The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

Mark is joined by musician David Brookings , Gig Gab host Dave Hamilton, and OpenCulture writer Colin Marshall to discuss Peter Jackson's documentary Get Back and the enduring popularity of The Beatles. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel . Sponsors : Book a top-...

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode. Listen to a preview . Hear this part ad-free . On "What Is Love," which is ch. 11 of Conditions (1992). We see what it means to call love a "truth procedure": It's a new way of seeing, through the eyes of the Two, not the merger of two souls or the loving of god through another. Does B's pseudo-mathematical language about this make sense? The post Ep. 283:...

Continuing on Conditions , "The (Re)turn of Philosophy Itself." What makes philosophy possible? The four "conditions," i.e. mathematics, politics, art, and love, generate the truths, and philosophy is the pincers that gather these together in thought. But how exactly? If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion , sign up via one of the options described at partiallyexamin...

Mark is joined by Brian Hirt, Erin Conrad, and Brian Casey to discuss the new film, the old ones, and the book series. Is it really adaptable given the deep lore and the vast time jumps? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel . Sponsors : Book a top-rated doctor by...

Featuring TWO guest improvisers, Jill, co-founder of HUGE Theater and her friend Michelle, owner of Improv MKE . Bill and our guests each start a scene to explore something of what utopia might amount to, and of course how it will inevitably go bad. Could there be some single utopia for everyone? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio...

Diana Christensen is a television executive in search of an angry show—something that articulates the rage of the average viewer. In Howard Beale, failed newscaster turned mad-as-hell prophet, she seems to get exactly what she’s looking for. Yet in doing so, she reduces political and social discontent to a form of entertainment focused on generating audience excitement and television ratings. Wes...

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode. Listen to a preview . Hear this part ad-free . On Conditions (1992), Ch. 1 "The (Re)turn of Philosophy Itself." Against post-structuralists who deny Truth, Badiou argues that truths are generated by the truth conditions (politics, art, love, and science/math) which philosophy then thinks into a unified vision. The post Ep. 282: Alain Badiou: What Is Philoso...

Riffing on resemblance. Eventually invoking the spirit of a toaster. Mark is wrong: the God Emperor of Dune can't drink water at all, just dried food. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com . Hear more Philosophy vs. Improv . Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsors : Visit betterhel...

Continuing on "Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes" (1970). We distinguish various kinds of falsificationism and give more details about Lakatos' concept of a scientific research program. 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. 281: Pa...

Steve is best known as guitarist/arranger for Oingo Boingo through their eight albums from 1981-1995 and for following its leader Danny Elfman into a life creating movie soundtracks. However, his activity as composer goes all the way back to the late '60s. We discuss "Tango" by jackiO from their self-titled album (2019), "The Wake" and "Checking Out/Streets of Managu" from his soundtracks to Guilt...

In light of the release of The Last Duel , we talk about the trope of the honor-resolving duel in movies and TV. Mark and guest co-host Dylan Casey from PEL are joined by Clif Mark, host of the Good in Theory podcast . We touch on The Duelists, A Knight's Tale, The Duelist and The Duel (two 2016 films), Dune, Hamilton , and philosophers like Hegel and Nietzsche. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com ....

Do you believe in miracles? If doctors believed in miracles, would they just let surgeries finish themselves? Do assumptions of a logical universe make it not just unjustified by psychologically impossible for us to really believe in miracles? Read about our VERY FIRST guest, Tim Sniffen at timsniffen.com. Follow him @MisterSniffen and hear him talking more with Mark about improv  Continue Re...

His first claim to fame was the solution to a riddle that earned him a kingdom by sheer force of intellect. His second was a doomed attempt to escape the particularly gruesome fates of patricide and incest. With his first act, Oedipus saved the city of Thebes from the sphinx; with his second, he afflicted it with a plague. In his retelling of this myth, Sophocles reflects on the competing claims o...

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode. Listen to a preview . Hear this part ad-free . On Against Method (1975). In dialogue with Lakatos , Feyerabend claimed that scientific progress can not be explained rationally, so how does it progress? Is F. just arguing against the possibility of any philosophy of science? The post Ep. 281: Paul Feyerabend’s Anarchist Philosophy of Science (Part One) first...

Continuing on "Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes" (1970). We distinguish various kinds of falsificationism and give more details about Lakatos' concept of a scientific research program. 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. 280: Im...

As board games are becoming increasingly popular with adults, we ask: What's the relationship between a board game's mechanics and its narrative? Does the "message" of a board game matter? Mark is joined by game designer Tommy Maranges , educator Michelle Parrinello-Cason , and ex-philosopher Al Baker to talk about re-skinning games, designing player experiences, play styles, game complexity, and...

Are so-called "material objects" really just a scam? These two cut-ups (Bill and Mark) cut up the world in various ways, showing you how to teach, how to act, and how to haggle. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com . Hear more PvI . Support the podcast to get our post-game discussion and other bonus stuff. The post Philosophy vs...

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode. Listen to a preview . Hear this part ad-free . On "Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes" (1970). In what way is scientific progress rational? Lakatos splits the difference between Popper and Kuhn to argue that some scientific research programs are more progressive than others, meaning that they make dramatic, unexpected predic...

Beauty is cool, but is art always aiming at beauty? Generations disagree about their music. Snakes disagree about how much they should worry. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com . Hear more PvI . Support the podcast to get our post-game discussion and other bonus stuff. The post Philosophy vs. Improv #13: F*** Your Grapes first...

Continuing on the Categories, considering artifacts, social construction in cutting up the world, different kinds of properties, and more. 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. 279: Aristotle’s “Categories” of Being (Part Two) first appeared on The Partially Examin...

Mark Linsenmayer is joined by Tim Quirk of Too Much Joy, Aaron David Gleason , and Chris Sunami to talk about what makes a cult band. We touch on artists like Tom Waits, Velvet Underground, Big Star, XTC, and The Cure. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel . Sponso...

Bill gets really real, with his unlogical emotions. When we feel things, do we know why? Is there a why? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com . Hear more PvI . Support the podcast to get our post-game discussion and other bonus stuff. The post Philosophy vs. Improv #12: Stand by Me II first appeared on The Partially Examined Lif...

The land is not just ancient but “antique,” and while many of its artifacts end up as the possessions of distant museums, they may yet be capable of overpowering their audiences. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ozymandias” is traditionally taken as an exploration of hubris, and of the obliviating effect of time on power and its pretensions. But the poem also speaks to the power of art to preserve, and how...

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode. Listen to a preview . Hear this part ad-free . On the Categories (ca. 350 BCE), which purports to describe all the types of entities that exist. We mostly talk about substances, as A's presentation raises interesting questions about, e.g. the status of the species of substance, and the rest of the categories (e.g. quality, quantity, relative) rely on substa...

Bill gets to have the power of live and death, with a bit of moral luck. Is he enthused? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com . Hear more PvI . Support the podcast to get our post-game discussion and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Learn about St. John's college at sjc.edu/improv . The post Philosophy vs. Improv #11: The Trolley Opp...