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Who Shaves the Barber?

An in-depth philosophy podcast exploring paradoxes, thought experiments, and other pointless problems.

Ranked #1

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Kripke's Naming and Necessity | WSB #6

Kripke's Naming and Necessity | WSB #6

A name, one might think, simply stands in for the thing it names. But, if it's really as simple as that, why is a statem... Read more

19 Sep 2017

49mins

Ranked #2

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Stephen Read: Liar Paradox | WSB #41

Stephen Read: Liar Paradox | WSB #41

"This sentence is false". Is that sentence true or false? If it's true, then what it says must hold; but what it says is... Read more

22 May 2018

43mins

Similar Podcasts

Ranked #3

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The Case for Anarchism, Pt. 1: Social Ontology | WSB #14

The Case for Anarchism, Pt. 1: Social Ontology | WSB #14

What does the Stanford Prison Experiment have to do with a case for anarchism? In this episode, I argue for a certain vi... Read more

14 Nov 2017

39mins

Ranked #4

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Peter Klein: Infinitism and Pyrrhonism | WSB #36

Peter Klein: Infinitism and Pyrrhonism | WSB #36

Suppose you know X. How do you know? Maybe you know because of Y. How do you know Y? Maybe the answer is Z. How do you k... Read more

17 Apr 2018

58mins

Most Popular Podcasts

Ranked #5

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Michael Huemer: Skepticism and Direct Realism | WSB #31

Michael Huemer: Skepticism and Direct Realism | WSB #31

Do we have any reason to doubt appearances? And does perception show us intermediary mental representations or real obje... Read more

13 Mar 2018

1hr

Ranked #6

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Peter Klein: What Is Knowledge? (Gettier Problem) | WSB #37

Peter Klein: What Is Knowledge? (Gettier Problem) | WSB #37

What is knowledge? For some time, the answer to this perennial question was thought by many to be "justified true belief... Read more

24 Apr 2018

52mins

Ranked #7

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Brian Nuckols on Dreams, Pt. 2: Freud and Jung | WSB #10

Brian Nuckols on Dreams, Pt. 2: Freud and Jung | WSB #10

In this second part of our interview, Brian Nuckols explains the Freudian and Jungian pictures of the psyche. While doin... Read more

17 Oct 2017

53mins

Ranked #8

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Why (I) Do Philosophy | WSB#21

Why (I) Do Philosophy | WSB#21

Philosophy's an odd practice. It can be abstract, technical, and complicated to the point of appearing incomprehensible;... Read more

2 Jan 2018

1hr 14mins

Ranked #9

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Bryan Caplan: The Case against Education | WSB #34

Bryan Caplan: The Case against Education | WSB #34

Why do students go to school? The usual answer is to learn. But if this is true, why do students rejoice at canceled cla... Read more

3 Apr 2018

33mins

Ranked #10

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Kit Fine: Metaphysical Ground | WSB #46

Kit Fine: Metaphysical Ground | WSB #46

Some things are true in virtue of other things. For example, the fact that it is either raining or snowing today is true... Read more

26 Jun 2018

1hr 18mins

Ranked #11

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Graham Priest: Sorites Paradox | WSB #8

Graham Priest: Sorites Paradox | WSB #8

The Sorites Paradox: one grain of sand is not a heap. Add one grain, you will still not have a heap. In fact, for any nu... Read more

3 Oct 2017

56mins

Ranked #12

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The Case for Anarchism, Pt. 2: Necessity and Strategy | WSB #15

The Case for Anarchism, Pt. 2: Necessity and Strategy | WSB #15

In part 1, I defined the state as a pattern of behaviors coupled with a collective interpretation of that pattern. In th... Read more

21 Nov 2017

41mins

Ranked #13

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Nicolas Langlitz: Psychedelics and Philosophy | WSB #45

Nicolas Langlitz: Psychedelics and Philosophy | WSB #45

Psychedelic substances, such as psilocybin mushrooms, LSD, and ayahuasca, do much more than generate sensory hallucinati... Read more

19 Jun 2018

1hr 11mins

Ranked #14

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Greg Restall: Logical Pluralism | WSB #16

Greg Restall: Logical Pluralism | WSB #16

What is logical pluralism? Greg Restall, logician and Professor of Philosophy from the University of Melbourne joins me ... Read more

28 Nov 2017

47mins

Ranked #15

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Michael Zigismund: Philosophy of Law | WSB #22

Michael Zigismund: Philosophy of Law | WSB #22

What is the law? Is it simply what's to be found in legal statutes and government decrees? Or is it something broader, a... Read more

9 Jan 2018

53mins

Ranked #16

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Intro to the Liar, Part 2: Structure and the Inclosure Schema | WSB #3

Intro to the Liar, Part 2: Structure and the Inclosure Schema | WSB #3

How can we tell if a paradox is really of the Liar family? Bertrand Russell proposed a structure that Graham Priest has ... Read more

29 Aug 2017

38mins

Ranked #17

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David Papineau: Physicalism | WSB #38

David Papineau: Physicalism | WSB #38

Most contemporary philosophers call themselves "naturalists" or "physicalists". But what do these labels really mean? Wh... Read more

1 May 2018

1hr 2mins

Ranked #18

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Greg Restall: Objections to Logical Pluralism and the Preface and Liar Paradoxes | WSB #17

Greg Restall: Objections to Logical Pluralism and the Preface and Liar Paradoxes | WSB #17

In the first half of my interview with Professor Greg Restall, he laid out logical pluralism: the view that there is mor... Read more

5 Dec 2017

46mins

Ranked #19

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Michael Hicks: What Is Thought? | WSB #48

Michael Hicks: What Is Thought? | WSB #48

What is a thought? There are two ways to approach the problem, says philosopher Michael Hicks. One is as a question abou... Read more

10 Jul 2018

47mins

Ranked #20

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Steve Patterson: Certainty and Logic | WSB #26

Steve Patterson: Certainty and Logic | WSB #26

Steve Patterson's book Square One: The Foundations of Knowledge begins with the bold claim: "Truth is discoverable. I'm ... Read more

6 Feb 2018

1hr 3mins

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