The Academy Podcast

PLEASE EXCUSE THE AUDIO QUALITY! In this next episode covering Epicureanism we continue to discuss the importance of the atom, how it is composed, and its importance in understanding the soul and knowledge. Finally, after being forced to record another episode about atoms, Austin begins to understand and appreciate their importance to this more obscure ancient Greek thinker. We hope you enjoy this...

And we’re back! In our first episode recorded long distance, we begin to tackle to philosophy of Epicureanism. In this episode we discuss the ancient view of atoms, the senses, physics, and the material universe. All of which will lay the foundation for Epicurean views on knowledge and ethics. This episode was tough to get into but it came out very interesting so we hope you love it! Not to be con...

Hello and welcome back! We are excited that you could join us wherever you’re listening. In this episode we introduce the philosopher Epicurus who laid the foundation of empiricism and an ethics of hedonism. In this episode we cover his biography, discuss his school “The Garden”, and introduce the concepts we will be exploring in the coming series. Please enjoy and share us with your friends!

Merry Christmas (and Happy Birthday Steph)! Welcome to a brand new series of the Academy Podcast  where we will be covering The Discourses by Epictetus. In this episode  we give a brief overview of the history of Epictetus and Stoicism. We  also lay the foundational beliefs of the Stoics for future discussions.  Please be sure to leave a high rating and share us with your friends.  Enjoy.

Our very last episode on Plato’s Republic. The last book contains two sections: the theory of art and the myth of Er. Respectively they deal with Plato’s theory of aesthetics and his views of the afterlife and cosmology. We end up arguing over the Theory of Art for most of the episode but we still think you will enjoy this conclusion as we reflect back on the coverage of our very first book. Pleas...

Happy Birthday, Stephenie! Our tenth episode and second to last on our full coverage of Plato’s Republic. In this episode we discuss Plato’s hatred of democracy and the city-soul dichotomy from previous episodes. This also happens to be Plato’s final argument stating the case for living a just life before he concludes with the myth of Er.

And we’re back! We are now nearing the end of the Republic so our conversations continue to go over the finer details of Plato’s philosophy. In this episode we cover what kind of education is necessary to make a philosopher. How does the study of math, music, and astronomy allow us to know the forms. And why is the practice of dialectic so important to philosophy for Plato. The conversation eventu...

After failing to cover the entirety of the Forms in one episode, we have returned to the discussion to go over Plato’s metaphors of the Sun, the dividing line, and the Cave. We expand upon the general understanding of these allegories and the conversation turns from a talk on philosophy to a deep discussion on faith, the soul, immortality, divinity, and revelation. In this episode we peel back the...

Welcome back! We have finally reached our coverage of The Forms, one of Plato’s most important and controversial contributions to the field of philosophy. In this episode we lay the groundwork for why Plato believes in these universal concepts which he calls The Forms. We talk at great length about the realm of opinion or Doxa, the difference between a sight lover and a philosopher, the argument o...

Here we are at our sixth episode on Plato’s Republic and we have finally arrived at the section regarding the Philosopher King. We will be breaking up our coverage of the Philosopher King into three distinct episodes: what makes a philosopher king, the forms and their contemplation, and how the philosopher should be educated. This episode we cover the qualities of what makes a philosopher, what di...

Hello and welcome to Episode V of our continued coverage of Plato’s Republic. This week we take on Plato’s statements about women, the family, children, and sex. We cover a wide variety of topics like sexism, the common good, the purpose of sex, and the philosophy of embodiment. Also, Aaron struggles not to fat shame and gets passionate about a marriage that he doesn’t have. Is Plato a Marxist fem...

In this episode we cover the four virtues which Plato says are necessary for both the good state as well as the good individual; wisdom, courage, self-discipline, and justice. We define each of these in detail and lay the foundation for Plato’s ethical philosophy. The second part of this episode covers the psychology of the Platonic soul, the soul of three parts which contains reason, spirit, and...

Hope your last week was well, here is the third installment on our coverage of Plato’s Republic. In this episode we focus in on the transition between book III and IV of the Republic. We discuss Plato’s mythical lie for the basis of his society, the necessity of a good education, introduce the concept of the soul, and talk about whether good men need rules. This episode digs a bit further into a s...

Welcome once again to the Academy Podcast! In this week's episode, we discuss books II and III of Plato’s Republic. We go over the origins of Plato’s fictional society, introduce the Guardian class in the Republic, define thumos (spirit), and give an introduction to Plato’s philosophy on education. It was a fantastic discussion and we know you will enjoy it! If you would like to support the Academ...

Welcome to the Academy Podcast! Today Austin and Aaron discussed book I of Plato’s Republic. In this discussion, Austin and Aaron introduced the main dialogue of the book, present the virtue of the elderly, and define important terms such as techne (skill in craft), episteme (theoretical knowledge) and eudaimonia (complete happiness), and how they relate to Plato’s view of Justice. We hope you enj...

Join us as we discuss the historical background of Plato's Republic . 

Hello and welcome to the Academy Podcast! Thank you for checking us out. We are a philosophy podcast that aims to unpack the ideas presented in great philosophical works. This episode is just a brief introduction into what we are all about and what we hope to accomplish for all of our listeners. Thanks for stopping by and please share us with your friends.