Dialogues #81 Read in browserâď¸ As George Boolos once remarked, much of our ordinary discourse seems to involve reference to abstract objects. Itâs not just numbers and sets, though we do talk about them. We talk also of sentences: How many and what words they contain; how those words are spelled and pronounced; whether they were uttered on certain occasions. We talk of books...we read them; talk about what sentences they contain; and argue about what is and is not said in them. One might...
22 days ago â˘Â 3 min read
Dialogues #80 Read in browserâď¸ Anyone who is going to get in the music business, songwriters in particular: don't do it because you think you're going to make a lot of money. Just love it. Even if I didn't get paid to do this, I would still do it. I love it so much. One of my wife's mentors said, 'Music and business were never meant to go together. We just have to do the best we can'. - Grammy winner Luke Laird Talking to Luke Laird feels like talking to a friend Iâve known for years. We...
29 days ago â˘Â 1 min read
Dialogues #79 Read in browserâď¸ "The essence of philosophy... is you should be seeking truth where truth equals reality." - UNC Business Professor Mark McNeilly What is it like to write a song for George Straight? Or for Luke Bryan? Or for Carrie Underwood? Youâll hear that story in next weekâs podcast episode. Subscribe to the channel here to see it as soon as itâs released. But first⌠Mark McNeilly is Professor of the Practice of Marketing at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, the co-chair...
about 1 month ago â˘Â 2 min read
Dialogues #78 Read in browserâď¸ "Numbers are not objects at all." - Paul Benacerraf A few weeks ago, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat debated Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker on the question âDo we need God?â As debates with ambiguous questions go, it was cordial and entertaining. Several people have written about the exchange, but there was one moment in the debate that made me say, âWhat?!â out loud. At about the 51-minute mark, Ross Douthat points out the inconsistencies of...
about 2 months ago â˘Â 3 min read
Dialogues #77 Read in browserâď¸ "Ultimately, devoted fans become fans of the person even more than the content." - Jeremy Alder Jeremy Alder was homeschooled from K-12, a philosophy major at the University of Texas at Austin, went to seminary and got a masterâs degree from Duke Divinity School, and you may have seen on social media his bit on bad Christian rock bands. Thatâs how I was first introduced to Jeremyâs comedy; my brother Joel sent me Jeremyâs viral clip about his failed Christian...
about 2 months ago â˘Â 2 min read
Dialogues #76 Read in browserâď¸ "A widget in a box to one person is a finished product to somebody else. And in the interconnectedness of our economy... there are so few merely routine, mundane functions. It can seem that way to people if they don't think through it. But when you think through it, you realize that you're playing a role in a process that is actually quite meaningful." - David Bahnsen David Bahnsen founded The Bahnsen Group and oversees the management of over $9 billion in...
3 months ago â˘Â 2 min read
Dialogues #75 Read in browserâď¸ When you talk about philosophy, a lot of people's eyes glaze over because they had certain experiences with philosophy. - Gary Gulman I had no idea Gary Gulman cared so much about philosophy. But it shouldnât have surprised me. Iâve been a fan of standup comedy for as long as I can remember. My earliest impression probably came from watching Ed McMahon introduce comedians on Star Search. I have this foggy memory as a kid that I couldnât believe standup comedy...
3 months ago â˘Â 3 min read
Dialogues #74 Read in browserâď¸ "A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business." - Henry Ford I can't wait for you to hear the next podcast episode. A well-known comedian I've followed for over 20 years has been thinking a lot about philosophy lately. It should be out next week. But first: Iâve been thinking recently about business ethics. In a Harvard Business Review study, employees reported that the most important factor for their job was not a promotion, not better working...
4 months ago â˘Â 2 min read
Dialogues #73 Read in browserâď¸ Is a whole anything over and above its parts taken collectively? It is natural to think ânoâ. - A.J. Cotnoir Last week I introduced some of the difficulties for determining when an object counts as physical. Part of my motivation for this comes from a persistent view I still see that links anti-physicalism with a low, ignorant level of intelligence. Often that view is coupled with the related view that the physical sciences can exhaustively explain everything...
4 months ago â˘Â 3 min read