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Epistemology, Relationships, and Life

I originally wrote the below as part of an online exchange with a friend. I realized that it’s a great illustration of how principles of epistemology affect personal relationships, and ultimately all of life, so I thought I’d share. I know it’s easy to hear a bunch of mumbo-jumbo philosophical terms and ask, “Does this ...

Epistemology: 9 – Heuristics, or the Surprising Virtues of Fallacies [Podcast] 2

What is a heuristic? How do they function within our epistemology? Are they irrelevant once you find a deductive argument for your position (spoiler: No!). Listen to find out! Available in podcast format here. You can also leave me a voice message here, and I’ll try to respond to any questions in the next episode.

LIVE DEBATE! Theories of Justice: Is Retribution Necessary? [Podcast]

I had the distinct pleasure of debating my friend Brandon Bartlett about philosophical theories of justice this past Saturday night. Brandon has a degree in philosophy and was a debate champion in high school, so he was definitely up to the task. Does a person have to be punished for justice to be served? What ...

Miracles: A Robert and (atheist) Ryan discussion [Podcast]

Ready for some R&R? Robert and atheist friend Ryan discuss miracles in this episode. Before watching, I highly recommend watching at least 10 minutes of this talk (it should automatically start at the 35 minute mark), since I reference it at multiple points. In particular, it includes an interview with Barbara Snyder, who was instantaneously ...

The God Delusion: Are The Bible and Religion Poisons To Society? (Chapters 7 & 8) 2

The God Delusion: Are The Bible and Religion Poisons To Society? (Chapters 7 & 8)
This post is part of a series on The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. The previous post was The Roots of Religion and Morality (Chapters 5 & 6) and the next post is Child Indoctrination and the Atheist’s Vanishing(?) Consolation (Chapters 9 & 10). It’s time to return to The God Delusion. Hello, old friend. ...

Epistemology: 8 – Software Engineering and Black Swans [Podcast]

What does software engineering have to do with epistemology? Listen to find out! Available in podcast format here. You can also leave me a voice message here, and I’ll try to respond to any questions in the next episode.

Epistemology: 7 – Applying the Black Swan to Christian Faith [Podcast] 1

Can the Christian faith survive the much more austere epistemology of The Black Swan? Listen to this episode to find out! Or at least to hear about an approach to apologetics that is much more conducive to Black Swan epistemology. Available in podcast format here.

Epistemology: 6 – The Black Swan [Podcast] 1

In this edition of Epistemology with Robert, I discuss Nassim Taleb’s book The Black Swan. I also touch on WWII, The Big Short, whole milk vs skim, global warming, and pictures of fire hydrants. Don’t try to make sense of that. Just listen to the episode. Available in podcast format here. You can also leave ...

Chattin’ with N. T. Wright about theories of justice

I chatted with one of my favorite authors tonight, so I rode my high straight into recording a podcast about theories of justice, the Atonement, books by an ex-Evangelical pastor turned atheist, and more! Available in podcast format here. I referenced some Greg Boyd videos about the Atonement — the links are below. They are ...