John and Ken start, as they so often do, with the central question of this show:has科学取代哲学吗?难道哲学已经死了，就像史蒂芬·霍金宣称的那样?作为哲学家，我们的东道主当然不希望如此。约翰注意到相信所有的哲学问题都是伪问题，讽刺的是，这只是另一个哲学立场，缺乏经验证据的基础。肯指出，只有在过去的几个世纪里，科学才被认为与哲学完全分离;事实上，像计算机科学和心理学这样的领域的存在都要感谢哲学!但是哲学本身有什么进步吗?There's certainly a lack of convergence on answers to philosophical questions but maybe, John adds, it's a mistake to assume that philosophyshouldmake progress in the same way that science does.

Massimo Pigliucci is welcomed onto the show to weigh in. In response to the contention that philosophy doesn't impact science, Massimo points out that people like Hawking ignore the fact that there is literature in metaphysics that takes seriously discoveries in fundamental physicists, and a good number of biologists and physicists publish philosophy papers in technical journals.

John, Ken, and Massimo move on to discuss the nature of the relationship between science and philosophy. Are they competing for explanatory turf? Or do they complement one another? Massimo argues that they are contiguous and that both broadly aim at knowledge – although science deals with empirically testable propositions and philosophy deals with logical space, there is no sharp line between the two. The distinction is not one of pure fact versus pure logic; philosophy should take into account scientific research, but ideally, the converse should also be true.

But isn't philosophy simply spinning its wheels? If Aristotle attended physics class in a modern university, he might utterly be lost, but he'd find himself right at home in an ethics course. Ken and Massimo both disagree with the claim that philosophy hasn't made any progress, citing the proliferation and re-articulation of concepts over its two thousand year history. True, unlike in science, we foster dialogue with great thinkers who are long dead. But Massimo points out that philosophers do so not because the field is stagnant, but because there is stillvaluein the works of Aristotle, Mill, and Kant – we only talk to thebestof the dead philosophers. In this regard, philosophyisdifferent from science, but not radically so.

Roving Philosophical Reporter (Seek to 5:44) : Caitlin Esch speaks with Lawrence Krauss, controversial author ofA Universe from Nothingwho came under fire from philosophers and theologians for assumptions regarding an appropriate definition for nothing. It is science and not philosophy, Krauss asserts, that generates knowledge and helps us understand nature. Philosophy no longer has any impact on science.

Philosophy Talk Goes to the Movies (Seek to 46:31) : John and Ken discuss Denzel Washington's Oscar-nominated performance in the movieFlightand how the complexity of his character reflects deep questions regarding addiction and freedom of the will.