Philosophy Weekend: News from Philosophy in Action

Every Saturday, I post the news of the week from my primary work, Philosophy in Action, where I apply rational principles to the challenges of real life. Here's this week's update.

Upcoming Radio Shows

Philosophy in Action Radio broadcasts live over the internet on most Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. Below are the episodes upcoming this week. I hope that you join us! More upcoming episodes can be found here: Episodes on Tap.

Sunday morning, 23 March 2014: Q&A on Future Generations, Privatizing Prisons, Returning Goods, and More

I'll answer these questions on the live broadcast of Philosophy in Action Radio on Sunday morning, 23 March 2014.

• Question 1: Concern for Future Generations: Should I care about future generations? People often claim that we should act for the sake of future generations, particularly regarding environmental concerns. Is that rational? Why should I care what happens to people after I am dead? Why should I work for the benefit of people who cannot possibly benefit my life and who aren't even known, let alone of value, to me?
• Question 2: Privatizing Prisons: Is running prisons a legitimate function of government or should they be privatized? Private prisons are a billion dollar industry here in the United States, but should they be left to private companies or should the government handle them instead?
• Question 3: Buying and Returning Goods: Is it wrong to buy goods with the intent to return them? A friend of mine will often buy jewelry from large department stores for events, knowing that she'll likely return the items. (Sometimes, however, she'll keep an item even when she thought she'd return it.) She returns the goods undamaged and soon after buying. She asked me what I thought of the morality of her actions. In my opinion, she's acting morally because she's not committing fraud. The stores in question have liberal return policies ("if you are unhappy for whatever reason..."). They must know that some of their customers might do what she's doing and think that allowing it is good for business. Is that right?

The live broadcast begins at 8 am PT / 9 MT / 10 CT / 11 ET on Sunday, 23 March 2014. The podcast will be posted later that day. For more details, check out the episode page.

Recent Podcasts

The podcasts of last week's radio shows are now available. Check out the full collection of past radio shows in the podcast archives, sorted by date or by topic. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast RSS feed too.

16 March 2014: Q&A on Body Acceptance, Reliability of Memory, Induction, and More

I answered these questions on Sunday's Philosophy in Action Radio:

Is 'body acceptance' rational and healthy – or dangerous? Is memory trustworthy? What does the term 'inductive' mean?

You can listen to or download the podcast below, and visit the episode's page for more, including audio files for individual questions.

• Duration: 1:00:15
• Download: Enhanced M4A File (21.6 MB) or Standard MP3 File (20.7 MB)
• Tags: Benevolence, Body Image, Epistemology, Ethics, Fitness, Health, Induction, Justice, Memory, Objectivity, Psychology, Rationality, Shaming, Skepticism

Recent Blog Posts

Here are last week's posts to Philosophy in Action's blog NoodleFood, ordered from oldest to newest. Don't miss a post: subscribe to NoodleFood's RSS Feed.

• March 16: Activism Recap
• March 17: NoodleCast #273: Body Acceptance, Reliability of Memory, Induction, and More
• March 17: The Truth about Science Projects
• March 18: Happy 12th Anniversary, NoodleFood!
• March 18: My Husband's Secret Power
• March 19: Anonymous Coward Strikes Again!
• March 20: Preview: Sunday Radio: Future Generations, Privatizing Prisons, Returning Goods, and More
• March 20: Presidencies in One Line
• March 21: Link-O-Rama
• March 22: Five Years with Doggie Conrad

If you're interested in more from Philosophy in Action, be sure to like our Facebook Page and subscribe to our Newsletter!