Four Cubits Eliyahu Ungar-Sargon & Jeff Helmreich

After a quick review of the Barbie movie, Jeff and Eli talk about a widely-circulated petition that seeks to link the Israeli judicial overhaul with the larger Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

To read the open letter, click/tap here.

To read about the open letter, click/tap here.

In this episode, Jeff and Eli discuss the principle of free speech and how it comes into conflict with the desire to regulate hate speech, or group libel. In an attempt to tease apart and examine the various ideas and values at play in this conflict, they look at Stanley Fish, Ronald Dworkin, and Jeremy Waldron.

Show Notes:

To read Stanley Fish on free speech, click/tap here.

To read Ronald Dworkin on free speech, click/tap here.

To read Jeremy Waldron on group libel, click/tap here. 

In this episode, Jeff and Eli discuss the issue of antisemitism. They examine and evaluate multiple definitions of the term, talk about the attempt of some to include anti-Zionism in their definitions, and reflect on the impact of social media on the spread of antisemitic ideas. They conclude with their own recommendations on best practices in the fight against antisemitism.

Show Notes:

To read Jonathan Judaken's essay click/tap here.

To read the statement against antisemitism in the genital autonomy movement that Eli helped organize click/tap here. 

In this episode, Eli tells the story of a recent personal encounter he had with antisemitism and the intersectional bigotry that followed from it before he and Jeff discuss the meaning of patriotism. They then wade into the contemporary culture wars on race using Ross Douthat's recent OpEds in the New York Times as an access point to the controversies and dig a little deeper into the work of Robin DiAngelo and Ibram X. Kendi. Jeff levels a withering critique against DiAngelo's concept of white fragility which to Eli's ears sound an awful lot like the tenets of Nonviolent Communication. They then discuss Kendi's insistence that there is no middle ground between racism and antiracism.

Show Notes:

To read Ross Douthat's June 26th OpEd, click/tap here.

To read Ross Douthat's July 3rd OpEd, click/tap here.

In this episode, Jeff and Eli discuss the Derek Chauvin verdict and its implications for the country and the criminal justice system. They then continue their deep dive into racism with an examination of  Lawrence Blum's concept of the moral asymmetries inherent in different kinds of racism.

Show Notes:

To read Lawrence Blum's "I'm Not A Racist But..." click/tap here.

In this episode, Jeff and Eli continue their discussion on the metaphysics of race with a quick review of Hardimon's biological realism and a discussion of social realism/constructionism and anti-realism. They examine the metaphysics of Sally Haslanger, Paul C. Taylor, and Joshua Glasgow as they discuss the merits and problems posed by social realism and anti-realism.

Show Notes:

To read Sally Haslanger and Joshua Glasgow argue about race, click/tap here.

To read Paul C. Taylor's excellent book, click/tap here.