The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

Mark, Erica, and Brian discuss the function of super-hero films and how this new one fits in. Do we need "realism" in such stories? When does a premise like this get too old to keep recycling? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode, and more episodes in advance, at  patreon.com/prettymuchpop . This podcast is part of the Partially Examined Life podcast ne...

On Soren Kierkegaard's essay "The Present Age" (1846) and Hubert Dreyfus’s "Nihilism on the Information Highway: Anonymity vs. Commitment in the Present Age" (2004). What's wrong with our society? Kierkegaard saw the advent of the press and gossip culture as engendering a systematic passivity and shallowness in his fellows, and Dreyfus thinks this is an even more apt description of the Inter...

Jonathan built his career playing 19th century Indians on horseback, was John Redcorn III in  King of the Hill , Chief Ken Hotate in Parks and Recreation , was featured in  The Magnificent Seven and  True Grit , and is currently playing Sitting Bull in Annie Get Your Gun (also featuring Erica) in Sag Harbor.  He talks about Hollywood's record portraying indi...

We talk with Ned about a second Blockheads (2019) article, Michael Tyle's “Homunculi Heads and Silicon Chips: The Importance of History to Phenomenology," which provides a variation off of the David Chalmers fading qualia argument, and then Mark, Seth, Dylan, and Wes continue exploring the details uncovered by our interview after Ned leaves. Listen to part one first, or get the ad-free, unbr...

Ian Maio (who's worked in e-sports marketing) joins Erica, Brian and Mark to talk about why adults play video games, types of gamers, gaming disorders, gamer shaming, inclusivity, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode, and more episodes in advance, at  patreon.com/prettymuchpop . This podcast is part of the Partially Examined Life podcast netwo...

The climax and denouement of our summer philosophy of mind series: Ned Block visits to fill in the gaps about functionalism and attributing consciousness to machines and discuss essays from Blockheads (2019), focusing here on Brian McLaughlin's "Could an Android be Sentient?" Please support PEL! The post Ep. 223: Guest Ned Block on Consciousness (Part One) first appeared on The Partially Examined...

Lucy Lawless (Xena the Warrior Princess, currently starring in My Life Is Murder) joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to think about the true crime genre, of both the documentary and dramatized variety. What's the appeal? Why do women in particular gravitate to it? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode, and more episodes in advance, at  patreon.com/prettymuchpo...

Continuing on Ned Block's "Troubles with Functionalism" (1978) and David Chalmers's "Absent Qualia, Fading Qualia, Dancing Qualia" (1995). What would it be like to be halfway between person and machine? If you think the machine can't have consciousness, then Chalmers thinks that there's no sensible way to describe such an experience, ergo the machine (if functionally equivalent to the person) must...

Mark, Erica, and Brian consider the HBO mini-series, plus "based on a true story" and why do we enjoy witnessing suffering? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode, and more episodes in advance, at patreon.com/prettymuchpop . This podcast is part of the Partially Examined Life podcast network and is curated by openculture.com . The post Pretty Much Pop #4: “Chernoby...

On Ned Block's "Troubles with Functionalism" (1978) and David Chalmers's "Absent Qualia, Fading Qualia, Dancing Qualia" (1995). If mental states are functional states, there couldn't be zombies. Yet Block claims that there could be zombies: for example, a functional duplicate of you whose components are actually citizens of China obeying algorithmic rules. Even if the resulting system acts like yo...

Is media trying to brainwash us into being ALL THE SAME? Are the excesses of the mob scaring us into conformity? Mark, Erica, and Brian muse on cultural homogenization and are joined by comedian Dr. Yakov Smirnoff to talk about growing up in a repressive society and the shadow of political correctness over comedy. For more about this podcast, see prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this epi...

What counts as binge watching? Why do we do it? Is it bad for us? Mark, Erica, and Brian think about what we get out of binge watching, whether it’s bad for us, what kind of shows taste better in bulk than others, and much more. For more about this podcast, see prettymuchpop.com . Hear bonus content for this episode,and more episodes in advance, at  patreon.com/prettymuchpop . Check out...

Continuing on functionalism with David M. Armstrong’s "The Causal Theory of the Mind" (1981). We delve into this version of functionalism that is supposed to clear the way for the scientific identification of mental states with brain states. Mental states are defined by their causal relations with other states and with behavior, and the content of a mental state is exhausted by its intention...

The debut episode of a new podcast hosted by Mark Linsenmayer, Erica Spyres, and Brian Hirt covering films, TV, novels, games, music, comedy, theater, and more. What is pop culture? Does it make sense to distinguish it from high culture, or can something be both? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com , or support us to hear episodes in advance and get bonus content for every episode at patreon.com/pre...

On Hilary Putnam's "The Nature of Mental States" (1973). What is the mind? Functionalist theories identify the mental not with the brain exactly, but with something the brain does. So some other creature without a brain (maybe a computer) might be able to do that same thing if it could duplicate the structure of what our brains do. Is this a satisfying account of the mind? Please support PEL! The...

Mark, Seth, Dylan, and Wes reflect on the changing state of podcasting and public philosophy over the last decade, how our goals and interests have changed since we started we started. Why don't colleges pay their faculty to educate the public through regular, broadcasted conversations like ours? If you think we're snarky, take a look at actual philosophy faculty! Should we continue to do more lit...

On Ned Block's "The Harder Problem of Consciousness" (2002) and David Papineau's "Could There Be a Science of Consciousness?" (2003). What would give us sufficient reason to believe that a non-human was conscious? Block thinks this is a harder problem that we might suspect. We can't know for sure exactly what consciousness in us is, so we can't know for sure what such a being might require (a brai...

Continuing on "Consciousness and Its Place in Nature" by David Chalmers (2003). We finish Chalmers's account of the types of physicialism, then move on to dualism (including epiphenomenalism), and finally dally with panpsychism, the specialty of our guest, Gregory Miller from the Panpsycast . Listen to part 1 first or listen to the unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition . Please support PEL! End song:...

On "Consciousness and Its Place in Nature" by David Chalmers (2003), with special guest Gregory Miller from the Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast . Can we explain human experience using the terms of brain physiology? Chalmers thinks not, and lays out the arguments against this and the range of positions philosophers have taken in response to these objections.  Continues on part two , or get the f...

At last, the full, public release of this discussion between Wes Alwan and Bill Youmans covering Shakespeare's 1611 play about revenge, forgiveness, and authorship. Or maybe it's about exploitation, or how we react to changes in status, or perhaps how a liberal education can give you magical powers! Listen and decide for yourself! The post (sub)Text Prototype #1: Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”: Poesi...

On the 1636 comedy by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, considering destiny (Christian vs. Ancient Greek), skepticism, meta-theater, and the ethic of honor. Listen to our performance first . With guests Bill Youmans and Erica Spyres. End song: "Pulling Apart" by Jonathan Segel . Hear him on Nakedly Examined Music #38 . Please support PEL! The post Ep. 217: Discussing Calderón’s “Life Is a Dream” first a...

Given our treatment of Game of Thrones and Life Is a Dream , and the way in which end-justifying-the-means logic plays endlessly in our real-life political situation, it's time we looked back on our episode 14 on Machiavelli . I reviewed that episode and recorded a little essay about practicing Machiavellian politics to get you back in this spirit. The post Glimpse: Machiavellian Politics (for Par...

Your hosts are joined by real actors to do an unrehearsed read of Calderón's 1636 comedy La Vida Es Sueño , using Stanley Appelbaum's 2002 translation. Ep. 217 will cover the philosophical issues the play raises. Recorded in NYC on 4/7: Talene Monahon (Rosaura), David Epstein (Segismundo), Bill Youmans (Clotaldo), Erica Spyres (Estrella), Chris Martin (Basilio), Mark Linsenmayer (Clarín), Seth Pas...

Get teased re. Mark and Wes's post-finale, spoiler-filled continuation of the discussion of the show. How does its conclusion affect its overall political message? Does it make sense to be performing feminist critiques on a show based on the premise of people murdering each other for power? To hear the full discussion, become a PEL Citizen or $5 Patreon supporter . For more about these options see...

Discussing the TV show (2011-2019) based on the books by George R.R. Martin. What's the role of a mass-consumed fantasy series in today's society? Is it our "fantasy" to have all these horrible things happen to us? Is this an edifying prompt to engage in public moral thinking, or a spectacular distraction of the kind that those Marxist theorists keep warning us about? We get into the function of f...