PHILOSOPHY FOR THE REAL WORLD

This is a series of podcasts by Professor Thomas White about the practical usefulness of philosophy--philosophy for the real world. We live in a culture that bombards us with messages about what we should buy, ...more

Latest Episodes

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June 07, 2026 00:13:45
Episode 9. A troubling business ethics issue. Potemkin terrorism, or How the information industry is playing us.

Episode 9. A troubling business ethics issue. Potemkin terrorism, or How the information industry is playing us.

As explained in Episode 3, the two warring tribes narrative that virtually the entire news/information/opinion industry promotes is false. Companies do this because it’s...

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May 26, 2026 00:09:24
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Episode 8. Absorbing a distorted view of history without noticing it.

Can simple, ordinary objects in our environment be giving us a distorted view of history? Are there any practical, negative impacts?

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May 09, 2026 00:12:55
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Episode 7. A biological basis to ethics: flourishing.

One of the simplest, most practical, and objective approaches to ethics is actually based in biology–the concept of flourishing. This episode looks at Martha...

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April 15, 2026 00:11:20
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Episode 6. Our problem isn’t voter fraud, it’s voter ignorance and incompetence.

This is the first episode to look at a practical question related to social and political philosophy. We look at “social contract theory” and...

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April 03, 2026 00:13:31
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Episode 5. Saint Augustine. Vice contains its own punishment.

Episode 2 described the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates’ idea that “vice harms the doer.” This episode describes the remarkably similar idea advanced by the...

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March 17, 2026 00:09:51
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Episode 4. Logical fallacy. Unwarranted generalization and stereotyping.

This is the first episode dedicated to examining logical mistakes. This episode looks at the “informal fallacy” of “unwarranted generalization and stereotyping”–one of the...

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