Philosophy After Hours

We're working on something special for ep. 100, and we aren't quite ready to drop that yet. So, we're taking a little half-step toward 100, and we've got a casual conversation about Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs) and love. We muse about the fascination of (apparently) inexplicable events in the sky. We then ask about whether love needs a facelift, if it's too cliche to be reliably believed....

In this episode, Aaron and Bethany ( sans Jp) discuss the value of originality. Does originiality necessarily enhance the significance of a work, or do we overestimate the value of novelty? Are we afraid of being original because it would require vulnerability, and so choose irony? Is sincerity, perhaps, a superior quality than originality?  If you like what you hear, find us on Patreon at patreon...

In this episode Jp shares a recent medical scare in the family and we enter into a discussion about the inevitable death of those around us. How do we properly relate to the death of a loved one? What can such an experience hope to teach us?  If you like what you hear, check us out on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo for more content. Text: Jp Cohan, "Portions from a Eulogy," 2018  

In this episode we discuss attention and the way it functions and is valued in contemporary capitalist society. We draw a distinction between 'lantern' and 'spotlight' attention and try to account for the relationship between the two. Further, we ask whether our value of attention is always mediated by social interpretation, or whether the ontology of attention evidences its own meaning?  If you l...

Hey y'all! Aaron and I took last Friday off, so unfortunately we do not have a new main episode for you this week. However, here is a little trailer from our recent Patreon episode that should tide you over until next week. Enjoy!  And if this shit sounds good to you--because it is good--check out our Patreon content at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo. 

In this Last-Call-turned-main-episode, we discuss the relationship between the experience of happiness and cognition of the brutal and depressing realities of the world. Does being happy require one, to some extent, to turn away from those realities? Are the affects of happiness and sorrow weighted differently? Is there strategic import to ignorance?  If you like what you hear, find us on Patreon...

In this episode we talk about the culture and mindset of Silicon Valley. How revolutionary are the ideas coming out of Silicon Valley? How socially useful are the products and services of our great innovators? Does the drive toward innovation become fetishized, blinding us to the fact that (in many cases) we don't suffer from a lack of bold, creative ideas but from a lack of political will to equi...

In this episode, inspired by Aaron's discussion on alcohol, Jp shares his relationship to vanity and expresses concern for his sometimes obsessive want to feel attractive. We question whether or not his feelings really are obsessive and, if so, is that really so bad? We eventually articulate two distinct forms: healthy vanity and toxic vanity. Join us for Jp's therapy session!  If you like what yo...

In this episode we get a little personal and talk about Aaron's relationship to alcohol and its (presumed) utility for philosophical practice? Does lowering one's inhibitions actually ripen the possibility for engagement, or does it dull the intellectual faculties to the point of uselessness? What would be the balance between drunkenness and sobriety in view of philosophical engagement? Doubtless...

In this episode we give an assessment of the "normalize this" trend abundant on social media. We intended to discuss normalization in a more theoretical sense, but the realites of the trend often proved less serious than a genuine call for social/political change. Instead, Aaron and I talk about the 'capacious semantic function' of the word and that maybe some of y'all need to stop taking it so se...

In this Shooting the Shit episode, JP and I talk about his recent solo adventure to see Orville Peck, my highlights of the work week, and we cheers to my birthday. Enjoy! If you like what you hear, check us out on Patreon at  patreon.com/therilkeanzoo  for more content.  Text: Byung-Chul Han,  The Burnout Society , trans. Erik Butler (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2015), 38.

We're so happy to be joined by our dear friend Bethany Henning on this episode to talk about aesthetic experience. We ask about the nature, function, and possibility of a genuine aesthetic experience, and we talk about the relationship between aesthetics and politics. We'll have what would have been our regularly scheduled "Shooting the Shit" episode for you next week. If you like what you hear, c...

In this episode we ask whether or not our history with social media has conditioned us to desire social relationships that - in a previous age - would've be interpreted as disconnected. If we've grown comfortable having our relationships mediated by apps, screens, and social media platforms, how unfortunate is that state of affairs actually?  If you like what you hear, check us out on Patreon at p...

In this episode we discuss the oppressive experience of 'clock time' in the modern, neoliberal world. After all, "time is money". Can we create a world in which this oppressive experience is mitigated? Eliminated? Should we get rid of clock time altogether? We end with a discussion of Aaron's perpetual tardiness and the internalization of the capitalist value of promptness.  If you like what you h...

In this episode we take on the subject of art as knowledge production. We might often be inclined to see the artistic production as pleasing or entertaining but not necessarily as generative of knowledge. We might not see a feature film, say, as a work of scholarship . We draw a boundary between "the creative" and "the intellectual". However, do we do ourselves a disservice if we fail to appreciat...

We are throwing up another Last Call for ya'll this week. Aaron and I discuss my summer jobs in the service industry and irrigation, and the suggestion is made that my cheerful disposition is a sign of my privilege and a lack of proper commisseration with my fellow worker. We are going to be back on course this coming Friday with a proper epsiode on Art and Intelligence--so stay tuned!  If you lik...

We took a week off, but instead of dipping into the archive, we thought we'd throw up a recent Last Call recording. In our answers to three questions, we talk about some important concepts, texts, and advice that have been instrumental to our philosophical education. If you like what you hear, check us out on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo for more content.  No text this time!

In this episode we attempt to answer the question "Is Gen Z apathetic?" Is the perceived apathy of Gen Z a misunderstanding, and is instead an aesthetics of rebellion? Are their suicide memes just for the lulz? Is apathy in the face of our political and economic institutions a flaw or feature of our system?  If you like what you hear, check us out on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo for more c...

In this episode we take up the second part of our planned discussion of sociality. We spend the better part of the episode trying to answer the following question: Does the fact of our sociality tells us anything interesting about what forms of social life we ought to realize?  If you like what you hear, check us out on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo for more content.  Text: John Denver, "Su...

In this episode we discuss the act of charity and its form in our contemporary world: an individualistic act of giving that is often mediated through private organizations. We air our many grievances against this form of charity and end with a discussion of 'charity reimagined;' that is, what would the act of charity/giving look like beyond philanthro-capitalism?  If you like what you hear, check...

In this episode we talk about what we think "social" refers to when we say that humans are social beings. In many of our episodes, we harp on the importance of avoiding overly individualistic conceptions of the human person in favor of sociality. But what is this sociality? Should we think it has ontological and normative primacy over the individual? Listen to our musings in Part I of the conversa...

In this episode we rhapsodize about our love of wine and the creative engagement that it can facilitate, the fear and anxiety associated with performing and Aaron's solution to this problem, and we conclude with a current event from Aaron's life and the spark of joy that it has brought with it.  If you like what you hear, check us out on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo for more content.  Text...

In this episode we discuss Fashion and the symoblic and value systems inherent to it. Can one ever 'dress for oneself'? Can one ever remove oneself from these systems associated with the clothes you wear? Should we desire to?  If you like what you hear, find us on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo.com for more episdoes.  Text: Li Po, Arthur Cooper trans., "Coming Down from Chung-Nan Mountain By...

In this episode we continue our discussion of the relationship between theory and praxis. We consider the primary ways the relationship has been configured historically, and try to make sense of how each is productive in bringing about meaningful change. If you like what you hear, find us on Patreon at  patreon.com/therilkeanzoo  for more episodes. Text: Nicholas Wolterstorff,  Art in Action: Towa...

We dipped into the lost tapes archive for our post this week. This episode was recorded back in late-2019, the early days of the Zoo. We discuss scientism, the concept of objectivity, and the importance of respecting a plural notion of truth. We cap off the episode with a light discussion about drugs. If you like what you hear, find us on Patreon at  patreon.com/therilkeanzoo  for more episodes. T...