The Rest is Uncertain

The Rest is Uncertain

At the intersection of philosophy and public life. Hosted by philosopher and educator Dr. Laurance Splitter, the show embraces curiosity and complexity over easy answers. From truth and morality to knowledge, purpose, and the kind of world we want to create, each episode offers thoughtful reflections that inspire open-minded dialogue and deeper understanding, all without pretending to have the final word.

Episodes

March 19, 2026 32 mins
Balancing commonality and diversity in determining the merits of the communities to which we belong. 

In this episode, host Dr. Laurance Splitter traces the tensions between individualism and various forms of collectivism, from the end of the Cold War (which heralded “The End of History”, except that it didn’t!), to the present day. The ideal of democratic liberalism became distorted as the result of globalization and growing dispar...
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How do communities of inquiry work across subjects like philosophy, mathematics, and science?

In this episode, Dr. Laurance Splitter shares practical examples of collaborative inquiry with students of different ages, sparked by stories, games, and classroom activities. Discussions range from loyalty and friendship to reasoning, mathematical abstraction, scientific concepts, and ethical questions about animals and human responsibilit...
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In this episode, host Dr. Laurance Splitter reflects on the evolution of the podcast’s title from “Puzzlement and Passion without Certainty” to “The Rest is Uncertain: At the Intersection of Philosophy and Public Life.” He explores the challenge of navigating between extreme individualism and unhealthy tribalism, asking what kind of community truly fosters meaningful dialogue. 

Drawing on his work in Philosophy for Children, Lauranc...
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Is there a gap between educational goals and ideals, on the one hand, and the reality experienced by teachers and students in schools and classrooms, on the other? 

In the first of several episodes on education, host Dr. Laurance Splitter distinguishes between schooling, training and education. He then takes a brief journey into past theories of education, citing key ideas of Aristotle, Confucius, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, ...
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There are reasons for thinking that all is not well in our schools. 

In this episode, host Laurance Splitter explores some of the difficulties experienced by teachers and students in our schools and classrooms. Many teachers are quitting because they are compelled to focus on administrative and assessment tasks, to the detriment of teaching excellence. They are experiencing greater levels of stress and anxiety, in a cycle which also...
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When it comes to youth crime, simple answers often miss the deeper questions.

In this episode, host Dr. Laurance Splitter explores the moral and social complexities surrounding youth crime, punishment, and responsibility in contemporary society.

He examines polarized responses from “lock them up” to broader social explanations and asks why societies punish in the first place. By considering agency, accountability, disadvantage, and t...
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The challenge of balancing our intuitive “elephants” and our reasoning “riders”.

In this episode, host Dr. Laurance Splitter expands on the role of dialogue and introduces philosophy’s “three Cs” — concepts that are common, contestable, and central. He cites the absurdist humor behind Monty Python to illustrate what happens when concepts are pushed to their extremes. Enlarging on his central theme, Laurance cites the tensions betwee...
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January 22, 2026 9 mins
Certainty feels reassuring but it can also shut down reasonable thinking, dialogue, and better judgment.

In this episode, host Dr. Laurance Splitter introduces the central ideas behind The Rest Is Uncertain and explains why certainty can be more limiting than helpful when navigating complex questions and challenges through what he calls a philosophical lens. He emphasizes the importance of  dialogue, and of questioning our assumptio...
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