Very Bad Wizards

Episode Archive

Episode Archive

263 episodes of Very Bad Wizards since the first episode, which aired on August 31st, 2012.

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    Episode 7: Psychopaths and Utilitarians Pt. 2 (Now with more poo poo)

    November 4th, 2012  |  1 hr 7 mins

    Tamler and David continue their discussion of utilitarian psychopaths (and psychopathic utilitarians), then broaden the discussion to include disgust and empathy. In the end, they resolve all questions about the proper role of emotions in moral judgment.

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    Episode 6: Trolleys, Utilitarians, and Psychopaths (Part 1)

    October 20th, 2012  |  1 hr 1 min

    Tamler contemplates ending it all because he can't get 'Call Me Maybe' out of his head, and Dave doesn't try to talk him out of it. This is followed by a discussion about drones, psychopaths, Canadians, Elle Fanning, horrible moral dilemmas, and the biggest rivalry in Ethics: utilitarians vs. Kantians.

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    Episode 5: Revenge, Pt. 2: The Revenge

    October 8th, 2012  |  1 hr 5 mins

    Dave and Tamler continue their discussion about their favorite topic. They talk about the evolutionary origins of
    retributive behavior, cross-cultural differences in revenge norms, and the proportionate punishment for someone who gives your wife a foot massage. They also play a clip from an interview they conducted in Nosara with local attorney Andres Gonzalez
    about the Costa Rican treatment of the criminals they call ‘pobrecitos.’

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    Episode 4: Revenge, Pt. 1

    September 20th, 2012  |  51 mins 34 secs

    Dave allows Tamler to rant about Sam Harris’s straw man attacks on moral relativism before launching into discussion about revenge, justice, "True Grit," and Michael Dukakis. Though they differ on many issues, Tamler and Dave agree that it’s hard to satirize a
    guy with shiny boots.

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    Episode 3: "We believe in nothing!" (Cultural diversity, relativism, and moral truth)

    September 8th, 2012  |  1 hr 1 min

    Tamler and Dave discuss recent work in philosophy and psychology about the differences in moral values and practices across cultures.

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    Episode 2: The "Dangerous Truth" about Free Will (Free Will and Morality, Pt. 2)

    August 31st, 2012  |  1 hr 13 mins

    Tamler and David discuss whether giving up our belief in free will makes us more likely to abandon our moral standards.