Very Bad Wizards

Dave and Tamler break the cardinal rule of comedy by trying to analyze it. What are the origins and functions of humor? Can a theory explain what makes us laugh? Is humor entirely subjective? Why would anyone find Mr. Bean funny? Plus, we lose some geek cred by confessing some iconic comedians that we never liked, and ask why the American Psychologist Association loves to torture people. Links Report Claims American Psychological Association Secretly Supported Torture Policy [time.com] The philosophy of humor [iep.utm.edu] Key and Peele: Gay Wedding [youtube.com] Key and Peele: Awesome Hitler Story [youtube.com] Goodfellas: How the Fuck Am I Funny? [youtube.com] Steven Wright: Birthday Present [youtube.com] Hannibal Burress: Pickle Juice [youtube.com] George Carlin on Fat People [youtube.com] Jerry Seinfeld on Airport Security [youtube.com] Louis CK: Pig Newtons [youtube.com] Curb Your Enthusiasm: Rash [youtube.com] Eddie Murphy: Barbecue [youtube.com] Bill Burr on Trying to Buy a Pumpkin [youtube.com]   S

Special guest Yoel Inbar (author of Hitchcock’s Women: From Margaret Sullivan to Tippi Hedren) joins us to talk about Hitchcock’s long take masterpiece/gimmick Rope. Based loosely on the case of Leopold and Loeb, Rope tells the story of two young men who have read Nietzsche and decide to murder a schoolmate in order to cement their Übermensch status. Did they read Nietzsche correctly? Is conventional morality nothing but a construct to keep the inferior masses in line? Are professors accountable for what they teach? (Please God, no.) Plus, we delve deeper into Julie and Mark’s motivation, and Yoel plays a round of “Does the government deem this trademark scandalous?”   Links Yoel Inbar [yoelinbar.net] Very Bad Wizards Episode 22: An Enquiry Concerning Slurs and Offensiveness [verybadwizards.com] Rope [IMDB.com] Leopold and Loeb [wikipedia.org] Leopold and Loeb's Criminal Minds (Smithsonian Magazine) The Leopold and Loeb Trial Page (UMKC Law) Paul Gauguin [wikipedia.org] The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerse

Holy crap, it's the apocalypse!!!!   ...for philosophy. Maybe. Has this 2500 year old discipline become too technical, too disconnected from the real world? Is it just a handmaiden to the sciences? (Which would make Tamler Dave's handmaiden.) And what the hell is conceptual analysis? Plus, a short excerpt of Tamler's interview with Simon Blackburn, and definitive proof that worms have free will (sorry Sam). And only one more week to buy our t-shirt! Links Free Will? Analysis of worm neurons suggest how a single stimulus can trigger different responses [sciencedaily.com] Strawson, P. F. (1962). Freedom and resentment. [princeton.edu] Doomen, J. (2015). The end of philosophy. Think, 14(39), 99-109. [verybadwizards.com] For a Non-Ideal Metaphysics by Justin Smith [jehsmith.com]  Concepts [plato.stanford.edu] Harry Frankfurt says Philosophy is in the Doldrums [http://leiterreports.typepad.com] Simon Blackburn's Website [phil.cam.ac.uk] Support Very Bad Wizards

Dave and Tamler talk about the human tendency to believe in a just world. Why do we have the belief? Does it make us less motivated to fight injustice? How does it connect to our beliefs about free will and punishment? Plus, the SAE incident—a case where the twitter mob did some good? And Tamler changes his mind about Harmony the Hamster.       Links As Two Oklahoma Students Are Expelled for Racist Chant, Sigma Alpha Epsilon Vows Wider Inquiry [nytimes.com] Just World Hypothesis [wikipedia.org] System Justification [wikipedia.org] The Future of The Culture Wars is Here, and it's Gamergate [deadspin.com] Lerner, M. J., & Simmons, C. H. (1966). Observer’s reaction to the “innocent victim”: Compassion or rejection? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4(2), 203–210. [MIT.edu] Clark, C. J., Luguri, J. B., Ditto, P. H., Knobe, J., Shariff, A. F., & Baumeister, R. F. (2014). Free to punish: A motivated account of free will belief. Journal of personality and social psychology, 106(4), 501. [sha

Sam Harris gets back in the VBW ring for another round on moral responsibility, ethical theories, and the grounds for our obligations to other people. Are we at a genuine stalemate when it comes to blame and desert? Is Tamler a closet consequentialist? Is Sam a closet pluralist? Why is Dave such a big Wagner fan? Plus, Twitter shaming: what is it good for? Settle in, get comfortable, pour yourself a drink, you’re in for the long haul on this one. Links How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco's Life [nytimes.co] The Moral Landscape by Sam Harris [samharris.org] Value Pluralism [plato.stanford.edu] Bill Burr vs. Philly [youtube.com] Special Guest: Sam Harris. Support Very Bad Wizards

Dave and Tamler discuss a new study that, according to Tamler, offers decisive support for restorative approaches to criminal punishment (the only problem is he didn't read past the introduction). And speaking of justice, we talk about "White Bear"--the most disturbing episode of the UK series Black Mirror that doesn’t involve sex with a non-kosher animal.  (Note: Massive spoilers for this episode of BM--watch before listening.  Available on netflix, amazon prime.) Links Black Mirror, "White Bear" episode [imdb.com] Ultimatum Game [wikipedia.org] Justice Porn [reddit.com] Fehr, E., & Gächter, S. (2002). Altruistic punishment in humans. Nature, 415(6868), 137-140. FeldmanHall, O., Sokol-Hessner, P., Van Bavel, J. J., & Phelps, E. A. (2014). Fairness violations elicit greater punishment on behalf of another than for oneself. Nature Communications, 5. Support Very Bad Wizards

Dave and Tamler take a break from blame and responsibility to tackle a much easier subject: meaning in life. We discuss Susan Wolf's new book "Meaning in Life and Why it Matters," and play some excerpts from Tamler's recent discussion with her. Plus, we list some of our favorite listener-suggested drinking game ideas so far. (The contest for the free T-shirt is still open--send in your ideas before the next episode!)   Links Meaning in Life and Why it Matters by Susan Wolf [amazon.com affiliate link] Billie Pritchett on the Sam Harris and Free Will discussion. [bpritchett.blogspot.com] (Highly recommended!)  The Heaven's Gate Cult [wikipedia.org] Special Guest: Susan Wolf. Support Very Bad Wizards

Dave and Tamler argue some more about the role of emotion and intuition in blame judgments, and then offer some moral psychology-related recommendations for your New Year’s viewing and reading pleasure. Plus, can you turn listening to VBW into a good drinking game? Offer some suggestions and win a free Very Bad Wizards T-shirt!  Links Tamler's early defense of free will skepticism: "Darrow and Determinism" [naturalism.org] "No Soul? I Can Live with That. No Free Will? AHHHHH!!!" [psychologytoday.org] "Free Will Skepticism in Action" [naturalism.org] Tamler's interview with Galen Strawson [believermag.org] The Objective Attitude [philpapers.org] Daniel Miessler on Sam Harris vs. Very Bad Wizards [danielmiessler.com] The Sceptic by David Hume [econlib.org] Paul Russell’s Free Will, Art, Morality [verybadwizards.com] Locke [imdb.com] The Subjective Effects of Nitrous Oxide by William James [erowid.org] Kahan, D. M., Peters, E., Dawson, E. C., & Slovic, P. (2013). Motivated numeracy and enlightened s

Bestselling author and friend of the podcast Sam Harris joins Tamler and Dave for a marathon podcast. (Seriously, pack two pairs of astronaut diapers for this one). We  talk about the costs and benefits of religion, dropping acid in India, and the illusory nature of (a certain kind of) free will. Then we go at it on blame, moral responsibility, hatred, guilt, retribution, and vengeance. Sam thinks these are antiquated responses based on a belief in spooky metaphysics, Tamler thinks they are important components of human morality, and Dave just wants everyone to get along and be reasonable (like that nice Kant fellow).  Time markers (roughly) 0:00-47:00 Intro and costs and benefits of religion 47:00-77:30 Drugs, the self, free will 77:30-- Blame, guilt, vengeance, moral responsibility, desert.  Links Sam Harris [samharris.org] Waking Up: A guide to spirituality without religion by Sam Harris [amazon.com affiliate link] Daniel Dennett reviews "Free Will" by Sam Harris [naturalism.org] Sam Harris responds to

Film critic, VBW regular, and social psychologist Yoel Inbar joins David and Tamler to talk about Spike Lee's controversial 1989 film, Do the Right Thing, a movie about a day in the life of a small Brooklyn community on the hottest day of summer, and how the day's events lead to a race riot. Which characters in the film deserve our sympathy? (Maybe all of them?) Who was Spike Lee criticizing with his depiction of the characters in this community? Why did Mookie start the riot at Sal's? Was his action justified? Was starting the riot the "Right Thing" that Spike Lee was referring to in the title? Twenty five years after its release, how much have things changed? [Please note: we recorded this episode before the Ferguson verdict, which is why--despite some parallels--we don't refer to the verdict or the aftermath.] Links Do the Right Thing [imdb.com] Do the Right Thing Scene: Insults [youtube.com] Do the Right Thing Scene: RIP Boom Box [youtube.com] Do the Right Thing Scene: Just Off the Boat [youtube.com] Wh

David and Tamler talk about a new study that links your belief in free will to the fullness of your bladder. How do our bodily states influence our metaphysical commitments? What's the best way to measure beliefs about free will? Can you get your prostate checked without having someone stick something in your private areas? Plus, an exclusive look at the shocking truth about social psychology experiments.   Links The Philosophical Implications of the Urge to Urinate by Dan Ladkin, Scientific American  Ent, M. R., & Baumeister, R. F. (2014). Embodied free will beliefs: Some effects of physical states on metaphysical opinions. Consciousness and Cognition, 27, 147-154. Free Will and Determinism Scale (Rakos, Laurene, Skala, & Slane, 2008, Behavior and Social Issues).    Support Very Bad Wizards

Following up their discussion of moral villains, Dave and Tamler argue about what makes a moral hero. Tamler defends Sharon Krause’s view that honor values can motivate heroic behavior. Dave accuses Tamler of being inconsistent (nothing wrong with that) and slightly Kantian (NOOOOOO!!!). In the final segment, we’re back on the same page fawning over Susan Wolf’s paper “Moral Saints.” Plus, are drunks more likely to be utilitarians? And why does Dave hate Temple Grandin? Links The Cold Logic of Drunk People by Emma Green [theatlantic.com] Duke, A. A., & Bègue, L. (2015). The drunk utilitarian: Blood alcohol concentration predicts utilitarian responses in moral dilemmas. Cognition, 134, 121-127. [sciencedirect.com] Wolf, S. (1982). Moral saints. The Journal of Philosophy, 419-439. [verybadwizards.com] Krause, S. R. (2002).  Honor and democratic reform (Ch. 5) [verybadwizards.com]. In Liberalism with honor [amazon.com affiliate link]. Harvard University Press.   Support Very Bad Wizards

Paul Bloom joins us to talk all things villainous -why we sometimes root for the bad guys, why we admire them even when we don't, why they are much more compelling than some of our heroes.  Then more evidence that we're really a movie podcast at heart: we list our top 5 villains and antiheroes from TV and film.  Plus, more on the benefits of religious rituals and how to make a sitcom about Himmler.     Our Top 5 Villains Paul Bloom  Todd Alquist (Breaking Bad) Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother) The Joker (The Dark Knight) Bridgette Gregory (The Last Seduction) Agent Smith (The Matrix) Tamler Sommers Daniel Plainview (There Will be Blood)/Tony Montana (Scarface) Willie (Bad Santa) Tommy  (Goodfellas) Alonzo Harris (Training Day) Go-Go (Kill Bill Vol. 1)  David Pizarro Tom (Tom & Jerry) Keyser Soze (The Usual Suspects) Vic Mackey (The Shield) Harry Lime (The Third Man) Hal 9000 (2001 A Space Odyssey) Clips:  "You need people like me.  The bad guy."  "I'm sorry Dave.  I'm

Tamler and David get bullied into talking about "anti-natalism," (the view that it is unethical to bring a being into existence), and to defend our ethical position as "breeders." Well, one of us defends it, at least. The other one? Well, you'll have to judge for yourself... Along the way we discuss how much pleasure you would need to equal the pain and suffering you've experienced, the joy of pooping (especially while on E), and Tamler explains why he calls David a Kantian, and why he thinks it's such an insult. For those who have missed the arguing, it's back on this one.  Links Anti-Natalism [wikipedia.org] Ecclesiastes 4:2-3 [usccb.org]: And those now dead, I declared more fortunate in death than are the living to be still alive. And better off than both is the yet unborn, who has not seen the wicked work that is done under the sun.  "No Life is Good" David Benatar.  [Philosopher's Magazine] Don't Have Any Children, by David Benatar [moreintelligentlife.com] David Benatar Radio Interview (MP3) on 702.co

Dave and Tamler take a shot at answering the question: what is an evolutionary psychologist? Is it just a psychologist who believes in evolution? (No.) Is it a psychologist who embraces a computational, modular theory of the mind? (No. Well, maybe…we’re not sure.) Are they psychologists who are part of a cult that fanatically endorse evolutionary explanations for every aspect of human judgment and behavior? (No! Well, most of them aren’t, anyway.) So what are they? And why do they generate so much hostility? Plus, we go back to Genesis (the real story of how we evolved) to offer another thought experiment: what is it like to be Adam and Eve before eating the forbidden fruit? What is it like not to know good and evil? And we give our aspiring playwright listeners a perfect idea for a one-act play: Abraham and Isaac walking down the mountain after the aborted sacrifice. Links The Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil [wikipedia.org] The Leviathan [wikipedia.org] E.O. Wilson [wikipedia.org] Sociobiology [wi

Experience Machines, Chinese Rooms, Original Positions, and Ice Buckets.  ("I don't know what you have in mind for this evening Homer, but count me out!")  Dave and Tamler continue their discussion on thought experiments--how they can be effective, the difference between their use in philosophy and psychology, and how they can spin out of control like deadly viruses and become the disease they were trying to cure. Plus, do our motives matter when it comes to raising money for charity?  Links Chinese Room thought experiment [wikipedia.org] Turing Test [wikipedia.org] Ice bucket challenge [alsa.org] Weird Al Yankovic does the Ice Bucket Challenge [youtube.com] Flight of the Conchords "Pro-Aids" [youtube.com] Rawls' Original Position [plato.stanford.edu] The Veil of Ignorance [wikipedia.org] Press Your Luck "No Whammies!" [youtube.com] Behaviorism [wikipedia.org] Logical positivism [wikipedia.org] Support Very Bad Wizards

Episode Audio Dave and Tamler talk about the value and purposes of thought experiments in philosophy and science. Does the trolley problem tell us more about moral psychology than how people make judgments in trolley problems? Can an imagined scenario about two balls refute an almost two thousand year old theory of falling objects?  When young virgin Dave learned all the physical facts about sex, did he learn anything new when it finally happened?  All this and more in Part One of our two part episode on this topic. Links The experience machine [wikipedia.org] Mary the color scientist [wikipedia.org] Zombies [wikipedia.org] Qualia [wikipedia.org] The Violinist from "A defense of Abortion" [wikipedia.org] The Ship of Theseus [wikipedia.org] Newcomb's Paradox [wikipedia.org] Ring of Gyges [wikipedia.org] Peter Singer's thought experiment [wikipedia.org] Veil of Ignorance [wikipedia.org] Galileo's Balls [philosophical-investigations.org] Tamler's Zombie Paper Support Very Bad Wizards

Dude, do you ever think about how, like, we could be all be in the Matrix? Seriously, no no, dude, I'm being serious. It's like, none of this might be real, you know?  Actually we don't know. We honestly can't believe we made it to 50 episodes, so we must be brains in a vat. But we play along and celebrate with...a movie episode! We list our five favorite films about the subjective or questionable nature of reality. Our only rule: we couldn't choose The Matrix.  Listen to this episode--your Mom says it's psychologically taut. Links Kramer, A. D., Guillory, J. E., & Hancock, J. T. (2014). Experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  Rashomon (David) [imdb.com] Exit Through the Gift Shop (Tamler and David) [imdb.com] Banksy on "Life Remote Control" (clip, youtube.com) Paul Bloom on art and forgery [ted.com] Spirited Away (Tamler) [imdb.com] My Neighbor Totoro (David) [imdb.com] Mr. Snuffleupagus [wikipedia.org] A

Special guest Walter Sinnott-Armstrong joins the podcast to explain how his theory which desperately needs a new name ("contrastivism") can dissolve most of the fundamental problems and paradoxes in philosophy.  We also talk about psychopaths--what they are and what we can do about them.  But first we read and respond to an angry piece of fan mail (ok, maybe 'fan' is not the right word) from Sam Harris, trashing us--mostly Tamler--for our comments on VBW 45 about the new atheists.  Links Sam Harris debates Andrew Sullivan [samharris.org] Richard Dawkins on the harm of fairy tales (read until the end) [telegraph.co.uk] Walter Sinnott-Armtrong's Home Page [duke.edu] Sinnott‐Armstrong, W. (2008). A contrastivist manifesto. Social Epistemology, 22(3), 257-270.  Sinnott-Armstrong, Walter. (2006) It's not my fault: Global warming and individual moral obligations. Advances in the Economics of Environmental Resources 5, 285-307. The Memory of Jurors: Enhancing Trial Performance by Anders Sandberg, Walter Sinnott

Dave and Tamler take a mulligan and try to resolve their conflict about restorative justice.  Do restorative processes lead to more just outcomes than other approaches? Is it more vulnerable to instances of prejudice and bias? Is revenge a form of restorative justice? Also, on this episode: can being sexist get you killed in a hurricane? Are replication attempts a form of bullying? And why is Dave hoarding gefilte fish in his pantry? Links Ed Yong on Hurricane Study [phenomena.nationalgeographic.com] Scatterplot blog on hurricane study [scatter.wordpress.com] Simine Vazire on "Repligate" [sometimesimwrong.typepad.com] Restorative Justice online [restorativejustice.org] "Restorative Justice in Texas: Past, Present, and Future."  by Mark Levin [texaspolicy.com] Bridges to Life [bridgestolife.org] Michelle Anderson The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness [amazon.com] Support Very Bad Wizards