Majesty of Reason Philosophy Podcast

Majesty of Reason

A podcast that explains, analyzes, and evaluates philosophical issues. Buckle up for philosophy of religion, metaphysics, and philosophy of time.

  1. 12/21/2025

    Pascal's Wager: A Crash Course

    Are you rationally required to believe in God? Let's find out...Like the show? Help it grow! Consider becoming a patron (thanks!): https://www.patreon.com/majestyofreasonIf you wanna make a one-time donation or tip (thanks!): https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/josephcschmidOUTLINE0:00 Intro0:18 Expected Utility Theory7:17 Pascal’s Wager14:48 Pascal’s Wager14:58 Doxastic involuntarism19:53 Self-interest objection21:28 Many gods objection27:17 Fanaticism objection37:23 Mixed strategies objection40:38 Other Pascalian wagers42:14 ConclusionLINKS(1) Al Hajek and Liz Jackson, "Pascalian Expectations and Explorations": https://philpapers.org/archive/HAJPEA.pdf(2) My video with Liz and Al on Pascal's Wager: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeSICId7Yhw(3) Some of Liz' Jackson's papers on Pascal's wager: (i) https://philpapers.org/rec/JACFTP-2 (ii) https://philpapers.org/rec/JACAPD-9 (iii) https://philpapers.org/rec/JACSPW(4) Some of Al Hajek's papers on Pascal's wager: (i) https://philpapers.org/rec/HJEWWO (ii) https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pascal-wager/(5) An earlier video I made with Liz on Pascal's Wager: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qTC7OZB_1A(6) My Springer book: (a) https://www.amazon.com/Existential-Inertia-Classical-Theistic-Proofs/dp/3031193148/ (b) https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-19313-2(7) The Majesty of Reason: A Short Guide to Critical Thinking in Philosophy: https://www.amazon.com/Majesty-Reason-Critical-Thinking-Philosophy/dp/B086FW6XV4THE USUAL...Follow the Majesty of Reason podcast! https://open.spotify.com/show/4Nda5uNcGselvKphtKSKvHJoin the Discord and chat all things philosophy! https://dsc.gg/majestyofreasonMy website: https://josephschmid.comMy PhilPeople profile: https://philpeople.org/profiles/joseph-schmid

    43 min
  2. 11/23/2025

    Do racist beliefs wrong others?

    Here's a crash course on doxastic wronging. The central question is: can merely believing something about others wrong them?Like the show? Help it grow! Consider becoming a patron (thanks!): https://www.patreon.com/majestyofreasonIf you wanna make a one-time donation or tip (thanks!): https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/josephcschmidOUTLINE0:00 Intro0:30 Cases3:18 Definitions7:40 Significance9:47 Master Argument for Doxastic Wronging16:00 Outward actions argument20:11 The problem of control25:05 The coordination problem30:12 Going further & resources31:16 ConclusionLINKS(1) Basu and Schroeder, "Doxastic Wronging": https://philarchive.org/archive/BASDW(2) Schroeder, "Sins of Thought": https://philpapers.org/archive/SCHSOT-39.pdf(3) Enoch and Spectre, "There is no such thing as doxastic wronging": https://philpapers.org/archive/ENOTIN.pdf(4) My Epistemology playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxRhaLyXxXkZhajIOE7Q2FkwuuAS-8Z3C(5) How to Analyze Arguments Like a Philosopher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD5_2p-vUjs(6) My Springer book: (a) https://www.amazon.com/Existential-Inertia-Classical-Theistic-Proofs-ebook/dp/B0BNMHRW63 (b) https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-19313-2THE USUAL...Follow the Majesty of Reason podcast! https://open.spotify.com/show/4Nda5uNcGselvKphtKSKvHJoin the Discord and chat all things philosophy! https://dsc.gg/majestyofreasonMy website: https://josephschmid.comMy PhilPeople profile: https://philpeople.org/profiles/joseph-schmid

    32 min
  3. 11/15/2025

    Philosophers RESPECTFULLY debate physicalism and dualism

    David Papineau and Brian Cutter debate physicalism, dualism, and much more besides. Buckle up for some juicy philosophy.Like the show? Help it grow! Consider becoming a patron (thanks!): https://www.patreon.com/majestyofreasonIf you wanna make a one-time donation or tip (thanks!): https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/josephcschmidOUTLINE0:00 Intro0:58 Causal argument9:28 Epiphenomenalism14:12 Overdetermination21:12 Denying causal closure33:15 History-independence argument1:03:45 Causal closure again1:23:04 Intuition of distinctness1:37:37 ConclusionRESOURCES(1) David's website (with all his papers): https://www.davidpapineau.co.uk/(2) David's paper on the causal argument for physicalism, "The Rise of Physicalism": https://www.davidpapineau.co.uk/uploads/1/8/5/5/18551740/papineau_in_gillett_and_loewer.pdf(3) Brian's website (with all his papers): https://sites.google.com/site/cutterbc/home(4) My interview with Brian on arguments for dualism: https://youtu.be/RTGDbfr7S9E?si=MJPGwSZlqe3K0iAi(5) My interview with Brian on arguments against dualism: https://youtu.be/p41Ir-_9E-k?si=K6WAhobyLdcWfdTz(6) Brian's anti-physicalist arguments tier list: https://benthams.substack.com/p/anti-physicalist-arguments-a-tier(7) My Philosophy of Mind playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxRhaLyXxXkaqPW8ZSTTi1u2oKkRfN1yn(8) My Springer book: (a) https://www.amazon.com/Existential-Inertia-Classical-Theistic-Proofs/dp/3031193148/ (b) https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-19313-2THE USUAL...Follow the Majesty of Reason podcast! https://open.spotify.com/show/4Nda5uNcGselvKphtKSKvHJoin the Discord and chat all things philosophy! https://dsc.gg/majestyofreasonMy website: https://josephschmid.comMy PhilPeople profile: https://philpeople.org/profiles/joseph-schmid

    1h 38m
  4. 11/09/2025

    Philosophers DEBATE whether souls exist

    In this live debate, universe-renowned eminent philosophers debate whether we have souls. Who wins: dualism or physicalism?Like the show? Help it grow! Consider becoming a patron (thanks!): https://www.patreon.com/majestyofreasonIf you wanna make a one-time donation or tip (thanks!): https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/josephcschmidOUTLINE0:00 Intro1:24 Defining physicalism3:03 Defining dualism4:24 Structure of the debate5:43 Mary’s Room Argument23:03 Causal Exclusion Argument40:14 Personal Identity Argument57:17 Track Record ArgumentLINKS(1) This was a simulated debate for Reason & Rationality: https://www.reasonandrationality.com/(2) My Philosophy of Mind playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxRhaLyXxXkaqPW8ZSTTi1u2oKkRfN1yn(3) Noah's website: https://noahdmckay.wordpress.com/(4) Flo's excellent substack: https://morallawwithin.substack.com/(5) Flo's hilarious X/Twitter account: https://x.com/morallawwithin(6) Amos' excellent substack: https://substack.com/@amoswollen(7) Amos' YouTube Channel:  @going_awoll (8) My Springer book: (a) https://www.amazon.com/Existential-Inertia-Classical-Theistic-Proofs/dp/3031193148/ (b) https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-19313-2THE USUAL...Follow the Majesty of Reason podcast! https://open.spotify.com/show/4Nda5uNcGselvKphtKSKvHJoin the Discord and chat all things philosophy! https://dsc.gg/majestyofreasonMy website: https://josephschmid.comMy PhilPeople profile: https://philpeople.org/profiles/joseph-schmid

    1h 10m
  5. 09/01/2025

    Does Fine-Tuning PROVE God's Existence?

    Is fine-tuning powerful evidence for theism? Troy Dana and Matthew Adelstein debate this question and more! LINKS (1) Troy's channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Friction (2) Troy's other links: https://link.space/@Friction (3) Troy's PhilPapers profile: https://philpeople.org/profiles/troy-dana (4) Troy's substack post criticizing the fine-tuning argument: https://fric.substack.com/p/cosmological-fine-tuning (5) Matthew's channel: https://www.youtube.com/@deliberationunderidealcond5105 (6) Matthew's substack post, "Fine-Tuning, Made by God": https://benthams.substack.com/p/fine-tuning-made-by-god (7) Matthew's substack post, "The Fine-Tuning Argument Simply Works": https://benthams.substack.com/p/the-fine-tuning-argument-simply-works (8) Matthew's PhilPapers profile: https://philpeople.org/profiles/matthew-adelstein (9) My Design Arguments playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxRhaLyXxXkax5OrwZmkqE1fY446O4i6g (10) My Bonus Soccer playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxRhaLyXxXkb7WN8KlASj2P9ewLpXGeML (11) My Springer book with Dan Linford: (a) https://www.amazon.com/Existential-Inertia-Classical-Theistic-Proofs/dp/3031193148/ (b) https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-19313-2 THE USUAL...Follow the Majesty of Reason podcast! https://open.spotify.com/show/4Nda5uNcGselvKphtKSKvH Join the Discord and chat all things philosophy! https://dsc.gg/majestyofreason My website: https://josephschmid.com My PhilPeople profile: https://philpeople.org/profiles/joseph-schmid

    2h 6m

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

A podcast that explains, analyzes, and evaluates philosophical issues. Buckle up for philosophy of religion, metaphysics, and philosophy of time.