The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

Episode 159: Confucius on Virtuous Conduct (Part One)

27 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 d...

Episode 158: Boethius: The Consolation of Philosophy (Part Two)

20 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 f...

Episode 158: Boethius: The Consolation of Philosophy (Part One)

13 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Episode 157: Richard Rorty on Politics for the Left (Part Two)

06 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Continuing on Achieving Our Country: Leftist Thought in 20th Century America (1998). We talk more about Rorty's description of the conflict between th...

Episode 157: Richard Rorty on Politics for the Left (Part One)

30 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

On Achieving Our Country: Leftist Thought in 20th Century America (1998). What makes for efficacious progressivism? Rorty argues that reformism went o...

Episode 156: Philosophy and Politics Free-Form Discussion (Part Two)

23 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Continuing our liberal bubble-bursting exercise, the core foursome address more directly the question of how philosophy is supposed to shape one's pol...

Episode 156: Philosophy and Politics Free-Form Discussion (Part One)

16 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

How does studying philosophy help you to make sense of the political landscape? Wes, Mark, Dylan, and Seth play pundit and reflect on political rhetor...

Episode 155: Richard Rorty Against Epistemology

02 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Episode 154: Wilfrid Sellars on the Myth of the Given

19 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

On "Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind" (1956). Is knowledge based on a "foundation," as Descartes, Locke, et al. thought? Sellars says no: The all...

Episode 153: Richard Rorty: There Is No Mind-Body Problem

05 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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 vocabu...

Episode 152: Alexis de Tocqueville on Democracy in America (PEL Live!)

21 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Episode 151: Edmund Burke's Conservatism

07 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

On Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790). What relevance do the concerns of a monarchy-defending aristocrat have for us today? Surprisingly, ...

PEL Special: Bill Bruford on Nakedly Examined Music #25

06 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

NEM now features jazz, hip-hop, classical, folk, and more. Check out all the episodes at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com, where you can subscribe and follow ...

Episode 150: Guest Peter Singer on Famine, Affluence, and Morality

24 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Mark and Wes interview perhaps the world's most influential living philosopher, then the full foursome discusses. We discuss his ongoing work rooted i...

Episode 149: Plato's "Crito": A Performance and Discussion

17 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Broadway stars Walter Bobbie and Bill Youmans perform Plato's dialogue in which Socrates awaits his execution. Should Socrates defy the verdict and tr...

Episode 148: Aristotle on Friendship and Happiness

03 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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

Episode 147: Aristotle on Wisdom and Incontinence

19 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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 whi...

Episode 146: Emmanuel Levinas on Overcoming Solitude

05 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Episode 145: Emmanuel Levinas: Why Be Ethical?

22 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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 h...

Episode 144: Guest Martha Nussbaum on Anger

01 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

On Anger and Forgiveness: Resentment, Generosity, Justice (2016). What role should we allow anger to play in our public life? Should systems of punish...

Phi Fic #3 Frankenstein (PEL Crossover Special)

25 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Wes Alwan joins regulars Nathan Hanks, Mary Claire, Daniel St. Pierre, Laura Davis, and Cezary Baraniecki to discuss Mary Shelley's classic nove...

Episode 143: Plato's "Sophist" on Lies, Categorization, and Non-Being

11 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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. The...

Episode 142: Plato's "Phaedrus" on Love and Speechmaking

27 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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 towar...

Episode 141: De Beauvoir's Existentialism: Moral and Political Dilemmas

13 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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," ...

Episode 140: De Beauvoir on the Ambiguous Human Condition

30 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Episode 139: bell hooks on Racism/Sexism

09 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Episode 138: Guest John Searle on Perception

25 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Episode 137: Bourdieu on the Tastes of Social Classes

11 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

On Pierre Bourdieu's Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste (1979), introduction, ch 1 through p. 63, conclusion, and postscript. How...

Episode 136: Adorno on the Culture Industry

28 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

On Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer's "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception" from Dialectic of Enlightenment (1944), plus Adorno's "...

Episode 135: Hegel on the Logic of Basic Metaphysical Concepts

14 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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 w...

Episode 134: Hegel on Thought & World (or "Logic")

29 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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 though...

PEL Special: Nakedly Examined Music #1 with David Lowery

18 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to Nakedly Examined Music, our first spin-off of PEL. Hear more at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com or find it via iTunes. Mark interviews songwriters...

Episode 133: Erich Fromm on Love as an Art

08 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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 "fall...

Episode 132: Living Stoically with Seneca and Massimo

25 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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, 5...

Episode 131: Aristotle's "De Anima": What Is the Mind?

11 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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,...

Episode 130: Aristotle's "De Anima": What Is Life?

28 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

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 a...

Holiday Special 2015: Mark Lint's "Songs from the Partially Examined Life" with Many Guest Greetings

24 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Mark is joined by numerous previous guests to catch up and engage the musical part of PEL's past episodes by introducing and playing the entirety of M...

Episode 129: Is Faith Rational?

14 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Nathan Gilmour (Christian Humanist podcast) and Rob Dyer (God Complex Radio) join Mark and Wes for to discuss the reasonableness of religious belief r...

Episode 128: Hilary Putnam on Linguistic Meaning

30 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

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 Kripk...

Episode 127: John Dewey on Experience and the World

16 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

On Experience and Nature (1925), through ch. 4. What's the relationship between our experience and the world that science investigates? Dewey thinks t...

Episode 126: Saul Kripke on Possibilities, Language & Science

02 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

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 p...

Not School Digest: Asimov, Camus, Jaspers, Brecht, Peirce, Historical Jesus

25 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

On Isaac Asimov's "The Last Question," Albert Camus's "The Fall," Karl Jaspers's "Truth and Symbol," C.S. Peirce's "The Fixation of Belief," Bertold B...

Episode 125: Hannah Arendt on the Political & Private

12 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

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 th...

Q&A with the Partially Examined Life, Pittsburgh 9-25-15

05 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Episode 124: The Stoic Life with Epictetus

21 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

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. Nothin...

Episode 123: Economics with Hayek and Sen (Intro by Seth Benzell)

07 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

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 assum...

Ep 121/122 Aftershow on Augustine feat. James Wetzel

07 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Haven't had enough Augustine? Danny Lobell and Wes Alwan welcome Augustine scholar James Wetzel and PEL Citizens Terra Leigh Bell, Amogh Sahu, and Sco...

Episode 122: Augustine on Mind and Metaphysics

24 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

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 storehou...

Precognition of Ep. 123: Economics (F.A. Hayek and Amartya Sen)

19 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Seth Benzell outlines Hayek's "The Use of Knowledge in Society" (1945) and Sen's On Ethics and Economics (1987).

Episode 121: Augustine on Being Good

10 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Ep. 119 Aftershow (PREMIUM) on Nietzsche feat. Greg Sadler

07 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Seth Paskin and Danny Lobell were joined by Dr. Gregory B. Sadler, David Buchanan, Erik Weissengruber, Tom Kirdas, Ken Presting, and Bill Coe. Recorde...

Episode 120: A History of "Will" with Guest Eva Brann

27 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

We discuss Un-Willing: An Inquiry into the Rise of Will's Power and an Attempt to Undo It (2014) with the author, covering Socrates, Augustine, Aquina...

Ep. 118 Aftershow (PREMIUM) on Songwriting feat. ex-Camper Chris Molla

24 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

A highlight from our musician-packed breakdown of our songwriting episode. Featuring a third (ex-) member of Camper Van Beethoven, plus Chase Fiorenza...

Episode 119: Nietzsche on Tragedy and the Psychology of Art

06 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

On Friedrich Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy (1872). Nietzsche thought that you could tell how vital or decadent a civilization was by its art, and s...

Ep. 117 Aftershow (PREMIUM) on Antigone with Danny Lobell

05 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Listen to or watch the Aftershow for Episode 117 on Antigone, with Danny Lobell, Wes Alwan, and a bunch of PEL listeners like you. Also, learn about o...

Episode 118: The Musical Life with Guests from Camper van Beethoven

29 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Victor Krummenacher and Jonathan Segel join Mark and Wes to discuss songwriting and authenticity in the age of Internet consumerism. This episode pref...

Episode 117: Discussing Sophocles's "Antigone"

15 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Philosophically considering the ancient Greek tragedy, which we also performed with Lucy Lawless and Paul Provenza. End song: "Woe Is Me" (live, 2002)...

"Antigone" Read by PEL with Lucy Lawless and Paul Provenza

08 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

An unrehearsed, fun read-through of the Greek Tragedy from 441 BCE, plus some discussion with the cast of Greek drama, our selected translation, and o...

Episode 116: Freud on Dreams

25 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

On Sigmund Freud's On Dreams (1902) and other stuff. Are dreams just random, or our best key to understanding the mind? For Wes Alwan's Freud summarie...

Episode 115: Schopenhauer on Music with Guest Jonathan Segel

11 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The Camper Van Beethoven violinist/composer/multi-instrumentalist joins us to discuss The World as Will and Representation, book 3 selections.

Episode 114: Schopenhauer: "The World Is Will"

27 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

On The World As Will and Representation (1818), book 2. The world is a blind, striving force!

Episode 113: Jesus's Parables

06 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Interpreting the Parables using texts from Paul Ricoeur, John Dominic Crossan, Paul Tillich, et al, with guest Law Ware.

Episode 112: Ricoeur on Interpreting Religion

16 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

On Paul Ricoeur's "The Critique of Religion" and "The Language of Faith" (1973), with guest Law Ware. How can we apply hermeneutics to the Bible?

Episode 111: Gadamer's Hermeneutics: How to Interpret

02 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

On Hans-Georg Gadamer's Truth and Method (1960, ch. 4), "Aesthetics and Hermeneutics" (1964), "The Universality of the Hermeneutical Problem" (1966), ...

Close Reading (PREMIUM) of Heidegger on Truth

23 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Mark and Seth go line-by-line through the first half of "On the Essence of Truth" to help you understand Heidegger's language. This is a 17-min previe...

Ep. 110 Aftershow (PREMIUM) with Stephen West

22 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Stephen West returns: Citizens should log in and listen to the Aftershow on Whitehead featuring Dylan Casey and David Buchanan. Everyone can listen to...

Close Reading (PREMIUM) of Kant on the Sublime

16 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Mark and Wes go line-by-line through a chunk of the Critique of Judgment to help you feel confident decoding Kant and other difficult texts. This is a...

Episode 110: Alfred North Whitehead: What Is Nature?

02 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

On The Concept of Nature (1920). Nature, i.e. the object of our experience, is events, not things, ya dig?

Precognition of Ep. 110: Whitehead

01 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Linsenmayer outlines Alfred North Whitehead's book The Concept of Nature (1920)

Ep. 109 Aftershow (PREMIUM) with Stephen West

31 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The first chunk of our new after-the-episode discussion, featuring Stephen West from Philosophize This! and Mark Linsenmayer. This is a 20-min preview...

Episode 109: Jaspers's Existentialism with Guest Paul Provenza

19 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

On Karl Jaspers's "On My Philosophy" (1941), featuring comedian/actor/director/author Paul Provenza

Precognition of Ep. 109: Karl Jaspers

18 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Linsenmayer introduces Karl Jaspers's existentialist tract, "On My Philosophy." (1941)

Episode 108: Dangers of A.I. with Guest Nick Bostrom

06 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

On Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, and Strategies (2014) with the author. What can we predict about, and how can we control in advance, the motivat...

Episode 107: Edmund Burke on the Sublime

20 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

On A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, where young Burke lays out our knee-jerk aesthetic reactions, in...

Not Ep. 107: The 12 Interminable Days of Xmas: A Musical Extravaganza

20 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Lint and the PEL Orchestra present the longest, slowest, biggest, fattest, most surreal Christmas carol ever.

Episode 106: Pyrrhonian Skepticism According to Sextus Empiricus

04 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

On "Outlines of Pyrrhonism" from 200 C.E. Can you live while suspending judgment about all non-everyday matters? WIth guest Jessica Berry.

Episode 105: Kant: What Is Beauty?

15 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

On Critique of Judgment (1790), Part I, Book I. What is beauty? Disinterested pleasure!

Episode 104: Robert Nozick's Libertarianism

27 Oct 2014

Contributed by Lukas

On Anarchy, State & Utopia (1974), ch. 1-3 and 7. What are the moral limits on government power? No redistributive taxation, suckah! With guest Stephe...

Precognition of Ep. 104: Robert Nozick

26 Oct 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Seth Paskin introduces Anarchy, State, and Utopia about libertarianism and the limits of legitimate government power.

Episode 103: Thoreau on Living Deliberately

14 Oct 2014

Contributed by Lukas

On Henry David Thoreau's Walden (1854). Should all true philosophers go live in the woods and seek Truth in nature? Probably YOU should.

Episode 102: Emerson on Wisdom and Individuality

20 Sep 2014

Contributed by Lukas

On Ralph Waldo Emerson's "The American Scholar" lecture (1837) and his essays "Self-Reliance" and "Circles" (1841). Be yourself! Don't conform! Realiz...

Episode 101: Maimonides on God

01 Sep 2014

Contributed by Lukas

On Guide for the Perplexed about God's lack of properties, featuring guest comedian Danny Lobell of the Modern Day Philosophers podcast.

Episode 100: Plato's Symposium Live Celebration!

15 Aug 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Our big live episode (also on video) about love, sex, self-improvement, and ancient Greek pederasty! Featuring a set by Mark Lint, plus Philosophy Bro...

Episode 99: Looking Back on 100 Discussions and 5+ Years

11 Aug 2014

Contributed by Lukas

What have we learned? How has our take on the PEL project changed? On the eve before our big ep. 100 live show, we sat down to reflect on what we've b...

Episode 98: Guest Michael Sandel Against Market Society

26 Jul 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Interviewing him on his book "What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets" and continuing the discussion of his first book, "Liberalism and the ...

Episode 97: Michael Sandel on Social Justice and the Self

19 Jul 2014

Contributed by Lukas

On "Liberalism and the Limits of Justice" (1982) where Sandel critiques Rawls's version of liberalism as based on a bogus picture of us as purely choo...

Episode 96: Oppenheimer and the Rhetoric of Science Advisers

01 Jul 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Discussing Lynda Walsh's book "Scientists as Prophets: A Rhetorical Genealogy" (2013) with the author, focusing on Robert J. Oppenheimer.

Precognition of Ep. 96: Oppenheimer's Rhetoric

29 Jun 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Lynda Walsh describes her book Scientists as Prophets: A Rhetorical Genealogy, focusing on J. Robert Oppenheimer's conflicted position after WWI...

Episode 95: Gödel on Math

16 Jun 2014

Contributed by Lukas

On two unpublished essays considering the implications of Godel's incompleteness theorems and asserting mathematical realism. With guest Adi Habbu.

Precognition of Ep. 95: Gödel

15 Jun 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Adi Habbu lays out Kurt Gödel's famous incompleteness theorems and describes some highlights from "Some Basic Theorems on the Foundations of Ma...

Episode 94: Schopenhauer on Reading, Writing, and Thinking

23 May 2014

Contributed by Lukas

On Arthur Schopenhauer's essays, "On Authorship and Style," "On Thinking for Oneself," and "On Genius" (all published 1851).

Episode 93: Freedom and Responsibility (Strawson vs. Strawson)

03 May 2014

Contributed by Lukas

On P.F. Strawson's "Freedom and Resentment" (1960), Galen Strawson's "The Impossibility of Moral Responsibility" (1994), and Gary Watson's "Responsibi...

Precognition of Ep. 93: Free Will (via Strawsons)

29 Apr 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Tamler Sommers (from the Very Bad Wizards podcast) summarizes Galen Strawson's "The Impossibility of Moral Responsibility" (1994) and his father...

Episode 92: Henri Bergson on How to Do Metaphysics

12 Apr 2014

Contributed by Lukas

On Bergson's "An Introduction to Metaphysics" (1903). With guest Matt Teichman.

Precognition of Ep. 92: Henri Bergson

30 Mar 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Matt Teichman introduces Bergson's essay "An Introduction to Metaphysics."

Episode 91: Transhumanism (Plus More on Brin)

29 Mar 2014

Contributed by Lukas

More on David Brin's novel Existence, plus Nick Bostrom's essay "Why I Want to Be a Posthuman When I Grow Up" (2006). With guest Brian Casey.

Episode 90: Sci-Fi and Philosophy with Guest David Brin

26 Mar 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Discussing David Brin's novel Existence (2012) with the author. Also with guest Brian Casey.

Precognition of Ep. 90: Sci-Fi and Philosophy with David Brin

25 Mar 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Introductory salvo by Mark Linsenmayer before our interview with author David Brin.

Episode 89: Berkeley: Only Ideas Exist!

12 Mar 2014

Contributed by Lukas

On Bishop George Berkeley's Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous (1713).

Precognition of Ep. 89: Berkeley's Idealism

11 Mar 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Wes Alwan introduces George Berkeley's Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous.