This feature requires version 9 or higher of the Adobe Flash Player.Get the latest Flash Player.

Listen to this 'Talk of the Nation' topic

I took a lot of philosophy classes in college, and one of my professors often joked that "no one in the department can make any decisions!" That's because a lot of philosophy happens in an armchair. Well, not anymore! Our Next Big Thing series continues with Kwame Anthony Appiah, a Princeton philosopher — and TOTN fave — who wrote about the next big think in philosophy — it's called "x-phi," or "experimental philosophy," and it's ruffling some feathers.

Tags: The Next Big Thing, Ideas