146: David Kyle Johnson on Science Fiction as Philosophy and Finding Nietzsche’s Übermensch in Economics

David Kyle Johnson is Associate Professor of Philosophy at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He earned a master’s degree and doctorate in philosophy from the University of Oklahoma.

At Oklahoma, he won the coveted Kenneth Merrill Graduate Teaching Award. In 2011, the American Philosophical Association’s committee on public philosophy gave him an award for his ability to make philosophy accessible to the general public.

Professor Johnson regularly teaches classes on metaphysics, philosophy of religion, philosophy of mind, and logic, as well as courses on critical thinking and scientific reasoning. He has published papers on human freedom, the problem of natural evil, the multiverse, the existence of souls, and many related topics in such journals as Religious Studies, Sophia, Philo, Philosophy and Literature, and Think. He also maintains two blogs for Psychology Today.

Professor Johnson also publishes on the intersection of pop culture and philosophy. One of his books, Inception and Philosophy: Because It’s Never Just a Dream, inspired an authors@Google talk with more than half-a-million YouTube views. He also has written numerous articles that explore the relationship between philosophical questions and such pop cultural phenomena as The Hobbit, Doctor Who, Batman, South Park, Johnny Cash, Quentin Tarantino, and Christmas.

Economics:

In this episode Kyle discusses/mentions: Mercantilism, Capitalism, Socialism, Marxism, free trade and poverty.

Economists mentioned in this Episode:

• Adam Smith, Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes.

Philosophers mentioned in this Episode:

• John Locke, Nietzsche and John Rawls.

People mentioned in this Episode:

• Bill Gates, Elon Musk, The Emperor, David X. Cohen and Christopher Nolan.

Shows/Movies mentioned in this Episode:

• Black Mirror
• Twilight Zone
• Star Trek
• Star Wars
• Doctor Who
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Lord of the Rings
• The Simpsons
• Futurama

Books:

• Inception and Philosophy by David Kyle Johnson
• Introducing Philosophy Through Pop Culture: From Socrates to South Park, Hume to House by David Kyle Johnson
• Heroes and Philosophy: Buy the Book, Save the World by David Kyle Johnson
• The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
• Lord of the Rings

Courses:

• Sci-Phi: Science Fiction as Philosophy with David Kyle Johnson
• The Big Questions of Philosophy
• Exploring Metaphysics with David Kyle Johnson

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