Courses and Lectures

Available From: Open Yale Courses

Philosophy and the Science of Human Nature pairs central texts from Western philosophical tradition with recent findings in cognitive science and related fields.

Available From: YaleNews

Tamar Gendler, the Vincent J. Scully Professor of Philosophy and chair of the Department of Philosophy, urged the new freshmen to embrace contradiction in her Keynote Address to the Class of 2017, presented on Aug. 27 in Woolsey Hall. The text of her speech follows.

Available From: BigThink

Engagement with the fundamentals of political philosophy is an essential step toward being able to think critically about the power structures in place and make your voice heard as a citizen.

What are the secrets to authentic happiness? What sorts of activities and experiences contribute to human flourishing?

Available From: Bloggingheads.tv
The power of the marshmallow test; Why you can be good at saving money but bad at dieting; How stress leads to irrational behavior; The tricky task of turning intention into practice; Pigeons, Mr. Clown Box, and character development
Available From: Bloggingheads.tv
Dan’s new book, “Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking”; Kryptonite for arguments; The best way to debate; Thought experiment: The genetically conceived baby; Can someone know everything about something?; Are thought experiments necessary?
Available From: Bloggingheads.tv

Jonathan: Morality comes from emotion, not reason; Would it be wrong to have sex with a brainless clone?; The parts of morality that liberals just don’t get; Fracking, Kant, and masturbation; Why conservatives and liberals talk past each other; The morals of business students

Available From: Bloggingheads.tv

The test that uncovers our secret prejudices; Mahzarin reveals her own unconscious gender biases; Is racism like a bad habit?; How you can fight your own implicit biases; The power of non-rational persuasion; Where attitudes are and aren’t changing

Available From: Bloggingheads.tv

Is Udacity the Napster of education?; Tamar’s Facebook food chain; Clay: College will be unbundled, not replaced; The academy as an ecosystem; Education and social mobility; Running a social experiment on our kids

Available From: Bloggingheads.tv

On The Mind Report, Tamar speaks to Andrew Solomon, author of the new book, Far from the Tree. Andrew explains how his eyes were opened to the rich linguistic culture of the deaf community. Tamar asks him if he thinks schizophrenia or anorexia should be valorized as identities. Next, Andrew tells the moving story of Clinton Brown, a dwarf who exceeded all expectations, and two stories about parents of transgender children in radically different communities. Finally, Andrew has some closing words on identity, illness, and parenting.

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