Crash Course Philosophy

  • Premiered: Feb 2016
  • Episodes: 46
  • Followers: 4
  • Ended
  • YouTube
  • Monday at 17
  • Documentary

Seasons:

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Season 1
1x1
What is Philosophy?
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 08, 2016
Today Hank begins to teach you about Philosophy by discussing the historical origins of philosophy in ancient Greece, and its three main divisions: metaphysics, epistemology, and value .. show full overview
1x2
How to Argue - Philosophical Reasoning
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 16, 2016
Before we dive into the big questions of philosophy, you need to know how to argue properly. We’ll start with an overview of philosophical reasoning and breakdown of how deductive arguments work (and sometimes don’t work).
1x3
How to Argue - Induction & Abduction
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 22, 2016
We continue our look at philosophical reasoning by introducing two more types: induction and abduction. Hank explains their strengths and weaknesses, as well as counterarguments and the Socratic method.
1x4
Leonardo DiCaprio & The Nature of Reality
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 29, 2016
Today Hank gains insight from that most philosophical of figures...Leonardo DiCaprio. In this episode, we’re talking about the process of philosophical discovery and questioning the .. show full overview
1x5
Cartesian Skepticism - Neo, Meet Rene
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 07, 2016
This week Hank introduces skepticism, exploring everything from the nature of reality through the eyes of a 17th century philosopher and, of course, The Matrix.
1x6
Locke, Berkeley, & Empiricism
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 15, 2016
This week we answer skeptics like Descartes with empiricism. Hank explains John Locke’s primary and secondary qualities and why George Berkeley doesn’t think that distinction works -- .. show full overview
1x7
The Meaning of Knowledge
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 21, 2016
On today’s episode...CATS. Also: Hank talks about some philosophy stuff, like a few of the key concepts philosophers use when discussing belief and knowledge, such as what defines an .. show full overview
1x8
Karl Popper, Science, and Pseudoscience
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 28, 2016
The early 1900s was an amazing time for Western science, as Albert Einstein was developing his theories of relativity and psychology was born, as Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis took .. show full overview
1x9
Anselm and the Argument for God
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 04, 2016
Today we are introducing a new area of philosophy – philosophy of religion. We are starting this unit off with Anselm’s argument for God’s existence, while also considering objections to that argument.
1x10
Aquinas and the Cosmological Arguments
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 11, 2016
Our unit on the philosophy of religion and the existence of god continues with Thomas Aquinas. Today, we consider his first four arguments: the cosmological arguments.
1x11
Intelligent Design
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 25, 2016
Last week we introduced Thomas Aquinas’s four cosmological arguments for the existence of god; today we introduce his fifth argument: the teleological argument, and the ensuing dialogue it initiated.
1x12
What is God Like?
Episode overview
Air date
May 02, 2016
Today we are moving on from the existence of God to look at the philosophical debate surrounding the traditional divine attributes - omnipotence, omniscience, omnitemporality, and .. show full overview
1x13
The Problem of Evil
Episode overview
Air date
May 09, 2016
After weeks of exploring the existence of nature of god, today Hank explores one of the biggest problems in theism, and possibly the biggest philosophical question humanity faces: why is there evil?
1x14
Anti-Vaxxers, Conspiracy Theories & Epistemic Responsibility
Episode overview
Air date
May 16, 2016
Today we explore what obligations we hold with our personal beliefs. Hank explains epistemic responsibility and the issues it raises with everything from religious belief, to ship owning, to vaccinations.
1x15
Indiana Jones & Pascal's Wager
Episode overview
Air date
May 23, 2016
Today we conclude our unit on Philosophy of Religion and Hank gets a little help from Indiana Jones to explain religious pragmatism and Pascal’s Wager, fideism, and Kierkegaard’s leap to faith.
1x16
Existentialism
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 06, 2016
Now that we’ve left behind the philosophy of religion, it’s time to start exploring what other ways might exist to find meaning in the world. Today we explore essentialism and its .. show full overview
1x17
Perspectives on Death
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2016
Today we are talking about death, looking at philosophical approaches from Socrates, Epicurus, and Zhuangzi. We will consider whether it’s logical to fear your own death, or the deaths .. show full overview
1x18
Batman & Identity
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 20, 2016
Hank explores different ways of understanding identity – including the Indiscernibility of Identicals, and essential and accidental properties. In what ways does affect identity? In what .. show full overview
1x19
Personal Identity
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 27, 2016
Today Hank is building on last week’s exploration of identity to focus on personal identity. Does it in reside in your body? Is it in the collective memories of your consciousness? There .. show full overview
1x20
Arguments Against Personal Identity
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 11, 2016
How can Daenerys Targaryen help us understand personal identity? Find out as Hank continues our exploration of personal identity, learning about Hume’s bundle theory and Parfit’s theory of survival through psychological connectedness.
1x21
Personhood
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 25, 2016
Now that we’ve started talking about identity, today Hank tackles the question of personhood. Philosophers have tried to assess what constitutes personhood with a variety of different .. show full overview
1x22
Where Does Your Mind Reside?
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 01, 2016
Today we continue our unit on identity by asking where the mind resides. Hank explains the mind body problem and several approaches to the question of where our minds reside, including reductive physicalism, substance dualism, and mysterianism.
1x23
Artificial Intelligence & Personhood
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 08, 2016
Today Hank explores artificial intelligence, including weak AI and strong AI, and the various ways that thinkers have tried to define strong AI including the Turing Test, and John .. show full overview
1x24
Determinism vs Free Will
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 15, 2016
Do we really have free will? Today Hank explores possible answers to that question, explaining theories like libertarian free will and it’s counterpoint, hard determinism.
1x25
Compatibilism
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 22, 2016
As we continue explore free will, today Hank considers a middle ground between hard determinism and libertarian free will: compatibilism. This view seeks to find ways that our internally .. show full overview
1x26
Language & Meaning
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 29, 2016
Today we start our unit on language with a discussion of meaning and how we assign and understand meaning. We’ll cover sense and reference, beetles in boxes, and language games. We’re .. show full overview
1x27
Netflix & Chill
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 12, 2016
Last week we talked about language and meaning. Today, Hank explores some of the things that complicate meaning and how we get around that. We’ll explain conversational implicature, the .. show full overview
1x28
How Words Can Harm
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 19, 2016
Content warning: today’s episode contains language that some viewers might find upsetting and that may not be viewable in all settings. We’ve talking about how language works and how .. show full overview
1x29
Nonexistent Objects & Imaginary Worlds
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 27, 2016
Today we transition between units on language and aesthetics with a discussion of nonexistent and imaginary objects. Is it possible to make true assertions about things that aren’t real? .. show full overview
1x30
Aesthetic Appreciation
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 03, 2016
Today we are talking about art and aesthetic appreciation. What makes something an artwork? Can art really be defined? Is aesthetic value is objective or subjective? Can taste be developed? How?
1x31
Aesthetics
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 17, 2016
How do art and morality intersect? Today we look at an ethically questionable work of art and discuss R. G. Collingwood’s view that art is best when it helps us live better lives. We’ll .. show full overview
1x32
Metaethics
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 25, 2016
We begin our unit on ethics with a look at metaethics. Hank explains three forms of moral realism – moral absolutism, and cultural relativism, including the difference between .. show full overview
1x33
Divine Command Theory
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 31, 2016
As we venture into the world of ethics, there are a lot of different answers to the grounding problem for us to explore. One of the oldest and most popular is the divine command theory. .. show full overview
1x34
Natural Law Theory
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 07, 2016
Our exploration of ethical theories continues with another theistic answer to the grounding problem: natural law theory. Thomas Aquinas’s version of this theory says that we all seek out .. show full overview
1x35
Kant & Categorical Imperatives
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 14, 2016
Our next stop on our tour of ethics is Kant’s ethics. Today Hank explains hypothetical and categorical imperatives, the universalizability principle, autonomy, and what it means to treat people as ends-in-themselves, rather than as mere means.
1x36
Utilitarianism
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 22, 2016
Our next stop in our tour of the ethical lay of the land is utilitarianism. With a little help from Batman, Hank explains the principle of utility, and the difference between act and rule utilitarianism.
1x37
Contractarianism
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 28, 2016
Today we explore the penultimate ethical theory in this unit: contractarianism. Hank explains Hobbes’ state of nature, and implicit and explicit contracts, as well as the Prisoner’s Dilemma, and the benefits, and costs, of violating contracts.
1x38
Aristotle & Virtue Theory
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 05, 2016
This week we explore final ethical theory in this unit: Aristotle’s virtue theory. Hank explains the Golden Mean, and how it exists as the midpoint between vices of excess and .. show full overview
1x39
Moral Luck
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 12, 2016
Can two people who make the same bad decision bear different levels of moral responsibility? Today, we try to address this question with the concept of moral luck. Hank explains the .. show full overview
1x40
What is Justice?
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 19, 2016
In today’s episode, Hank asks you to consider all the ways people talk about justice and what we really mean when we use that word. We’ll explain various theories of justice, just distribution, and different approaches to punishment.
1x41
Discrimination
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 10, 2017
Is it OK to discriminate? Do you do it? Is it always wrong or are there cases where it can be acceptable? Today we’re talking through several tricky cases and different philosophical perspectives on this issue.
1x42
Non-Human Animals
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 16, 2017
Today we are taking all the things we have learned this year about doing philosophy and applying that to moral considerations regarding non-human animals. We’ll explore what philosophers .. show full overview
1x43
Family Obligations
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 23, 2017
Today we are investigating our moral obligations to our parents and our families. Do we owe our parents anything as adults? Would it be a good idea to license parents? We’ll explore .. show full overview
1x44
Poverty & Our Response To It
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 30, 2017
We’re picking up where we left off last time, exploring the “ethics of care” and how it applies to extreme poverty. Are we responding to global poverty in a moral way? Philosophers like .. show full overview
1x45
Assisted Death & The Value of Life
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 06, 2017
As we wrap up Crash Course Philosophy, we’re using the things we’ve learned to explore big issues like the value of life. Today, we’re discussing abortions in cases of fetal abnormality, .. show full overview
1x46 Show finale
What Is A Good Life?
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 13, 2017
In our final episode of Crash Course Philosophy, we consider what it means to live a good life. We’ll look at the myth of Sisyphus, Robert Nozick’s experience machine, Aristotle’s .. show full overview

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