The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

On The Principles of Psychology (1890) chapters 1 & 7, and Psychology, the Briefer Course (1892), the chapters on "The Stream of Thought," "Habit," and some of "The Self." Can we talk about the mind in a way that is both scientific and also does justice to our everyday experiences? James thought his method, which involved both introspection and physiology, yielded more accurate descriptions o...

Continuing on Nietzsche's 1888 book. Is there any ground from which we could judge life as a whole to be good or bad? Is N. more about saying "yes" to life or saying "no" to all the numerous things that piss him off? We also talk Becoming, whether producing great art is more important than being nice to everyone, and whether Nietzsche is ultimately someone we'd want to hang around. End song: "Obli...

On Friedrich Nietzsche's 1888 book summarizing his thought and critiquing the founding myths of his society. He defends "spiritualized" instinct and frenzied creativity, but also Napoleon and war. We try to figure out what kind of social critic he'd be today. Would we actually like him? The post Episode 178: Nietzsche as Social Critic: “Twilight of the Idols” (Part One) first appeared on The Parti...

Continuing with the Econtalk host on the moral aspects of economics, focused by Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations and Theory of Moral Sentiments . Should we sacrifice ourselves to the machine of the economy? How does Smith's idea of virtue and talk of the "impartial spectator" line up with economic growth? Listen to part 1 first or get the unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition . Please support PEL! T...

The host of Econtalk provides his take on our ep. 174 on The Wealth of Nations , and explores with us the idea of emergent economic order. Is the economy more like a machine or a garden or what? Continue with part 2 or get the full, ad-free, unbroken Citizen Edition . Please support PEL! The post Episode 177: Guest Russ Roberts on Adam Smith and Libertarian Economics (Part One) first appeared on T...

Continuing with Dave Pizarro on articles by Stanley Milgram, Philip Zimbardo, and John Doris about situationism, which entails that people's level of morality will vary by situation, as opposed to virtue ethics, which posits that how people will act in a novel situation will be determined by the quality of their character. Listen to part 1 first or get the ad-free Citizen Edition . Please support...

On Stanley Milgram's "Behavioral Study of Obedience" (1963), Philip Zimbardo’s "Interpersonal Dynamics in a Simulated Prison" (1973), and John Doris’s "Persons, Situations, and Virtue Ethics" (1998). Do difficult situations make good people act badly? Are there really "good" and "bad" people, or are we all about the same, but put in different situations? With guest Dave Pizarro from Very Bad Wizar...

Do you want the WHOLE discussion on the new Blade Runner 2049 , the original 1982 film, and the idea-packed Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1967) by Philip K. Dick? If you do, show your love to the podcast by signing up to be a supporter at the $1-or-higher level at patreon.com/partiallyexaminedlife , or better yet become a PEL Citizen and get every podcast we've ever recorded plus bonus dis...

On Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1967) and the films Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and Blade Runner (1982). What makes us human? Dick's story about androids emphasized their lack of empathy, while the movie adaptations portrayed the "replicants" as plenty capable of emotion, but unjustly treated as servants or targets. Attention : The second half of this special bonus episode i...

Continuing on the foundational text of economics. We talk "invisible hand," "greed is good," tariffs, unproductive labor, city vs. country, and the education racket. Listen to part 1 first or get the ad-free Citizen Edition . Please support PEL! End song: "With My Looks and Your Brains" by The Mr. T Experience. Hear about the singer/songwriter on Nakedly Examined Music #56 . The post Episode 174:...

On the foundational, 1776 text of modern economics. How does the division of labor and our instinct to exchange lead to the growth of wealth? Is the economy sufficiently machine-like to enable us to manipulate its output, or at least to tell us how not to screw it up? Continues on part 2 , or get your unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition . Please support PEL! The post Episode 174: Adam Smith’s “Wealt...

We go further into "Philosophy of Native Science" by Gregory Cajete and "What Coyote and Thales Can Teach Us: An Outline of American Indian Epistemology" by Brian Yazzie Burkhart, plus process philosophy, propositional vs. procedural knowledge, and what we owe to nature. With guest Jim Marunich. Listen to part 1 first or get the ad-free Citizen Edition . Please support PEL! End song: “Circle’s Got...

What is wisdom? We discuss articles by Brian Burkhart, Gregory Cajete, and Anne Waters, plus Black Elk Speaks by John Neihardt (1932) and some traditional stories. With guest Jim Marunich; we read his master's thesis, "Process Metaphysics in the Far West: American Indian Ontologies." Continues on part two , or get your unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition . Please support PEL! The post Episode 173: R...

Continuing with Drew Pinsky on “Attachment and Reflective Function: Their Role in Self-organization” by Peter Fonagy and two articles by Allan Schore. Fonagy claims we gain the ability to emotionally self-regulate as a result of achieving secure attachment with a caregiver as infants. Schore claims that if this fails, we can end up fundamentally disengaged. So what are the philosophical implicatio...

Radio legend Dr. Drew Pinsky talks with us about “Attachment and Reflective Function: Their Role in Self-organization” by Peter Fonagy and two articles by Allan Schore. The focus is "theory of mind"; how do we develop the ability to impute thoughts and intentions to others? What in our upbringing can interfere with this development? We relate this back to previous episodes (Hegel, Buber, etc.) on...

Continuing on Why Buddhism Is True . We discuss the "no self" doctrine as articulated in Buddha's Second Discourse and the modularity-of-mind theory that Bob claims supports it. What are the ethical implications, and do we really need meditation to achieve its alleged ethical benefits? Continued from part 1 , or get the ad-free Citizen Edition . Please support PEL! End song: "Alphalpha Bhang" by A...

Bob joins the PEL four to discuss his new book Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment . Bob applies his expertise in evolutionary psychology to corroborate Buddhism's claims that we are deluded: about our desires, emotions, the unity of our selves, and the "essences" we project on things and people. And he thinks meditation can instill in the diligent the...

Mark and Seth ask Doug Lain (Zero Squared), Brett O'Shea (Revolutionary Left Radio), and C. Derick Varn (Symptomatic Redness) what they think of Debord and PEL's treatment of the book on Ep #170 . End song: " Open Your Eyes (Wake Up) " from Tyler Hislop, interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #24 . The post Episode 170 Second Opinions: Leftists on “Society of the Spectacle” first appeared on The Pa...

More on the 1967 Situtationist book. Do we buy Debord's critique? Is any merely partial critique (i.e., no revolution) just more spectacle? Is technology inherently dehumanizing? Don't these passivity/anti-technology arguments even apply to books? Could Debord's model of authenticity catch on in society as a whole? Start with part 1 , or get the Citizen Edition . Please support PEL! End song: "Mil...

What is culture? In modern capitalism, Debord's 1967 book describes it as all about the economy. It's not just our jobs that keep us trapped, but our life outside of working hours is also demanded by "the system" via our activity as consumers, and this commoditization infiltrates every corner of our lives. Debord wants us to WAKE UP, break our chains, and live lives of immediacy, vitality, and aut...

A new podcast for the PEL Podcast Network! Meet Jeff, Lise, and Brian, who are joined by Wes and Dylan to discuss Rousseau's claim that the arts and sciences lead to "moral corruption." Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org . The post PEL Special: Combat & Classics #11 on Rousseau’s “Discourse on the Arts and Sciences” first appeared on The Partially Examined Life Philosoph...

Some audio tidbits to hint at the analytic glories in the second half of our discussion, getting deeper into the psychoanalytic/existential interpretations of the film. Get the discussion at patreon.com/partiallyexaminedlife or with a PEL Citizenship . The post TEASER-Episode 169: Analyzing Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” (Part Two) first appeared on The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast .

On the 1958 film and articles including Laura Mulvey's "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" (1975) and Robin Wood's "Vertigo" (1965). What is love? Are we really just loving a built image while remaining isolated? And is it just an illusionary social construct that keeps us all from feeling fundamental vertigo? Lacan, existentialism, and more! Part 2 is for supporters only! It won't be on the pu...

More on Darwin's famous book. Why does it matter for philosophy, beyond providing an alternative to intelligent design? Is it really anti-religious? How can well tell if it's really a scientific theory? Talking about a species evolving trait X to enable survival sounds teleological; is it really, and is that bad? Why would the mind develop through natural selection? Continues from part 1 , or just...

On Charles Darwin's 1859 book, ch. 1–4, 6, and 14. What are the philosophical ramifications of Darwin's theory of evolution? We go through Darwin's arguments, compare his views to other theories of evolution like Lamarck's, and talk about how an evolutionary way of looking at things has influenced philosophers. Please support PEL! The post Episode 168: Darwin’s “Origin of Species” (Part One) first...