In this episode, mechanisms and research are discussed. The question, ‘if we have a randomized control trial (RCT), can we do without knowledge of a mechanism?’ is answered. It is held that mechanisms do make a substantive difference to the optimization of a RCT. This is defended through two cases — the failed Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Phase 3 trials in 2024 ran by Sarepta Therapeutics and Pfizer and the daptomycin 2005 trial to test its efficacy in patients Gram-positive community acquired pneumonia. Nancy Cartwright’s INUS contributors are put forth as a potential objection. However, an as-complete-as-possible concept of mechanistic understanding and reasoning is advocated for ultimately.

In this episode, philosopher Ian Peeble’s 2021 article, “To Race or Not to Race: A Normative Debate in the Philosophy of Race,” is discussed. An argument is put forth that Peeble’s argument for the morally permissible use of race in medicine is not deductively sound. This opinion is held as I believe that Peebles misses an important fourth necessary condition for the permissible use of race in medicine — the patient consent requirement.

In this episode, the resurgence of the traditional wife lifestyle on social media is examined. The recent outrage from women about this lifestyle and the receiving opposing reaction to that outrage is discussed. It is held that this reception boils down to the perception that these tradwives could be experiencing a case of adaptive preference that limits their boundless freedom (that which is the aim of a transcendent existence). Even if it might not be the case that these tradwives suffer from seeing other possibilities as “sour grapes,” the second issue of internalized toxic femininity is discussed. Generally, we should be conscious of the kind of content we choose to consume and how we shape our preferences and choose to act based on new information we learn from interactions with others. The bottom line here is that we should be aiming for a vision beyond capabilities: a world in which “throwing like a girl” is meaningless because there is no particular way girls throw.