Category: Season 2
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Much Ado about Religion: Part 2
Summary How does a 9th century Nyaya philosopher addresses the intersection of religious conflict and ruling power in India? Are feelings of offense reason to exclude certain religious practices? What lessons can we take from Nyaya philosophers on religious toleration, and are they internally consistent here? To read the whole play, get the Clay Sanskrit…
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Episode 9: Much Ado about Religion, Part 1
Summary Join our hero Sankarshana as he travels around the kingdom, vanquishing foes…with reason. Part 1 of 2. To read the whole play, get the Clay Sanskrit Library translation of Much Ado about Religion by Csaba Dezsö, published 2005 by NYU Press. https://nyupress.org/9780814719794/much-ado-about-religion/ — Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/malcolm-keating/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/malcolm-keating/support
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Episode 8: Equivocating and other ways to lose
Summary When is a door not really a door? When it’s ajar! That old joke equivocates on two meanings of “ajar” In this episode we look at how equivocation can impact our reasoning, like when we ask, When is a doctor not really a doctor? We explore a few other ways that reasoning can go…
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Season 2 Announcement
Summary Quick announcement about Episodes 8 through 10. — Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/malcolm-keating/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/malcolm-keating/support
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Counterfeit Reasons
Summary When is a reason not a reason? According to Nyaya philosophers, when it’s all smoke and no fire. In this episode we’ll talk about how reasoning can go wrong when people use “counterfeit reasons,” which don’t actually support their claims. Music: Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Sources: Matthew Dasti and…
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Debating
Summary If you’ve ever watched a political debate on TV, you may wonder what the point is. After all, aren’t both participants committed to their own viewpoints, and just aiming to win? Why would we ever think that debate is a useful activity. Nyaya philosophers were big proponents of debate, but not the kind of…
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Doubting
Summary Doubts can feel paralyzing, but according to the early Nyaya philosopher Uddyotakara, the right kind of doubt is actually useful. In this episode we’ll apply his thinking about doubt to the 2020 US presidential election. Music: Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Sources: Matthew Dasti and Stephen Phillips, The Nyaya-sutra: Selections…
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Testify!
Summary In this increasingly partisan world, many of us are listening only to people we already agree with. But can we learn things from the speech of people on the “other side”? In this episode, we learn how Nyaya philosophers think testimony can be a powerful tool for conveying knowledge, regardless of religion or political…
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Inferring
Summary The climate is changing due to human activity. Scientists today are arguing for this crucial claim, warning us that it has dire consequences. But how can we know that the past has an effect on the present? How can we draw connections between unseen things and what we observe? In this episode, we’ll see…
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Knowing
Summary We can’t directly see it but we know it exists by extending our vision with special tools. We can reason about when it’s present based on associations. We can share facts about it with each other. And we can learn its name by comparing it to other similar kinds of things. I’m talking about…
Sutras & Stuff 