Drunken Philosophy

Trigger warning for any capitalist fat cats: This episode contains some pretty harsh language directed at the economic system known as capitalism. These sick burns and criticisms come courtesy of the father of Communism himself, Karl Marx. Your hosts, Connor and Dan, break down the intrinsic flaws of capitalism, such as alienation, expendability, and instability, and offer the listener only the mo...

How can you be sure strawberries are red? How can you be sure the sun will rise tomorrow? How can you be sure Connor and Dan haven't done this exact episode before? You can't! And neither can they! But that's OK because David Hume says so. Sort of. This week, your hosts dive into epistemology once again to discuss David Hume's skeptical approach to induction. Just because something has happened in...

This week on philosophy Connor and Dan finally get back to something Connor actually gives a shit about: robutts. Specifically, whether we should be afraid of them or impressed by them. To answer these questions, your hosts consult the One Pump Chumpsky himself, Noam Chomsky. The linguistics expert from MIT has some pretty damning things to say about all this Artificial Intelligence fervor, and on...

This week on Drunken Philosophy, Connor and Dan wade into the murky waters of political philosophy and discuss the unforeseen dangers of majority rule in a democratic state. What could possibly go wrong when you let the majority decide what's best? What could be the problem with letting a small fraction of the electorate dictate the course of nation? Turns out, a lot! Featuring a brief cameo from...

This week Drunken Philosophy gets a little spooky (clanking chains!) because it's spring time and that means it's time to talk about death. Connor and Dan explore different philosophers' opinions on death and specifically whether or not we should be afraid of it. Also, because it came up completely organically, they spend an inordinate amount of time discussing Star Wars...sorry. Also, Connor's au...

This week on Drunken Philosophy, Connor and Dan dive head first into some phenomenological philosophy and see how many times they can trip over that particular phrase. They're specifically discussing Matthew Ratcliffe's recent lecture entitled Phenomenology, Naturalism, and Sense of Reality in which he attempts to describe the presupposed "world" that surrounds us in phenomenological terms. It's a...

Try, for a moment, to put yourself in somebody else's shoes. Now, hopefully that person is also listening to this podcast, otherwise you're going to miss out. This week, Connor and Dan try on all sorts of shoes as they discuss empathy and how it plays a part in different aspects on philosophy. They talk philosophy of mind and Connor admits he's an automaton. They talk morality and what pieces of c...

This week, Connor and Dan treat you to an extra sloppy episode of Drunken Philosophy. Connor took it upon himself to do some extracurricular studying this week and came over-prepared for the drinking portion of the podcast. Luckily, Dan is there to sour his mood with some truly pessimistic philosophy. They're talking about John Gray's 2002 book Straw Dogs, which takes a big crap on humanism and ba...

Who better to discuss superintelligence then two of the most super-intelligent podcasters working today? Unfortunately John Hodgman in Ira Glass were unavailable, so Connor and Dan are taking a crack at discussing Nick Bostrom and his theories on the future of hard AI, specifically as expressed in his 2014 book Superintelligence. Topics discussed: the singularity, the danger of a superintelligence...

There's a new hot little video game out on the market and maybe you've heard of it. It's called Everything and, wouldn't you know it, it's semi-related to philosophy! Specifically, the philosophy of the rascal guru himself Mr. Alan Watts. This week, Connor and Dan get in touch with the everything that exists inside every individual. They're stripping themselves of their egos and their submerging t...

Behind every great man is a woman letting him know that he's getting a bunch of shit wrong. This week on Drunken Philosophy, Connor and Dan are talking about Elisabeth of Bohemia, a super smart and savvy lady that nobody talks about for some reason. Specifically, they're talking about her influential correspondence with Renee Descartes during which she took that dumb ol' boy to school. Also discus...

This week Connor and Dan take on two master debaters. You know them, you love them, it's Chomps and the Frenchman. In 1971, these two titans of thought sat down on Dutch television to debate the existence of human nature. Almost 45 years later, two drunk guys are sitting on a podcast trying to parse out what the hell they were talking about. Other topics discussed: sub-genres of sex, being born on...

150! Seven score and ten more, as they say. That's how many intellectually stimulating eps of Drunken Philosophy there have been. And almost five of them were good! This week, Connor and Dan take a short break from the regularly scheduled programming to reminisce about episodes long past. They're talkin' movies, they're talkin' robots, and of course, they're talkin' bestiality for some reason...

What makes you the same as you? Specifically the you from five minutes ago that decided it was time to listen to this podcast? Are those two people the same person? This week on Drunken Philosophy, Connor and Dan get a little sloppy while discussing John Locke's theories on personal identity. Hear Dan try to say "consistency of consciousness" without slurring too much, and hear Connor reminisce ab...

What does the end of history look like? Is it communist? Is it capitalist? Is very chill and good? These questions and more are answered on this week's Drunken Philosophy. Connor and Dan dig into the Hegelian dialectic, the Communist Manifesto, and Francis Fukuyama's controversial post-Cold War political philosophy. Also, Connor eats nine tacos.

Welcome to the upside down! This week, Connor takes a turn at being the smart one after watching an episode of YouTuber Vsauce's new YouTube Red show that's all about AI. Alternatively, Dan takes a week off and does absolutely nothing productive for a full hour. Discussed in this ep: sexy robots, chess robots, Jeopardy robots, and, of course, Connor masturbating.

This week, Connor and Dan venture to the far east to explore the philosophy of premier Japanese philosopher Keiji Nishitani, specifically his work on nihilism and nothingness. Like with every episode that touches on Eastern philosophy, there's a lot of talk about one-ness and nirvana courtesy of two white guys who barely know what that means. Also, Connor goes to the hospital and details his date...

This week Connor and Dan dive head first into the very topical issue of refugees and totalitarian states. Though they get there through a real roundabout way via Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben and his books Homo Sacer and State Of Exception. Spoiler alert: this sh*t is complicated! Also discussed on this ep: a small amount of t-shirts, #BearLife, Dan's unwillingness to help Connor's bits, and...

How big of a role does luck play in our moral lives? Are we still to blame if certain factors are out of our control? How much are you allowed to drink at Dave & Busters? That last question might be unrelated. But that won't stop Connor and Dan from discussing it on this week's episode all about Moral Luck. Also discussed: the total dick move of drunk driving, and Connor's continued success with t...

Prepare to be bummed out! This week on DP, Connor and Dan are discussing the major bummer philosophy of Peter Wessel Zapffe, specifically his book The Last Messiah. How do humans deal with the fact that we're too dang smart? Turns out, just laying down and dying might be a good option. Hear that and so much more on this ep!

(Apologies for the white noise, Dan recorded this episode on vinyl) Connor and Dan brave the California winter storms to bring you an episode on Friedrich Nietzsche's experimental novel Thus Spoke Zarathustra. They're talkin' Ubermensch. They're talkin' eternal recurrence. And, of course, even though nobody asked them to, they're talkin' Star Wars. Stay spoke y'all!

Welcome to the new year! Unfortunately, this is still the same old podcast. This week, Connor and Dan dig into Thomas Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions. This ep is a real paradigm shift (that reference makes more sense if you listen to the episode)! Also, you'll hear Dan mix his drink with his finger, Connor lie about making out with a girl, and you'll be reminded to poke your dad. So lay...

Once again, Connor and Dan are jumping in the way back machine. They're headed to Ancient Greece to see what those old fuddy duddys had to say about free will. Do the Gods decide our fate? Are we just cogs in a cause-and-effect machine? Or do we really have control over our actions? Who cares? Hopefully you! Also in this ep: Connor learns what a cutty bang is, Ewoks in metal bikinis, and a farewel...

Just in time for the holiday season, Connor and Dan are back with a wet and wild Drunken Philosophy. This week, they're discussing the complex postmodernist theories of Jean Boudrillard. You'll find our what a simulacrum is, you'll find out if you live in a hyperreality, and you'll find out what kind of stapler Dan uses (Fair warning: you'll probably only find out that last thing). Also, Connor gr...

Do we form our own desires or do we simply copy them from someone else? Did you actually want those fajitas or did that sizzling platter just trick you into thinking so? Both those questions (mostly the second) are answered on this week's episode! Connor and Dan discuss the social philosophy of Rene Girard, mimetic desire, and the scapegoat mechanism.