Philosophy After Hours

Bethany needs advice. She can no longer rely on her body to take care of itself, and recognizes the importance of fitness as she is getting older, but she hates it and finds nothing rewarding about it. What, then, is she to do? Aaron and Jp both speak about their motivation behind wanting to stay fit, including a psychological complex and the desire to simply not make noises when you get up from a...

In this episode we discuss personal grooming and the role played by practices of self-nurturing in the formation of the social self. What do our grooming habits tells us about who we are? How might brushing one's hair or showering be relevant to one's political and civic participation? Can cuticle care shed light on our metaphysics? In answering these questions, we entertain a long discussion on t...

In this episode we begin with a discussion of Zen and the practice of the koan , which serves as a starting point for our more prolonged back-and-forth on the nature/value of egolessness in the Buddhist tradition. Aaron is insistent in his disavowal of egolessness and its implications, and although Bethany wishes to be more persuaded by the notion, she falls within Aaron's camp, for the most part....

In this episode we return to a discussion about the value of sex in relationships. (See Part 1 - ep. 142 - to get caught up on the conversation - although you don't need to listen to it to appreciate this episode.) Here, we talk about what's involved in "primary" relationships. What role does sex play in establishing certain relationships as  primary? How do we fairly negotiate the time and energy...

In this episode we talk about value. What does it mean to value something? How does money, as a marker of value, align with or contradict other markers of value (e.g., affection)? We all know the story of the underpaid teacher, who does what they love. But what do you do when what you love isn't valued by the market? This discussion explores that tension, attempting to identify ways to address our...

In this episode we explore the difference between sex-including unions (like marriages) and sex-excluding unions (like bestfriends). Does the erotic activity of sex necessarily mean that couples engaging in this activity reach deeper levels of intimacy than those that do not? Aaron, Bethany, and Jp all agree that our contemporary society values sex-including unions to a greater extent than sex-exc...

Growing tired of the word 'intimacy' to describe her work, Bethany puts forward "the Primal:" an experience beyond conceptualization, that which horrifies us and transcends language. After a brief discussion of intimacy, Bethany outlines--to the extent possible--primal experience. Have we made the mistake of avoiding the primal or believing ourselves to have sufficiently narrativized it, and in do...

We're gone this week, but here's a quick look at our Last Call episode on chart readings. As a follow up to our discussion of astrology, Kelsie (aka DJ Chia Pudding ) was so kind to give each of us a peek into what our astrological signs indicate about our personalities. Among other things, we learn that Bethany is dedicated to philosophy, Aaron is irritable and classy, and Jp has the jolly spirit...

In this Shooting the Shit episode, we begin with Bethany recounting her inspiration-filled week, which included the act of letter writing. Aaron had his wisdom teeth removed a few days prior to recording, and the lingering pain of that surgery directed his attention towards the inescapablness of the bodily experience--Levinas and phenomenology are brought up, of course. We spend the last half of t...

In this episode we talk our movements - and the conditions that organize them. What do our transportation habits and infrastructure reveal about our social norms? Who yields to whom when passing on a narrow sidewalk? How functional are our organizing systems of movement, and do they reflect more freedom or constraint? These are some of the questions we entertain in a winding discussion about our e...

In this episode we talk about the media genre of true crime and its effects on its viewers. Why are people so fascinated by true crime shows and podcasts? Ennui? Morbid fascination? A desire for a greater sense of security? Death drive? Next, we address what we think viewers are taking away from these shows, and we conclude with the suggestion that they are more harmful than good.  If you like wha...

In this episode we're joined by our good friend Kelsie (aka DJ Chia Pudding ) to talk about astrology. Kelsie speaks with us about how she uses astrology as a language to navigate experience. Along the way, we consider some of the differences between ancient and modern forms of astrology, talk about ways that astrological thinking shows up in other areas of social life, and emphasize the importanc...

"Today, Bethany wonders why she gets into a fighting stance whenever she reads a seminal work by William James. Aaron and Jp set her straight--as far as that's possible!" ~ Bethany In this episode, our conversation revolves around a line from James' chapter "Stream of Thought" in  Principles of Psychology . We investigate the following excerpt: "The only states of consciousness that we naturally d...

In this episdoe we're joined by a dear friend Matt to talk about the generalist and the specialist. These could be said to reflect two different approaches to scholarship/research/knowledge production. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each, and we consider how their distinct contributions might participate in an environment of disciplinary pluralism. To learn more about the show, inc...

In this episode we discuss critical thinking. What is it exactly? It often seems too generic of a concept to be useful. Is there any specificity worth rescuing here? We find our way toward a distinction between critical thinking  as  a skill - a mere set of technical procedures - and critical thinking as  a practice - a more encompassing activity directed toward the social and ecological suitabili...

In this episode we talk about ancestor worship and discuss the import and significance of this practice. After spending some time articulating what is meant by both 'ancestor' and 'worship,' Bethany and Jp spend the remainder of the episode addressing Aaron's skepticism around the value of this quasi-religious practice, including: What is the value of ancestor worship? Why 'worship' and not 'respe...

In this episode we attempt to rescue metaphysics from obscurity and irrelevancy. We begin by rating the branches of philosophy from the perspective of a layperson. Bethany then provides a summary of metaphysics and goes on to suggest that, although the hard sciences are a worthwhile endeavor, we have forgotten that science doesn't happen in a vacuum and that through metaphysics we can explore what...

In this episode we discuss the concept of "aesthetics," a prompt given to us by our best-looking and first Patreon subscriber, Charles. As one of Bethany's primary areas of expertise, she begins with an introduction of aesthetics and explains Dewey's use of the term "aesthetic experience." Jp muses on this term befitting his experiences of emptiness (subject/object dissolution) and Aaron suggests...

In this Shooting the Shit episode, Bethany complains about her new car and we chat about driverless features, Jp talks about a Bluey show he recently attended, and we lean into a discussion of contemporary kid shows vrs. 90's kid shows. Aaron discusses his weekend activities, the struggles of being a White Sox fan, and proposes a question that we focus on for the last 1/3rd of the show: how do we...

In this episode we discuss self-affirmation and the many guises it takes in contemporary culture. What does healthy self-affirmation look like? When is it used as a license to justify anti-social behavior? Perhaps understanding self-affirmation calls us to further examine both the meaning of affirmation and the concept of the "self" that is affirmed. Is it about validating an individual's feelings...

In this episode we examine the value of mind-altering substances. We begin  in medias res with a spirited debate about whether indica and sativa still make sense as categories for cannabis, and then we lay out some questions: How do we appraise the insights we have while under the influence? How do we weight those experiences, and to what extent is it possible to carry them with us into our day-to...

In this episode we throw our usual format out the window. With JP out of town, Aaron and Bethany dig up some old essays and read from them in an effort to make fun of themselves…but ultimately find they still vibe with a lot of it. To learn more about the show, including how to become a Patreon subscriber, find us at   philosophyafterhours.com.

We had a whole normal show planned for this episode, but we were tired this day; the vibes were off and mercury was in retrograde. Instead, we began by proposing the activity of coping when things just kinda suck, and found life again in a discussion around the narrative of meaningful labor. Is the idea of a 'dream job' just capitalist propaganda? Or, rather, meaningful labor does exist, but such...

In this episode we're glad to be joined by Richard Polt. Richard is a professor of philosophy and Bethany's colleague at Xavier University. We discuss a paper he's been working on entitled "The Crisis of Anticrisis," wherein he addresses the fatigue people often feel when faced with the demand for democratic negotiation. It's easy to want simple answers, but democracy is messy, and it requires ong...

In this episode Bethany talks about what it's like to be a woman in the world of professional philosophy. Spoiler: People don't really like it when girls have opinions. Why does she keep at it, then? No one knows. Also covered: The first time our hosts each taught a class, how Aaron has received pushback from other Black philosophers for not working on philosophy of race, and how marginalized peop...