Episode 323: Debate Me 'Phro

Very Bad Wizards

Tamler Sommers & David Pizarro

Society & Culture, Philosophy

4.8 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 23 December 2025

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

David and Tamler dive into Plato's Euthyphro, part of our intermittent Back 2 Basics series. A young cocksure priest, confident in his holiness, bumps into Socrates on his way to court to prosecute his father for a wrongful death. After a few rounds with Socrates on the nature of piety, he becomes a little less sure of himself. We talk about Plato's decision to set the dialogue in the days before Socrates' own trial, the famous Euthyphro dilemma, the seemingly little progress that's made in defining piety, and much more.

Plus Oliver Sacks wrote books where the truth seemed stranger than fiction, but how much of what he wrote was really true?

Oliver Sacks Put Himself Into His Case Studies. What Was the Cost? by Rachel Aviv [newyorker.com]

Plato's Euthyphro [wikipedia.org]

We are teaming up with givedirectly, and a whole bunch of podcasters to help families in Rwanda. While match funds last, your donation will be 1.5x matched, meaning every $100 donation will turn into $150 for families in need. Go to givedirectly.org/wizards if you find it in your heart to give a donation.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Very Bad Wizards is a podcast with a philosopher, my dad, and psychologist Dave Vizarro,
0:06.0	having an informal discussion about issues in science and ethics.
0:09.4	Please note that the discussion contains bad words that I'm not allowed to say,
0:13.6	and knowing my dad, some very inappropriate jokes.
0:17.2	He has the grace of a swan, the wisdom and owl, and the eye of an eagle.
0:21.6	Ladies and gentlemen, this man is for the birds.
0:23.6	The great boss has spoken.
0:29.6	Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.
0:41.3	Who are you?
0:43.3	Who are you?
0:45.3	A very bad man. I'm a very good man.
0:47.3	Good man.
0:51.3	They think deep thoughts and with no more brains than you have.
0:55.9	May no attention tonight, man.
1:01.8	Anybody can have a brain?
1:05.6	You're a very bad man.
1:08.3	I'm a very good man.
1:10.0	Just a very bad wizard. Welcome to Very Bad Wizards. I'm a very good man. Just a very bad wizard.
1:12.6	Welcome to Very Bad Wizards. I'm Tamler Summers. Dave, this is our last main episode of the year.
1:18.6	Although we will have another navigators, odysseators, whatever we're calling it, ziniators, complicated men.
1:26.6	We will have one more of those coming but this is our
1:30.0	last main episode of the year what are you going to remember about 2025 oh fuck that's a good
	...

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