Open Door Philosophy

Send us Fan Mail It's our 50th episode, and we decided to celebrate by answering your questions! Do we have free will? What's a philosophical tv show/movie we like?  What got us into philosophy, and what keeps us there? And more! Plus a little retrospective, some looking forward, and a lot of laughs! Contact us via email at opendoorphilosophy@gmail.com Open Door Philosophy on Instagram @...

Send us Fan Mail *cue dramatic music* Out of the ashes of World War II arose a philosophy based on embracing the absurdism of existence, being authentic, and enduring the existential nausea that resulted.  One of it's many champions was French  philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, who scaled the mountain of criticism to become one of the most popularly known figures of the mid-twentieth century. Wit...

Send us Fan Mail One of the most popular philosophers of the mid 20th century and influential member of 2nd wave feminism, Existentialist Simone de Beauvoir was a significant novelist, essayist, autobiographer, and champion of social issues. Join us as we explore and discuss the life and ideas of Simone de Beauvoir.  Episode Resources: Becoming Beauvoir  by Kate Kirkpatrick  How To Be Authentic by...

Send us Fan Mail Join us as we review our favorite books we read in 2022! Contact us via email at opendoorphilosophy@gmail.com Open Door Philosophy on Instagram @opendoorphilosophy Open Door Philosophy website at opendoorphilosophy.com

Send us Fan Mail A staple of Alcoholics Anonymous is the surrender of agency to a providential, theistic god, but what exactly does this mean? And are there other ways to connect with our spiritual center? Peg O'Connor thinks so. Join us as Peg offers us a field guide to William James' great work The Varieties of Religious Experience through her wonderful new book on overcoming addiction...

Send us Fan Mail In our episode on Plato, we quoted Alfred North Whitehead as saying, “All of philosophy is a series of footnotes to Plato.” For almost 1500 years, however, many philosophers and historians believed that all of knowledge, including philosophy, was a footnote to Aristotle. The Philosopher, as he is known, contributed greatly in fields of biology to rhetoric, physics to ethics. But w...

Send us Fan Mail The 20th century English/American philosopher Alfred North Whitehead once famously said “All of philosophy is a series of footnotes to Plato.” Though a highly contested claim, no matter where you land on it, the quote does at least cause one to consider the inescapable presence of Plato. Who was this follower of Socrates who founded a school after which schools across the globe ar...

Send us Fan Mail One of the big three stoic sources from antiquity is Epictetus, and central to any understanding of such works is a good translation, yet the work of translation is not a straight forward task of simply taking words in another language and finding their equivalent in whatever language it is your are translating it into. Robin Waterfield is a celebrated translator of many ancient G...

Send us Fan Mail Imagine you’re in Ancient Athens, around 410 BCE, walking through the local market. There, an older man approaches you and begins to pepper you with questions. They start off simple enough, but by the end, you end up, annoyed, disagreeing with what you first claimed to be true. This man was probably Socrates, the most famous and influential philosopher of all time. But Socrates is...

Send us Fan Mail Most people are generally aware of the story that philosophy began a very long time ago in Greece, and the three largely responsible for its beginning were Plato, Aristotle, and the great Socrates, but they weren’t the first philosophers. There was a rich tradition of thinkers who came before The Big Three, an unaffiliated group who demonstrated a degree of curiosity that would be...

Send us Fan Mail What if you had a magic object, say a ring, that when used would render you invisible, allowing for you to get away with whatever you wanted? How would you use this power? For good actions, or bad? And what is good (virtue) and bad (vice) anyway? Join us as we unpack this classic thought experiment from Plato's  The Republic. Open Door Philosophy on Twitter @d_parsonage or @o...

Send us Fan Mail If God has all the omni traits associated with theism, such as being all powerful, all knowing, and all good, how then can we square the fact that human begins, supposedly loved by God, encounter and endure so much suffering and evil? It seems like God, being all powerful, could get us out of this aspect of existence. Join us for this final episode of our introductory series on th...

Send us Fan Mail How can I live authentically in a 21st century context given all the brute facts of not only my life, but the seemingly inflexible conditions of existence? Philosopher Dr. Skye Cleary has tapped into the rich life and philosophy of French existentialist Simone de Beauvoir to offer us some answers to such questions with her new book How To Be Authentic:  Simone de Beauvoir and the...

Send us Fan Mail It seems almost intuitive that the universe and everything within is intelligently designed, but Charles Darwin's theory of Evolution By Natural Sections turned the argument on its head. Join us as we discuss the Teleological Argument, or the Argument from Design, in this latest series on topics related to the Philosophy of Religion.  Open Door Philosophy on Twitter @d_parson...

Send us Fan Mail This episode we look at yet another proof of God, this time one which argues that God is a necessary aspect in the creation of the universe. This is known as the Cosmological Argument and is championed by many great thinkers, including Thomas Aquinas. Also included is a riveting game of Name that Saint! This is part 3 of our series on the Philosophy of Religion.   Open Door Philos...

Send us Fan Mail Many attempt to prove God's existence based on experience, but what if there were a way to prove the existence of God by using nothing but logic? Sound fishy? Anslem of Canterbury didn't think so. Join us as we look at the Ontological argument, most famously put forth by Anselm.  Open Door Philosophy on Twitter @d_parsonage or @opendoorphil Open Door Philosophy on Instag...

Send us Fan Mail Join us for this multi-part series on the philosophy of religion. We begin with discussing the scope of this particular branch of philosophy, and then discuss what we can and cannot know about God, which include attributes such as omnipotence and omnibenevolence.  We'd love to hear from you! Below are ways you can best contact the show.   Open Door Philosophy on Twitter @d_pa...

Send us Fan Mail What are thought experiments? What role do they play in philosophy, and how might they be helpful to us in our own lives? Join us for this special episode with guest Dr. Helen De Cruz as we discuss her latest book, Philosophy Illustrated: Forty-Two Thought Experiments To Broaden your Mind. Open Door Philosophy on Twitter @d_parsonage or @opendoorphilOpen Door Philosophy on Instagr...

Send us Fan Mail Critical of philosophy as a discipline too focused on abstract theory, French philosopher Pierre Hadot posits that ancient philosophy is meant to be an aid to living well. In this episode we provide commentary and analysis of his essay Spiritual Exercises from his book Philosophy as a Way of Life on topics such as learning to die, dialoguing, and other aspects critical to living a...

Send us Fan Mail Critical of philosophy as a discipline too focused on abstract theory, French philosopher Pierre Hadot posits that ancient philosophy is meant to be an aid to living well. In this episode we unpack his essay Spiritual Exercises from his book Philosophy as a way of life. In the following episode, we will provide commentary and analysis.  Open Door Philosophy on Twitter @d_parsonage...

Send us Fan Mail Born into slavery in the first century, Epictetus founded a school of philosophy and became a stoic master. Join us for an overview of the life and philosophy of Epictetus. This is part four of our series on Stoic thinkers. Open Door Philosophy on Twitter @d_parsonage or @opendoorphil Open Door Philosophy on Instagram @opendoorphilosophy Open Door Philosophy website at opendoorphi...

Send us Fan Mail Born in the second century, Marcus Aurelius is one of the best known philosophical thinkers and highly regarded for his book "Meditations". Join us as we review the life and philosophy of the Roman emperor and Stoic thinker Marcus Aurelius. This is part three of our series on Stoic thinkers. Open Door Philosophy on Twitter @d_parsonage or @opendoorphilOpen Door Philosoph...

Send us Fan Mail This episode focuses on the life and philosophy of Roman statesman and Stoic practitioner Seneca the Younger. Plus an advert to get you in the outdoor grilling frame of mind! This is part two of our series on Stoic thinkers.  Open Door Philosophy on Twitter @d_parsonage or @opendoorphil  Open Door Philosophy on Instagram @opendoorphilosophy  Open Door Philosophy website at opendoo...

Send us Fan Mail The beginning of a four part series on the stoic thinkers Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. This episode focuses on the history and central tenants of stoicism, plus a Houston Rodeo themed sponsorship! Open Door Philosophy on Twitter @d_parsonage or @opendoorphilOpen Door Philosophy on Instagram @opendoorphilosophyOpen Door Philosophy website at opendoorphilosophy.comContact...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we answer questions submitted by our listeners! Are insects worthy of moral consideration? What topics do we like to debate? Are humans inherently entitled to anything? Plus a special advert with an eye on summer, and a visit to the quote corner! Open Door Philosophy on Twitter @d_parsonage or @opendoorphil Open Door Philosophy on Instagram @opendoorphilosophy Open...