The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content. Discussing On the Concept of Irony (1841). Kierkegaard builds up to telling us what irony is by showing how Socrates invented irony, as characterized by his wholly negative project of showing others that their beliefs inherited from society are wrong. The post Ep. 329: Kierkegaard on Irony (Part One) first appeared on...

Returning freedom fighters Andrew and Linda and join Bill and Mark to talk about philosophical liberalism: Its rationales and varieties. Plus, preschool orientation, and Greek gods creating a new world. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com . Hear more at philosophyimprov.com . Support the podcast to get all our post-game discuss...

Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a supporter-exclusive, guest-free part three to this episode. Listen to a preview. . Continuing from part one on The Identity Trap (2023). Which works better to achieve social progress; classical liberalism, or strategies involving emphasis of identity group membership? Do we even have to pick a side, or can...

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the original 1973 film (and the 1971 novel), the new Exorcist: Believer , with some talk of the early sequels. What makes the original film so scary? Its adjacency to real-life parental fears? Does the new film really dialogue intelligently with that original? Is demonic possession an inherently problematic plot device? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com...

Wes & Erin discuss the final 12 books of “The Odyssey," translated by Emily Wilson. The post (SUB)TEXT: Terminal Wooings in “The Odyssey” (Part 3 of 3) first appeared on The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast .

Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content. On The Identity Trap (2023), an intellectual history of wokeness (aka "the identity synthesis") and defense of philosophical liberalism against this set of ideas. Are our differences more important than that which unites us? The post Ep. 328: Guest Yascha Mounk Against Identity Politics (Part One) first appeared on Th...

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss the groundbreaking Native-written/starring TV show about four teens trying to get away from their Oklahoma reservation, getting into its treatment of death, community, wokeness, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Chann...

Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this ad-free, plus a supporter-exclusive Nightcap discussion that gets more into bullshit, hypocrisy, and more. . On Frankfurt's essay "The Importance of What We Care About" (1982), which distinguishes the question of what to value from ethical questions and explores the extent to which deciding what to care about is a free act. The post Ep. 327: Harry Frankfurt o...

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al all watched the three seasons of this groundbreaking, polarizing documentary show that serves as a visual diary and collection of essays by its creator. While episode titles sound like practical advice, the investigations invariably swerve into something weird or philosophical. But did we enjoy it? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for every ep...

Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content. Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Seth discuss the celebrated 1986 essay "On Bullshit." Does bullshit necessarily involve lying? Frankfurt defines it as instead indifferent to truth, though still deceptive about what kind of speech act the audience is supposed to think that it is. The post Ep. 327: Harry Frankfurt on Bullshit and...

The New York University Prof and author of many influential books including the new Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy joins Mark and Bill to simulate debates about AI, cybersex, actor vs. character, and keeping children safe from reality. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Take a class this fall from him at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class . Bill improvises (and...

Wes & Erin continue their discussion of the Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson. In this episode, part 2 of our 3-part series, they look closely at the heart of the poem, books 5-12, in which Odysseus arrives in Phaeacia and provides the tale-within-the-tale of his adventures after the Trojan War. They discuss the significance of Odysseus’s fantastical encounters and asking what they might re...

Subscribe to get this ad-free, plus tons of bonus content. Wes, Dylan, and guest Chris Heath continue to discuss The Evolution of Agency (2022) in light of our interview with the author. We relate examples from the book of animals of various levels of complexity making deliberative decisions, exhibiting rationality, experiencing causality, or otherwise engaging in agentive behaviors. Sponsor : Lea...

The author of The Accomplished Creative , a sort of anti-self-help book based around Jeremy's improv experience and what he learned as a philosophy major, joins Mark and Bill to talk impostor syndrome and benign violations, get real meta about Die Hard scenarios, and have a cheese intervention. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Take a class this fall from him at partiallyexaminedli...

Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content. On The Evolution of Agency (2022), with the author, and guest panelist Chris Heath. What is human agency? How would we determine whether an animal is a legitimate agent, as opposed to just acting automatically? Tomasello investigates this by thinking about what capabilities and behaviors constitute agency and the degr...

Wes & Erin continue their discussion of the Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson. In this episode, part 2 of our 3-part series, they look closely at the heart of the poem, books 5-12, in which Odysseus arrives in Phaeacia and provides the tale-within-the-tale of his adventures after the Trojan War. They discuss the significance of Odysseus’s fantastical encounters and asking what they might re...

Continuing on "Meaning" (1957), "Utterer’s Meaning and Intentions" (1969), and "Logic and Conversation" (1975) with guest Steve Gimbell. We tie the articles together, talk more about the rules implicit in conversation, and try to relate Grice's project to other parts of philosophy. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and a s...

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the writer-director's work, touching on not only his recent tour-de-force, but back to Memento, Dunkirk, Tenet, Inception, The Prestige, Interstellar, Insomnia, and The Following.  Is Nolan overrated as a thinker and storyteller? Do his plots actually make sense? We talk heroes, noir, philosophy, twists, and his depiction of women. For more, visit p...

Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content. On "Meaning" (1957), "Utterer’s Meaning and Intentions" (1969), and "Logic and Conversation" (1975), with guest Steve Gimbell . Grice tries to give a rigorous analysis of what it means for a speaker (as opposed to a sentence) to mean something in particular. Let the increasingly elaborate potential counter-examp...

It's St. Lawrence University philosophy prof Jenny in the ring with UIC instructor /Podcaster with Hey Riddle Riddle and Hello From the Magic Tavern Adal, along with Mark and Bill, of course. And the Bullshot is flying! Who will be hit? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Take a class this fall from him at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class . Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicag...

Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this ad-free, plus a supporter-exclusive part three . Listen to a preview. . Continuing on Plato's mid-period dialogue about language. Is attaching a word to a thing, i.e. naming it, like other activities such as carpentry or sewing that can go wrong? Can we put the "form" of a thing into letters and syllabus of its name? We go through many examples where Socrates...

What is media criticism, and is that what we're doing? For our Season 3 finale (i.e. the end of PMP's 4th year of operation), your now officially official hosts Mark Linsenmayer, Lawrence Ware, Sarahlyn Bruck, and Al Baker turn their gazes fully toward their collective navel to think about what purposes are served by discussions about pop culture and how we can do it better. For more, visit pretty...

He was famously a man of many ways, whether we interpret these as abilities or norms; designs or deceptions; reasons or identities. Yet despite such resources, he was also famously stuck, making a 10-year odyssey of his attempt to return home from a 10-year war. What keeps the man of master plans from homecoming and domestic bliss? In the first of a three part discussion of Homer’s classic, Wes &#...

Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content including a supporter-exclusive part three to this discussion coming out next week. On Plato's mid-period dialogue from around 388 BCE. How do words relate to the things they represent? Socrates first argues that words represent things, and so doing etymology is a way of learning philosophical truths, then seemingly re...

Philosopher Matt, host of the Elucidations podcast and frequent PEL guest, finally gets in on Philosophy vs. Improv in this, our Season Two Finale. And many is he a de dicto. Or is he a de re? Slowly learn the difference as we make things personal through scenes of shit-talking and crime reporting. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Take a class this fall from him at partiallyexamin...