The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

Mark and Bill talk about the lost art of prank phone calls and act out some "customer service nightmares" with an eye to the foundations of law and creativity that defies artistic rules. The scenes are longer and riskier than normal. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com . Hear more at philosophyimprov.com . Support the podcast t...

Does the U.S. Constitution guarantee the right to an abortion? We discuss Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2021) and Ronald Dworkin's "Unenumerated Rights: Whether and How Roe Should be Overruled" (1992). With guest Robin Linsenmayer. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. The post Ep....

We cover the first chunk of Neil Gaiman's 1989 comic and its new Netflix adaptation. Mark is joined by Anthony LeBlanc , Sarahlyn Bruck , and Al Baker. What are the narrative challenges of depicting a god? What is the show's metaphysics the role of storytelling in it? Were the updates and story choices for the TV show helpful, or was the comic truly "unfilmable," as was long thought? For more, vis...

Subscribe to get Parts 1 and 2 ad-free, plus a supporter exclusive Part 3 . Continuing on McCarthy's 1985 novel, we discuss the philosophy of war held by the character Judge Holden, plus whether the book's violence is gratuitous and why it might be unfilmable. The post Ep. 305: Cormac McCarthy’s “Blood Meridian” (Part Two) first appeared on The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast .

Howard Hawks’s 1940 film His Girl Friday knits together two plots from two very different genres. One is a romantic comedy that intends to reunite its main couple in something like wedded bliss. The other is a dark drama of murder and corruption, complete with a gallows lurking just outside the window and a suicide attempt that takes place on screen. Yet Earl Williams and Hildy Johnson’s fates in...

Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free. On McCarthy's 1985 anti-Western novel, featuring Wes, Seth, and Dylan. How does violence play a role in the way the world works? This novel about a rogue band of scalp hunters presents a pessimistic, nihilistic philosophy where violence is central to the human condition and is the way to self-knowledge. The post Ep. 305: Cormac McCarthy’s “Blood...

The anonymous policy wonk who runs the Carneades.org YouTube channel joins Mark and Bill to discuss the core concept of his new book, Are All Lives Equal?: Why Cost-Benefit Analysis Values Rich Lives More and How Philosophy Can Fix It. Should economics really be measuring the value of life at all? Can it do this in any principled way? Can  Continue Reading … The post Philosophy vs. Impr...

Is there really a division in today's culture between those who create and the merely receptive masses? Mark gathers three artists in different media about the place of the artist in society: sci-fi author Brian Hirt , art photographer and academic Amir Zaki , and musician/novelist/ex-English prof John Andrew Fredrick (of The Black Watch ). We touch on art education, the self-understanding of arti...

Continuing on Roland Dworkin's "The Model of Rules" (1967) and Scott J. Shapiro's "The 'Hart-Dworkin' Debate: A Short Guide for the Perplexed" (2007), plus some of Dworkin's "Hard Cases" (1977). How do Hartians respond to Dworkin's initial attack? Can Hart's theory incorporate the fact that judges consult their culture's moral standards without making the law dependent on morality? Get more at par...

Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free. On Ronald Dworkin's "The Model of Rules" (1967) and Scott J. Shapiro's "The 'Hart-Dworkin' Debate: A Short Guide for the Perplexed" (2007). How do judges make decisions in hard cases? When the law doesn't definitively decide an issue, do judges just draw on their personal moral judgments? Dworkin says no, that moral principles are built into the...

Subscribe to get Part 3 of this episode in its entirety. On The Concept of Law (1961), ch. 6, "Foundations of a Legal System," on Hart's concept of a rule of recognition that ultimately determines what will count as a law in a given society. This ends up being more complicated than merely "The Constitution," but the action itself of officials respecting, obeying, and enforcing that Constitution. T...

What's the appeal of this 13-film franchise that started with John Carpenter's 1978 film Halloween and has purportedly wrapped up with David Gordon Green's Halloween Ends ? Mark Linsenmayer, Al Baker, Lawrence Ware, and Nathan Shelton debate the ideology and effectiveness of the various films. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via...

Subscribe to get Parts 1 and 2 ad-free, plus a supporter exclusive Part 3 . Continuing on "Positivism and the Separation of Law and Morals" (1958) and The Concept of Law (1961), ch. 5 and 6. If law is not based on morality, then why obey the law? What makes a legal system exist at all, as opposed to a lawless state? Is saying something is legally required just a way of predicting that people will...

What is personhood? How can a group best collaboratively invent a scene? Sarah is a host of Marty and Sarah Love Wrestling and a repeat guest on Hello From the Magic Tavern . We fit in THREE scenes, some discussion of the various layers of what it is for something to be (or not be) person, and some musings about the weather and such. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Bill improvise...

Dr. Faustus expected more from his education. After a lifetime of study, his professional options—philosophy, medicine, law, and theology—all seem disappointingly ordinary. He is of course not the first to have this experience. At a societal level, the promise of knowledge is power, especially once it has become technology. At an individual level, what education seems to make us is an insignifican...

Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free. On "Positivism and the Separation of Law and Morals" (1958) and The Concept of Law (1961), ch. 5 and 6. What's the relationship between law and morality? If law isn't founded on morality, what is it founded on? Hart's legal positivism makes a sharp distinction between law as a human invention and morality. The post Ep. 303: H.L.A. Hart on the Fo...

Mark, Wes, and eventually Dylan recap The Praise of Folly, getting into Erasmus' ambivalent take on asceticism. In the full episode, we get seriously personal and cover his sexism and comments on love, the folly of fandom, and the role of humor in philosophy. If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion , sign up via one of the options described at partiallyexaminedli...

Given the end of Better Call Saul , Mark, Lawrence Ware , Sarahlyn Bruck , and Al Baker discuss this strange TV "franchise" that amazingly produced a prequel that was arguably better than the original. We cover the characterization and pacing, novelistic TV vs. not having a plot roadmap in advance, and whether we want to see another installment in this world. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . He...

Subscribe to get Parts 1 and 2 ad-free, plus a supporter exclusive Part 3 , which you can preview . Continuing on The Praise of Folly with guest Nathan Gilmour. Can foolishness actually make us more prudent? Is it necessary for us to all get along in the world and accomplish things? Erasmus critiques pretentious, performative theologians among many others. The post Ep. 302: Erasmus Praises Foolish...

Stephen West from the juggernaut Philosophize This! podcast joins Mark and Bill to learn to say no and talk about reason vs. emotion in grounding ethics. What do the voices in your head (or at your lunch table) say to you? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com . Hear more at philosophyimprov.com . Support the podcast to get all o...

Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free. On Desiderius Erasmus' The Praise of Folly (1509), featuring Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Nathan Gilmour from the Christian Humanist podcast. Does some amount of foolishness enhance life? Sponsor: Visit Shopify.com/pel to start your free trial growing your business. The post Ep. 302: Erasmus Praises Foolishness (Part One) first appeared on The Partiall...

Subscribe to get all three parts of this episode ad free, plus a supporter exclusive Nightcap discussion about representation in discussions like this (i.e. are only women qualified to talk about the morality of abortion?), which you can preview . Jenny Hansen joins us to cover "On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion" by Mary Anne Warren (1973), with more thoughts on "A Defense of Abortion" (19...

Subscribe to get this discussion in its entirety. Mark, Wes, and Dylan explore the question, "Is it necessary for us to have representatives of an affected group with us as guests when we talk about an issue in philosophy that affects that group?" What do you think? The post PREVIEW-PEL Representation Nightcap October 2022 first appeared on The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast .

Mark and Bill break former patterns by each bringing in not a lesson but a question, which we knew about beforehand, and those questions are about pattern-breaking and about what current philosophers worry about. With special surprising scenes conveying cutting-edge podcasting/instructional techniques. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprov...

With the dissolution of popular music culture by the Internet, what is it now to be into music genres that aren't currently popular? Is it still an act of rebellion, or is even that passé?  Mark is joined by composer/multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Segel from Camper van Beethoven, philosopher Matt Teichman of the Elucidations podcast , and musician and Internet DJ Steve Petrinko to talk a...