The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

...which, as I was saying, is right in the middle of a sentence or scene! How should our personal and family histories shape our behavior, both in real life and in improv scenes? Do these histories, these stories we tell ourselves, nail us down as people? Are we all old before our time? Are those your real parents? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Bill improvises (and teaches...

Are protest songs effective, either as protest or songs? Four songwriters including your host Mark Linsenmayer , Lilli Lewis , Rod Picott , and PMP's audio engineer Tyler Hislop discuss how protest works in various musical genres, who it's aimed at, and when it goes wrong. Has the day of the protest song passed, or is it alive and well? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for th...

Continuing our discussion on the symbolic value of religion and its antecedents, primary at this point discussing Susanne Langer's Philosophy in a New Key , ch. 7. If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion , sign up via one of the options described at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support . The post PREVIEW-Ep. 291: Cassirer and Langer on Myth and Ritual (Part Two) first ap...

In 1906, presumably finished with his short story collection Dubliners, James Joyce wrote to his brother with dissatisfaction that, though he set about to create a comprehensive portrait of Ireland’s capital city, he had not managed to render its famous, unrivaled hospitality. His efforts to rectify this omission resulted in “The Dead,” the book’s final story. It takes place chiefly at a party in...

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode. Listen to a preview . Hear this part ad-free . On Ernst Cassirer's An Essay on Man (1944), ch. 6-7, and Susanne Langer's Philosophy in a New Key (1942), ch. 6-7. Why do people produce ritual, mythology, and religion? According to our authors, these are spontaneous, symbolic modes of self-expression. They're not opposed to rational, scientific thought, but a...

Mark is joined Lawrence Ware , Sarahlyn Bruck and Michael Paskaru to talk about the Showtime TV horror-dramedy shows inspired by Jeff Lindsay's novels, in light of the revival show Dexter: New Blood . People loved this character so much that they were very mad that he didn't die at the end of the show's initial run (2006-2013). What was the appeal of this killing-the-killers show? Love of justice?...

Panpsycast host Jack brings his promiscuous philosophy of mind to the show, wherein mind is here, there, and everywhere. But what does that mean? Skits about renting a flat for nefarious purposes and designing software for Nozick's experience machine reveal all! But the question remains... So what? You have to care! Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Bill improvises (and teaches) at...

Continuing on Philosophy in a New Key (1942), ch. 1-5. Is symbolism the software running on the hardware of our senses, or are symbols baked even into that hardware? We talk pictures vs. symbols, types of symbol-pictures, and what it means for experience to be symbolic. If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion , sign up via one of the options described at partiallyexam...

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode. Listen to a preview . Hear this part ad-free . On Philosophy in a New Key (1942), ch. 1-5, plus as background most of us looked at Ernst Cassirer's An Essay on Man (1944), ch. 1-5. What does it mean to say that humanity is homo symbolicus, the symbol-making creature? The post Ep. 290: Susanne Langer on Our Symbol-Making Nature (Part One) first appeared on T...

Comedian Genevieve Joy , philosopher/NY Times entertainment writer Lawrence Ware , and novelist Sarahlyn Bruck join your host Mark to discuss how we deal with entertainers like R. Kelly, Michael Jackson, Woody Allen, et al. We all watched W. Kamau Bell's Showtime documentary We Need to Talk About Cosby . Can we separate the art from the artist? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus conten...

We get into more detail on David Hume's "The Standard of Taste" (1760). How does he resolve the paradox that it seems both that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, yet some judgments about beauty are obviously wrong? If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion , sign up via one of the options described at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support . The post PREVIEW-Ep. 289: Aes...

Stephen Spielberg once said that he was “still waiting to get out of [his] Peter Pan shoes and into [his] loafers.” Being a filmmaker, he said, was his way of remaining a child. Sort of. While his film “E.T.” is told from a child’s vantage point, it does not completely honor the wish to remain there. Like the alien he befriends, Eliot has been abandoned. And to this, many of us can relate. But in...

Today's episode is about questioning: how one might question, what sets the parameters for a proper answer, and how to give those answers in an informative and/or dramatically effective way. Watch out for dream pigs! Also, how to get into the VIP room at Stuckey's. Perhaps a pair of paralegals can help. In the post-game, included JUST THIS ONCE for public enjoyment, we reflect on improv in the rea...

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode. Listen to a preview . Hear this part ad-free . How do we know what opinions about beauty are correct? We read The Moralists: A Philosophical Rhapsody (1709) by Anthony Ashley-Cooper, aka the third Earl of Shaftesbury, Part III section 2 "Beauty," and An Inquiry Concerning Beauty, Order, Harmony, Design (1725) by Francis Hutcheson, and "The Standard of...

In light of Death on the Nile , we discuss the continuing appearance of the works of the world's most successful mystery writer in film and TV. Mark is joined by repeat guests Sarahlyn Bruck , Al Baker , and Nicole Pometti to discuss the recent Kenneth Branagh films, the Sarah Phelps TV adaptations (like The ABC Murders ), the Poirot BBC TV series, and earlier films. For more, visit prettymuchpop....

Concluding on Beauty (2009). Why would we be attracted to beauty if on Scruton's account it takes so much work? We consider the form/function distinction as it applies to architecture and human beauty. If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion , sign up via one of the options described at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support . The post PREVIEW-Ep. 288: Scruton on Ethical A...

William Wordsworth wrote no fewer than 523 sonnets over the course of his career. (By comparison, the second most prolific Romantic sonneteer was Keats with a paltry 67.) Two of Wordsworth’s best-loved efforts in the form are both Petrarchan sonnets with the same rhyme scheme, written in the same year, published in the same volume. Yet their messages, at least at first blush, are fundamentally opp...

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode. Listen to a preview . Hear this part ad-free . On Roger Scruton's Beauty (2009), ch. 5-9. Scruton argues against aesthetic relativism on moral grounds: That the "flight from beauty" in modern art and the crassness of popular art deny important things about being human. The post Ep. 288: Scruton on Ethical Art (Part One) first appeared on The Partially Exami...

Supergiant's Hades is now the first video game ever to have won a Hugo award and has set a new standard in the Roguelike genre. What is this genre, and what makes Hades unique? With guests Jamie Madigan from psychologyofgames.com , Al Baker, and Tyler Hislop. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to...

Continuing on Beauty (2009), ch. 1-4. Does apprehending beauty really have to involve reason, or can it be merely sensory? If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion , sign up via one of the options described at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support . The post PREVIEW-Ep. 287: Roger Scruton on Beauty (Part Two) first appeared on The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast...

In Part 1 of our discussion of “Tintern Abbey,” we talked about whether Wordsworth was right to suggest that our experience of nature was good not just for restoring our weary spirits, but for helping us to mature and even for making us better people. In part two, we explore his justifications for this thesis, in particular the claim that nature connects us not just to our senses and baser instinc...

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode. Listen to a preview . Hear this part ad-free . On Beauty (2009), ch. 1-4. What truths about beauty does any theory of beauty have to acknowledge? Scruton argues that appreciating beauty is a cognitive act: something we argue about, and not just "in the eye of the beholder." The post Ep. 287: Roger Scruton on Beauty (Part One) first appeared on The Partially...

Is money the root of all evil, or does it save us from needless cabaret bartering? What is money qua social construction? Should we retain the chocolate fountain? Are you ready to run? Did you bring your NFTs to trade for blue powder? Bill is master of the frustration scene. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com . Hear more Philo...

Animator/musician David Heatley , comedian Daniel Lobell , and academic/ 3anuts author Daniel Leonard join your host Mark Linsenmayer to discuss Charlie Brown and his author Charles Schulz from Peanuts' 1950 inception through the classic TV specials through to the various post-mortem products still emerging. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/pre...

Concluding on On Dialogues on Metaphysics and Religion (1688), with consideration of his explanation for why we can't prove the existence of the external world, but that we can reasonably take this on faith. Also, theodicy! If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion , sign up via one of the options described at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support . The post PREVIEW-Ep. 286...