The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast
Episodes
Ep. 255: Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" (Part One)
26 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On the Chinese military treatise from around the 5th century BCE. How does a philosopher wage war? The best kind of war can be won without fighting. T...
PREMIUM-Ep. 254: Michael Sandel Against Meritocracy (Part Two)
19 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mark, Wes, Dylan and Seth continue the discussion on The Tyranny of Merit to talk further about how social values can and do change, and whether these...
Ep. 254: Michael Sandel Interview: Against Meritocracy (Part One)
12 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On The Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good? (2020). Do people get the wealth and status they deserve? And if they did, would that be go...
PREMIUM-Ep. 253: Leibniz on the Problem of Evil (Part Two)
05 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you'd like to hear more of the discussion on Gottfried Leibniz's Theodicy that we started in part one, you'll need to go sign up at partiallyexami...
Ep. 253: Leibniz on the Problem of Evil (Part One)
28 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On Gottfried Leibniz's Theodicy (1710). Why does God allow so many bad things to happen? Leibniz thought that by the definition of God, whatever He cr...
PEL Special: Nightcap Late September 2020
21 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We're releasing JUST THIS ONE Nightcap to the wider public so induce you all to go support us and so gain the ability to hear these free-wheeling, fee...
PREMIUM-Ep. 252: Habermas on Communication as Sociality (Part Two)
21 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you'd like to hear more of the discussion on Jürgen Habermas' "Actions, Speech Acts, Linguistically Mediated Interactions, and the Lifeworld" (199...
Ep. 252: Habermas on Communication as Sociality (Part One)
14 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On Jürgen Habermas' "Actions, Speech Acts, Linguistically Mediated Interactions, and the Lifeworld" (1998), with guest John Foster. What's the relati...
Ep. 251: Simone Weil's Ideal Society
07 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On "Theoretical Picture of a Free Society" (1934). What's the ideal living situation for us all, given the peculiarities of human nature? Weil describ...
Ep. 250: Simone Weil on Human Needs (Part Three)
31 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Concluding on "The Needs of the Soul" from The Need for Roots (1943). This time we cover punishment, security, risk, private property, collective prop...
Ep. 250: Simone Weil on Human Needs (Part Two)
24 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on "The Needs of the Soul" from The Need for Roots (1943). We got started in part one with our need for order, and in this part we add libe...
Ep. 250: Simone Weil on Human Needs (Part One)
17 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On "The Needs of the Soul" from The Need for Roots (1943) and "Meditation on Obedience and Liberty" (1937). What are our needs that should then drive ...
Ep. 249: Dewey on Education and Thought (Part Two)
10 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on John Dewey's Democracy and Education (1916) ch. 1, 2, 4, and 24 with guest Jonathan Haber. How is education different than mere conditio...
Ep. 249: Dewey on Education and Thought (Part One)
02 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On John Dewey's How We Think (1910) ch. 1 and Democracy and Education (1916) ch. 1, 2, 4, and 24. What model of human nature should serve as the basis...
Ep. 248: Racism and Policing (Al-Saji, Merleau-Ponty, et al) (Part Two)
27 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Alia Al-Saji's "A Phenomenology of Hesitation" (2014) and other things with guest Phil Hopkins. Can we restructure our (and the police...
Ep. 248: Racism and Policing (Al-Saji, Merleau-Ponty, et al) (Part One)
20 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On Alia Al-Saji's "A Phenomenology of Hesitation" (2014), bits of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Perception (1945), and Linda Martín Alcoff...
Ep. 247: Aristotle on Rhetoric and Emotions (Part Two)
13 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on the Rhetoric (ca. 335 BCE) book 1, ch. 1–6 and book 2, ch. 1–5, 18–24. We finish up with enthymemes (rhetorical arguments), maxims...
Ep. 247: Aristotle on Rhetoric and Emotions (Part One)
06 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On the Rhetoric (ca. 335 BCE) book 1, ch. 1-6 and book 2, ch. 1-5, 18-24. What role does persuasion play in philosophy? Aristotle (contra Plato) argue...
Ep. 246: Susan Sontag on Interpreting Art (Part Two)
29 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Sontag's essays "On Style" (1965) and "The Death of Tragedy" (1963). Mark, Wes, Seth and Dylan keep talking about the appropriate distan...
Ep. 246: Susan Sontag on Interpreting Art (Part One)
22 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On Sontag's essays "Against Interpretation" (1964), "On Style" (1965), and "The Death of Tragedy" (1963). What is it to understand a work of art? Sont...
Ep. 245: Fashion (Derrida, Foucault, Sontag) w/ Shahidha Bari (Part Two)
15 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We conclude with Foucault's "The Ethics of the Concern of the Self As A Practice of Freedom" (1984) and add Susan Sontag's "On Style" (1965). After ou...
Ep. 245: Fashion (Derrida, Foucault) w/ Shahidha Bari (Part One)
08 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On Jacques Derrida's "The Animal That Therefore I Am" (1999), Michel Foucault's "The Ethics of the Concern of the Self As A Practice of Freedom" (1984...
Ep. 244: Camus on Strategies for Facing Plague (Part Two)
01 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Albert Camus's 1947 novel, covering the old functionary Grand, the criminal (or just paranoid?) Cottard, and more of our narrators Dr. R...
Ep. 244: Camus on Strategies for Facing Plague (Part One)
25 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On Albert Camus' existentialist novel The Plague. How shall we face adversity? Camus gives us colorful characters that embody various approaches. Yes,...
Ep. 243: Aristotle's "Poetics" on Art and Tragedy (Part Two)
18 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on the Poetics from around 335 BCE, on the structure of plot (every element must be essential!), the moral status of the heroes, Homeric po...
Ep. 243: Aristotle's "Poetics" on Art and Tragedy (Part One)
11 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
These notes from 335 BCE are still used in screenwriting classes. Aristotle presents a formula for what will move us, derived from Sophocles's tragedi...
PEL Presents PMP#42: Star Trek Lives Long and Prospers (Intermittently)
06 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In light of Star Trek: Picard, Brian, Erica, Mark, and Drew Jackson discuss our most philosophical sci-fi franchise. What makes a Trek story? How do y...
Ep. 242: Stanley Cavell on Tragedy via King Lear (Part Two)
04 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Cavell's essay "The Avoidance of Love: A Reading of King Lear" (1969), shifting away from Lear in particular to a more general discussio...
Ep. 242: Stanley Cavell on Tragedy via King Lear (Part One)
27 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On Cavell's essay "The Avoidance of Love: A Reading of King Lear" (1969). Can money buy you love? What is tragedy? With guest Erin O'Luanaigh. Don't w...
Ep. 241: Political Philosophy and the Pandemic
20 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How should we think politically about the current global crisis? Do extreme circumstances reveal truths of political philosophy or do they reinforce w...
Ep. 240: David Lewis on Possible Worlds and Language Games (Part Two)
13 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On "Scorekeeping in a Language Game" (1979) and "Truth in Fiction" (1978). Lewis's account of possible worlds can be applied to conversation: As we sp...
Ep. 240: David Lewis on Possible Worlds and Language Games (Part One)
06 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On Ch. 4 of Lewis's book Counterfactuals (1973) and the essays "Scorekeeping in a Language Game" (1979) and "Truth in Fiction" (1978). What makes a se...
Ep. 239: Montesquieu Invents Political Science (Part Two)
30 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on The Spirit of the Laws (1748) by Charles Louis de Secondat, aka Baron de Montesquieu. Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Seth talk more about the "mo...
Ep. 239: Montesquieu Invents Political Science (Part One)
23 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On The Spirit of the Laws (1748) by Charles Louis de Secondat, aka Baron de Montesquieu. What keeps a society functioning? Montesquieu, though of cour...
Ep. 238: Lingering Questions
16 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Seth summarize thoughts about our recent series on social construction, gender and sex, and Judith Butler's notion of "grievable...
Ep. 237: Walter Benjamin Analyzes Violence (Part Two)
09 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Benjamin's "Critique of Violence" (1921). Mark, Wes, and Seth keep trying to figure out this difficult essay. Is Benjamin really advocat...
Ep. 237: Walter Benjamin Analyzes Violence (Part One)
02 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On "Critique of Violence" (1921). What is violence? Benjamin gives us a taxonomy: law-creating, law-preserving, mythological, and divine. Then he deco...
Ep. 236: Judith Butler Interview: "The Force of Nonviolence"
24 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On The Force of Nonviolence: An Ethico-Political Bind (2020). What is it to be nonviolent in political activity? Most ethics allow for self-defense, b...
PEL Presents: PMP#32: Judging "The Good Place"
19 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mark, Erica, and Brian discuss Michael Schur's NBC TV show. Is it good? Does it actually teach moral philosophy? We talk sit-com tropes, TV finales, t...
Ep. 235: Judith Butler's "Gender Trouble" (Part Three)
17 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Concluding "Gender Trouble" (1990), with just Mark, Wes, and Seth going carefully through pt I, sec v: "Identity, Set, and the Metaphysics of Substanc...
Ep. 235: Judith Butler's "Gender Trouble" (Part Two)
10 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
More Gender Trouble (1990) with Jennifer Hansen. We get into the metaphysics of substance (is gender an attribute that a person has, or is there a bet...
Ep. 235: Judith Butler's "Gender Trouble" (Part One)
03 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1990). Is gender socially constructed, and if so, how? Butler describes gender not as an e...
PEL Presents PMP#29: Martin Scorsese the Auteur w/ Colin Marshall
29 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We consider The Irishman in the context of Scorsese's body of work and the styles and themes that his films tend to exhibit. Writer/podcaster Colin Ma...
Ep. 234: Beauvoir on Romance in "The Second Sex" (Part Two)
27 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Concluding Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex (1949): "The Woman in Love" and "Myths" with guest Jennifer Hansen. We continue on the ailments of wome...
Ep. 234: Beauvoir on Romance in "The Second Sex" (Part One)
20 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On Simone De Beauvoir's The Second Sex (1949): "The Woman in Love" and "Myths" with guest Jennifer Hansen. What is love under patriarchy? We all want ...
PEL Presents PMP#27: For the Love of Star Wars
15 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mark, Erica, and Brian talk about the unique place these films have in the brains of people of a certain age, how we grappled with the prequels, and w...
Ep. 233: Plato's "Protagoras" on Virtue (Part Two)
13 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on the dialogue, where Socrates argues that Protagoras doesn't actually know what virtue is, because he thinks that the various virtues (es...
PEL Presents PMP#26: We Watch "Watchmen" w/ David Pizarro (Very Bad Wizards)
08 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Covering Alan Moore's 1986 graphic novel, the new HBO series and the 2009 film. Mark, Erica, and Brian are joined by David, psych prof at Cornell and ...
Ep. 233: Plato's "Protagoras" on Virtue (Part One)
06 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On the Platonic dialogue written around 380 BCE about an encounter between Socrates and one of the leading Sophists of his day. What is virtue ("the p...
Ep. 232: Simone De Beauvoir's "The Second Sex" (Part Two)
29 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex (1949) with guest Jennifer Hansen. How does one become a Subject and how do women traditionally get shu...
Ep. 232: Simone De Beauvoir's "The Second Sex" (Part One)
23 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On Simone De Beauvoir's The Second Sex (1949): the intro, conclusion, "Woman's Situation and Character" and parts of "Lived Experience," with guest Je...
Ep. 231: Descartes's "Discourse" on Wisdom and Certainty (Part Two)
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Descartes's Discourse on Method, looking closely at part 4 (his proto-Meditations) and his "provisional" Stoic ethics. Listen to part on...
Ep. 231: Descartes's "Discourse" on Wisdom and Certainty (Part One)
09 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On René Descartes's Discourse on Method (1637), an overview of his work that distills his method, outlines his famous Meditations, presents a provisi...
Ep. 230: Bruno Latour on Science, Culture, and Modernity (Part Two)
02 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Latour's We Have Never Been Modern (1993) with guest Lynda Olman. Latour rejects the idea of objective truth totally apart from perceive...
Ep. 230: Bruno Latour on Science, Culture, and Modernity (Part One)
25 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On Latour's We Have Never Been Modern (1993) with guest Lynda Olman. What's the "modern" ideology of science, and is there something we should critiqu...
Ep. 229: Descartes's Rules for Thinking (Part Three)
18 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Concluding René Descartes's Rules for Direction of the Mind (1628). We finish rule 12 through the end, talking about simples, the faculties of intuit...
Ep. 229: Descartes's Rules for Thinking (Part Two)
11 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on René Descartes's Rules for Direction of the Mind (1628), covering rules 7 through the first part of the lengthy rule 12. We try to figu...
Ep. 229: Descartes's Rules for Thinking (Part One)
04 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On René Descartes's Rules for Direction of the Mind (1628). Is there a careful way to approach problems that will ensure that you'll always be right?...
PEL Presents PMP#17: Comedy as Philosophy w/ Daniel Lobell
29 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Are stand-up comedians the Modern Day Philosophers? This is the premise of Daniel's podcast, but really, only some comedians express original claims; ...
Ep. 228: Social Construction of Race (Appiah, Mills) (Part Two)
28 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Kwame Anthony Appiah's "Race, Culture, Identity: Misunderstood Connections" (1994), Charles Mills's "But What Are You Really?, The Metap...
Ep. 228: Social Construction of Race (Appiah, Mills) (Part One)
21 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On Kwame Anthony Appiah's "Race, Culture, Identity: Misunderstood Connections" (1994), Charles Mills' "But What Are You Really?, The Metaphysics of Ra...
Ep. 227: What Is Social Construction? (Hacking, Berger) (Part Two)
14 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing Ian Hacking's The Social Construction of What (1999) and Peter Berger's "Religion and World Construction" (1967). We break down Hacking's t...
Ep. 227: What Is Social Construction? (Hacking, Berger) (Part One)
07 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On Ian Hacking's The Social Construction of What (1999) and Peter Berger's "Religion and World Construction" (1967). Guest Coleman Hughes from Dilemma...
Ep. 226: Francis Bacon Invents Science (Part Two)
30 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Sir Francis Bacon's New Organon (1620). We cover more of Bacon's "idols" and how Bacon divides religion from science (and what this mean...
PEL Presents PMP#12: Once Upon a Tarantino Film w/ Wes Alwan
24 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Wes joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to discuss Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood in the context of Tarantino's other films. We conside...
Ep. 226: Francis Bacon Invents Science (Part One)
23 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On Sir Francis Bacon's New Organon (1620). Bacon claims to have developed a new toolset that will open up nature to inquiry in a way that wasn't possi...
Ep. 225: Simone Weil on War and Oppression (Part Two)
16 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Simone Weil's essays "The Iliad, or the Poem of Force" (1939) and "Analysis of Oppression" (1934) with guest Corey Mohler. We talk about...
Ep. 225: Simone Weil on War and Oppression (Part One)
09 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On Simone Weil's essays "The Iliad, or the Poem of Force" (1939) and "Analysis of Oppression" (1934). How do circumstances oppress and dehumanize us? ...
Ep. 224: Kierkegaard Critiques The Present Age (Part Two)
02 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on "The Present Age" (1846), plus Hubert Dreyfus's "Nihilism on the Information Highway: Anonymity vs. Commitment in the Present Age" (2004...
PEL Presents PMP#8: Spider-Man: Far From Home (and Elsewhere)
27 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Mark, Erica, and Brian discuss the function of super-hero films and how this new one fits in. Do we need "realism" in such stories? When does a premis...
Ep. 224: Kierkegaard Critiques The Present Age (Part One)
26 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On Soren Kierkegaard's essay "The Present Age" (1846) and Hubert Dreyfus's "Nihilism on the Information Highway: Anonymity vs. Commitment in the Prese...
Ep. 223: Guest Ned Block on Consciousness (Part Two)
19 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with Ned about a second Blockheads (2019) article, Michael Tyle's "Homunculi Heads and Silicon Chips: The Importance of History to Phenomenolo...
Ep. 223: Guest Ned Block on Consciousness (Part One)
12 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The climax and denouement of our summer philosophy of mind series: Ned Block visits to fill in the gaps about functionalism and attributing consciousn...
Ep. 222: Debating Functionalism (Block, Chalmers) (Part Two)
05 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Ned Block's "Troubles with Functionalism" (1978) and David Chalmers's "Absent Qualia, Fading Qualia, Dancing Qualia" (1995). What would ...
Ep. 222: Debating Functionalism (Block, Chalmers) (Part One)
29 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On Ned Block's "Troubles with Functionalism" (1978) and David Chalmers's "Absent Qualia, Fading Qualia, Dancing Qualia" (1995). If mental states are f...
PEL Presents PMP#3: CONFORM w/ Yakov Smirnoff
23 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Is media trying to brainwash us into being ALL THE SAME? Are the excesses of the mob scaring us into conformity? Mark, Erica, and Brian muse on cultur...
Ep. 221: Functionalist Theories of Mind (Putnam, Armstrong) (Part Two)
22 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on functionalism with David M. Armstrong's "The Causal Theory of the Mind" (1981). Your four hosts start afresh the day after Part One on ...
Ep. 221: Functionalist Theories of Mind (Putnam, Armstrong) (Part One)
15 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On Hilary Putnam's "The Nature of Mental States" (1973). What is the mind? Functionalist theories identify the mental with not with the brain exactly,...
PEL Presents PMP#1: Pop Culture vs. High Culture
09 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What is pop culture? Does it make sense to distinguish it from high culture, or can something be both? Welcome to this new pop culture podcast hosted ...
Ep. 220: 10-Year Retrospective of The Partially Examined Life
05 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Mark, Seth, Dylan, and Wes reflect on the changing state of podcasting and public philosophy over the last decade, how our goals and interests have ch...
Ep. 219: The Harder Problem of Consciousness (Block & Papineau)
01 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On Ned Block's "The Harder Problem of Consciousness" (2002) and David Papineau's "Could There Be a Science of Consciousness?" (2003). What would give ...
Ep. 218: The Hard Problem of Consciousness (Chalmers et al) (Part Two)
24 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on "Consciousness and Its Place in Nature" by David Chalmers (2003). We finish Chalmers's account of the types of physicialism, then move o...
Ep. 218: The Hard Problem of Consciousness (Chalmers et al) (Part One)
17 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On "Consciousness and Its Place in Nature" by David Chalmers (2003), with special guest Gregory Miller from the Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast. Can we ...
(sub)Text #1: Shakespeare's "The Tempest": Poesis as Revenge Forsaken
08 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
At last, the full, public release of this discussion between Wes Alwan and Bill Youmans covering Shakespeare's 1611 play about revenge, forgiveness, a...
Episode 217: Discussing Calderón's "Life Is a Dream"
03 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On the 1636 comedy by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, considering destiny (Christian vs. Ancient Greek), skepticism, meta-theater, and the ethic of honor...
Glimpse: Machiavellian Politics (for Partially Examined Life #14)
02 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Does politics have to be Machiavellian? Do you have to be ruthless to succeed? Given our treatment of Game of Thrones and Life Is a Dream, and the way...
PEL Audioplayers: "Life Is a Dream" by Pedro Calderón de la Barca
27 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Your hosts are joined by real actors to do an unrehearsed read of Calderón's 1636 comedy La Vida Es Sueño, using Stanley Appelbaum's 2002 translatio...
PREMIUM-Ep 216 Game of Thrones' Fantasy Politics (Part Two)
23 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Get teased re. Mark and Wes's post-finale, spoiler-filled continuation of the discussion of the show. How does its conclusion affect its overall polit...
Episode 216: Game of Thrones' Fantasy Politics
20 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Discussing the TV show (2011-2019) based on the books by George R.R. Martin. What's the role of a mass-consumed fantasy series in today's society? Is ...
Episode 215: Brave New World: PEL Live 10th Anniversary Show
13 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On Aldous Huxley's 1932 dystopian novel, recorded at Manhattan's Caveat on 4/6/19, with audience participation. If we harness the power of society to ...
Episode 214: More Nietzsche's Zarathustra (Part Two)
06 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Concluding Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1885). What's the wise way to live? We start in earnest into part three, treating the "spirit...
Episode 214: More Nietzsche's Zarathustra (Part One)
29 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On the remainder of Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1885). How can we keep our spirits up and avoid nihilism? We consider Nietzsche's "s...
Glimpse: Nietzsche's Last Man (for Partially Examined Life #213)
22 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Is technology making us complacent? Are we in danger of becoming Nietzsche's famed "last men" who are no longer capable of creativity and independent ...
Episode 213: Nietzsche's Zarathustra (Part Two)
22 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, books 1 and 2 (1883). We talk through Nietzsche's symbolism (tightrope walkers and gravedi...
PREMIUM-(sub)Text#6: Melanie Klein's "Notes on Some Schizoid Mechanisms"
21 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Wes Alwan is joined by Dr. Glenn Mobray to discuss this classic 1946 psychoanalytic text. This is a preview of a 63-minute discussion. You can listen ...
Episode 213: Nietzsche's Zarathustra (Part One)
15 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, books 1 and 2 (1883). What is wisdom? In this text whose style parodies the Bible, we get pithy advic...
Glimpse: Sartre on Literature (for Partially Examined Life #212)
11 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Should literature be political? Jean-Paul Sartre thought that all literature is political, because of what literature is. That's a very weird-sound...
Episode 212: Sartre on Literature (Part Two)
08 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on What is Literature? (1948). Sartre gives a phenomenology of reading and writing that makes reading into a creative act of completing the...
Episode 212: Sartre on Literature (Part One)
01 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On Jean-Paul Sartre's What is Literature (1948), ch. 1 and 2. What's the purpose of literature? Why write prose as opposed to poetry? Sartre argues th...
Episode 211: Sartre on Racism and Authenticity (Part Three)
25 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Moving finally on to Jean-Paul Sartre's "Black Orpheus" (1948), where he introduces a book of black poetry by praising its revolutionary spirit as emb...