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Podcast #225: Aristotle, Corrupt Siblings, Studying Philosophy, and More

 Posted by on 1 July 2013 at 8:00 am  Podcasts
Jul 012013
 

On Sunday’s episode of Philosophy in Action Radio, Greg Perkins and I answered questions on Aristotle on the final end, dealing with a morally corrupt sibling, studying philosophy in academia, the legality of DDoS attacks, and more. The podcast of that episode is now available for streaming or downloading.

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Whole Podcast: 30 June 2013

Listen or Download:

Remember the Tip Jar!

The mission of Philosophy in Action is to spread rational principles for real life… far and wide. That’s why the vast majority of my work is available to anyone, free of charge. I love doing the radio show, but each episode requires an investment of time, effort, and money to produce. So if you enjoy and value that work of mine, please contribute to the tip jar. I suggest $5 per episode or $20 per month, but any amount is appreciated. In return, contributors can request that I answer questions from the queue pronto, and regular contributors enjoy free access to premium content and other goodies.


Podcast Segments: 30 June 2013

You can download or listen to my answers to individual questions from this episode below.

Introduction

My News of the Week: First, I’m in the process of moving the podcast archive from Podbean to Libsyn. Libsyn is not stuck in 1983, so it’s more reliable, it offers better stats and other features, and their customer support is not staffed by ignorant trolls. However, it’s going to cost me about $500 to transfer 10 GB of files, plus more per month than Podbean did. Any help with that in the tip jar is much appreciated! Second, I updated the “live studio” page, so that the BlogTalkRadio episode page is automatically embedded. It should start playing automatically. And third, we have a “Time Trial” this week and hopefully in future weeks too! Anytime in the first 15 minutes of the show, use the black button under the mood meter to bet on how long the episode will last, but don’t bet too much! We’ll stick around in the text chat for a bit afterwards, and I’ll announce the winner. Alas, I’m offering nothing but kudos this week!

Question 1: Aristotle on the Final End

Question: Is Aristotle’s argument for flourishing as the final end valid? In the “Nicomachean Ethics,” Aristotle argues that flourishing (or happiness) is the proper final end. What is that argument? Does it have merit? How does it differ from Ayn Rand’s argument for life as the standard of value?

My Answer, In Brief: Aristotle’s argument for happiness – or rather flourishing – as the proper final end for persons is interesting and well-founded, even if not as fundamental as Ayn Rand’s argument for life as the standard of value.

Listen or Download:

Links:

To comment on this question or my answer, visit its comment thread.

Question 2: Dealing with a Morally Corrupt Sibling

Question: How should I respond to my morally corrupt sister? My 20 year old sister is morally destitute. She is an unapologetic shoplifter. Her justifications amount to things like: “My shoplifting is not an addiction because I can stop anytime I want to,” “everyone does it,” “companies account for shoplifters in their business plans so they mark prices higher to compensate for it,” “I’d never steal from a friend,” “I need to steal while I look young and can get away with it because no one suspects me,” etc. Over the years she has stolen hundreds if not thousands of dollars from our parents, too. She lies and cheats frequently. She’s accepted money in return for writing a paper for a friend. She knows what she does is “wrong,” and she maintains that such is better than not knowing, at least. (That makes no sense, I know.) I also just found out that she’s selling marijuana because, as she says, she needs a way to support her expensive taste in clothes and makeup. She has no integrity or moral conscience. She doesn’t care about my horror at her behavior. She does not respond to reason. Part of me wants to help her by trying to talk sense into her. I care about her, and I want her to be a healthy person and not have a miserable life. Another part of me wants to forget her and let her ruin herself. Yet I don’t want to stand by and watch that happen, and I also know that there’s only so much I can do to really help her. What is the rational thing to do?

My Answer, In Brief: Your sister is toxic – by her own choice. You should cut ties with her completely and immediately, so that she can’t use you or harm you.

Listen or Download:

To comment on this question or my answer, visit its comment thread.

Question 3: Studying Philosophy in Academia

Question: Is studying philosophy in academia a waste? I have a strong interest in Objectivism, and I’d like to learn more about philosophy. However, my experience taking philosophy classes has been horrible. I’d like a class in which (1) I can trust the professor’s objectivity enough to enjoy a lecture, (2) I can agree with the professor’s analysis of a particular topic, and/or (3) the class is taught in an integrated, logical fashion. I’ve not found any of that. When I’ve mentioned my interest in Ayn Rand, I’ve gotten comments like “Well, I think she’s someone to be outgrown.” Do you know of any schools with good philosophy departments? How should I approach studying philosophy in academia? How could I make the best of what’s offered?

My Answer, In Brief: You can learn much about philosophy from academia, but you have to wade through – and diligently avoid – lots of chaff in doing so.

Listen or Download:

To comment on this question or my answer, visit its comment thread.

Question 4: The Legality of DDoS Attacks

Question: Should Distributed Denial of Service (a.k.a. DDoS) attacks be illegal? DDoS computer attacks are illegal in the United Kingdom. Are such attacks analogous to convincing people to send many letters to an organization or to calling on the phone repeatedly, thereby crippling its infrastructure? Or are they more like trespassing on property? How should the law deal with them?

My Answer, In Brief: Denial of Service attacks are not merely torts. As willful and deliberate violations of rights, they should be considered crimes.

Listen or Download:

Links:

To comment on this question or my answer, visit its comment thread.

Conclusion

Be sure to check out the topics scheduled for upcoming episodes! Don’t forget to submit and vote on questions for future episodes too!

  • Start Time: 1:16:43


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Philosophy in Action Radio focuses on the application of rational principles to the challenges of real life. It broadcasts live on most Sunday mornings and many Thursday evenings over the internet. For information on upcoming shows, visit the Episodes on Tap. For podcasts of past shows, visit the Show Archives.

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