Episode 1 – On the Will to Power

The will to power is perhaps the central idea in all of Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy. But what exactly is the will to power? How should we interpret it? For all its import, Nietzsche never systematically defined it. Our task for the first official episode of The Will to Power Hour is to clarify this elusive concept.

Episode 2 – On Living Aesthetically

Existential angst. Despair. Nausea. These are terms used by existentialist philosophers to describe the problem of life, the problem of finding meaning in a meaningless world. Modern philosophy is replete with solutions to the problem of life, and today we’ll discuss one of those solutions: living aesthetically. What does it mean to live an aesthetic life? Does living such a life really help one overcome despair? Tune in to find out!

Episode 3 – On the Killing of Zombies

When is it morally permissible to kill a zombie? When is it morally permissible to kill anyone for that matter? Morality has been a staple of philosophical inquiry since Plato, and on this episode of WPH, we’ll do what anyone confronted with imminent death at the hands of a brain eating reanimated corpse would do: engage in nuanced dialectic about the finer points of Kantianism and Utilitarianism. We’ll also explore medical ethics and zombie orgasms with our special guest, neuropsychology PhD candidate Sarah Shadi.

Episode 4 – On the Possibility of Unicorns

As the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy points out,”If anything is a non-actual possible object, a unicorn is. Or so it appears.” Possible objects (including fictional characters like Sherlock Holmes and mythical creatures such as unicorns) create all sorts of interesting and bizarre logical conundrums. On this episode of the Will to Power Hour, we’ll discuss Saul Kripke’s controversial claim that unicorns are NOT, in fact, possible objects. We’ll even explore the phenomenon of Bronyism. Drink up!

Episode 5 – On On the Plurality of Worlds

When philosophers talk about possible worlds, they’re talking about alternative states of affairs, different ways the world could have been. Possible worlds are tools that help us analyze the meanings of counterfactual statements. But what the heck are these things? What kinds of entities are possible worlds, if they are entities at all? Are they abstract objects? Sets of propositions? Mere fictions that we use as tools for understanding modal claims? Do they exist at all? In his book On the Plurality of Worlds, the late philosopher David Kellogg Lewis argued that possible worlds are real, physically existing worlds just like our own actual world. He dubbed his theory “modal realism.” Needless to say, Lewis’ theory has drawn quite a bit of criticism. Join us as we debate the merits of modal realism on The Will to Power Hour!

Episode 6 – On Panopticism

Why do we punish people? How are the history of punishment, scientific progress, and social media connected? What is the nature of power? How does power limit the ways in which we can talk about the world? On this episode of the Will to Power Hour, we discuss Michel Foucault’s seminal work, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, in which he answers these seemingly disparate questions in his quest to understand the nature and evolution of punishment in society.