Fools and Sages

Paul Fenn: Liberty, Democracy, Localism and The Bloody Rhinoceros Head 77 wherein The Fools discuss, with author, activist, political philosopher Paul Fenn, his latest work, The Localist Manifesto. In 1995 Paul co-authored the nation's landmark municipal aggregation legislation in Massachusetts and authored California's 2002 Community Choice (CCA) law, Assembly Bill 117. Since then, Fenn h...

In this conversation, Brian and Boaz explore various themes including the challenges of climate change, the complexities of infrastructure development, the role of authority in collective action, and the balance between individual desires and the suffering of others. They delve into philosophical discussions about idealism versus materialism, the importance of social cohesion, and the ethical impl...

We discuss the idea of "combating hate " and the dangers of generalities, evolving into a discussion of aspects of Marxism, materialism and finally a discussion of ideas of The Self and their connection to our lives, our self-understanding and ultimately our self-fulfillment. And the tricky handling of this slippery fish in general. As always not scripted, not AI.

Us fools talk with physicist rabbi Jack Shlacter about bridging the gulf between the material and the spiritual, free will, determinism, antisemitism and the Judaic traditions thru time.

We discuss the wisdom that Aristotle called the "Charioteer of the virtues" without which all our other virtues would be "blind"...what it is, how it comes about and more...plus we touch on rationality in daily life and that slipperiest of all fishes, happiness...

Life in the Dangerous Middle....in the liminal zones are found both life and creativity, the space between light and dark, between order and chaos, between waking life and the world of dreams....join us to explore the secrets of dancing on that line...

Larry Shapiro, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at University of Wisconsin, joins these Fools to talk about why it’s essential for philosophy to play a central role in other disciplines. In particular, as science attempts to answer some of the “big questions of philosophy” - free will, consciousness, and happiness - philosophy has a great deal to offer. Larry introduces ideas from his upcoming boo...

When you think about it, forgiveness is pretty weird, and these Fools have some questions: What does it really mean to forgive? What happens inside of us when we forgive? Can we show someone kindness without forgiving them? Does forgiving make us better? Must the other person have a role, i.e., repentance? What is the relationship between forgiveness and justice? These fools discuss. Hope you enjo...

How much is it our choice to belong, versus the situation being right? An interesting topic, especially for two Fools who, growing up, didn’t feel they belonged. A discussion of fate, destiny, karma, and the story of Oedipus Rex follow as we explore aspects of belonging, autonomy, the relationship between religion and mysticism, and other aspects and implications of being in the very human predica...

Dr. Michael Wolfe, tutor at St. John’s College and leader of the Middle Eastern studies program there, joins these Fools for a great discussion. Since discovering him in graduate school, Dr. Wolfe was and remains captivated by the great 12th-century Sufi mystic Ibn-al-Arabi, and we go pretty deep into his views on the nature of God, consciousness, and reality (is it a dream? Could synchronicity ex...

Professor Steven Nadler of the University of Wisconsin joins these Fools to talk about the life and work of Baruch Spinoza, who was expelled from Judaism in the 1600s for his radical views on God and Nature. We discuss Spinoza’s view on living a successful life, the ideas of Freedom and Passion, whether Free Will can exist, and also other areas in Nadler’s realm of expertise such as medieval Jewis...

Erik Erikson, renowned psychoanalyst and student of Sigmund Freud, says we have these innate drives around which ego and consciousness are formed. This brings up a discussion of the ego and its relationship to free will, that elusive philosophical question. Also arising is the Herculean task we are all given - to bind the internal and external world in our attempt to make sense. Enjoy the journey!...

In the Fools and Sages One Year Anniversary Episode, these fools discuss various aspects of the nature of “madness” and the role it plays in society, and in human creativity and evolution. Threads of the conversation include “transgenerational trauma,” comparing the cognitive models offered by shamanism and western psychology, and the relationship between madness and the idea of a collective mind....

Glenna Gerard has been involved in education, business, and consulting for over 30 years, much of that as a practitioner, facilitator, and teacher of “Bohm Dialogue,” a method for creating shared understanding, and even shared meaning, developed by the Nobel Prize-winning quantum physicist, David Bohm. Glenna joins these Fools for a far-ranging conversation that touches on many topics, including h...

It seems we see the world through a somewhat warped perspective. Where everything is interconnected, we see individual elements. As a result, human beings can uniquely manipulate the physical world, which helps us evolutionarily. But, just like quantum physics applies different rules than Newtonian mechanics, we need a different way of seeing reality if we want to apprehend its wholeness, rather t...

The sentencing of Brian Kohberger in the infamous University of Idaho murders triggers a discussion of justice. What is justice, even? How have our concepts of it evolved? How can justice be achieved? What is the relationship between justice and morality, and does serving justice require the commitment of immoral acts? What is the relationship between justice and “social justice?” How are justice...

Does consciousness arise from matter, or does matter arise from consciousness? Or, wait: what about both??? These Fools discuss the often-revisited philosophical idea of “The Great Chain of Being” along with the French philosopher Henri Bergson’s idea of “creative evolution,” and explore the implications of whether consciousness is an epi-phenomenon (a byproduct, as of brain activity,) or central...

These Fools examine humanity’s relationship to Truth - our desire for objective truth despite its subjective nature, and our love and reverence for it, and how philosophy attempts to make sense of the mysterious and unknowable. Patreon: patreon.com/FoolsandSagesPodcast X: https://x.com/sagetimepodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foolsandsagespodcast/ See the Fools and Sages show notes: ht...

Brian reads the short poem, The Second Coming, by WB Yeats, written after WWI, and these Fools discuss its imagery, historical context, and philosophical implications. Patreon: patreon.com/FoolsandSagesPodcast X: https://x.com/sagetimepodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foolsandsagespodcast/ See the Fools and Sages show notes: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GVCVW1h2_-4JOU22KREzTO...

These Fools examine anger through psychological and philosophical frameworks. Is it a “secondary emotion?” A signal of other internal material? What does it mean to not be a victim of our own anger, and how do we go about living in healthy relationship with our anger?  Patreon: ⁠patreon.com/FoolsandSagesPodcast⁠ X: ⁠https://x.com/sagetimepodcast⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/foolsandsages...

These Fools go into Brian’s history and discuss key teachers he had in his formative chapters learning fighting and later, internal martial arts. Brian shares stories from his early days learning from Peter Lee, and offers some glimpses into martial arts theory not often available to the layperson. patreon.com/FoolsandSagesPodcast https://x.com/sagetimepodcast https://www.instagram.com/foolsandsag...

These Fools are thrilled to welcome special guest Krishnan Venkatesh, a philosophy professor at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, NM and formative member of St. John’s Eastern Classics Graduate Program. A rich discussion starts out with whether there are core differences between Eastern and Western philosophy, and touches on many topics, including the influence of Eastern thought on American thinker...

These Fools chat about the significance of hats, from their roles protecting us from weather in various climates to the role of the head itself as the seat of consciousness. This leads to a discussion of meditation, the relative merits of standing and sitting for it, and insights about the mind-body connection, drawing on Brian’s deep experience in martial arts.  foolsandsagespodcast.com patreon.c...

This week these Fools discuss the advent of cryptocurrency. What does it represent in the evolution of Marshall MacLuhan’s “extensions of man?” How do ideas like local currency relate to crypto? How do currencies and economics relate to nature itself? How is crypto relevant to the rest of a new chapter unfolding? Patreon: patreon.com/FoolsandSagesPodcast X: https://x.com/sagetimepodcast Instagram:...

These Fools explore the idea of the “Self” and how various thinkers have conceptualized it. Does the Self only exist in a religious context? Who are we in a secular world? The need to know the Self and understand its relationship to subjects such as consciousness and time, may be the most important catalyst of philosophy itself. Join these Fools for the journey! patreon.com/FoolsandSagesPodcast ht...