Ron Watson and Rosie Pasqualini discuss the factors that led to the increasing popularity of atheism in the US, and the complex relationship between faith and social justice. Our discussion references and expands upon this 2019 Atlantic article by Derek Thompson. There are occasional construction sounds in the background and Ron is wearing a cool jacket.

Fun fact: This episode was also filmed! You can watch it here, courtesy of BeloitTV.

In 2010, Kwame Anthony Appiah tried to guess which common practices would be deemed reprehensible in the future. With almost a generation between then and now, Sarah Rose Ezelle and Rosie Pasqualini revisit his predictions.

View full article on The Washington Post

My interview with Aidan is centered on Sophie Roell’s interview with economist Henry Farrell, which can be found here.

Full show notes at cantunread.com!

Episode Notes

The thoughtful detachment of Stoicism is, as philosophical theories go, fairly popular among denizens of the Internet. Why? This week we’ll examine Lary Wallace’s “Indifference Is a Power” alongside OG Stoic Epictetus’s Enchiridion. We’ll discuss how this school of thought has evolved and/or devolved across the years and what makes it so appealing today.

LINKS:

• Indifference Is a Power: Why Stoicism Is One of the Best Mind Hacks Ever Devised - Lary Wallace
• The Enchiridion - Epictetus - PDF available at cantunread.com
• The Stoicism subreddit
• Encyclopedia Britannica (good write-up that I disagree with in parts; but the 'divine fire' quote is from here)
• Definitions of Cognitive Distortions from Atlanta Psychiatry

cantunread.com

Chinese room argument – John Searle (and others?), Scholarpedia “#MeToo and John Searle, a Year Later” – Claire Newfeld, Medium

• “Our shared condition — consciousness” – John Searle @ TEDxCERN
• “UC Berkeley Was Warned About Its Star Professor Years Before Sexual Harassment Lawsuit” – Katie J.M. Baker for Buzzfeed News
• “…John Searle accused…” – Malaika Fraley for the East Bay Times
• Searle Found to Have Violated Sexual Harassment Policies – Justin Weinberg for DailyNous

What makes this iconically soul-destroying short story so iconically soul-destroying?

• "A Good Man is Hard to Find" - pdf