PHILOSOPHERS' CORNER
PHILOSOPHERS' CORNER
When
Sunday, November 11, 2012 -- 12:00 PM
Philosophy Talk returns to the Marsh Theatre for another series of live recordings! Join us for the first two programs in our 2012-2013 season.
- 12:00pm - The Linguistics of Name-Calling with Geoffrey Nunberg
Sticks and bones may break your bones, but names can also hurt you. And language gives us surprisingly many ways deride, hurt and demean – from a subtly sneering intonation to hurtful and offensive names. How does such language work? And why is there so much of it around these days? Has our acerbic political culture ushered in a new era of name-calling? Or is name calling a phenomenon as old as language itself? John and Ken welcome back linguist and NPR commentator Geoffrey Nunberg, author of Ascent of the A-Word: Assholism, The First Sixty Years. (buy tickets)
- 3:00pm - Truth and Other Fictions with Alexis Burgess
Most of us think that we know the truth when we see it. But what exactly is truth, anyway? Philosophers have offered a blizzard of different answers - ranging from truth as correspondence or coherence all the way to the view that truth is a matter of pragmatic utility or just a compliment we pay to the things we're prepared to believe or to say. But what is the truth about truth? Is there really such a thing? Or is truth itself a fiction? Join John and Ken as they explore the fickle nature of truth with Alexis Burgess, co-author of Truth. (buy tickets)
Tickets can be purchased online, by phone, or in person through The Marsh's box office.
The Marsh is located at 2120 Allston Way in Berkeley, California.