Philosophy Bites Again

This third collection of conversations from Edmonds and Warburton’s popular “Philosophy Bites” podcast is a testament to the vivacity and draw of contemporary philosophy. The book is composed of 27 lively, thematic interviews with contemporary scholars from around the globe, providing an entry point for those interested in the philosophical implications of such eclectic issues as pain, free will, punishment, and a meaningful life. Each brief conversation pithily summarizes its respective thinkers’ positions, relieving readers of the onerous and daunting task of reading titanic and abstruse tomes. Yet this virtue comes with an implicit drawback. We get the rough synopsis of 500 pages of thought rendering philosophy accessible, entertaining, and easily ingested, but perhaps something essential is lost by avoiding the more unwieldy intricacies of an extensive argument. Still, this book provides the insight and the terms used by today’s living philosophers to treat issues that are pertinent to every individual, including such questions as “How do we determine who qualifies as a human being?” or “Is torture ever just?” Through deep exploration of these issues, philosophy becomes less esoteric and more closely tied to analyzing the unexamined premises that imbue our everyday life, ideas, and decisions with meaning. (Dec.)