, he waited for the traffic to pass. Driving slowly past him was a hearse: a coffin on full display, surrounded by flowers, proceeded by a stream of weeping mourners. 

Jack fell to his knees, overwhelmed with despair, “we all get sick, we all age, and we all die. We cannot escape this fate!” His head against the pavement, he didn’t move for almost an hour. When he got up, he was approached by a homeless man, to whom he said, “sorry, I don’t have any change.” The man replied, “It is you who needs a little change, young monk. I know why you fall to your knees in despair: the inescapable suffering of life weighs on us all. Let me tell you of someone who was once like you, who tried to remove suffering from our minds… let me tell you the story of Siddhartha Gotama, The Buddha.”

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/escapes the cycle of rebirth
Gaston+Luga+Panpsycast.jpg

This episode is proudly sponsored by Gaston Luga backpacks.

Head over to www.gastonluga.com and get 10% off any purchase with the discount code PANPSYCAST10.

Contents

Part I. The Life of Siddhārtha Gautama

Part II. The Four Noble Truths

Part III. The Cycle of Life

Part IV. The Eightfold Path

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 77, ‘Time Travel: The Grandfather Paradox and Abilities’ with Olivia Coombes (Part I - Time Traveller Abilities)

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Welcome to 'Episode 77 (Part I of II)', where we’ll be discussing the grandfather paradox with Olivia Coombes.

Olivia Coombes is a philosopher and teacher at the University of Edinburgh whose research focuses on issues about the possibility of time travel, the paradoxes involved in time travel, and how these topics relate to the question of free-will. In addition to this, Liv is also the co-host of the Edinburgh-based podcast Two Philosophers: One Podcast, No Problems.

Since the philosopher David Lewis, and before, philosophers, scientists, movie fans (pretty much everybody), have deliberated the possibility of time travel. People have asked questions like: What is the order of time? If we could build a powerful enough machine, would we be able to travel through time? Causation goes forwards in time, but is there anything stopping it going backwards? And, if it could, can we have causal loops in time?

In this episode we’re going to be focusing on the grandfather paradox, which is one instance of the question: can time travellers change the past? This paradox asks us whether or not we could go back in time and kill our own grandfathers. Many people say no: it is logically impossible, like squaring circles, or making something from nothing. However, Olivia Coombes thinks differently. She thinks that we can kill our grandfathers, and that we are able to change the past.

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Contents

Part I. Time Traveller Abilities

Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion

Episode 76, René Descartes (Part V - Further Analysis and Discussion)

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Welcome to 'Episode 76 (Part V of V)', where we’ll be engaging in some further analysis and discussion.

All my life, I have been fed apples from that tree. I was told it was the only tree worth eating from. Every day, whether it was in school or in the church, someone would arrive with a basket, and I would take what they offered. Today a similar basket lays in front of me, full of apples I've been saving so to take a closer inspection.

Check those apples for me would you? Why so worried? Surely if they are good, there is nothing to worry about. You've heard of the Italian who was punished for checking, you say? I understand. I will do it myself.

There are too many in there to check one by one. I shall take them all out and only place back in the basket the ones that are certifiably good! I think the Italian might have been onto something, they all look rotten! I must check closer. I refuse to accept that they are all bad!

Ah, there is one. That will do. Perhaps the seeds can be used to grow more good apples...

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/dreams of melons

Contents

Part I. The Life of René Descartes.

Part II. Meditations on First Philosophy, 1-2.

Part III. Meditations on First Philosophy, 3-4.

Part IV. Meditations on First Philosophy, 5-6.

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion.

Episode 76, René Descartes (Part IV - Meditations on First Philosophy, 5-6)

Classic Cast.jpg

Welcome to 'Episode 76 (Part IV of V)', where we’ll be unpacking Descartes’ fifth and sixth meditations.

All my life, I have been fed apples from that tree. I was told it was the only tree worth eating from. Every day, whether it was in school or in the church, someone would arrive with a basket, and I would take what they offered. Today a similar basket lays in front of me, full of apples I've been saving so to take a closer inspection.

Check those apples for me would you? Why so worried? Surely if they are good, there is nothing to worry about. You've heard of the Italian who was punished for checking, you say? I understand. I will do it myself.

There are too many in there to check one by one. I shall take them all out and only place back in the basket the ones that are certifiably good! I think the Italian might have been onto something, they all look rotten! I must check closer. I refuse to accept that they are all bad!

Ah, there is one. That will do. Perhaps the seeds can be used to grow more good apples...

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/dreams of melons

Contents

Part I. The Life of René Descartes.

Part II. Meditations on First Philosophy, 1-2.

Part III. Meditations on First Philosophy, 3-4.

Part IV. Meditations on First Philosophy, 5-6.

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion.

Episode 76, René Descartes (Part III - Meditations on First Philosophy, 3-4)

Classic Cast.jpg

Welcome to 'Episode 76 (Part III of V)', where we’ll be discussing Descartes’ third and fourth meditations.

All my life, I have been fed apples from that tree. I was told it was the only tree worth eating from. Every day, whether it was in school or in the church, someone would arrive with a basket, and I would take what they offered. Today a similar basket lays in front of me, full of apples I've been saving so to take a closer inspection.

Check those apples for me would you? Why so worried? Surely if they are good, there is nothing to worry about. You've heard of the Italian who was punished for checking, you say? I understand. I will do it myself.

There are too many in there to check one by one. I shall take them all out and only place back in the basket the ones that are certifiably good! I think the Italian might have been onto something, they all look rotten! I must check closer. I refuse to accept that they are all bad!

Ah, there is one. That will do. Perhaps the seeds can be used to grow more good apples...

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/dreams of melons

Contents

Part I. The Life of René Descartes.

Part II. Meditations on First Philosophy, 1-2.

Part III. Meditations on First Philosophy, 3-4.

Part IV. Meditations on First Philosophy, 5-6.

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion.

Episode 76, René Descartes (Part II - Meditations on First Philosophy, 1-2)

Classic Cast.jpg

Welcome to 'Episode 76 (Part II of V)', where we’ll be exploring the first and second of Descartes’ meditations.

All my life, I have been fed apples from that tree. I was told it was the only tree worth eating from. Every day, whether it was in school or in the church, someone would arrive with a basket, and I would take what they offered. Today a similar basket lays in front of me, full of apples I've been saving so to take a closer inspection.

Check those apples for me would you? Why so worried? Surely if they are good, there is nothing to worry about. You've heard of the Italian who was punished for checking, you say? I understand. I will do it myself.

There are too many in there to check one by one. I shall take them all out and only place back in the basket the ones that are certifiably good! I think the Italian might have been onto something, they all look rotten! I must check closer. I refuse to accept that they are all bad!

Ah, there is one. That will do. Perhaps the seeds can be used to grow more good apples...

The file size is large, please be patient whilst the podcast buffers/downloads/dreams of melons

Contents

Part I. The Life of René Descartes.

Part II. Meditations on First Philosophy, 1-2.

Part III. Meditations on First Philosophy, 3-4.

Part IV. Meditations on First Philosophy, 5-6.

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion.