Michael Huemer is a professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado. He is the author of more than sixty academic articles in epistemology, ethics, metaethics, metaphysics, and political philosophy, as well as eight amazing books.  

In this podcast, we had a wide ranging discussion about his book The Problem of Political Authority. His newest book is an amazingly clear and fun introductory philosophy textbook titled Knowledge, Reality, and Value.  

Watch this podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--xKsIgv7tE

Follow me on Twitter for new episodes: https://twitter.com/dwarkesh_sp  

Buy Knowledge, Reality, and Value: https://www.amazon.com/Knowledge-Reality-Value-Mostly-Philosophy/dp/B091F5QTDS 

Buy The Problem of Political Authority: https://www.amazon.com/Problem-Political-Authority-Examination-Coerce/dp/1137281650  

Read his awesome blog: http://fakenous.net/  

Timestamps: 

0:00:00    Intro 

0:01:07 The Problem of Political Authority 

0:03:25 Common sense ethics  

0:09:39 Stockholm syndrome and the charisma of power 

0:18:14 Moral progress 

0:26:55 Growth of libertarian ideas 

0:33:37 Does anarchy increase violence? 

0:44:37 Transitioning to anarchy 

0:47:20 Is Huemer attacking our society?! 

0:51:40 Huemer's writing process 

0:53:18 Is it okay to work for the government 

0:56:39 Burkean argument against anarchy 

1:02:07 The case for tyranny 

1:11:58 Underrated/overrated 

1:25:55 Huemer production functionl 

1:30:41 Favorite books 

1:33:04 Advice for young people