The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast
Episodes
Episode 203: Kristeva vs. Lovecraft on Horror and Abjection (Part Two)
26 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Concluding on Julia Kristeva's Powers of Horror (1980) and focusing on H.P. Lovecraft's "The Call of Cthulhu" (1928). Does Lovecraft's presentation o...
Episode 203: Kristeva vs. Lovecraft on Horror and Abjection (Part One)
19 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
More on Julia Kristeva's Powers of Horror (1980) plus H.P. Lovecraft's "The Call of Cthulhu" (1928). What is the object of fear? Mark, Seth, and Dylan...
PREMIUM-Ep 202 Follow-Up: Close Reading of Kristeva's "Approaching Abjection"
18 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Mark takes a very close look at pages 1–4 of the first chapter of On Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (1980) as a supplement to episode 202. ...
Episode 202: Julia Kristeva on Disgust, Fear and the Self (Part Two)
12 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection, ch. 1 and 2. We try to get clearer on Kristeva's talk of "object," the relationship between lan...
Episode 202: Julia Kristeva on Disgust, Fear and the Self (Part One)
05 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (1980), ch. 1 and 2. Kristeva writes about "abjection," where we violently reject things like corpses, bodi...
PREMIUM-Ep 201 Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations" (Part Three)
05 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Mark and Seth get further into the specifics of Marcus's metaphysics and how this is supposed to relate to behavior. Can his directives really come so...
Episode 201: Marcus Aurelius's Stoicism with Ryan Holiday (Part Two)
29 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
More on The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius (ca. 180 CE) plus Ryan's The Daily Stoic (2016). We talk Stoicism as "pre-mourning," love of fate, the divi...
Episode 201: Marcus Aurelius's Stoicism with Ryan Holiday (Part One)
22 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius (ca. 180 C.E.) plus Ryan's The Daily Stoic (2016). What does Stoicism look like in practice, in both ancient and...
Episode 200: Kant/Mendelssohn/Foucault on Enlightenment (Part Two)
15 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on "What Is Enlightenment" by Immanuel Kant (1784), "On Enlightening the Mind" by Moses Mendelssohn (1784), and "What Is Enlightenment" by ...
Episode 200: Kant/Mendelssohn/Foucault on Enlightenment (Part One)
08 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On "What Is Enlightenment" by Immanuel Kant (1784), "On Enlightening the Mind" by Moses Mendelssohn (1784), and "What Is Enlightenment" by Michael Fou...
Bonus: (sub)Text#4: Freud's "Mourning and Melancholia" (Part One)
08 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Wes Alwan is joined by Tracy Morgan and Louis Scuderi to discuss Freud's classic 1917 essay. Note: Part two will NOT be appearing on this feed. Become...
Episode 199: Elizabeth Anderson on Equality (Part Three: Discussion)
01 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Mark, Wes, Seth, and Dylan continue to discuss "What Is the Point of Equality?" (1999) and how it lays foundations for Private Government (2017). What...
Episode 199: Guest Elizabeth Anderson on Private Government (Part Two)
24 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Private Government: How Employers Rule Our Lives (2017) and "What Is the Point of Equality?" (1999). Should the amount of respect that a...
Episode 199: Guest Elizabeth Anderson on Private Government (Part One)
17 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The U. of Michigan prof joins us to discuss Private Government: How Employers Rule Our Lives (and Why We Don't Talk about It) (2017) and "What Is the ...
PREMIUM-Ep 198 Plato's "Parmenides" (Part Three)
13 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Mark and Seth continue our conversation from ep. 198 by going through the arguments in the second half of the dialogue. This puzzling section is lar...
Episode 198: Plato's Forms in the "Parmenides" (Part Two)
10 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We get down to the specific questions considered this perplexing Platonic dialogue: Are there forms for all adjectives? Does the form of a property it...
Episode 198: Plato's Forms in the "Parmenides" (Part One)
03 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On the most peculiar Platonic dialogue, from ca. 350 BCE. Are properties real things in the world, or just in the mind? Plato is known for claiming th...
Bonus: (sub)Text #3: Spielberg's "AI: Artificial Intelligence": What Is It to Be Human? (Part One)
02 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Wes discusses the film by Steven Spielberg with philosophy professor David Kyle Johnson. What is there to fear in artificial intelligence? How does th...
Episode 197: Parmenides on What There Is (Part Two)
27 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing with guest Peter Adamson with "On Nature" (475 BCE). We finally get to fragment 8, which describes why Being must be singular and eternal, ...
Episode 197: Parmenides on What There Is (Part One)
20 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On the fragments referred to as "On Nature" from ca. 475 BCE, featuring guest Peter Adamson from the History of Philosophy without Any Gaps podcast. P...
Episode 196: Guest Simon Blackburn on Truth (Part Two)
13 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing with Simon on his book On Truth (2018). We move to part two of the book, where we get down to the procedures used to obtain truth in art, e...
Episode 196: Guest Simon Blackburn on Truth (Part One)
06 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Cambridge/etc. prof joins Mark, Wes, and Dylan to discuss his book On Truth (2018). What is truth? Simon's view synthesizes deflationism and pragm...
Episode 195: Truth-The Austin/Strawson Debate (Part Two)
30 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on "Truth" by J.L. Austin and "Truth" by P.F. Strawson both from 1950. We proceed to the Strawson article, which critiques the notion of a ...
Episode 195: Truth-The Austin/Strawson Debate (Part One)
23 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On two articles in the "ordinary language" tradition of philosophy called "Truth" from 1950 by J.L. Austin and P.F. Strawson. Is truth a property of p...
Episode 194: Alfred Tarski on Truth (Part Two)
16 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Tarski's "The Semantic Conception of Truth and the Foundations of Semantics" (1944), Hartry Field's "Tarski's Theory of Truth" (1972), a...
Episode 194: Alfred Tarski on Truth (Part One)
09 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On Tarski's "The Semantic Conception of Truth and the Foundations of Semantics" (1944), Hartry Field's "Tarski's Theory of Truth" (1972), and Donald D...
PREMIUM-Eps 192-193 Allan Bloom & Liberal Education Follow-Ups
07 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Hear highlights from two supporter-only discussions: Allan Bloom on Nietzsche/Freud/etc. and Leo Strauss vs. Richard Rorty on liberal education and de...
Episode 193: The Theory and Practice of Liberal Education (Part Two)
02 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing with Pano Kanelos on articles on liberal education by Jacob Klein, Sidney Hook, and Martha Nussbaum. What's the practical application of a ...
Episode 193: The Theory and Practice of Liberal Education (Part One)
25 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Pano Kanelos, the president of St. John's College, Annapolis joins us to discuss Jacob Klein's "The Idea of a Liberal Education" (1960) and "On Libera...
Episode 192: "The Closing of the American Mind": Allan Bloom on Education (Part Two)
18 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Allan Bloom's 1987 book critiquing the current fragmented structure of the university that promotes technical and professional education...
Episode 192: "The Closing of the American Mind": Allan Bloom on Education (Part One)
11 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On Allan Bloom's 1987 best-selleing polemic. What is the role of the university in our democracy? Bloom thinks that today's students are conformist, r...
Episode 191: Conceptual Schemes: Donald Davidson & Rudolf Carnap (Part Two)
04 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Finishing Davidson's "On the Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme" (1974) and moving on to Carnap's "Empiricism, Semantics, and Ontology" (1950). Carnap c...
Episode 191: Conceptual Schemes: Donald Davidson & Rudolf Carnap (Part One)
28 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On Davidson's "On the Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme" (1974) and Carnap's "Empiricism, Semantics and Ontology" (1950). What does it mean to say that...
PREMIUM-Ep 189: Authorial Intent (Part Three)
26 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Listen here to a few highlights from a recent discussion between Mark and Wes: We chase down some issues from ep. 189, relating authorial intent to ph...
Episode 190: Film Analysis: "mother!"
21 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On Darren Aronofsky's philosophical 2017 film about humanity's relationship to nature. We discuss the philosophical content of the film (Gnosticism, a...
Episode 189: Authorial Intent (Barthes, Foucault, Beardsley, et al) (Part Two)
14 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on "The Death of the Author" by Roland Barthes (1967) and "What Is an Author?" by Michel Foucault (1969), and finally getting to "Against T...
Episode 189: Authorial Intent (Barthes, Foucault, Beardsley, et al) (Part One)
07 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On four essays about how to interpret artworks: "The Intentional Fallacy" by W. K. Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley (1946), "The Death of the Author" by R...
Episode 188: Discussing "Lysistrata" and Politics with Lucy and Emily (Part Two)
30 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Concluding our discussion of Aristophanes's play with Lucy Lawless and Emily Perkins. We focus on trying to connect its lessons to the here and now: I...
Episode 188: Discussing "Lysistrata" and Politics with Lucy and Emily (Part One)
23 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We are rejoined by actresses Lucy Lawless and Emily Perkins to discuss Aristophanes's bawdy play. Listen to us perform it first. Supplementary reading...
"Lysistrata" w/ Lucy Lawless, Emily Perkins, Erica Spyres, Bill Youmans & Aaron Gleason
16 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The PEL Players return to perform a "cold read" of Aristophanes's play about using a sex strike to end war, first performed in 411 BCE. Jeffrey Hender...
PREMIUM-Episode 187: The Limits of Free Speech (Part Three)
14 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Three substantial chunks of a follow-up conversation to our free speech episode. Mark and Wes discuss Jordan Peterson on speech, organizations' promot...
Episode 187: The Limits of Free Speech (Part Two)
09 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing our free form discussion, trying to make sense of Stanley Fish's "There's No Such Thing as Free Speech, and It's a Good Thing, Too" (1994) ...
Episode 187: The Limits of Free Speech (Part One)
29 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A free-form discussion drawing on Stanley Fish's "There's No Such Thing as Free Speech, and It's a Good Thing, Too" (1994), Joel Feinberg's "Limits to...
Episode 186: J.L. Austin on Doing Things with Words (Part Two)
26 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on How to Do Things with Words (lectures from 1955), covering lectures 5-9. Austin tries and fails to come up with a way to grammatically d...
Episode 186: J.L. Austin on Doing Things with Words (Part One)
19 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On How to Do Things with Words (lectures from 1955). What's the relationship between language and the world? Austin says it's not all about descriptiv...
Episode 185: Ethics in Homer's "Odyssey" Feat. Translator Emily Wilson (Part Two)
12 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing with Emily Wilson on her translation of the Greek epic poem. We discuss the "oikos" or estate, built on violence, and its connection to "xe...
Episode 185: Ethics in Homer's "Odyssey" Feat. Translator Emily Wilson (Part One)
05 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On the classic Greek epic poem, written ca. 750 BC and translated by our guest Emily Wilson in 2018. Does this story of "heroes" have anything to teac...
Episode 184: Pascal on Human Nature (Part Two)
25 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Pascal's Pensées. More on our human desire and how God is supposed to address that, plus Pascal's views on political philosophy, the re...
Episode 184: Pascal on Human Nature (Part One)
19 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On Blaise Pascal's Pensées (1670). Is it rational to have religious faith? You're likely familiar with "Pascal's Wager," but our wretchedness is such...
Episode 183: Mill on Liberty (Part Two)
12 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on John Stuart Mill's On Liberty. For Wes Alwan's summary of this book, go here). We discuss "partial truths," whether "truth will out," w...
Episode 183: Mill on Liberty (Part One)
04 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Discussing John Stewart Mill's On Liberty (1859). For Wes Alwan's summary of this book, go here). If we disapprove of certain behaviors, when is it o...
PREMIUM-Episode 182: Reflections on PEL 2017 (Part Two)
04 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The PEL guys get personal and political and tell you in brief about things like Planet of the Apes, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and Vine Deloria Jr....
Episode 182: Reflections on PEL 2017 (Part One)
29 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
To what extent has our podcast changed in reaction to current politics? Mark, Seth, Wes, and Dylan reflect back on our year, discuss how we select tex...
Episode 181: Hannah Arendt on the Banality of Evil (Part Two)
22 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Eichmann in Jerusalem, on how ordinary people can do--or acquiesce to--horrific things. How do people rationalize this? What can we appl...
Episode 181: Hannah Arendt on the Banality of Evil (Part One)
15 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (1963). Are we still morally culpable if our entire society is corrupt? Arendt definitely t...
Episode 180: More James's Psychology: Self and Will (Part Two)
08 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
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 introsp...
Episode 180: More James's Psychology: Self and Will (Part One)
01 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
On Psychology, the Briefer Course (1892), chapters on "The Self," "Will," and "Emotions." Continuing from ep. 179, we talk about the "Me" (the part of...
Episode 179: William James's Psychology (Part Two)
25 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Psychology, the Briefer Course (1892), completing "The Stream of Thought" and covering the chapter on "Habit." James thinks that psychol...
Episode 179: William James's Introspective Psychology (Part One)
18 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
On The Principles of Psychology (1890) chapters 1 & 7, and Psychology, the Briefer Course (1892), the chapters on "The Stream of Thought," "Habit," an...
Episode 178: Nietzsche as Social Critic: Twilight of the Idols (Part Two)
10 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Nietzsche's 1888 book. (For Wes Alwan's summary of this book, go here). Is there any ground from which we could judge life as a whole ...
Episode 178: Nietzsche as Social Critic: "Twilight of the Idols" (Part One)
04 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
On Friedrich Nieztsche's 1888 book summarizing his thought and critiquing the founding myths of his society. (For Wes Alwan's summary of this book, go...
Episode 177: Guest Russ Roberts on Adam Smith and Libertarian Economics (Part Two)
27 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing with the Econtalk host on the moral aspects of economics, focused by Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations and Theory of Moral Sentiments. Sh...
Episode 177: Guest Russ Roberts on Adam Smith and Libertarian Economics (Part One)
20 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The host of Econtalk provides his take on our ep. 174 on The Wealth of Nations, and explores with us the idea of emergent economic order. Is the econo...
Episode 176: Situationism in Psych: Milgram & Stanford Prison Experiments (Part Two)
13 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing with Dave Pizarro on articles by Stanley Milgram, Philip Zimbardo, and John Doris about situationism, which entails that people's level of ...
Episode 176: Situationism in Psych: Milgram & Stanford Prison Experiments (Very Bad Wizards Crossover) (Part One)
06 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
On Stanley Milgram's "Behavioral Study of Obedience" (1963), Philip Zimbardo's "Interpersonal Dynamics in a Simulated Prison" (1973), and John Doris's...
PREMIUM-Episode 175: Blade Runner (Part Two)
06 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Do you want the WHOLE discussion on the new Blade Runner 2049, the original 1982 film, and the idea packed Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1967)...
Episode 175: Blade Runner: Androids and Humanity (Part One)
30 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
On Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1967) and the films Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and Blade Runner (1982). What makes us human? D...
Episode 174: Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations" (Part Two)
22 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on the foundational text of economics. We talk "invisible hand," "greed is good," tariffs, unproductive labor, city vs. country, and the ed...
Episode 174: Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations" (Part One)
16 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
On the foundational, 1776 text of modern economics. How does the division of labor and our instinct to exchange lead to the growth of wealth? Is the e...
Episode 173: Relating to American Indian Philosophy (Part Two)
09 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We go further into "Philosophy of Native Science" by Gregory Cajete and "What Coyote and Thales Can Teach Us: An Outline of American Indian Epistemolo...
Episode 173: Relating to American Indian Philosophy (Part One)
02 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What is wisdom? We discuss articles by Brian Burkhart, Gregory Cajete, and Anne Waters, plus Black Elk Speaks by John Neihardt (1932) and some traditi...
Episode 172: Mind, Self, and Affect with Guest Dr. Drew (Part Two)
25 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing with Drew Pinsky on "Attachment and Reflective Function: Their Role in Self-organization" by Peter Fonagy and two articles by Allan Schore....
Episode 172: Mind, Self, and Affect with Guest Dr. Drew (Part One)
18 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Radio legend Dr. Drew Pinsky talks with us about "Attachment and Reflective Function: Their Role in Self-Organization" by Peter Fonagy and two article...
Episode 171: Buddhism vs. Evolution with Guest Robert Wright (Part Two)
11 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on Why Buddhism Is True. We discuss the "no self" doctrine as articulated in Buddha's Second Discourse and the modularity-of-mind theory th...
Episode 171: Buddhism vs. Evolution with Guest Robert Wright (Part One)
04 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Bob joins the PEL four to discuss his new book Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment. Bob applies his exper...
Episode 170 Second Opinions: Leftists on "Society of the Spectacle"
28 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Mark and Seth ask Doug Lain (Zero Squared), Brett O'Shea (Revolutionary Left Radio), and C. Derick Varn (Symptomatic Redness) what they think of Debor...
Episode 170: Guy Debord's "Society of the Spectacle" (Part Two)
21 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
More on the 1967 Situtationist book. Do we buy Debord's critique? Is any merely partial critique (i.e. no revolution) just more spectacle? Is technolo...
Episode 170: Guy Debord's "Society of the Spectacle" (Part One)
14 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What is culture? In modern capitalism, Debord's 1967 book describes it as all about the economy. It's not just our jobs that keep us trapped, but our ...
PEL Special: Combat & Classics on Rousseau's "Discourse on the Arts and Sciences"
07 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A new podcast for the PEL Podcast Network! Meet Jeff, Lise, and Brian, who are joined by Wes and Dylan to discuss Rousseau's claim that the arts and s...
Episode 169: Analyzing Hitchcock's "Vertigo"
31 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
On the 1958 film and articles including Laura Mulvey's "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" (1975) and Robin Wood's "Vertigo" (1965). What's the nat...
Episode 168: Darwin's "Origin of Species" (Part Two)
24 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
More on Darwin's famous book. Why does it matter for philosophy, beyond providing an alternative to intelligent design? Is it really anti-religious? H...
Episode 168: Darwin's "Origin of Species" (Part One)
17 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
On Charles Darwin's 1859 book, ch. 1-4, 6, and 14. What are the philosophical ramifications of Darwin's theory of evolution? We go through Darwin's a...
Episode 167: Hume on Intelligent Design (Part Two)
10 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on David Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779), with guest Stephen West. We get further into what's wrong with the design a...
Episode 167: Hume on Intelligent Design (Philosophize This! Crossover) (Part One)
03 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
On David Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779). How would a scientifically minded person argue for the existence of God? In Hume's dialo...
Episode 166: Spinoza on Politics and Religion (Part Two)
26 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Concluding on the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (1670) and Tractatus Politicus (1677). What's the relationship between ethics, reason, and revelation...
Episode 166: Spinoza on Politics and Religion (Part One)
19 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
On Benedict de Spinoza's Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (1670), ch. 12-20 and the Tractatus Politicus (1677). What's the relationship between ethics a...
Episode 165: Spinoza on Biblical Criticism (Part Two)
12 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing on the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (1670), ch. 1–11. We go more into natural laws vs. ordinances; does it make sense to say that God m...
Episode 165: Spinoza on Biblical Criticism (Part One)
05 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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 w...
Nakedly Examined Music: Steve Hackett, Nik Kershaw, Ken Stringfellow, Robbie Fulks
26 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
PEL Network crossover magic, featuring clips (a full song plus explanation) from four recent episodes of Mark's other podcast. Hear the full episodes ...
Episode 164: Dostoyevsky's "The Idiot" on Perfection (Part Two)
22 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
More on the novel with guest Corey Mohler, considering Dostoyevsky qua existentialist in terms of his analysis of the crisis of meaning and his conseq...
Episode 164: Dostoyevsky's "The Idiot" on Perfection (Part One)
15 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
On Fyodor Dostoyevsky's philosophical novel from 1869. Could a morally perfect person survive in the modern world? Is all this "modernity," which so e...
Episode 163: Guest Stewart Umphrey on Natural Kinds (Part Two)
08 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing our interview about Natural Kinds and Genesis: The Classification of Material Entities. Buy Stewart's book at www.rowman.com and use the co...
Episode 163: Guest Stewart Umphrey on Natural Kinds (Part One)
01 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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 o...
PEL Special: Phi Fic on James Baldwin's Fiction
24 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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 b...
Episode 162: James Baldwin on Race in America (Part Two)
17 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Episode 162: James Baldwin on Race in America (Part One)
10 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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 ou...
Episode 161: White Privilege (Peggy McIntosh, Charles Mills, et al) (Part Two)
03 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing with guest Law Ware on the philosophical underpinnings of the rhetoric of white privilege, with readings as listed in part 1. End song: "Po...
Episode 161: White Privilege (Peggy McIntosh, Charles Mills, et al) (Part One)
27 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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 fo...
Episode 160: Orwell on Totalitarianism and Language (Part Two)
20 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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?...
Episode 160: Orwell on Totalitarianism and Language (Part One)
13 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
On the novel 1984 (1949) and the essays "Politics and the English Language" (1946) and "Notes on Nationalism" (1945). What's the relation between lang...