Documentary film and science do not appear to have much in common, except that, philosophically, they have everything in common. Two men met in 1971 and had a disagreement, which turned into an assault, and then 45 years of disdain. One of them was the most cited philosopher of the 20th century, the other is one of the most influential documentary filmmakers of his generation. It was a disagreement that ran deep, right down to the nature of truth, history, reference, and the objects and limits of human inquiry.

Guest voices include Errol Morris, Lydia Patton, Thomas Rankin, James Challey, and Dan Epstein.

Reading List for Episode 9:

Errol Morris “The Ashtray”

Courtesy of Lydia Patton, Alan W. Richardson, “Narrating the History of Reason Itself: Friedman, Kuhn, and a Constitutive A Priori for the Twenty-First Century”. Perspectives on Science 10.3 (2002) 253-274.

Episode 9 Soundtrack