The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast (Podcast Episodes)
The Partially Examined Life is a podcast by some guys who were at one point set on doing philosophy for a living but then thought better of it. Each episode, we pick a short text and chat about it with some balance between insight and flippancy. You don't have to know any philosophy, or even to have read the text we're talking about to (mostly) follow and (hopefully) enjoy the discussion. For links to the texts we discuss and other info, check out www.partiallyexaminedlife.com. We also feature episodes from other podcasts by our hosts to round out your partially examined life, including Pretty Much Pop (prettymuchpop.com, covering all media), Nakedly Examined Music (nakedlyexaminedmusic.com, deconstructing songs), Philosophy vs. Improv (philosophyimprov.com, fun with performance skills and philosophical ideas), and (sub)Text (subtextpodcast.com, looking deeply at lit and film). Learn about more network podcasts at partiallyexaminedlife.com.

Support this project at patreon.com/marklint!https://patreon.com/marklint

Direct download: The_Other_11-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 10:25am CDT

Concluding on William James's Psychology, the Briefer Course (1892). We briefly cover emotions and spend the bulk of our time on will.

James’s introspective method allows us to distinguish reflex or coerced actions from voluntary, free-seeming ones, and gives us the vocabulary to attribute moral virtue to those who have enough willpower to keep those inconvenient truths in mind (if you eat this, you’ll get fat!) that allow us to successfully resist temptation.

Listen to part one first, or get the unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition. Support PEL!

End song: "Join the Zoo/Live Again" by Craig Wedren; listen to him on Nakedly Examined Music #15.

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Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:13pm CDT

On Benedict de Spinoza's Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (1670), ch. 1–11. For Spinoza, the Bible was a political issue, and he was interested in a way to read it that didn't lead to people fighting wars and persecuting each other. Spinoza argues that a respectful reading is one that looks for the central message and doesn't paper over many places where the text was tailored to its original audience's prejudices, or where for historical reasons we can't now really know what it meant to them.

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Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Discussing Spinoza's Ethics (1677), books 1 and 2. God is everything, therefore the world is God as apprehended through some particular attributes, namely insofar as one of his aspects is infinite space (extension, i.e. matter) and insofar as one of his aspects is mind (our minds being chunks or "modes" of the big God mind). A 2010 discussion with a new intro by Dylan and Mark. Get ep. 25 that continues this discussion by becoming a PEL Citizen, a $1 subscriber at patreon.com/partiallyexaminedlife, or publicly sharing the post from our FB page for this episode. Check out the St. John's College Graduate Institute: partiallyexaminedlife.com/sjcgi. Visit Talkspace.com/examined; use code "EXAMINED" for 30% off your first month of online therapy.
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Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 9:12am CDT

PEL Network crossover magic, featuring clips (a full song plus explanation) from four recent episodes of Mark's other podcast. Hear the full episodes and many more at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Steve was the guitarist for Genesis in the 70s, Nik wrote 80s hits like "Wouldn't It Be Good," Ken played with The Posies, Big Star, and R.E.M., and Robbie will change the way you think about country music. Read the NEM FAQ.
Direct download: NEM_Highlights_Spring_2017.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 12:00pm CDT

More on the novel with guest Corey Mohler, considering Dostoyevsky qua existentialist in terms of his analysis of the crisis of meaning and his consequent views on religion.

Listen to part 1 first, or get the unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition. Get a Dostoyevsky T-shirt!

End song: "Don Quixote" by Nik Kershaw, as interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #37

Direct download: PEL_ep_164pt2_4-27-17.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

On Fyodor Dostoyevsky's philosophical novel from 1869. Could a morally perfect person survive in the modern world? Is all this "modernity," which so efficiently computes our desires and provides mechanisms to fulfill them, actually suited to achieve human flourishing? Dostoyevsky's Russian existentialism says no! 

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Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Continuing our interview about Natural Kinds and Genesis: The Classification of Material Entities. Buy Stewart's book at www.rowman.com and use the code LEX30AUTH17 to get 30% off.

Listen to part 1 first or get the ad-free Citizen Edition.

End song: "Destroy the Box" by Wertico, Cain and Gray from Organic Architecture (2014). Hear Paul Wertico and David Cain interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #30.

 

Direct download: PEL_ep_163pt2_3-25-17.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

On Natural Kinds and Genesis: The Classification of Material Entities (2016). Are general terms like "water" or "dog" just things that we made up to order the world? Aristotle thought that some universals constitute natural kinds, with a nature that explains their behavior. "Kinds" were replaced with "laws," but Stewart wants us to reconsider, and bring back "natural philosophy" in the process.

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Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

On the short stories "This Morning, This Evening, So Soon" (1960) and "Sonny’s Blues" (1957). Mark joins the Phi Fic crew to supplement PEL ep. 162 by delving into Baldwin's fiction, which is actually pretty similar to his biographical essays.

Direct download: PELSpecial_Phi-Fic_ep_012_3-26-17.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Continuing on I Am Not Your Negro, "Notes of a Native Son" (1955), and The Fire Next Time (1963). We (and Law Ware) discuss Baldwin's critique of the American dream, how to oppose the inhumanity of others without becoming inhuman yourself, and Baldwin's take on religion. Plus, was the the documentary actually good as a film?

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Direct download: PEL_ep_162pt2_3-21-17.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

On the film I Am Not Your Negro and the essays "Notes of a Native Son" (1955) and The Fire Next Time (1963). With guest Law Ware. Baldwin diagnoses our racism-related psycho-social maladies, but how can we best translate his observations into generally applicable philosophical theory?

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Direct download: PEL_ep_162pt1_3-21-17.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Continuing with guest Law Ware on the philosophical underpinnings of the rhetoric of white privilege, with readings as listed in part 1.

End song: "Power" by Narada Michael Walden from Thunder 2013, as interviewed for Nakedly Examined Music ep. 16.

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Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Is the rhetoric of "White Privilege" just the modern way of acknowledging historical and systemic truths of racism, or does it point to a novel way for acknowledging injustice, or does it on the contrary obscure these insights by involving confused claims about group responsibility and guilt? Readings include articles by Peggy McIntosh, Charles W. Mills, George Yancy, Tim Wise, Lewis R. Gordon, Lawrence Blum, and John McWhorter. With guest Law Ware.

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Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Continuing with 1984. How does the book relate to real-world politics? Is this something that we should actually be afraid our society will turn into? Was he predicting history, or was it satire, or what? We discuss the the realms of intimacy vs. surveillance, how a state might "contain" a mind that it controls, and "doublethink."

Listen to part 1 first, or get the ad-free Citizen Edition.

End song: "Civil Disobedience" by Camper Van Beethoven from New Roman Times (2004), written by Jonathan Segel as interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music ep. 38.

Direct download: PEL_ep_160pt2_2-21-17.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

On the novel 1984 (1949) and the essays “Politics and the English Language” (1946) and “Notes on Nationalism” (1945). What's the relation between language and totalitarianism? Orwell shows us a society where the rulers have mastered the art of retaining power, and one element of this involves "Newspeak," where vocabulary is limited to prevent subversive speech, and ultimately thoughts. Do our linguistic habits and the Orwellian lies of our leaders point to a slippery slope toward the world of 1984?

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Direct download: PEL_ep_160pt1_2-21-17.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Continuing on the Analects without our guest. We cover passages on glibness, using names properly, filial conduct, remonstrance, love of learning, places where he sounds like Socrates, and more!

Listen to part 1 first or just get the full, ad-free Citizen Edition.

End song: "Please Allow Me to Look at You Again," from The Edge of Heaven (2013) by Gary Lucas, as interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music ep. 7.

Direct download: PEL_ep_159pt2_2-5-17.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

On the Analects, compiled after 479 BCE. How should we act? What's the relation between ethics and politics? Can a bunch of aphorisms written in the distant past for an unapologetically hierarchical culture emphasizing traditional rituals actually give us relevant, welcome advice on these matters? Are we even in a position to determine the meaning of these sayings? With guest Tzuchien Tho.

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Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

Continuing on the Consolation, chiefly books 3 and 4, on virtue ethics (we all naturally aim at the good but can be mistaken about it or too weak to follow it), theodicy (even the apparent bad is actually good from God's perspective), and the weird way in which those interact (fame, pleasure, wealth are really all the same thing, i.e., happiness, i.e., God).

Listen to part 1 first, or get the unbroken, ad-free Citizen EditionPlease support PEL!

End song: Carrie Akre's "Last the Evening" from the album of that name from 2007. Hear Carrie interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music Ep. 17.

Direct download: PEL_ep_158pt2_1-16-17.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

On the Consolation, written as he awaited execution in 524 CE. Do bad things really happen to good people? Boethius, surprisingly, says no, for Stoic (anything that can be taken away can't be of central importance; you can't lose your virtue in this way), Aristotelian (all things tend toward the good, and the best thing for a person is achieving his or her innate potential, which is to be virtuous), and Christian (God's unknowable plan means that even the stuff that seems bad really isn't) reasons.

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Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

Continuing on Achieving Our Country: Leftist Thought in 20th Century America (1998). We talk more about Rorty's description of the conflict between the "reformist left" and the "cultural left." Do political-comedy shows serve a a positive political purpose? Can an enlightened political viewpoint really be a mass movement at all? Is it better to pursue specific political campaigns or be part of a "movement?" Can Rorty's diagnosis cure Seth's malaise?

Listen to part 1 first, though you should probably just get the ad-free, unbroken Citizen Edition.

End song: "Wake Up, Sleepyhead," by Jill Sobule, as interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #11.

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Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

On Achieving Our Country: Leftist Thought in 20th Century America (1998). What makes for efficacious progressivism? Rorty argues that reformism went out of fashion in the '60s in favor of a "cultural left" that merely critiques and spectates, leaving a void that a right-wing demagogue could exploit to sweep in, claiming to be a champion of regular working people. Sound familiar?

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Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

Continuing our liberal bubble-bursting exercise, the core foursome address more directly the question of how philosophy is supposed to shape one's political views and actions. On a non-partisan "public good" and rhetorical strategies in the face of an apathetic and/or ignorant public.

Listen to part 1 first or get the ad-free, unbroken Citizen EditionPlease support PEL!

End song: "Better Days" from The Getaway Drivers' Bellatopia; check out Mark's interview with singer/songwriter Bob Manor on Nakedly Examined Music ep. 11.

Direct download: PEL_ep_156pt2_12-20-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

How does studying philosophy help you to make sense of the political landscape? Wes, Mark, Dylan, and Seth play pundit and reflect on political rhetoric, elitism, and much more. There is no text for this episode! Freedom!

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Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:40am CDT

Continuing on Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature, Ch. 3–4. Rorty claims that Kantians improperly read Kantian concerns (the connection between the senses and reason) back into the ancients. He thought that Sellars's "epistemological behaviorism" was right on, and despite what you may have heard does not give a bad rep to animals and babies. Plus, psychological nominalism! Woo hoo! End song: "The Ghosts Are Alright" from The Bye-Bye Blackbirds; check out the interview on Nakedly Examined Music #32.
Direct download: PEL_ep_155pt2_12-15-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

On Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature (1979), Part II: "Mirroring."

Is a "theory of knowledge" possible? Rorty thinks that any such account will be a fruitless search for foundations. Knowledge is really just a matter of social agreement, and beliefs must be justified from other beliefs, not from any alleged relationship to reality.

End song: "The Ghosts Are Alright" from The Bye-Bye Blackbirds (Houses and Homes, 2008), as discussed on Nakedly Examined Music #32.

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Direct download: PEL_ep_155_12-15-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

Continuing on "Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind." We consider a couple of Sellars's thought experiments, both of which are supposed to show that what we might think are primitive mental terms like "appearance" are really derivative and secondary relative to statements about the external world. With guest Lawrence "Dusty" Dallman. End song: "Senses on Fire" by Mercury Rev. Check out the interview with singer Jonathan Donahue in Nakedly Examined Music ep. 14.
Direct download: PEL_ep_154pt2_12-7-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

On "Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind" (1956).

Is knowledge based on a "foundation," as Descartes, Locke, et al. thought? Sellars says no: The allegedly basic elements upon which knowledge would be built either have to be propositions, in which case they involve a lot of prior knowledge involved in language use and so aren't really basic, or they're "raw feels," in which case they can't actually serve as reasons for anything; reasons have to be propositional. With guest Lawrence Dallman.

End song: "Senses on Fire" by Mercury Rev. Check out the interview with singer Jonathan Donahue in Nakedly Examined Music ep. 14.

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Direct download: PEL_ep_154_12-9-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

Continuing on Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature, Part I: "Our Glassy Essence." Rorty relates the immateriality of mind to the ontology of universals. Plus, the return of the semantic/syntactic distinction! With guest Stephen Metcalf. End song: "Wall of Nothingness" from Sky Cries Mary from This Timeless Turning (1994). Listen to Mark's interview with the band's frontman, Roderick Romero, in Nakedly Examined Music ep. 9.
Direct download: PEL_ep_153pt2_11-17-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 12:59pm CDT

On Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature (1979), Part I: "Our Glassy Essence."

"The mind" seems to be an unavoidable part of our basic conceptual vocabulary, but Rorty thinks not, and he wants to use the history of philosophy as a kind of therapy to show that many of our seemingly insoluble problems like the relation between mind and body are a result philosophical mistakes by Descartes, Locke, and Kant. With guest Stephen Metcalf of Slate's Culture Gabfest podcast.

End song: "Wall of Nothingness" from Sky Cries Mary from This Timeless Turning (1994). Listen to Mark's interview with the band's frontman, Roderick Romero, in Nakedly Examined Music ep. 9.

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Direct download: PEL_ep_153_11-17-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

Democracy is in peril! So said Tocqueville in 1835 and 1840 when Democracy is America was published, and it's still true now. Democracy is always just one demagogue away from stripping us of our liberties, though certain structural and cultural features can make that more or less likely. He liked our volunteerism and innovation, but not so much our tendencies toward materialism and isolation and our lack of philosophical curiosity. Recorded live at Brown University 10/27/16 with audience Q&A. Watch the video!

End song: "Shot of Democracy" by Cutting Crew. Listen to Mark's interview with singer/songwriter Nick Eede on Nakedly Examined Music #10.

Direct download: PEL_ep_152_10-27-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

More on Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), where Burke advocates for the nobility as a stabilizing element in society: These folks are driven by honor, groomed from youth to lead, and estates themselves provide continuity and give people something to protect. But could anyone really defend this system who wasn't himself benefitting from it at the expense of others? Reform, not revolution! End song: "Hard Times of Old England" from Peter Knight's Gigspanner (from Layers of Ages, 2015); listen to Mark's interview with Peter on Nakedly Examined Music ep. 27 at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com.
Direct download: PEL_ep_151pt2_10-4-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

On Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790). What relevance do the concerns of a monarchy-defending aristocrat have for us today? Surprisingly, a lot! The full foursome discuss possible conflicts between freedom, rights, and well-being. What is political freedom without public wisdom? The tyranny of the mob!

End song: "Hard Times of Old England" from Peter Knight's Gigspanner (from Layers of Ages, 2015); listen to Mark's interview with Peter on Nakedly Examined Music #27.

Direct download: PEL_ep_151_10-4-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

NEM now features jazz, hip-hop, classical, folk, and more. Check out all the episodes at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com, where you can subscribe and follow on Facebook. Bill was the original drummer for Yes, a default member of King Crimson, and briefly played with Genesis and the late '70s supergroup U.K., but most of his output has been with his own jazz-inflected Earthworks and Bruford, as rock proved too confining for his rhythmic and tonal creativity.
Direct download: PELSpecial_NEM_ep_025_8-10-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 8:46pm CDT

Mark, Wes, Seth, and Dylan discuss our interview with Peter Singer. Does Singer's asserting such a heavy moral burden on us successfully condemn us to changing our priorities and/or feeling perpetually guilty, or is there something wrong with the argument? Even if we admit the moral demand is legitimate, can we soften Singer's position by seeking to balance the obligation to help the poor with numerous other obligations, even though the latter don't rise to the level of life and death? Listen to the interview itself first or get the whole thing unbroken and ad-free via the Citizen edition. Please support PEL! End song: "Ann the Word" by Beauty Pill (2015), explored in Nakedly Examined Music's ep. 19: nakedlyexaminedmusic.com.
Direct download: PEL_ep_150pt2_9-20-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Mark and Wes interview perhaps the world's most influential living philosopher, then the full foursome discusses. We discuss his ongoing work rooted in his 1971 essay "Famine, Affluence, and Morality," about the warped priorities of our consumerist society: We spend money on luxuries while innocent children overseas die from inexpensively preventable causes. For more about Peter, see www.petersinger.info.

End song: "Ann the Word" by Beauty Pill (2015), explored in Nakedly Examined Music #19.

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Direct download: PEL_ep_150_9-13-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:52am CDT

Broadway stars Walter Bobbie and Bill Youmans perform Plato's dialogue in which Socrates awaits his execution. Should Socrates defy the verdict and try to escape the city? Socrates says no; that would be ungrateful to the city whose benefits he's enjoyed. Bill joins the full PEL foursome for a lively discussion.

End song: "Fall Away" by Mark Lint and the Fake from the album So Whaddaya Think? (2000).

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Direct download: PEL_ep_149_9-4-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Concluding on Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics, books 8–10. Should you share your sorrow with your friends? Can you be friends with someone in a different social station? Do you really need to love yourself before you can be a friend? Why are real friendships in modern society so hard? Do we all at some level know what's really good, even if we proclaim different ideas?
Direct download: PEL_ep_148pt2_8-30-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 9:06am CDT

On the final books 8–10 of Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics. What does friendship have to do with ethics? With guest Ana Sandoiu.

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Direct download: PEL_ep_148_8-30-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Continuing on the Nichomachean Ethics, bks 6–7. More on intellectual virtues (like nous or rational intuition), plus we finally get to weakness of the will (akrasia), which is much better than simply being a jerk with wrong moral beliefs.
Direct download: PEL_ep_147pt2_8-9-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

On the Nichomachean Ethics (ca. 350 BCE), books 6–7. Is intelligence just one thing? Aristotle picks out a number of distinct faculties, some of which are relevant to ethics, and he uses these to explain Plato's puzzle of how someone can clearly see what the good for him is, and yet fail to pursue it due to weakness of the will. This episode continues our discussion from way back in ep. 5.

End song: "I Die Desire" from The MayTricks (1992).

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Direct download: PEL_ep_147_8-9-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Concluding Levinas's Time and the Other (1948), in which we talk about the present being freedom, before there's even a will! Also: being encumbered by your own body, relating to the world as nourishment, and getting over yourself through good lovin.'
Direct download: PEL_ep_146pt2_7-27-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

More Levinas, working this time through Time and the Other (1948). What is it for a person to exist? What individuates one person from another, making us into selves instead of just part of the causal net of events? Why would someone possibly think that these are real, non-obvious questions that need to be addressed?

End song: "Call on You" by Mark Lint from from the 1993 Mark Lint album Spanish Armada: Songs of Love and Related Neuroses.

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Direct download: PEL_ep_146_7-27-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Continuing on "Ethics as First Philosophy" (1984) and other essays. We try to complete Levinas's story on how revealing the flawed, aggressive character of our culture and personal attitudes can lead us to recognition of the ethical demand of the Other.
Direct download: PEL_ep_145pt2_7-17-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

On "Ethics as First Philosophy" (1984). More existentialist ethics, with a Jewish twist this time! Seth returns to join Mark and Wes in figuring out how to best leave off all this aggressive "knowing" and other forms of individual self-assertion to grasp the more primordial appearance of the Other in all his or her vulnerability, which Levinas thinks makes us wholly responsible for others right off the bat.

End song: "To Valerie" from The MayTricks' So Chewy (1993).

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Direct download: PEL_ep_145_7-17-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Post-interview discussion of more aspects of Martha Nussbaum's Anger and Forgiveness. Is Nussbaum right in saying that payback should not play any part in our justice apparatus? End song: "Forgive the Disco," a Nussbaum-inspired Mark vocal on an instrumental by Sean Beeson, interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #23.
Direct download: PEL_ep_144pt3_7-5-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

More interview on Anger and Forgiveness, now covering social justice, the role of anger and forgiveness in enacting justice and bringing about social change, and more on when Stoicism is legitimate or against human nature.
Direct download: PEL_ep_144pt2_7-5-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

On Anger and Forgiveness: Resentment, Generosity, Justice (2016). What role should we allow anger to play in our public life? Should systems of punishment be utilitarian, or should they be retributive? Nussbaum thinks that anger necessarily involves the desire for payback, which is unhelpful. We should instead use anger to prevent future harm. Mark, Wes, and Dylan interview Martha and then discuss issues raised in the interview and the book.

End song: "Forgive the Disco," a Nussbaum-inspired Mark vocal on an instrumental by Sean Beeson, interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #23.

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Direct download: PEL_ep_144_7-5-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 2:23pm CDT

Guest Wes Alwan joins regulars Nathan Hanks, Mary Claire, Daniel St. Pierre, Laura Davis, and Cezary Baraniecki to discuss Mary Shelley's classic novel in this special cross-post from the newest member of the Partially Examined Life podcast network. More Phi Fic.

Direct download: Phi_Fic_3_Frankenstein_by_Mary_Shelley.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Continuing to discuss the views of Plato's Eleatic Stranger on sophistry, with a right turn into hardcore metaphysics with an exploration of falsity and its metaphysical correlate, non-being.
Direct download: PEL_ep_143pt2_6-21-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

On the later Platonic dialogue. What is a sophist? These were guys in Ancient Greece who taught young people the tools of philosophy and rhetoric. They claimed to teach virtue. In Sophist, "the Eleatic Stranger" (i.e., not Socrates) tries to figure out what a sophist really is, using a new "method of division." This Plato era provides a nice transition to the category man Aristotle, and the whole concern with sophistry is certainly still relevant today!

End song: "Dumb," by Mark Lint and the Fake from the album So Whaddaya Think? (2000).

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Direct download: PEL_ep_143_6-21-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Continuing on Plato's dialogue, diving into Socrates's myth-laden speech on the nature of love. With guest Adam Rose.
Direct download: PEL_ep_142pt2_6-5-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 1:06am CDT

Socrates hangs out in the country flirting with his buddy Phaedrus. And what is this "Platonic" love? Using the enticement of desire not to rush toward fulfillment, but to get you all excited about talking philosophy. Socrates critiques a speech by renowned orator Lysias, who claimed that love is bad because it's a form of madness, where people do things they then regret after love fades. Socrates instead delivers a myth that shows the spiritual benefits of loving and being loved. With guest Adam Rose.

End song: "Summertime" by New People, from Might Get It Right (2013).

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Direct download: PEL_ep_142_6-5-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 5:12pm CDT

Concluding on Simone de Beauvoir's The Ethics of Ambiguity (1947). The full discussion starts with ep. 140. We turn to political dilemmas: Embracing our freedom means willing the freedom of others, but what if the other person is (according to Beauvoir's formula) failing at freedom by oppressing you or someone else?
Direct download: PEL_ep_141pt2_5-19-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

More on The Ethics of Ambiguity (1947), this time on part III. (For Wes Alwan's summary of this book, go here). Ep. 140 laid out man's "ambiguity," but what does that mean in terms of practical decision making? B. talks about the practical paradoxes of dealing with oppression and what it might mean to respect the individual, given that there's no ultimate, pre-existent moral rulebook to guide us, nothing we can point to to excuse the sacrifice of someone to a "greater good."

Become a PEL Citizen to listen to the the Aftershow featuring Beauvoir scholar Jennifer Hansen.

End song: "Indiscretion (Mess Things Up)" from the 1993 Mark Lint album Spanish Armada: Songs of Love and Related Neuroses.

 

 

Direct download: PEL_ep_141_5-19-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Continuing on Simone de Beauvoir's The Ethics of Ambiguity (1947), parts I and II. For Wes Alwan's summary of this book, go here. We discuss all the various ways to fail to wholly will your own freedom, i.e., will it all the way to where you will the freedom of others. Will you be "sub-man" or "serious man" or "nihilist" or "adventurer?" There are many ways to fail the existential test!

Direct download: PEL_ep_140pt2_5-10-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

On The Ethics of Ambiguity (1947), parts I and II. For Wes Alwan's summary of this book, go here. We return to existentialism! Instead of describing our predicament as "absurd," de Beauvoir prefers "ambiguous": We are a biological organism in the world, yet we're also free consciousness transcending the given situation. Truly coming to terms with this freedom means not only understanding that you transcend any label, but also recognizing that your freedom requires the freedom of others. The full foursome discuss whether this attempt to ground an existentialist ethics works.

End song: "Reasonably Lonely," by Mark Lint.

Direct download: PEL_ep_140_5-10-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Brian Wilson's Not School Intro Readings in Philosophy Group discussed Plato on why you should obey the state and other musings from a condemned Socrates. Purdue's Chris Yeomans was our guest Hegel scholar as we reflected back on eps 134/135, joining Mark and Danny Lobell with PEL listeners to discuss Hegel's theology, metaphysics, and more. Check out PEL's second spin-off podcast: Phi Fic: A Fiction Podcast at phificpodcast.com or subscribe on iTunes.
Direct download: PEL_News_and_Previews-Plato_Crito_and_Hegel_Aftershow_5-27-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 5:43pm CDT

Continuing on Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism (1981) and Black Looks: Race and Representation (1992), with guest Myisha Cherry. We talk about black feminist "essentialism" (a single narrative of oppression) and how that relates to her media critiques. She thinks there are right ways and wrong ways to self-actualize: You may think you're independent and free, but really you're just parroting the narratives of the oppressor. How can we tell if this is true in particular cases?
Direct download: PEL_ep_139pt2_4-24-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

On Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism (1981) and Black Looks: Race and Representation (1992, Intro, Ch. 3, 11). How do these pernicious forces interact? hooks describes black women as having been excluded from both mainstream historical feminism (led by white women) and black civil rights struggles (permeated with patriarchy), and this "silencing" creates challenges for self-actualization and social justice. The solution: media critique of stereotyped images and personally connecting to a historical narrative of liberation. With guest Myisha Cherry, host of the UnMute Podcast.

End song: "Stories" by Mark Lint and Steve Petrinko (2011).

Direct download: PEL_ep_139_4-24-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Mark, Wes, and Dylan discuss the interview with John in part one on Seeing Things as They Are: A Theory of Perception (2015) and try to sketch out the view and its potential problems in a little more detail. Doesn't Searle's idea of a "direct presentation" constitute an intermediary between us and things, no matter what he says? And likewise, if we have to construct the complex wholes that we actually perceive including all their cultural effluvia out of basic perceptions, what story can Searle tell that's really different from the constructivist views involving sense data that he's arguing against?
Direct download: PEL_ep_138pt2_4-6-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

We interview John about Seeing Things As They Are (2015). What is perception? Searle says that it's not a matter of seeing a representation, which is then related to things in the real world. We see the actual objects, with no mediation. But then how can there be illusions? Well, it's complicated, but not too complicated, just some funny terminology that this episode will teach you.

Searle lays out his theory for us and amusingly dismisses much of the history of philosophy in the first half, and then Mark, Wes, and Dylan continue the discussion to make sure we understood what was just said and chase down some threads of the conversation.

End song: "Flesh and Blood" from The MayTricks' Happy Songs Will Bring You Down (1994).

We interview John about Seeing Things As They Are (2015). What is perception? Searle says that it's not a matter of seeing a representation, which is then related to things in the real world. We see the actual objects, with no mediation. But then how can there be illusions? Well, it's complicated, but not too complicated, just some funny terminology that this episode will teach you.

Direct download: PEL_ep_138_4-6-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Continuing on Pierre Bourdieu's Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste (1979) with guest rock star Tim Quirk. More on Bourdieu's survey of musical tastes: People use tastes to distinguish themselves and assert social superiority. The Kantian, upper-class, art-for-art's-sake paradigm of taste rules out joining in a mosh pit, but are the Kantian and social types of artistic abandon really so distinct?
Direct download: PEL_ep_137pt2_3-28-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

On Pierre Bourdieu's Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste (1979), introduction, ch 1 through p. 63, conclusion, and postscript. How do our tastes in music, art, and everything else reflect our social position? This philosophically trained sociologist administered a few detailed questionnaires in 1960s France and used the resulting differences in what people in different classes preferred and how they talked about these preferences to theorize about the role that taste plays in our social games. Featuring guest Tim Quirk of Too Much Joy and recent guest on Mark's Nakedly Examined Music podcast #8

End song: "When She Took Off Her Shirt" from Tim's band Wonderlick's Topless At The Arco Arena (2005).

Direct download: PEL_ep_137_4-3-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Continuing on Theodor Adorno's "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception" (1944). We cover topics within art and entertainment like the role of style: You think you're being so original with your personal style, but Adorno sees you has having already been brainwashed into being a clone, so your "authentic" expression is anything but. Also, humor is not, as you might think, a way of bringing an audience together in solidarity, but is the "eruption of barbarism!" And sex in the popular culture: what a tease! Manufactured entertainment products can't even get tragedy right! They just condition us into accepting our crappy situation.
Direct download: PEL_ep_136pt2_3-6-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

On Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer's "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception" from Dialectic of Enlightenment (1944), plus Adorno's "Culture Industry Reconsidered" (1963). How does the entertainment industry affect us? Adorno (armed with Marx and Freud) thinks that our "mass culture" is imposed from the top down to lull us into being submissive workers.

End song: "All Too Familiar," from around 1992 with all instruments by Mark Linsenmayer, released on The MayTricks.

Direct download: PEL_ep_136_3-6-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

The last of our four releases on G.F.W. Hegel's Encyclopaedia Logic, this time giving Hegel's account of how Being supposedly leads, when you analyze the concept itself, to Nothingness, and then Becoming, Quality, and Quantity. And we also get Infinity in there, which is nice. End song: "Flow' by Gary Lucas with Mark Lint (2016). Listen to Mark interview Gary on Nakedly Examined Music.
Direct download: PEL_ep_135pt2_2-23-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

A whole second discussion on G.F.W. Hegel's Encyclopedia Logic, hitting sections 78–99 on the dialectic and Understanding vs. Reason. Hegel thinks we can use Reason to objectively come up with basic metaphysical categories, but can we really? With guest Amogh Sahu.

This continues ep. 134. PEL Citizens can listen to the Aftershow.

End song: "Flow" by Gary Lucas and Mark Lint. Listen to Gary interviewed about this instrumental on Nakedly Examined Music #7.

Direct download: PEL_ep_135_2-23-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

More on Hegel's The Science of Logic (1812–1816), §1–§129. We continue trying to make sense of Hegel's method and purpose: How does he think that we can deduce metaphysics? How would we even start? Hegel's view is that contra Kant, we do in fact come in contact with reality, at least when we think hard and systematically enough. And he's going to tell us how to do just that. With guest Amogh Sahu.
Direct download: PEL_ep_134pt2_2-16-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

On G.F.W. Hegel's The Science of Logic (1812–1816), §1–§129 and The Encyclopaedia Logic (1817) §1–§25. "Logic" for Hegel is about how thought interacts with the world. Our thoughts about fundamental metaphysical categories bear the same relations to each other as the the categories themselves do. Just take Hegel's many, many words for it! With guest Amogh Sahu.

End song: "Procrastination" by Steve Petrinko from The MayTricks' Happy Songs Will Bring You Down (1994). Hear Mark interview Steve on Nakedly Examined Music.

Direct download: PEL_ep_134_2-16-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

Welcome to Nakedly Examined Music, our first spin-off of PEL. Hear more at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com or find it via iTunes. Mark interviews songwriters about why and how they do what they do. Think of it as applied philosophy. Four episodes are now posted; this cross-post of our pilot features David Lowery of Camper van Beethoven and Cracker talking through three of his songs. He's as well-spoken and full of ideas as many a decent philosopher, so sit back and turn on your active listening function!
Direct download: PELSpecial_NEM_ep_001_12-23-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 9:36pm CDT

Continuing on Fromm's The Art of Loving (1956). We talk about love as requiring knowledge: as "knowing the secret" of humanity or at least being interested. This is related to sadism. Is there a difference between motherly and fatherly love? Fromm thinks so. He also talks about different degrees of maturity in one's belief in God, the best being God as equivalent to the world and love of God as love of humanity, i.e., orientation toward the good. Finally, we get Fromm on society: How could we reform norms so that love can be the norm?
Direct download: PEL_ep_133pt2_1-26-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

On Fromm's The Art of Loving (1956). What is love, really? This psychoanalyst of the Frankfurt school thinks that real love is not something one "falls" into, but is an art, an activity, and doing it well requires a disciplined openness and psychological health.

End songs: "Kimmy" (1995) and "Kimmy 2002" by Mark Lint.

Direct download: PEL_ep_133_1-26-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

Continuing with Massimo Pigliucci on selected "moral epistles" by Seneca: 4. On the Terrors of Death, 12. On Old Age, 49. On the Shortness of Life, 59. On Pleasure and Joy, 62. On Good Company, 92. On the Happy Life, 96. On Facing Hardship, and 116. On Self Control. We see what Seneca has to say about love and other emotions, facing loss and other hardships, fear of death, desire, pursuing your goals, keeping company with ancient sages, and wearing nice clothes. All you have to do to be happy is have "a complete view of truth!"
Direct download: PEL_ep_132pt2_1-10-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

On selected "moral epistles" (from around 65 CE) by Lucius Annaeus Seneca: 4. On the Terrors of Death, 12. On Old Age, 49. On the Shortness of Life, 59. On Pleasure and Joy, 62. On Good Company, 92. On the Happy Life, 96. On Facing Hardship, and 116. On Self Control. We're joined by Massimo Pigliucci of the How to Be a Stoic blog, who for a long time was on the Rationally Speaking podcast. How can one most profitably interpret weird-sounding Stoic recommendations about the emotions and about following nature?

End song: "I Lose Control" by The MayTricks from So Chewy! (1993).

Direct download: PEL_ep_132_1-10-16.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

Concluding On the Soul, book 3, focusing on the "nous," or intellect, which allows us to grasp abstractions, including the forms/essences that make things what they are. The nous is the "form of forms," which is literally nothing (just pure potential) until it grasps form, at which point (at least in cases where we grasp fancy metaphysical principles) it's identical to that form, and not MY thought or YOUR thought in particular. Yes, this is weird. Go back to ep. 130 to start to get a handle on this, and if you become a PEL Citizen, you not only get this episode ad-free, but can hear the Aftershow.
Direct download: PEL_ep_131pt2_12-29-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

Our second discussion of De Anima or On the Soul (350 BCE), this time on book 3. What is the intellect? We talk about its highest part/function: nous, which is a "form of forms," literally nothing until it thinks, survives death and is not actually yours or mine, but just the universal mind!

This continues the discussion from ep. 130 and includes a preview of the Aftershow featuring Rebecca Goldner.

End song: "Wonderful You" (live 2001) by Mark Lint.

Direct download: PEL_ep_131_12-29-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

Continuing on De Anima, books 1 and 2. We talk about the nutritive part of the soul, which is the only kind plants have, and the perceptive part, which animals have too, which for Aristotle means they have (or many of them have) imagination too. We grapple more with types of causation and what Aristotle means by forms. How does the soul "cause" the living body?
Direct download: PEL_ep_130pt2_12-6-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

On De Anima or On the Soul (350 BCE), books 1 and 2, after some listener mail. What can this ancient text tell us about biological life? What counts as a scientific explanation? A. describes life as "the first actuality of a natural body which has organs," so bodies express their nature only when they're growing and reproducing and all that stuff that bodies do. The body is potential, and life is its actuality. So what the heck kind of explanation is that, and how does it tie into Aristotle's convoluted metaphysics?

End song: "Intermission Song" by Mark Lint from Spanish Armada: Songs of Love and Related Neuroses (1993).

Direct download: PEL_ep_130_12-6-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

Continuing on the the reasonableness of religious belief with many short readings and guests Nathan Gilmour and Rob Dyer.
Direct download: PEL_ep_129pt2_11-22-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

Nathan Gilmour (Christian Humanist podcast) and Rob Dyer (God Complex Radio) join Mark and Wes for to discuss the reasonableness of religious belief reading Antony Flew's "The Presumption of Atheism," Norwood Russell Hanson's “The Agnostic’s Dilemma," Steven Cahn's "The Irrelevance of Proof to Religion," Alvin Plantinga's “Is Belief in God Properly Basic?" Merold Westphal's "Sin and Reason," Basil Mitchell's “Faith and Criticism," Peter van Inwagen's "Clifford's Principle," William Alston's "Experience in Religious Belief," Richard Swinburne's "The Voluntariness of Faith" and “The World and Its Order," and Paul Helm's "Faith and Merit." Read synopses of all these at partiallyexaminedlife.com.

End song: "Let Us Meet" by Mark Lint, setting an old poem by Kim Casey Linsenmayer.

Direct download: PEL_ep_129_11-22-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

Continuing on "The Meaning of Meaning" (1975). We finish giving Putnam's positive theory for "meaning" something, talk about stereotypes and indexicals, and try to find connections to pragmatism.
Direct download: PEL_ep_128pt2_11-8-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

On "The Meaning of Meaning" (1975). If meaning is not a matter of having a description in your head, then what is it? Hilary Putnam reformulates Kripke's insight (from #126) in terms of Twin Earths: Earthers with H20 and Twin Earthers with a substance that seems like water but is different have the same mental contents but are referring to different stuff with "water," so that word is speaker-relative in a certain way. With guest Matt Teichman. 

End song: "In the Boatyard" by Mark Lint & the Madison Lint Ensemble (2004, finished now).

Direct download: PEL_ep_128_11-8-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

Continuing on Experience and Nature (1925), through ch. 4. We focus here on how philosophy supposedly gets warped by fear and desire in human nature, how we pretend that abstractions we've created are metaphysically real and basic. So how do the objects of our experience, then, relate to those of science? And can we talk about "ends" (teleology) when doing science? Learn more. Listen to part one first, or get the ad-free Citizen edition.
Direct download: PEL_ep_127pt2_10-25-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

On Experience and Nature (1925), through ch. 4. What's the relationship between our experience and the world that science investigates? Dewey thinks that these are one and the same, and philosophies that call some part of it (like atoms or Platonic forms) the real part while the experienced world is a distortion are unjustified.

End song: "Uncontrollable Fear" by The MayTricks from So Chewy! (1993).

Direct download: PEL_ep_127_10-25-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

Continuing on Naming and Necessity (1980). What's the relationship between language and the world? We try on Kripke's ideas and see what this makes us think about natural kind terms (like "tiger"), about physical objects, about substances identified by science, about heat vs. the feeling of heat, and about pain. Listen to part one first or get the Citizen Edition. Read more about the topic and get the book. End song: "Reason Enough" by Mark Lint. Read about it.
Direct download: PEL_ep_126pt2_10-11-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

On Naming and Necessity (1980). What's the relationship between language and the world? Specifically, what makes a name or a class term pick out the person or things that it does? Saul Kripke wanted to correct the dominant view of his time (which involved a description in the speaker's mind), and used talk of "possible worlds" to do it! With guest Matt Teichman.

End song: "Reason Enough" by Mark Lint.

Direct download: PEL_ep_126_10-11-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

Continuing on The Human Condition (1958), focusing on the rise of "the social," how that erodes the private sphere (unless you post it on Facebook, it's not real!), yet leads to feelings of loneliness and meaninglessness. The audience at this live Pittsburgh event then joins us in the latter of this release to help us try to figure out what Arendt's positive picture is. Listen to part one first or get the full, ad-free Citizen edition. Support PEL!
Direct download: PEL_ep_125pt2_9-26-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

On The Human Condition (1958), Prologue and Sections 1 and 2. How has our distinction between the private and public evolved over time? Arendt uses this history, and chiefly the differences between our time and ancient Athens, to launch a critique of modern society. The fab four conducted this podcast live at the Pittsburgh Continental Philosophy Conference

End song: "Space" by Mark Lint from The Cheese Stands Alone. Read about it.

Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.

Direct download: PEL_ep_125_9-25-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

What is it like to do philosophy in public? As prelude to our ep. 125 appearance at the Pittsburgh Continental Philosophy Network Conference on theory and public space, Mark, Seth, Wes, and Dylan sat down for questions by moderator Erica Freeman, conference host Justin Pearl, and numerous attendees.
Direct download: PEL_Pittsburgh_QA_9-25-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

More on the Manual of Epictetus, aka The Enchiridion, from around 135 CE. We discuss elements of E's program including making your will "conformable to nature," the connection between controlling your emotions and seeing truth, what exactly about our mentality we're supposed to be able to control, engaging other people (or not), and how to behave at parties. Listen to part one first or get the Citizen Edition. Please support PEL!
Direct download: PEL_ep_124pt2_8-30-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

On the Manual of Epictetus, aka The Enchiridion (135 CE). What's a wise strategy for life? Stoicism says that the secret is mastering yourself. Nothing external can break your spirit unless you let it. So, how weird and misguided is that advice? With guest Alex Fossella.

End song: "But I Won't" by Mark Lint from Spanish Armada: Songs of Love and Related Neuroses (1993).

Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.

Direct download: PEL_ep_124_8-30-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 6:55am CDT

Continuing our discussion of Amartya Sen's On Ethics and Economics (1987) with some comparisons to F.A. Hayek and his essay "The Use of Knowledge in Society" (1945), with guest Seth Benzell. Listen to Seth B's introduction and part one first. Learn more.
Direct download: PEL_ep_123pt2_8-17-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

On F.A. Hayek's "The Use of Knowledge in Society" (1945) and Amartya Sen's On Ethics and Economics (1987). Is economics a pseudoscience? Are its assumptions by necessity too over-simplifying? Hayek objects to the idea of planning an economy, because the planners aren't in a position to know enough. With guest Seth Benzell, who starts us off with a "precognition" of the material.

End song: "People Who Throw Away Love" by Mark Lint from The Cheese Stands Alone.

Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.

Direct download: PEL_ep_123_8-17-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Haven't had enough Augustine? Danny Lobell and Wes Alwan welcome Augustine scholar James Wetzel and PEL Citizens Terra Leigh Bell, Amogh Sahu, and Scott Anderson to discuss our Augustine episodes, covering humility, love, desire, grief, sex, misogyny, degrees of reality, and how love of God fits with relating to other people. Minimally edited, recorded the same day it's being posted, we present a full Aftershow on our public feed for the very first time. (The last?) What do you think?

Get all the aftershows and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.

Direct download: PEL_Ep121122_Augustine_Aftershow_9-6-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 9:37pm CDT

Concluding on The Confessions (400 CE), books 10–13. More on memory and how it relates to Plato's "recollection," Augustine's take on will (Do we pursue something we take to be the good per Plato or do we intentionally pursue evil?), what it meeans to live as hooked up with God, and the kinds of answers Augustine gives to tricky questions like the origin of the universe and the nature of time. Listen to part one first, and ep. 121 before that.
Direct download: PEL_ep_122pt2_7-28-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Yet more on The Confessions, now on books 10–13. What is memory and how does it relate to time and being? Augustine thinks that memory is a storehouse, but it contains not just the sensations we put in it, but also (à la Plato's theory of recollection) all legitimate knowledge. It's our route to God, to real Being. Mark, Wes, and Dylan also discuss time, language, knowledge, the existence of evil, and more.

This continues our discussion from ep. 121. Listen to the Aftershow featuring James Wetzel!

End song: "The Past Is Not Real" by Mark Lint from Songs from the Partially Examined Life. Read about it.

Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.

Direct download: PEL_ep_122_7-28-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

Guest Seth Benzell outlines Hayek's "The Use of Knowledge in Society" (1945) and Sen's On Ethics and Economics (1987).
Direct download: PEL_Precog_for_ep123.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 9:25am CDT

More on The Confessions, books 1–9. Love the world, but only insofar as you're really loving the creator, so don't get too carried away. What are the logical and not-so-logical-but-certainly-predictable implications of this view? Listen to part one first.
Direct download: PEL_ep_121pt2_7-16-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT

On The Confessions (400 CE), books 1–9. The question is not "What is virtue?" because knowing what virtue is isn't enough. The problem, for Aurelius Augustinus, aka St. Augustine of Hippo, is doing what you know to be right.

End song: "I Still Want" by New People, from Impossible Things (2011).

Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.

Direct download: PEL_ep_121_7-16-15.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 7:00am CDT