EP032 PHILOSOPHY OF EMPIRE – THE VALUE OF LIFE?

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To understand the past, sometimes we need to examine our values and subject them to philosophical analysis. The British Empire was a complex, varied entity that stretched across the world and changed over the centuries. How do we understand the mindset of those people in the C19th who created it, or lived in it? This episode is designed to get you thinking and analysing big questions and unpleasant moral problems. Ultimately the answers will be down to your judgements. Be warned some material is upsetting and contains references to genocide, racism, slavery, the holocaust, abortion and critiques of religion. I hope you find it stimulating.

Topics

• Thank you’s to Patrons, and some listener reviews.

• The complexity of Empire, and the settler empire.

• How common were empires?

• Are people innately warlike and violent?

• Is life important; the need for philosophy.

• Is life important; what would God do, and does that make it ok?

• Is life important; building a moral framework for atheists.

• The worst pub bore ever – drunken philosophy.

• The economic value of life.

• If your people are starving, is it immoral not to invade another country?

• The right to liberty and freedom to do what you want except when you can’t.

• Heuristics, mental shortcuts, and cognitive biases; how bad decision making affects empires.

• The power and danger of othering.

• Look him in the eyes as he dies.

• Gengis Khan, and how to turn genocides into hero worship.

• The dangers of anarchy, law and order.

• Some impacts of Empires; feeding the hungry, and killing other people.

• Final thoughts.

Thanks for your listening. I hope you enjoy. If you want to get in touch, I’d love to hear from you. You can email me at ageofvictoriapodcast@gmail.com, follow me on twitter @ageofvictoria, visit the website at www.ageofvictoriapodcast.com. The show also has a facebook page and group. Just search for Age of Victoria. Don’t forget to leave a review on iTunes, it takes less time than making a coffee. If you want to support the show on patreon, just click here, or you can go to Patreon and search for age of victoria podcast or my name.

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