530: The Ethics of Awesomeness

Philosophy Talk Starters

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/ethics-awesomeness. The word “awesome” once meant inspiring extreme fear or dread. Nowadays it’s mostly used as a general purpose exclamation of approval. So when we describe a person as awesome, are we saying that they exemplify some general form of excellence? Or are awesome people those who break specific social norms to generate moments of creative expression and social connection? Would the world be a better place if we all aimed to be more awesome and less sucky? Josh and Ray stand in awe of Nick Riggle from the University of San Diego, author of "On Being Awesome: A Unified Theory of How Not to Suck."