Philip is a writer from Aotearoa New Zealand, of Pākehā (NZ European) & Māori (Ngāi Tahu) descent. He is a PhD candidate at the Uni of Sydney, affiliated with the Sydney Environment Institute. He holds a Master of Arts in Philosophy from The Uni of Auckland & diplomas in te reo Māori (the Māori language) from Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. Philip has written for publications such as the Guardian, Newsroom, & Takahē. His book, Love Notes: for a Politics of Love, is published by Lantern Books. In 2018, he co-organised 'The Politics of Love: A Conference' at All Souls College, Oxford. Philip was also kaiwhakatipu (editor) of He Ika Haehae Kupenga.
In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?”
Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is here on YouTube.
We discuss:
00:00 Welcome
01:54 Philip's Intro
- Writing on animals, Maori issues & "The Politics of Love"
03:10 What's Real?
- Neither parent very religious so grew up agnostic?
- Anglican Christian high school
- Sermons talked more about love than god
- Confirmed at 14 yrs... "ridiculous... what do 14 yr olds know?"
- "A lot of the metaphysical background was smuggled in"
- Anglicanism to comparative religion to philosophy
- Turning from metaphysical to normative/ethics/politics
- "The final nature of reality is unknowable to us & we just have to proceed on our senses"
- Albert Camus
- The risk of being distracted by esoteric philosophical questions... instead "We need to be engaged in work that tried to bring about a better world in the light of obvious suffering"
- "I do believe there is something transcendent that is true... spiritual... love"
- "Communing with the spiritual... but through a critical filter"
- "Prophets of love... Martin Luther King Jr & Te Whiti O Rongomai"
- God, purpose, meaning, spirit, love... "Our attempts to name it... project our own interpretations on to it... prevent us from fully understanding..."
- Ethical risks from religious or spiritual epistemologies (unchallengeable, unknowable, incommunicable, obedience, higher purposes, constrained/conditional compassion)
- Old, new testaments, "what would the next step be?... Something like love?... a more mature ethical outlook."
- Is something missing from a purely naturalistic ethics? "Not necessarily... we should & can find reasons for acting in a loving way independently from this spirituality I have described."
26:30 What Matters?
- "I understand ethics in relation to love & relationship"
- Constructing & affirming the morality we want to see in the world
- "We are living in an absurd world... we need to determine & assert our own values... try to act lovingly"
...and much more. Full show notes at Sentientism.info.
Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall via this simple form.
Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. The biggest so far is here on FaceBook. Come join us there!
Thanks Graham.
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sentientism/message"The Solutionary Way... we can't wait!" - Zoe Weil - Institute for Humane Education - Sentientism 201
Cheese Challenge & Pescetarian Paradox - Maja Cullen, Devon Docherty, Carol Jasper - Sentientism 200
"Reductionism is well-named. It reduces what you can do." - Michael Levin - Sentientism 199
"We need to imagine a different world" - Emilia Leese - author and host of Think Like a Vegan - Sentientism 198
Hip Hop is Going Green - Keith Tucker of Hip Hop is Green - Sentientism 197
Nigerian Food Revolution - Hakeem Jimo of Veggie Victory and ProVeg Nigeria - Sentientism 196
Consciousness Live! - with skateboarding philosopher Richard Brown - Sentientism 195
A Truly Humane Education - Laura Chepner - The Vegan Society's Education Officer - Sentientism 194
Imagining Ethical Schools - Sentientism 193
Is Veganic the Future of Farming? "We grow plants using plants" - Jimmy Videle - Sentientism 192
Half-Earth Socialism - Troy Vettese - Sentientism 191
"Your Neighbour Kills Puppies" - Tom Harris - Activist, Artist & Author - Sentientism 190
"A new world of animal justice" - Sabine Brels of World Animal Justice - Sentientism 189
Talking to Humanists about Sentientism - Cross-post bonus from Podcast for Inquiry - Sentientism 188
"What if we saw ourselves as species diplomats?" - David Peña-Guzmán of Overthink and SFSU - Sentientism 187
Could animal farming be good for the animals? The Logic of the Larder - with Nick Pendergrast - Cross-post bonus episode from 3CR's Freedom of Species radio show and podcast - Sentientism 186
"If you combine rationality and compassion you have the essence" - Jonathan Leighton of OPIS - Sentientism 185
Is veganism a moral obligation? Ghostless Machine cross-post bonus - Sentientism 184
Don't underestimate your influence! - Chris Bryant of Bryant Research - Sentientism 183
160: "Mother Cow, Mother India" - Yamini Narayanan - International Development A/Prof - Sentientism
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