Very Bad Wizards
a philosopher and a psychologist ponder human morality
We found 2 episodes of Very Bad Wizards with the tag “marx”.
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Episode 256: The Right to Punish?
March 14th, 2023 | 1 hr 36 mins
jeffrie murphy, kant, marx, neuroscience, punishment, rawls, retributivism, utilitarianism
Here’s an episode with something for both of us – a healthy serving of Kantian rationalism for David with a dollop of Marxist criminology for Tamler. We discuss and then argue about Jeffrie Murphy’s 1971 paper “Marxism and Retribution.” For Murphy, utilitarianism is non-starter as a theory of punishment because it can’t justify the right of the state to inflict suffering on criminals. Retributivism respects the autonomy of individuals so it can justify punishment in principle – but not in practice, at least not in a capitalist system. So it ends up offering a transcendental sanction of the status quo. We debate the merits of Murphy’s attack on Rawls and social contract theory under capitalism, along with the Marxist analysis of the roots of criminal behavior.
Plus – the headline says it all: Blame The Brain, Not Bolsonaro, For Brazil’s Riots.
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Episode 220: On Your Marx
September 7th, 2021 | 1 hr 50 mins
alienation, ariely, communist manifesto, estranged labor, fraud, marx
In honor of Labor Day, David and Tamler dive into two works by Karl Marx - "The Communist Manifesto" and "Estranged Labor." What is Marx's theory of historical change? Why does capitalism produce an alienated workforce? What role does philosophy play in maintaining the status quo? Plus, fraudulent data in a famous study about dishonesty and former guest Dan Ariely is under investigation.