Philosophy on the Fringes

Megan Fritts & Frank Cabrera
  • 5.0 (14)
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • UPDATED SEMIMONTHLY
Philosophy on the Fringes Podcast

A couple of philosophy professors, Megan Fritts and Frank Cabrera, try to prove that you can do philosophy about almost anything. Join them as they explore the philosophical dimensions of topics on the outskirts of the academy. From Bigfoot to birthday parties, they take a Socratic approach to phenomena strange and mundane, asking listeners the question: What if we did philosophy on the fringes?

  1. Biohacking

    MAY 20

    Biohacking

    In this episode, Megan and Frank tackle the growing trend of "hacking" one's biology to increase longevity and possibly attain immortality.  Are biohackers right to fear death, though? Would immortality be desirable? And is the human condition worth preserving? Thinkers discussed include: Epicurus, Bernard Williams, Schopenhauer, John Martin Fischer, Martha Nussbaum, and J.R.R. Tolkien. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: What Is Biohacking And How Does It Work? – Forbes Health [https://www.forbes.com/health/wellness/biohacking/] Challenging Bryan Johnson On His "Never Die" Biohacking Protocol (youtube.com) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqlPU1CKEpI] Letter to Menoeceus by Epicurus (mit.edu) [https://classics.mit.edu/Epicurus/menoec.html] Is Death Bad for You? by Shelley Kagan (chronicle.com) [https://www.chronicle.com/article/is-death-bad-for-you/] Williams on Immortality.pdf (nd.edu) [https://www3.nd.edu/~pweithma/Readings/Williams/Williams%20on%20Immortality.pdf] John Martin Fischer Response to Williams [https://www.andrewmbailey.com/jmf/Immortality.pdf] Gift of Ilúvatar | The One Wiki to Rule Them All | Fandom [https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Gift_of_Il%C3%BAvatar] Nussbaum - Mortal immortals [https://philpapers.org/rec/NUSMIL] Schopenhauer - The vanity of existence [https://philpapers.org/rec/SCHTVO-32] Brooke Alan Trisel, Human extinction and the value of our efforts [https://philarchive.org/rec/TRIHEA] Being and Becoming in Modern Physics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/spacetime-bebecome/] Megan Fritts, Arresting Time's Arrow: Death, Loss, and the Preservation of Real Union [https://philpapers.org/rec/FRIATA-3] ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: DEKZTEGOGV2Q0TH7

    49 min
  2. Myths, Pt. 2

    APR 24

    Myths, Pt. 2

    In this episode, Megan and Frank continue their discussion of myths and mythology. Join them as they further explore different approaches to interpreting and understanding myth. How have creation myths differed across cultures? Should myth be regarded as an allegory? Is the point of myth to justify society's norms? Is myth a tool for exploring the subconscious aspects of our minds? And do we have any use for myth in the modern world? Thinkers discussed include Joseph Cambell, Carl Jung, Karl Popper, and Mary Midgley. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Powell - A Short Introduction to Classical Myth (earlhaig.ca) [https://earlhaig.ca/departments/languages/downloads/A.%20Wittmann/2019-2020%20LVV4U1%20Handouts/LVV4U1%20Extra%20Readings/Powell,%20Short%20Introduction%20to%20Classical%20Mythology.pdf] (Chs. 2-3 for an excellent overview of theories of myth) Classical Mythology - Prof. Vandiver [https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/classical-mythology] (A great lecture series we learned a lot from) Myth in Human History - Grant Voth [https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/myth-in-human-history] (Another great lecture series we drew from) Myth and Knowing: An Introduction to World Mythology [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/myth-and-knowing-scott-a-leonard/1100264990] (quoted a few times in the episode) Teaching Jung - Kelly Bulkeley; Clodagh Weldon [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/teaching-jung-9780199735426?cc=us&lang=en&#] (Ch. 5 by Robert Segal was very helpful!) Campbell's "Other" Monomyth - The Hero's Journey: Life's Great Adventure [https://www.yourheroicjourney.com/campbells-other-monomyth/] A Secular Age — Charles Tayllor  [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674026766] Conjectures & Refutations - Karl Popper [https://www.dpi.inpe.br/gilberto/cursos/cst-311/popper_conjectures_refutations.pdf] The Myths We Live By - Mary Midgley [https://www.routledge.com/The-Myths-We-Live-By/Midgley/p/book/9780415340779] ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: LRDE4XFUJKAMEDIZ

    1h 23m
  3. Myths, Pt. 1

    APR 1

    Myths, Pt. 1

    In this episode, Frank and Megan discuss myths and mythology. What role has myth played in philosophy? What's the relationship between myths, history, and truth? And did the ancients really believe their myths? Join us as we engage with thinkers such as Thales of Miletus, Plato, Aristotle, Herodotus, Augustine, Paul Veyne, and R.G. Collingwood. This is the first part of a two-part episode. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Powell - A Short Introduction to Classical Myth (earlhaig.ca) [https://earlhaig.ca/departments/languages/downloads/A.%20Wittmann/2019-2020%20LVV4U1%20Handouts/LVV4U1%20Extra%20Readings/Powell,%20Short%20Introduction%20to%20Classical%20Mythology.pdf] (Main source for claims about history of word "mythos" and its use in Plato/Herodotus/Aristotle. Highly recommended!) Hesiod - Theogony [https://users.pfw.edu/flemingd/Hesiod%20Theogony.pdf]  Thales - Fragments [https://antilogicalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/thales_frag_final.pdf]  Lehoux - All things are full of gods": naturalism in the classical world [https://philpapers.org/rec/LEHATA-2] R. G. Collingwood - The Idea of History [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-idea-of-history-9780192853066?cc=us&lang=en&] The Herodotus - The Histories [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2707/2707-h/2707-h.htm] (See also BBC "In Our Time" podcast episode on Herodotus) Thucydides - The History of the Peloponnesian War [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/7142/7142-h/7142-h.htm] (See also BBC "In Our Time" podcast episode on Thucydides) Plato's Myths - (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-myths/] Plato - Gorgias [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1672/1672-h/1672-h.htm] Julia Annas - Plato's Myths of Judgement [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4182147](Discusses Aristotle critique of Plato's geography in the myth in the Phaedo) Paul Veyne - Did the Greeks Believe in Their Myths? [https://www.amazon.com/Did-Greeks-Believe-Their-Myths/dp/0226854345] Dana L. Burgess - Review of Veyne's "Did the Greeks Beleive in Their Myths?" [https://philpapers.org/rec/BUR_TG-3] Augustine - Two Books on Genesis [https://books.google.com/books/about/On_Genesis.html?id=0YxfzKIHJ_YC] ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: VYYZJBODHJSDWNZP

    51 min
  4. Luck

    MAR 4

    Luck

    On this episode, Frank and Megan discuss the nature of luck. Are people lucky because good things happen to them, or do good things happen to them because they are lucky? Can we make our own luck, or is it outside of our control? Is even virtue itself subject to the whims of fortune? And if everything is determined, is anything truly lucky?  ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: What is 'lucky girl' syndrome and does it actually work? [https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/beauty/mind-body/a42590695/lucky-girl-syndrome/] The Natural History of Pliny, Vol I., by Pliny the Elder. [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/57493/57493-h/57493-h.htm#BOOK_II_CHAP_5] The Apology, by Plato [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1656/1656-h/1656-h.htm] The Prince, by Nicolo Machiavelli [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1232/1232-h/1232-h.htm#chap25] The Oedipus Trilogy, by Sophocles [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/31/31-h/31-h.htm] Thomas Nagel - Moral Luck [https://rintintin.colorado.edu/~vancecd/phil1100/Nagel1.pdf] Bernard Williams - Moral Luck [https://eclass.uoa.gr/modules/document/file.php/PPP267/Bernard%20Williams%2C%20Moral%20luck.pdf] Hales (2016) - Why Every Theory of Luck is Wrong [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/nous.12076] Stoutenburg (2019) - In defense of an epistemic probability account of luck [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11229-018-1699-6] ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: OE1WRYCSDRS6SLYG

    57 min
  5. Near Death Experiences

    12/05/2023

    Near Death Experiences

    On this episode, Frank and Megan discuss near death experiences (NDEs). Are NDEs evidence that the mind is separate from the body? Are there any plausible skeptical explanations that explain the data? What might NDEs tell us about particular spiritual and religious worldviews? And could NDEs have something to teach us about humanity's deepest hopes and fears? ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective study in the Netherlands - The Lancet [https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673601071008/fulltext] Near-Death Experiences Evidence for Their Reality - PMC (nih.gov) [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6172100/?fbclid=IwAR3FPiiJbvQSk4m737W6t1H0QfbJaYKcWnJyEs0ybcHcgDDRZYPn0OE7NZc] Dell'Olio, Do near-death experiences provide a rational basis for belief in life after death?  [https://philpapers.org/rec/DELDNE] B. Mitchell-Yellin & J. M. Fischer, The Near-Death Experience Argument Against Physicalism: A Critique  [https://philarchive.org/rec/MITTNE-2] R. G. Mays & S. B. Mays, Near-Death Experiences: Extended Naturalism or Promissory Physicalism? A Response to Fischer's Article [https://philpapers.org/rec/MAYNEE] J.M. Fischer, University Professor Lecture: Near-Death Experiences: The Stories They Tell [https://philpapers.org/rec/FISUPL] G.R. Habermas, Evidential Near‐Death Experiences [https://philpapers.org/rec/HABENE] A. J. Ayer – 'What I Saw When I Was Dead'  [https://www.philosopher.eu/others-writings/a-j-ayer-what-i-saw-when-i-was-dead/] Afterlife (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/afterlife/#ParNeaDeaExp] K. Augustine - Hallucinatory Near-Death Experiences » Internet Infidels [https://infidels.org/library/modern/keith-augustine-hndes/] Susan Blackmore Near-Death Experiences: In or out of the body? [https://www.susanblackmore.uk/articles/near-death-experiences-in-or-out-of-the-body-2/] (discussion of Sagan's explanation) Lehoux - The Trouble with Taxa | What Did the Romans Know? An Inquiry into Science and Worldmaking [https://academic.oup.com/chicago-scholarship-online/book/12945/chapter-abstract/166100920?redirectedFrom=fulltext](discussion of garlic and magnets) ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: I0NNKBBUOCKXBD02

    55 min
  6. American Football

    11/04/2023

    American Football

    On today's episode, Frank and Megan are going to the gridiron to talk about football. What are the metaphysical identity conditions for sports teams? What makes a rule a good rule? Why is steroid use banned, but special training encouraged? Is the Super Bowl a distinctly American ritual? Will data analysts replace coaches? And does the extreme injury risk of football make it America's most immoral pastime? ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0 | Triumph Books [https://www.triumphbooks.com/take-your-eye-off-the-ball-2-0-products-9781629371696.php] The Only Good Reason to Ban Steroids in Baseball: To Prevent an Arms Race - The Atlantic [https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/06/the-only-good-reason-to-ban-steroids-in-baseball-to-prevent-an-arms-race/276932/] Full Body Swimsuit Now Banned for Professional Swimmers - ABC News (go.com) [https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/full-body-swimsuit-now-banned-professional-swimmers/story?id=9437780] How The NFL Uses Analytics, According To The Lead Analyst Of A Super Bowl Champion (forbes.com) [https://www.forbes.com/sites/liamfox/2021/08/12/how-the-nfl-uses-analytics-according-to-the-lead-analyst-of-a-super-bowl-champion/?sh=3af9ff4e424e] 4th down aggressiveness increasing rapidly across NFL | AP News [https://apnews.com/article/nfl-sports-los-angeles-chargers-joe-lombardi-brandon-staley-a78f2cde1b8e1daac3ff4f78b9ef2d1f] NFL running backs meet to discuss position's depressed wages | NFL | The Guardian [https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jul/23/nfl-running-backs-meet-to-discuss-positions-depressed-wages] Collective Force of Head Hits Increases Odds of CTE, Study Says - The New York Times (nytimes.com) [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/20/sports/football/cte-study-concussions-brain-tackle.html] BU Finds CTE in Nearly 92 Percent of Ex-NFL Players Studied | The Brink | Boston University [https://www.bu.edu/articles/2023/bu-finds-cte-in-nearly-92-percent-of-former-nfl-players-studied/] Estimating the prevalence at death of CTE neuropathology among professional football players | Neurology [https://n.neurology.org/content/92/1/43?fbclid=IwAR0NXsCComYts9lAZi0ylZcL605N2H32MzH8BlgXd3WWaHUATKLsUqRR0lc] Study finds CTE in 40 percent of athletes who died before 30 - ABC News (go.com) [https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/study-finds-cte-40-percent-athletes-died-30/story?id=102620069&fbclid=IwAR18Zbwaxt2sdqLW4ml2nrlW0hRqcrTuSyAEPFfqzI8L_qWuXynH-VT4Lk0#:~:text=A%20new%20study%20has%20diagnosed,and%20died%20before%20age%2030] Could CTE in the NFL Be Solved by OSHA? - Global Sport Matters [https://globalsportmatters.com/health/2022/06/21/how-osha-could-make-nfl-safer-cte/] Ship of Theseus | Definition, Examples, & Solutions | Britannica [https://www.britannica.com/topic/ship-of-Theseus-philosophy] Virtue Ethics and Consequentialism in Early Chinese Philosophy [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/virtue-ethics-and-consequentialism-in-early-chinese-philosophy/04733BD0340F1C82FAE051DB8105916B](pp. 101-117) Pragmatism and Reference [https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262026604/pragmatism-and-reference/] (pp. 195-6 discusses the Browns/Ravens case) ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: RZMGXZY5O2AIXNTQ

    57 min
  7. Alchemy

    08/27/2023

    Alchemy

    In this episode, Megan and Frank explore the hidden philosophical insights of alchemy. Some of the questions they discuss include: what is the history and nature of alchemy?; is alchemy more like magic, or science? what does the practice of alchemy tell us about the alchemical view of the natural world?; what was the philosopher's stone?; and is the spirit of alchemy still alive today? ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: The Secrets of Alchemy, Principe (uchicago.edu) [https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo12335123.html] The Alchemy Reader - From Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton (cambridge.org) [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/alchemy-reader/0468E2C197C66294F3A6A0B930DD5B9A] A preliminary reassessment of Newton's alchemy (Chapter 11) - The Cambridge Companion to Newton [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cambridge-companion-to-newton/preliminary-reassessment-of-newtons-alchemy/4A043063FF0DEA1073FD4D8B53944C02] The Case Against Perfection - Michael Sandel - The Atlantic [https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2004/04/the-case-against-perfection/302927/] Anti-Aging Techniques Taken to Extreme by Bryan Johnson - Bloomberg [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-01-25/anti-aging-techniques-taken-to-extreme-by-bryan-johnson] Philosophy Between the Lines: The Lost History of Esoteric Writing, Melzer (uchicago.edu) [https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo18692306.html] ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: 5J75WDQQ28SJKVBZ

    49 min
  8. Alcohol

    08/07/2023

    Alcohol

    On today's episode, Megan and Frank work up the liquid courage to tackle one of philosophy's most notorious recruiters: alcohol. Are we different people when we're inebriated, or simply more free to act on our deepest desires? Was the prohibition movement justified? Is wine-tasting all bogus, or are sommeliers detecting something real? And does alcohol induce mystical experiences? ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Symposium by Plato (mit.edu) [http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/symposium.html] Cassius Dio, Roman History 49.36 [https://lexundria.com/dio/49.36/cy] Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle (mit.edu) [http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.2.ii.html] (Book 2) That One Should Disdain Hardships: The Teachings of Roman Stoic  [https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300261547/that-one-should-disdain-hardships/] Drunkenness: Losing Our Grip on Reason | Choosing Freedom A Kantian Guide to Life [https://academic.oup.com/book/41414/chapter-abstract/352733366?redirectedFrom=fulltext] Kirsten Ditterich-Shilakes, "Muse in a Stem Glass Art, Wine, and Philosophy" [https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Wine+and+Philosophy:+A+Symposium+on+Thinking+and+Drinking-p-9780470765777] Quill Kukla, "Nonideal Theory of Sexual Consent" | [https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/711209] Watch Prohibition | Ken Burns | PBS [https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/prohibition/] The 1800s: When Americans Drank Whiskey Like it was Water [https://www.pastemagazine.com/drink/alcohol-history/the-1800s-when-americans-drank-whiskey-like-it-was] Americans are drinking more now than when Prohibition became law [https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-01-14/americans-drinking-more-prohibition] Kevin W. Sweeney, "Is There Coffee or Blackberry in My Wine?" [https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Wine+and+Philosophy:+A+Symposium+on+Thinking+and+Drinking-p-9780470765777] A.C. Noble |The Wine Aroma Wheel Official Website [https://www.winearomawheel.com/] Ophelia Deroy, "The Power of Tastes: Reconciling Science and Subjectivity" [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/questions-of-taste-9780195384598?cc=us&lang=en&] Managing Diacetyl ("Buttery" Flavor) Production During MLF [https://scottlab.com/managing-diacetyl-production-during-malolactic-fermentation] Barry C. Smith, "The Objectivity of Tastes and Tasting" [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/questions-of-taste-9780195384598?cc=us&lang=en&] Wine-tasting: it's junk science | Wine | The Guardian [https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/23/wine-tasting-junk-science-analysis] Think wine connoisseurship is nonsense? Blind-tasting data suggest otherwise [https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2017/05/17/think-wine-connoisseurship-is-nonsense-blind-tasting-data-suggest-otherwise] A New Study Answers The Question: Does Blind Wine Tasting Work?  [https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomaspellechia/2019/02/05/a-new-study-asks-answers-the-question-does-blind-wine-tasting-work/] William James, "The Varieties of Religious Experience" [https://csrs.nd.edu/assets/59930/williams_1902.pdf] ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: EZOCM133QSX3TAVC

    53 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

A couple of philosophy professors, Megan Fritts and Frank Cabrera, try to prove that you can do philosophy about almost anything. Join them as they explore the philosophical dimensions of topics on the outskirts of the academy. From Bigfoot to birthday parties, they take a Socratic approach to phenomena strange and mundane, asking listeners the question: What if we did philosophy on the fringes?

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