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# The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

A Philosophy Podcast and Philosophy Blog

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## Posts

- [Ep. 320: Friedrich Schlegel on Romanticism (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/26/ep320-1-friedrich-schlegel/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content including (next week) a supporter-exclusive part three to this discussion.On selected fragments from 1797-1801, "Dialogue on Poesy" (1799), and "Concerning the Essence of Critique" (1804). What makes art "Romantic"? Schlegel sees good art as uniquely, authentically reaching out to a divine source that underlies and connects each of us.
- [Ep. 319: Schiller on Experiencing Beauty (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/11/ep319-1-schiller-beauty/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content including (next week) a supporter-exclusive part three to this discussion.On the second half of Friedrich Schiller's On the Aesthetic Education of Man (1795), getting into the mechanics of how aesthetic experience work in giving us a midpoint between animality and pure rationality where we can feel free. Also, does art reveal truth?
- [Ep. 309: Wittgenstein On Certainty (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/30/ep309-2-wittgenstein-on-certainty/) - Subscribe to get both parts of this episode ad free, plus a supporter exclusive PEL Nightcap discussion.Continuing to discuss On Certainty, we get deeply into textual quotes. How does he actually respond to Moore's argument about his hand? How does he extend his account to talk about mathematical and scientific statements? Is Wittgenstein a pragmatist?
- [Ep. 310: Wittgenstein On World-Pictures (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/02/13/ep310-2-wittgenstein-science/) - Subscribe to get both parts of this episode ad free, plus a supporter exclusive PEL Nightcap discussion.Concluding our discussion of On Certainty, with guest Chris Heath. We try one last time to get a handle on Wittgenstein's philosophy of science. How do people actually change their minds about fundamental beliefs?
- [Ep. 311: Understanding the Dao De Jing (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/02/27/ep311-2-daodejing/) - Subscribe to get both parts of this episode ad free.Continuing on the central Daoist text with guest Theodore Brooks. We explore practical vs. metaphysical interpretations of the Dao, the relation of things to their opposites, emptiness, and "straw dogs."
- [Ep. 312: The Dao De Jing on Virtue (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/03/06/ep312-1-daodejing-virtue/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content including including a new Nightcap discussion about philosophy as self-help.For our second full discussion on the Daodejing by Laozi, we talk about the actions and attitudes that characterize the Daoist sage. With Theo Brooks. Topics include being virtuous vs. just following rules, Daoist tranquility, achieving without trying too hard, and more.
- [Ep. 318: Friedrich Schiller on the Civilizing Potential of Art (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/04/ep318-3-schiller-art-education-citizen/) - Mark and Wes dive deeper into the text of the first several letters of On the Aesthetic Education of Man (1795). Can Beauty be described in words? What is it to be a representative of the human species? Why is the ideal man "problematical"? How can the state potentially represent the ideal human being?
- [Ep. 319: Schiller on Experiencing Beauty (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/09/ep319-2-schiller-beauty-citizen/) - Starting with letter 20 in On the Aesthetic Education of Man (1795), we tell more of the story of how art is supposed to get us from sensation to thinking. Aesthetic perception ends up being essential to any conceptualization (thinking) whatsoever!
- [NEM#197: Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah's African Head Charge](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/23/nem197-bonjo-iyabinghi-noahs-african-head-charge/) - Bonjo started in the '70s as a session hand percussionist, played for a few years with Creation Rebel, and became a band leader in 1980, first recording a bit as Noah House of Dread, then creating African Head Charge, which has had more than 20 releases. More at africanheadcharge.bandcamp.com. We discuss "Microdosing" and listen to "A Bad Attitude" from A Trip to Bolgatanga (2023), "Fear of a Man God" from Voodoo of the Godsent (2011), "Orderliness, Godliness, Discipline and Dignity" from Songs of Praise (1990), and "Children of Misery" by Noah House of Dread from Heart (1980). Intro: "Stebani's Theme" from My Life in A Hole in the Ground (1981). Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Get 16 free meals and free shipping via HelloFresh.Com/nem16 (code nem16). Check out the Banned Camp comedy podcast.
- [PvI#55: Oversouled Behavior w/ Genevieve Joy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/23/pvi55-oversouled-behavior-w-genevieve-joy/) - Genevieve is a comedian, podcaster, and she was a philosophy major who's studying for her doctorate in Divinity. We talk about the idea that "we are all one" (and thus we are all God, if you want to call the sum of all things by that name) that's in various traditions. Ralph Waldo Emerson called this the "oversoul." We spend the rest of the discussion under the bleachers not making out, getting bored at the Grand Canyon, being nervous before the big show, and considering everyone's food allergies. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of most recent episodes (not this one!), and other bonus stuff. Sponsors: Get 16 free meals and free shipping via HelloFresh.Com/improv16 (code improv16). Check out the Skeptoid podcast at skeptoid.com.
- [Combat & Classics Ep. 81 Homer's "Iliad" Book 23](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/23/combat-classics-ep-81-homers-iliad-book-23/) - After our antepenultimate Iliad episode comes... the penultimate episode! In Book 23, Hector is dead, and Achilles mourns Patroclus, who comes to Achilles in a dream and demands a funeral. So Achilles organizes funeral games: chariot and foot races, boxing and wrestling, and more. The Argives compete, and contend over the justice of their competition. We After our antepenultimate Iliad episode comes... the penultimate episode! In Book 23, Hector is dead, and Achilles mourns Patroclus, who comes to Achilles in a dream and demands a funeral. So Achilles organizes funeral games: chariot and foot races, boxing and wrestling, and more. The Argives compete, and contend over the justice of their competition. We ask: why does Homer's description of the chariot race take up half of the book? Does Achilles do a good job of managing this race and judging its outcome? Join Brian, Shilo, and Jeff as they discuss the "domestic policy" of the post-wrath, or dead, Achilles. Does he now permit pity and skill to come to the fore, and is this a sign of growth or decline? Is the world of pity and skill a world where one person can be good at everything?
- [Ep. 320: Friedrich Schlegel on Romanticism (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/23/ep320-1-friedrich-schlegel-citizen/) - On selected fragments from 1797-1801, "Dialogue on Poesy" (1799), and "Concerning the Essence of Critique" (1804). What makes art "Romantic"? Schlegel sees good art as uniquely, authentically reaching out to a divine source that underlies and connects each of us.
- [Close Reading: Heidegger's "On the Essence of Truth"](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/03/01/close-reading-heideggers-on-the-essence-of-truth/) - A sentence-by-sentence interpretation of Heidegger's "On the Essence of Truth," (1943) first half, by Mark and Seth, recorded Feb. 3, 2015. Heidegger describes truth as "unconcealment," as "letting beings be the beings the are," and thinks that this is more informative than the traditional correspondence theory (propositions match reality), which he thinks already presupposes the definition of truth. Find out how, and decide for yourself whether Heidegger's conception is helpful.
- [Close Reading: Kant's "Critique of Judgment" on the Sublime](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/01/08/close-reading-kants-critique-of-judgment-on-the-sublime/) - A sentence-by-sentence interpretation of Kant's Critique of Judgment, Paul Guyer's translation, sections 23-25 by Mark and Wes, recorded 1/8/15. We learn what Kant's view on the sublime is and help you to understand Kant's thicket of terminology.
- [Not Ep 69: "Gorgias" Full Cast Audioplay (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2013/01/12/not-ep-69-gorgias-pt2/) - Continuing our reading of the Platonic dialogue, Socrates (Mark) and Callicles (Dylan) duke it out.
- [Episode 58: What Grounds Ethical Claims? (Moore, Stevenson, MacIntyre) (Citizens Only)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2012/06/20/ep58-moore-citizen/) - On G.E. Moore's Principia Ethica, ch. 1 (1903); Charles Leslie Stevenson's "The Emotive Meaning of Ethical Terms" (1937), and Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue, ch. 1-2. Is there such a thing as moral intuition? Is "good" a simple property that we all recognize but can't explain like yellow? Or are moral terms just tools we use to convince other people to like things that we like? Learn more. End song: "When I Was Yours," by Mark Lint, 1997.
- [(sub)Text: Losing Your Head in Alice Munro’s “Carried Away”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/14/subtext-alice-munro-carried-away/) - Jack, a Canadian soldier recuperating in a European hospital during World War I, begins a correspondence with Louisa, the librarian in his hometown whom he has only seen and loved from afar. Their letters turn romantic. But when the war ends and he returns home, Jack never shows his face to Louisa and marries another woman, leaving Louisa to wonder if she’s been the victim of some diabolical trick. Then Jack becomes the victim of an accident at the local factory. Wes & Erin discuss Alice Munro’s short story “Carried Away” and asking how the unforgiving machinery of a factory might mimic the so-called machinery of courtship, and how being carried away, whether by love or by ideas, might prove dangerous.
- [Combat & Classics Ep. 80 Homer's "Iliad" Book 22](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/14/combat-classics-ep-80-homers-iliad-book-22/) - Here's our antepenultimate episode on the Iliad! In Book 22, Apollo, disguised as Agenor, lures Achilles away from Troy. When he sees through the deception, Achilles goes after Hector, and chases him around the city's walls. This goes on until Athena disguises herself as Deiphobus, and tricks Hector into facing Achilles. Then Achilles kills Hector, and drags Here's our antepenultimate episode on the Iliad! In Book 22, Apollo, disguised as Agenor, lures Achilles away from Troy. When he sees through the deception, Achilles goes after Hector, and chases him around the city's walls. This goes on until Athena disguises herself as Deiphobus, and tricks Hector into facing Achilles. Then Achilles kills Hector, and drags his corpse around behind his chariot. Brian, Shilo, and Jeff ask: why does Hector decide to face Achilles, rather than taking refuge within the walls of Troy? We discuss whether his choice makes sense, and whether he is driven by a just (or an unjust) shame. We also consider whether Hector could have gotten help, whether he could have negotiated with Achilles, and whether he and Achilles, under different circumstances, could have been friends.
- [Pretty Much Pop #139: The Sandman Cometh](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/05/pmp139-the-sandman/) - 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, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Combat & Classics Ep. 69 Homer's "Iliad" Book 11](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/03/combat-classics-ep-69-homers-iliad-book-11/) - [Yell-y war voice] "CARNAGE ON THE BATTLEFIELD!!!!" Our opening question from Jeff is "can we spoil the Iliad?" We try to understand what's going on with the story in terms of the hierarchy of Greek heroes on the battlefield and who the "good guys" and the "bad guys" are. We also try to understand what's[Yell-y war voice] "CARNAGE ON THE BATTLEFIELD!!!!" Our opening question from Jeff is "can we spoil the Iliad?" We try to understand what's going on with the story in terms of the hierarchy of Greek heroes on the battlefield and who the "good guys" and the "bad guys" are. We also try to understand what's happening with Achilles, who said that he'd return to the fight once the Trojans were at the ships and we seem to be at that moment but Achilles just sends Patroclus to find out who a wounded Greek is and we get a long story from Nestor. Brian also mentions his guest hosting of Shakespeare Dallas' "Shakespeare Decoded" pod which you can listen to here. You can follow us on IG/FB via @combatandclassics.
- [Pretty Much Pop #144: Androids and Us](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/02/13/pmp144-androids/) - Do movie robots want to love us, be us, or kill us? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk through various ethical and narrative problems having to do with the creation of artificial life. We all watched M3GAN and Steve Spielberg's A.I., and also touch on After Yang, Ex Machina, Bicentennial Man, the BBC show Humans, and of course this is an element in classic sci-fi properties like Alien, Blade Runner, Star Trek, etc. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #141: Christmas Songs](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/01/pmp141-christmas-songs/) - The PMP A-Team (Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al) talk about the canon of Christmas songs, from centuries-old carols to current attempts by pop stars to get added to this cycle of cash-flow. Happy holidays, everybody! We also do a bit of year-end reflection, getting into various things we've watched with some recommendations and ambivalent reflections. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Check out RetroZest podcast at retrozest.com.
- [Pretty Much Pop #146: Black Panther Films and Comics](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/03/13/pretty-much-pop-146-black-panther-films-and-comics/) - Perhaps alone in the Marvel Universe, Black Panther is taken seriously as a political statement, both in the content of its stories and in how the films are produced. Wakanda purports to present an alternate historical condition of Africa had it not been colonized. Mark, Lawrence Ware, Anthony LeBlanc, and Viola Burlew discuss the comics and films, getting into the political ideas, the social function, the heroic character, and the unique challenge of making the film when the main actor has died. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Check out the PopPsych101 podcast at anchor.fm/poppsych101.
- [Pretty Much Pop #147: Nostalgic Mysteries (Knives Out, Poker Face) from Rian Johnson](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/04/01/pmp147-nostalgic-rian-johnson-mysteries/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about Rian Johnson's new show Poker Face as basically a Columbo reboot (a "howcatchem" instead of a "whodunnit"), plus his recent films Knives Out and Glass Onion that modernize and subvert Agatha Christie. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Listen to The History of Literature at historyofliterature.com. Check out Book Vs. Movie at bookversusmoviepod.weebly.com.
- [Pretty Much Pop #148: Resource Management Video Games](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/04/28/pretty-much-pop-148-resource-management-video-games/) - Mark, Al, our editor Tyler Hislop, and Dr. Jamie Madigan of the Psychology of Video Games podcast talk about a wide range crafting and building games from Minecraft to Starcraft to Sim City to Civilization to Rimworld to Subnautica. Given what a time commitment these typically require, what makes some of them worthwhile? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsors: Listen to The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman and The History of Literature Podcast with Jacke WIlson.
- [Pretty Much Pop #150: Dark Shadows w/ Kathryn Leigh Scott](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/05/pretty-much-pop-150-dark-shadows-w-kathryn-leigh-scott/) - Mark, Lawrence, and Sean Michael Cooney discuss the gothic romance vampire soap opera from 1966-1971 plus the spin-off movies and reboots. We interview one of the stars of the original show, the author Kathryn Leigh Scott, to talk about the appeal and enduring legacy of this show that was once massively popular but is now a quintessential cult property that will likely be rebooted for the fourth time within the next couple of years. Is the show camp, or just low budget? Think of all the sensitive, reluctant vampires in today's media that this show launched! We're doing this show for Pride Month given its big gay following and leading gay actors. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Listen to The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman.
- [Ep. 393: Kant vs. Hegel (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/06/07/ep-393-2-kant-vs-hegel-citizen/) - Concluding our treatment of Ch. 2 of Hegel's Faith and Knowledge (1802). Hegel wants to connect various ideas in Kant: The idea of an "intuitive, achetypal intellect" which we have to refer to in explaining biology, the synthesizing imagination that makes experience possible, and the unknown agency that makes things-in-themselves suitable for processing by our knowledge faculties and vice versa. For Hegel, these things all point to Reason as both the way we know God and the activity of God Himself: Hegelian Reason is the bringing together of seemingly opposite things, and so underlying our minds must be some greater kind of mind that brings together mind and world to create experience.
- [Ep. 394: Hegel on Faith vs. The Enlightenment (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/06/21/ep-394-1-hegel-faith-enlightenment/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), sec. 527-73, i.e. "Faith and Pure Insight" and "The Struggle of Enlightenment with Superstition." Picking up where we left off in this book, an intangible part of us ("pure consciousness") escapes the attempts of culture to define us. This spiritual part has two sides: pure insight, which is the destructive critical faculty popularized by The Enlightenment which sees through all hypocricy and unwarranted belief; and faith, which Enlightenment either dismisses as superstition or chases into a little corner isolated from the real, empirical world. Eventually, the tension between these leads to a conception of faith that Hegel finds more congenial: Awareness of God is just a function of self-consciousness itself, though we don't typically recognize this. Don't miss the PEL Live show in Madison, WI on Saturday afternoon, July 11. See partiallyexaminedlife.com/live for details. Sponsors: Don’t get caught running yesterday’s security on today’s web: visit nordlayer.com/browser. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 394: Hegel on Faith vs. The Enlightenment (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/06/19/ep-394-2-hegel-faith-enlightenment-citizen/) - We conclude our treatment for the moment of the Spirit section of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit, sec. 527-73. Hegel's diagnosis: The Enlightenment and faith only seem to be in conflict because they are two sides of "pure consciousness," i.e. thought as a retreat from the actual world. So yes, if you see faith as mere belief, as a thought about some unprovable matter of fact, that is not going to stand critical scrutiny. Hegel's conception of faith will instead be an involved, behavioral, social engagement with the world.
- [Ep. 394: Hegel on Faith vs. The Enlightenment (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/06/19/ep-394-1-hegel-faith-enlightenment-citizen/) - On Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), sec. 527-73, i.e. "Faith and Pure Insight" and "The Struggle of Enlightenment with Superstition." Picking up where we left off in this book, an intangible part of us ("pure consciousness") escapes the attempts of culture to define us. This spiritual part has two sides: pure insight, which is the destructive critical faculty popularized by The Enlightenment which sees through all hypocricy and unwarranted belief; and faith, which Enlightenment either dismisses as superstition or chases into a little corner isolated from the real, empirical world. Eventually, the tension between these leads to a conception of faith that Hegel finds more congenial: Awareness of God is just a function of self-consciousness itself, though we don't typically recognize this.
- [PvI#119: Ms. Philosophy vs. Improv w/ Mary and Jenny](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/06/19/pvi119-ms-philosophy-vs-improv-mary-and-jenny/) - What would PvI be with zero masculine energy? This episode features your usual co-host Mary Hynes and our frequent guest Jennifer Hansen (philosopher at St. Lawrence University). They chat about being hot in a hostile world, interacting with AI, fighting with parrots, and they act out scenes involving the f*cks store and the actress who is too perfect. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.
- [Ep. 393: Kant vs. Hegel (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/06/15/ep-393-2-kant-vs-hegel/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Concluding our treatment of Ch. 2 of Hegel's Faith and Knowledge (1802). Hegel wants to connect various ideas in Kant: The idea of an "intuitive, achetypal intellect" which we have to refer to in explaining biology, the synthesizing imagination that makes experience possible, and the unknown agency that makes things-in-themselves suitable for processing by our knowledge faculties and vice versa. For Hegel, these things all point to Reason as both the way we know God and the activity of God Himself: Hegelian Reason is the bringing together of seemingly opposite things, and so underlying our minds must be some greater kind of mind that brings together mind and world to create experience. Sponsors: Don't get caught running yesterday’s security on today's web: visit nordlayer.com/browser. Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #223: What Is Star Wars Now?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/06/14/pmp223-mandalorian/) - In light of The Mandalorian and Grogu (and the Disney+ Darth Maul cartoon), we (Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al) check back in with Star Wars. Is it now "just another franchise"? Does the movie meet expectations? What's the right volume of Star Wars media? Are the cartoons good? What variety of creators and genres is there room for? Should anyone bother with the books and comics? Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop.
- [NEM#254: Teddy Thompson Gets Off the Sofa](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/06/14/nem254-teddy-thompson/) - The golden-voiced son on Richard and Linda is more tied to '50s/'60s rock and country than he his to his parents' folk influences, and he's recorded ten albums of tuneful, straightforward but highly idiosyncratic rock and country tunes since 2000. We discuss "Come Back" (and listen at the end to "So This Is Heartache") from Never Be the Same (2026), "Move At Speed" from Heartbreaker Please (2020), and "I Should Get Up" from Separate Ways (2006). Intro: "In My Arms" from A Piece of What You Need (2008). More at teddythompson.net. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.
- [Ep. 393: Kant vs. Hegel (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/06/08/ep-393-1-kant-vs-hegel/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on Ch. 2 of Hegel's Faith and Knowledge (1802) , plus some of the material being critiqued from Kant's Critique of Judgment (1790), chiefly sec. 76 and 77. Kant's third critique is not just about beauty but about apprehending nature, and he claims that as humans, we can only understand natural objects by seeing them as purposive (i.e. teleologically): An organism has a healthy state that it is designed to aim at. While Kant can't use the classical Design argument to thus argue that we know that God exists qua designer, he argues that as a practical matter, we must regard such a designer as present. Hegel argues that this is one of many points where Kant should stop dithering and just admit that his project involves Reason actually knowing theological facts. Learn about PEL Live in Madison July 11 at partiallyexaminedlife.com/live.
- [Ep. 392: Early Hegel Elevates Reason (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/22/ep-392-2-hegel-reason-citizen/) - Continuing on Faith and Knowledge (1802), Ch. 1 and 2. We start off by discussing how beauty might give us a window into things-in-themselves according to the Romantics, who were in part following Kant's lead. Also, what version of the ontological argument for the existence of God does Hegel believe? We try to figure out what Hegel is praising in Kant's positing of synthetic a priori claims, and yet how he thinks Kant didn't understand the implications of this view.
- [Ep. 393: Kant vs. Hegel (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/06/06/ep-393-1-kant-vs-hegel-citizen/) - Continuing on Ch. 2 of Hegel's Faith and Knowledge (1802), plus some of the material being critiqued from Kant's Critique of Judgment (1790), chiefly sec. 76 and 77. Kant's third critique not just about beauty but about apprehending nature, and he claims that as humans, we can only understand natural objects by seeing them as purposive (i.e. teleologically): An organism has a healthy state that it is designed to aim at. While Kant can't use the classical Design argument to thus argue that we know that God exists qua designer, he argues that as a practical matter, we must regard such a designer as present. Hegel argues that this is one of many points where Kant should stop dithering and just admit that his project involves Reason actually knowing theological facts.
- [PvI#118: Aphoristically w/ Andrea Roccella](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/06/05/pvi118-aphorisms-andrea-roccella/) - Mark and Mary are joined by Andrea, an Italian teacher with a broad performing background who's written a book of philosophical, poetic aphorisms called Think Town: self-help reflections and directives about fear, ego, happiness, etc. There's a long history of aphorisms in philosophy, and philosophy invented the self-help genre, but how does philosophy work given the lack of argumentation? We explore the monster under the bed, AI agents, making philosophy personally applicable, being receptive, DOT ego secretions, and more. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.
- [Say Hello to AI Seth](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/06/03/say-hello-to-ai-seth/) - Talk to Seth Have you ever wished you could have a conversation directly with one of us? Yes, we've done tutoring in the past (and Mark still does it). But maybe that's too much of a commitment or too intimidating? Maybe your schedule doesn't allow. Now you have another option: introducing AI Seth. Artificial Intelligence
- [Ep. 392: Early Hegel Elevates Reason (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/31/ep-392-2-hegel-reason/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on Faith and Knowledge (1802), Ch. 1 and 2. We start off by discussing how beauty might give us a window into things-in-themselves according to the Romantics, who were in part following Kant's lead. Also, what version of the ontological argument for the existence of God does Hegel believe? We try to figure out what Hegel is praising in Kant's positing of synthetic a priori claims, and yet how he thinks Kant didn't understand the implications of this view.Sponsors: Don't get caught running yesterday’s security on today's web: visit nordlayer.com/browser. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 392: Early Hegel Elevates Reason (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/22/ep-392-1-hegel-reason-citizen/) - On Faith and Knowledge (1802), Ch. 1 and 2. Famously, Kant critiqued Reason to effectively forbid theology and metaphysics, and a young G.W.F. Hegel was not happy about that. He argues against the reduction of Reason to merely applying to the realm of experience, which makes religion merely a subjective, insubstantial matter. Hegel thought he could do better.
- [Ep. 392: Early Hegel Elevates Reason (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/25/ep-392-1-hegel-reason/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On Faith and Knowledge (1802), Ch. 1 and 2. Famously, Kant critiqued Reason to effectively forbid theology and metaphysics, and a young G.W.F. Hegel was not happy about that. He argues against the reduction of Reason to merely applying to the realm of experience, which makes religion merely a subjective, insubstantial matter. Hegel thought he could do better.Sponsors: Don't get caught running yesterday’s security on today's web: visit nordlayer.com/browser. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Partially Examined Recap: May 2026](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/06/02/partially-examined-recap-may-2026/) - From philosophy to music and everything in between, a recap of all the content from The Partially Examined Life in May of 2026.
- [PvI#114: Earning Crazy Town w/ Jenny Hansen](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/19/pvi114-earning-crazy-town-w-jenny-hansen/) - St. Lawrence philosophy prof Jennifer L. Hansen, one of the most frequent guest on Mark's podcasts and expert in feminist philosophy, here hits it off with our new host Mary. We act out vegan jerky time, snacktime at the all-girls clubhouse, and two gals getting pulled over by a cop. Does the "come debate me" style of philosophy include unnecessarily masculine tropes? How does this Charlie Kirk model relate to what Socrates was doing? What are alternative, fun ways to get students to talk in philosophy classes? Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Sponsor: Visit squarespace.com/LINSENMAYER (code LINSENMAYER) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.
- [What Makes a Just War?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/30/what-makes-a-just-war/) - An essay calling for a recommitment to and a renewal of the doctrine of Just War Theory, especially in the context of recent conflicts around the world.
- [NEM#253: Synth-Scaper Richard Barbieri (Japan, Porcupine Tree)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/29/nem253-richard-barbieri/) - Richard played with art-rock band Japan from 1975 through their five albums, then continued to collaborate with members of that group, releasing several increasingly atmospheric albums as Jansen-Barbieri, Jansen-Barbieri-Karn, Rain Tree Crow, et al. He joined Porcupine Tree in 1995 and has played on their 20+ albums, and began putting out ambient solo releases in 2004 (perhaps seven albums' worth to this point) while continuing to collaborate. We discuss "A New Simulation" from Hauntings (2026), "All Fall Down" from Stranger Inside (2008), and "Sleepers Awake" by Jansen-Barbieri from Stone to Flesh (1995). End song: "Waiting to Be Born" by Steve Hogarth and Richard Barbieri, recorded 2015 and released in 2023. Intro: "The Experience of Swimming" by Japan, from Gentlemen Take Polaroids (1980). More at richardbarbieri.bandcamp.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.
- [Pretty Much Pop #221: Streep Does Prada](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/16/pmp221-meryl-streep/) - Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop.
- [Pretty Much Pop #222: Lordlings of the Flies](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/26/pmp222-lord-of-the-flies/) - In light of the new, well-acted and well-shot BBC/Netflix adaptation, we discuss William Golding's 1954 novel Lord of the Flies and its previous (1963, 1991) adaptations. Featuring Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al. What do we think of the updates made for this retelling? Its pacing? Its repeated close-up shots of kids' silent faces? Is this per usual obviously inferior to the novel, or does it actually present deeper characters and a more visceral presentation of their degradation? Sponsor: Get started with Claude AI at claude.ai/pmp. Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop.
- [Ep. 391: Habermas Defends Modernity (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/09/ep-391-2-habermas-citizen/) - Continuing on on The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity, Ch. 1, 2, and 5 with guest John Ganz. We further discuss Habermas' characterizations of Hegel's take on modernity and eventually get to Adorno and Horkheimer, whose dismissals of modernity Habermas thinks go too far.
- [Closereads: Horkheimer & Adorno on The Odyssey (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/20/closereads-horkheimer-adorno-on-the-odyssey-part-one/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get previous and future installments of this podcast. We read part of The Dialectic of Enlightenment (1944), specifically the parts about Homer's epic as an allegory for the merely apparent triumph of modernism (capitalism, instrumental reason) over myth (savagery, magical thinking). Homer is odd for H&A because even
- [Ep. 386: Hegel on Society (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/08/ep-386-3-hegel-society-citizen/) - On sec. 451-463 of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. We get into more detail on these passages about the way the two types of law (human and divine) interact, as well as how these play out in family roles and the responsibility to bury the dead.
- [PvI#117: Mark and Mary in the Triboobal Aftermath](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/20/pvi117-aftermath/) - We are REELING from our REDACTED episode, and so we talk about the lessons we learned from that and start thinking about what it is to be out of one's comfort zone: how do fear and ego issues interact? Is playfulness a lack of professionalism? Are both arrogance and humility products of fear? Plus, cutting-edge surgery reality shows, Schrödinger's hostile cat and Dr. Brenda's sentient food samples, Bishop Jim vs. Trudy the Innocent, and more! Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.
- [Ep. 391: Habermas Defends Modernity (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/17/ep-391-2-habermas/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a supporter-exclusive part three.Continuing on on The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity, Ch. 1, 2, and 5 with guest John Ganz. We further discuss Habermas' characterizations of Hegel's take on modernity and eventually get to Adorno and Horkheimer, whose dismissals of modernity Habermas thinks go too far. Sponsors: Don’t get caught running yesterday’s security on today’s web: visit nordlayer.com/browser. Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 391: Habermas Defends Modernity (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/17/ep-391-3-habermas-citizen/) - Your four hosts review the critiques of modernity, try to figure out where Kant fits in, and then discuss Habermas' characterization of Nietzsche's anti-Enlightenment project.
- [Pretty Much Pop #219: Weir-ed Sci Fi: Hail Mary and The Martian](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/04/19/pmp219-project-hail-mary/) - We discuss the hard sci-fi film Project Hail Mary, which along with The Martian (2015) was based on a novel by Andy Weir and adapted by Drew Goddard. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al consider how hard we actually like our sci-fi, the directors of these films (by Lord/Miller and Ridley Scott respectively), how the books got adapted, Weir's other work (Artemis, some webcomics, etc.), and more. How does Weir make a series of scientific problems into an actual, enjoyable plot? Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop. Sponsor: Visit squarespace.com/PRETTY (code PRETTY) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.
- [Pretty Much Pop #220: Peaky Blinders: Gangs of Birmingham](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/04/30/pmp220-peaky-blinders/) - We discuss Steven Knight's six-seasons-and-a-movie historical crime show Peaky Blinders, featuring Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al. Does the show live up to its initial excellence? It's got a great emotional premise (post-WWI PTSD), and there's a ridiculous amount of gravitas among the cast, but do the heists undermine this heft? It's OK if you haven't seen the show; we hold off on spoilers for quite a while and warn you when we reach that point. Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop. Sponsor: Get started with Claude AI at claude.ai/pmp.
- [NEM#252: Folk Legend Tom Paxton](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/16/nem252-tom-paxton/) - Tom was an integral member of the Greenwich Village early '60s folk scene (playing originals regularly before Bob Dylan did). His tunes have been covered by Dylan, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Harry Belafonte, and many others. He received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2009. We talk about "Rebel Gal" from Together Again (2026) (a collaborative album with John McCutcheon), "If the Poor Don't Matter" from Redemption Road (2015), "Mr. Blue" from Morning Again (1968), and "The Death of Stephen Biko" (with Anne Hills and Bob Gibson) from Best of Friends (live in 1984, released in 2004; the song was originally recorded for Heroes, 1978). Intro: "I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound" from Rambin' Boy (1964). More at tompaxton.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.
- [Ep. 390: Diderot Debates a Cynic (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/04/26/ep-390-2-diderot-citizen/) - Continuing on Rameau's Nephew, getting further into Rameau's philosophy and practices and trying to figure out what this anti-hero can tell us about ethics, given that he displays the virtue of being candid about his own vices. We talk about "trade idioms" (unethical practices that we consider normal), education, and music. How does this reading relate to Hegel (who quotes it directly)?
- [Ep. 391: Habermas Defends Modernity (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/11/ep-391-1-habermas/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On Jürgen Habermas’ The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity (1985), featuring guest John Ganz. Habermas defines modernity as Enlightenment ideals, discusses what's wrong with them (subjectivity), how Hegel argues constructively that a social element needs to be added this this, and how many other critics (e.g. Adorno, Nietzsche, and Foucault) instead argue more destructively against Enlightenment values like Truth, liberty, and justice. Sponsors: Check out the Scribe Optimize Workflow AI platform at Scribe.how/PEL. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [(sub)TEXT: The Romance of Self-Destruction in “Withnail and I” (1987)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/11/subtext-withnail-and-i/) - It’s 1969, and as drug guru Danny tells us, “the greatest decade in the history of mankind is over.” There will, he says, be many refugees, and the film’s implication is that Withnail—who combines self-importance and lofty ambition with substance abuse and urban squalor—will not be one of them. Marwood, by contrast, has seen the writing on the wall, in the form of the salacious tabloid stories that, while they threaten to outcompete the world’s attention for the arts, ultimately can’t be used to excuse the pair’s failure to find work as actors. Countering this attentional collapse perhaps requires getting serious: leaving bohemian pretensions behind—and along with them, as Marwood finds out in their jaunt to the countryside—a backward-looking romanticism that can be used as a cover not just for artistic paralysis but upper class predations, both economic and sexual. Wes & Erin discuss the cult classic “Withnail and I,” and whether our capacity for sublimation suffers less from the crisis of modernity than from our attempts to transcend it.
- [Ep. 391: Habermas Defends Modernity (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/09/ep-391-1-habermas-citizen/) - On Jürgen Habermas’ The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity (1985), featuring guest John Ganz. Habermas defines modernity as Enlightenment ideals, discusses what's wrong with them (subjectivity), how Hegel argues constructively that a social element needs to be added this this, and how many other critics (e.g. Adorno, Nietzsche, and Foucault) instead argue more destructively against Enlightenment values like Truth, liberty, and justice.
- [Partially Examined Recap: April 2026](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/08/partially-examined-recap-april-2026/) - From philosophy to music and everything in between, a recap of all the content from The Partially Examined Life in April of 2026
- [What is It Like to be Batfished?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/30/what-is-it-like-to-be-batfished/) - Making emotional connections with AI is a new kind of risk to manage. Through philosophical devices and cautionary tales, you can stay vigilant.
- [Ep. 390: Diderot Debates a Cynic (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/03/ep-390-2-diderot/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on Rameau's Nephew, getting further into Rameau's philosophy and practices and trying to figure out what this anti-hero can tell us about ethics, given that he displays the virtue of being candid about his own vices. We talk about "trade idioms" (unethical practices that we consider normal), education, and music. How does this reading relate to Hegel (who quotes it directly)? Sponsors: Don’t get caught running yesterday’s security on today’s web: visit nordlayer.com/browser. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Lovesick: Erōs and Melancholia in Plato’s Phaedrus](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/01/lovesick-eros-and-melancholia-in-platos-phaedrus/) - An enriching account of eros, love, and loss through the inspired wisdom of Plato and considered judgement of Sigmund Freud.
- [BONUS: Redacted Acting Coach](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/01/bonus-redacted-acting-coach/) - Every PvI recording is an experiment, and in this case, our guest (a bigwig acting coach in NYC whom I went to high school with) didn't feel great about the episode, so I offered to paywall it. Here you get to hear what you're missing, along with a little pitch about why you should support the show. To respond affirmatively to this pitch and hear (and see!) the whole episode, visit patreon.com/philosophyimprov.
- [Closereads: Lionel Trilling on Sincerity (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/05/01/closereads-lionel-trilling-on-sincerity-part-one/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get previous and future installments of this podcast.On Ch. 2 "The Honest Soul and the Disintegrated Consciousness" in Sincerity and Authenticity (1972). This chapter focuses on a reading of Diderot's Rameau's Nephew and what Hegel made of it in the Phenomenology.
- [NEM#251: Dr. Alan Williams (Birdsong at Morning)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/04/30/nem251-alan-williams-birdsong-at-morning/) - Alan released two albums with folk-rock band Knots and Crosses in the early 90s, put out one solo album, then became a recording engineer and earned a PhD in ethnomusicology. He released three albums between 2010-2019 fronting Birdsong at Morning and put out two more solo albums. We discuss "Just Like Water" (and listen at the end to "Somewhere There's a Train") from Floating on the Dreamline (2026), "The Great Escape" by Birdsong at Morning from A Slight Departure (2015), and the title track to Curve of the Earth (1993) by Knots and Crosses. Intro: "Neon Dreaming," originally from Evidence (1994). More at alanwilliamsevidence.com. Sponsor: Get three months free of online payroll and benefits software for small businesses at gusto.com/nem. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.
- [Ep. 390: Diderot Debates a Cynic (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/04/26/ep-390-1-diderot/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On Denis Diderot's Rameau's Nephew, a dialogue written in the 1760s. Is virtue necessary for happiness, or in the real world, is vice necessary to get by? Diderot's character Rameau argues the latter: that philosophical morality is problematic, and our imperative is prudence, which in Rameau's case involves a lot of clownish deception and (ironically) truth-telling. Sponsors: Don’t get caught running yesterday’s security on today’s web: visit nordlayer.com/browser. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Get three months free of online payroll and benefits software for small businesses at gusto.com/pel.
- [Ep. 389: Hegel on Wealth and Power (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/04/12/ep-389-2-hegel-wealth-power-citizen/) - Concluding on "Culture and its Realm of Actuality," in Hegel's Phenomenology via sections 519-526. We get into some of the ironic psychology here: In giving loyalty to the king, the nobles actually boost themselves qua givers. They should be grateful to the king to get wealth back from him, but being dependent on the king makes them resentful. The result is duplicitous people resenting those they claim to esteem, and moral language that is thus used inconsistently (the king is "good" when praised by "bad" when resented), which encourages jaded moral nihilism.
- [Ep. 388: Hegel on Culture (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/29/ep-388-2-hegel-culture-citizen/) - Continuing on the "Spirit" chapter (more specifically. "Culture and its realm of actuality") in Hegel's Phenomenology, now covering sec. 490-510. How exactly does the process of acculturation work?
- [Ep. 390: Diderot Debates a Cynic (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/04/26/ep-390-1-diderot-citizen/) - On Denis Diderot's Rameau's Nephew, a dialogue written in the 1760s. Is virtue necessary for happiness, or in the real world, is vice necessary to get by? Diderot's character Rameau argues the latter: that philosophical morality is problematic, and our imperative is prudence, which in Rameau's case involves a lot of clownish deception and (ironically) truth-telling.
- [NEM#250: Bill Pritchard the Tourist](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/04/22/nem250-bill-pritchard/) - Bill is a singer/songwriter who recorded five albums of catchy tunes between 1989 and 1991, then retired but came back a vengeance in 2014. He's now just released his 13th album, Haunted, and we talk about "Perpetual Tourist" and listen at the end to the title track from that, "Trentham" from A Trip to the Coast (2014) and "Pigalle on a Tuesday is Charming" from Parce Que (1988). Intro: "Tommy & Co," from Three Months, Three Weeks and Two Days (1989). More at billprichardmusic.com. Sponsor: Get three months free of online payroll and benefits software for small businesses at gusto.com/nem. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.
- [PvI#116: Full Bird Mode w/ BJ Lange](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/04/22/pvi116-birds-bj-lange/) - BJ is an LA improviser/actor/TV host (who teaches wounded warriors among others), and he chats with Mark and Mary about migratory patterns, TV shows that date you, how to draw in students, the realness of birds, and playing unsafe characters. Scenes include a forced-Fargo college experience, improv class on the roof, spying on birds, and keyboard warriors. Plus Marge and Larry. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.
- [Ep. 389: Hegel on Wealth and Power (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/04/19/ep-389-2-hegel-wealth-power/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Concluding on "Culture and its Realm of Actuality," in Hegel's Phenomenology via sections 519-526. We get into some of the ironic psychology here: In giving loyalty to the king, the nobles actually boost themselves qua givers. They should be grateful to the king to get wealth back from him, but being dependent on the king makes them resentful. The result is duplicitous people resenting those they claim to esteem, and moral language that is thus used inconsistently (the king is "good" when praised by "bad" when resented), which encourages jaded moral nihilism. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 389: Hegel on Wealth and Power (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/04/13/ep-389-1-hegel-wealth-power/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on Hegel's Phenomenology, "Spirit" chapter, now up to sections 511-526, which finishes off the sub-section of "Self-Alienated Spirit" called "Culture and its Realm of Actuality." Whereas in our last discussion, obeying the state (public power) ran counter to hoarding wealth (private power), at this stage, the two converge, because the state gets concentrated in a single monarch who both receives our power and doles out wealth to his supporters. So putting your effort into obtaining private wealth ironically requires surrendering your agency (and hence wealth) to the state. Sponsors: Go to NerdWallet.com/PEL for trustworthy small business loans. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Get three months free of online payroll and benefits software for small businesses at gusto.com/pel.
- [Ep. 389: Hegel on Wealth and Power (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/04/12/ep-389-1-hegel-wealth-power-citizen/) - Continuing on Hegel's Phenomenology, "Spirit" chapter, now up to sections 511-526, which finishes off the sub-section of "Self-Alienated Spirit" called "Culture and its Realm of Actuality." Whereas in our last discussion, obeying the state (public power) ran counter to hoarding wealth (private power), at this stage, the two converge, because the state gets concentrated in a single monarch who both receives our power and doles out wealth to his supporters. So putting your effort into obtaining private wealth ironically requires surrendering your agency (and hence wealth) to the state.
- [Closereads: Kierkegaard on Knowledge](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/06/closereads-kierkegaard-on-knowledge/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get previous and future installments of this podcast.On an excerpt from Soren Kierkegaard's Concluding Unscientific Postscript (1846) that critiques Hegel's idea of logic (dialectic) and then argues for his own conception of "truth as subjectivity."
- [Closereads: Galen Strawson Against Narrativity (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/04/10/closereads-galen-strawson/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get previous and future installments of this podcast.On "Against Narrativity" (2004), where Galen (son of P.F.) argues against the claims that we do and should make sense of our experience by conceiving of it as a story, with a logical progression and dramatic arc. Many normal people do not do this, and are not unethical for being the way they are.
- [Partially Examined Recap: March 2026](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/04/10/partially-examined-recap-march-2026/) - From philosophy to music to everything in between, a recap of all the content from The Partially Examined Life in March of 2026.
- [PvI#115: Mary and Mark Astro-Logically](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/04/09/pvi115-astrology/) - In this pitched, high-stakes battle, your hosts have it out about astrological biases, doing offensive accents, letting go of control in an improv scene, and group-based restrictions on who you feel you date. Does Jesus have time to appear on your toast? Are all TV characters robots in a shared robot universe? Are zodiac signs based on serial killer characteristics? How does Pluto FEEL about not being a planet any more? So many vital questions definitively addressed in one meditation together... Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.
- [Ep. 387: Hegel on Law (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/15/ep-387-2-hegel-law-citizen/) - Continuing on on sec. 469-483 of Hegel's Phenomenology, finishing the analysis of Antigone and bringing in Oedipus to say why the conflict between types of law is both criminal and destined. We then turn to the aftermath: a society alienated from law but with legally recognized self-conscious individuals.
- [PMP#217: Mel Brooks' Old Comedy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/18/pmp217-mel-brooks/) - In light of Judd Apatow's HBO documentary The 99-Year-Old Man, we discuss the films of Mel Brooks, which were to varying degrees formative on us (i.e. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al). Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop. Sponsors: Get started with Claude AI at claude.ai/pmp. Visit squarespace.com/PRETTY (code PRETTY) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.
- [PMP#218: All the "Scream"-ing](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/04/06/pmp218-scream/) - We talk about the Scream meta-slasher film franchise, from the original Wes Craven /Kevin Williamson 1996 debut starring Neve Campbell, and Courtney Cox to the new one (#7), still with three out of four of those participants (Wes Craven being dead). Is the self-reflection about the horror genre in these films actually elevating, or just a permission structure to enjoy the base pleasure of seeing people murdered? Are these actually films that people who normally hate slasher movies still might enjoy? Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop. Sponsor: Visit squarespace.com/PRETTY (code PRETTY) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.
- [Ep. 388: Hegel on Culture (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/04/06/ep-388-2-hegel-culture/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on the "Spirit" chapter (more specifically. "Culture and its realm of actuality") in Hegel's Phenomenology, now covering sec. 490-510. How exactly does the process of acculturation work? Sponsors: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 388: Hegel on Culture (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/30/ep-388-1-hegel-culture/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on Hegel's Phenomenology, "Spirit" chapter, now up to sections 484-510, which is the first part of "Self-Alienated Spirit. Culture." In Hegel's ongoing semi-mythical story about the development of the modern self and society, we're now at a point where people are "bare persons," legally recognized but not distinguished from each other. We thicken these thin selves using cultural contents: your profession, your group memberships, your style, etc. But this way of individuating is fundamentally self-alienating: these ways that we identify ourselves are foreign to our souls!
- [Ep. 388: Hegel on Culture (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/29/ep-388-1-hegel-culture-citizen/) - Continuing on Hegel's Phenomenology, "Spirit" chapter, now up to sections 484-510, which is the first part of "Self-Alienated Spirit. Culture." In Hegel's ongoing semi-mythical story about the development of the modern self and society, we're now at a point where people are "bare persons," legally recognized but not distinguished from each other. We thicken these thin selves using cultural contents: your profession, your group memberships, your style, etc. But this way of individuating is fundamentally self-alienating: these ways that we identify ourselves are foreign to our souls!
- [NEM#249: Kavus Torabi Now Leads Gong](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/27/nem249-kavus-torabi/) - Kavus began in dual-guitar London math-rock bands in the '90s, joined The Cardiacs for their final lineup. His band Knifeworld released the first of its four albums in 2009, he released solo albums in 2020 and 2024, and since 2014 he has released six albums with legacy prog-rock band Gong. He has also released four studio albums with electronica band The Utopia Strong since 2019. We discuss "Stars in Heaven" by Gong from Bright Spirit Haulix (2026), "Send Him Seaworthy" by Knifeworld from The Unraveling (2014), "You Broke My Fall" by Kavus Torabi from Hip to the Jag (2020), and "Wise Guy" by The Monsoon Bassoon, a 1998 single. Intro: "Ditzy Scene" by The Cardiacs, a 2007 single eventually released on LSD (2025). Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.
- [Ep. 387: Hegel on Law (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/22/ep387-2-hegel-law/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on on sec. 469-483 of Hegel's Phenomenology, finishing the analysis of Antigone and bringing in Oedipus to say why the conflict between types of law is both criminal and destined. We then turn to the aftermath: a society alienated from law but with legally recognized self-conscious individuals. Sponsors: Get three months free of online payroll and benefits software for small businesses at gusto.com/pel. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Go to HelloFresh.com/pel10fm to Get 10 free meals + a free Zwilling Knife with your third box.
- [PEL Dystopian Spring Nightcap 2026](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/22/pel-spring-nightcap-2026/) - We talk about some books we've read, what we're doing with AI, reflect back on our Graham Haman engagement, talk about group minds (e.g. Pluribus), and share some updates about other PEL network podcasts.
- [Mark Lint’s PEL Network Holiday Party 2020: Merry Chatting and Songs](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2020/12/24/pel-holiday-party-2020/) - Join the office party, where Mark holds mini conversations on philosophy, art, and life with all PEL and PMP co-hosts, plus Ken Stringfellow, Jenny Hansen, and the members of Mark Lint's Dry Folk, whose 12 tunes are presented in succession with nary a partridge in sight. Will these 12 spirits turn you (or Mark) from errant ways? BYOB!
- [The Ethics of Seeing in Susan Sontag’s “On Photography”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/18/sontag-on-photography/) - Photography is a technology of contradictions. It is at once mechanical and mysterious, even magical. It furnishes evidence of presence while being a token of absence. It can show us proof but can’t, without accompanying narration or context, make us understand. And perhaps most perplexing of all, it is an imperialistic technology which, paradoxically, atomizes the world and democratizes all events and experiences, making each viewer of photographs the owner of a facsimile-world in his or her head. Wes & Erin discuss two essays from Susan Sontag’s collection, “On Photography,” “In Plato’s Cave” and “America, Seen Through Photographs, Darkly,” and ask what constitutes photography’s “ethics of seeing,” and whether Sontag suggests an alternative comportment towards the camera, the subject, and the photographic image.
- [PMP#216: Oscars So Black?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/05/pmp216-oscars-so-black/) - In light of the now-completed black history month and the upcoming Oscars, we consider the "Oscars So White" issue that was a hot topic about a decade ago. We all tried to watch some of the Oscar-nominated films by black creators, like Twelve Years a Slave, Moonlight, Judas and the Black Messiah, Boyz in Da Hood, et al. What makes for a critically lauded drama in this genre? Does a film have to have black creators (not just stars) to be an authentically black film? Are such films destined for a niche audience? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al discuss. Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsors: Get started with Claude AI at claude.ai/pmp. Visit squarespace.com/PRETTY (code PRETTY) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.
- [Ep. 386: Hegel on Society (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/02/27/ep-386-2-hegel-society-citizen/) - Continuing on the "Spirit" section of The Phenomenology of Spirit, giving a sort of social metaphysics, wherein the ethical life of a society is analyzed into two complementary types of law, human (explicit laws but also customs) and what Hegel calls "divine" (a subconscious ethical sense represented by the home and women).
- [Ep. 387: Hegel on Law (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/16/ep387-1-hegel-law/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on Hegel's Phenomenology, "Spirit" chapter, now up to sections 464-483, which are under the sub-headings "Ethical Action. Human and Divine Knowledge. Guilt and Destiny" and "Legal Status." After anticipating it in last episode, we get Hegel's allegorical analysis of Antigone as a clash between two types of law that cooperate in a harmonious society. With this clash, both fail, leaving us with modernity where law is alienated from individuals.Sponsors: Go to NerdWallet.com/PEL for trustworthy small business loans. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 386: Hegel on Society (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/02/ep386-1-hegel-society/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On. G.W.F. Hegel's The Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), sec. 438-463. What constitutes society? We're beginning a multi-episode arc here on the "Spirit" chapter of the book, so we learn what Spirit actually is and how it relates to individuals. We also talk about the two layers of law that make up society and how these can be in or out of harmony. Sponsors: Get three months free of online payroll and benefits software for small businesses at gusto.com/pel. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 387: Hegel on Law (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/15/ep-387-1-hegel-law-citizen/) - Continuing on Hegel's Phenomenology, "Spirit" chapter, now up to sections 464-483, which are under the sub-headings "Ethical Action. Human and Divine Knowledge. Guilt and Destiny" and "Legal Status." After anticipating it in last episode, we get Hegel's allegorical analysis of Antigone as a clash between two types of law that cooperate in a harmonious society. With this clash, both fail, leaving us with modernity where law is alienated from individuals.
- [NEM#248: Lande Hekt: Lucky to Be Indie](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/12/nem248-lande-hekt/) - Lande started in the 2010's in the British punk-pop group Muncie Girls, with six releases (mostly EPs), and began her solo career in 2019. We discuss "Coming Home" (and listen at the end to the title track) from her fourth solo album Lucky Now (2026), "80 Days of Rain" from Going to Hell (2011), and "Learn In School" by Muncie Girls from From Caplan to Belsize (2016). Intro: "Gay Space Cadets" from House Without a View (2022). Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic. Sponsors: Get three months free of online payroll and benefits software for small businesses at gusto.com/nem. Download the Gametime app and use code NEM for $20 off your first purchase of concert tickets.
- [Ep. 386: Hegel on Society (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/09/ep386-2-hegel-society/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a supporter-exclusive part three.Continuing on the "Spirit" section of The Phenomenology of Spirit, giving a sort of social metaphysics, wherein the ethical life of a society is analyzed into two complementary types of law, human (explicit laws but also customs) and what Hegel calls "divine" (a subconscious ethical sense represented by the home and women). Sponsors: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 381: Aquinas on Ethical Psychology (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/14/ep-381-3-aquinas-ethics-citizen/) - We discuss the first six questions from the "Moral Action" section in the Summa Theologica (1268), which we read in Thomas Aquinas: Selected Philosophical Writings (1993).
- [Partially Examined Recap: February 2026](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/06/partially-examined-recap-february-2026/) - From philosophy to music and everything in between, a recap of all the content from the Partially Examined Life in February 2026.
- [PvI#113: Mary and Mark Pick Their Battles](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/06/pvi113-mary-and-mark-pick-their-battles/) - What is it worth raising an objection over, and how hard do you fight? We hear (and act out) Mary's roommate-searching trauma, plus Mary for President, curiosity about bellicose Twitter, respect vs. reverence, rationality and religion, dealing with QAnon believers, family Thanksgiving, giving someone else a name, vegetarianism, and the angel of philosophy. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Sponsor: Visit squarespace.com/LINSENMAYER (code LINSENMAYER) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.
- [(sub)TEXT: The Music of Longing in “Amadeus” (1984)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/05/subtext-amadeus/) - If an understanding of music implies a love of structure, perhaps the musician’s relationship to his art mirrors the one he has with authority, both human and divine. Salieri, whose father was a man of commerce, sees God as a kind of bank manager who records prayers and sacrifices as payments on a long-term loan of musical talent. Salieri’s economics work just fine until the arrival of Mozart, who seems to have put up no collateral—he’s ”a giggling, dirty creature” in the words of Salieri—but has received the equivalent of a billion-dollar loan. Are Mozart’s gifts a glitch in divine accounting? Or are his flaws attendant on or even the result of his genius? And how can we account for the glitch in Salieri’s design, which permits longing to go unanswered by talent? Wes & Erin discuss the 1984 film “Amadeus,” directed by Milos Forman.
- [Pretty Much Pop #214: South Park Resurgence](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/02/09/pmp214-south-park/) - We're discussing Trey Parker and Matt Stone's Comedy Central show that premiered in 1997 and has just finished its politically relevant 28th season, featuring the usual crew: Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al. How can a show be so juvenile yet so apparently well thought out?e get into the evolution of the show,, the equal-opportunity offensive humor, the use of child characters to deliver it, their ambiguous politics, the quick turnaround production, the excellent music, and more. Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsor: Visit squarespace.com/PRETTY (code PRETTY) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.
- [PMP#215: Hamnet Dramatizes Shakespeare](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/02/18/pmp215-hamnet/) - When we don't know much about some genius playwright's life, why not make up some things based on the contents of his plays? Maybe put Shakespearean dialogue right in character's mouths, so the audience will say, "hey, I remember that line!" Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk through the Chloe Zhao Oscar-bait historical drama, Hamnet, and its source, the 2020 novel by Maggie O'Farrell. Is the film great, or just "grief porn"? Plus, Shakespeare in Love and other biopics. Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsors: Get started with Claude AI at claude.ai/pmp. Visit squarespace.com/PRETTY (code PRETTY) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.
- [Ep. 385: Guest Graham Harman on Object vs. Continuum (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/02/15/ep385-2-harman-interview-citizen/) - In our continuing Q&A with Graham, we engage him about Kantian Things-In-Themselves, complex things (that if divided, must be cut at the joints) vs. mere heaps, fact ontology, natural kinds, fictional objects, why philosophy is not knowledge, and philosophical style.
- [NEM#247: John S. Hall (King Missile): Daily Poet](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/03/02/nem247-john-s-hall-king-missile/) - John has released at least fifteen albums, more than half of these under the name King Missile, but even this name covers three different bands, since John until recently didn't play any instruments, so his music is always collaborative with one or more music writers. Apart from his various musical projects, he's published around 50 books of poetry and publishes poems every day on his Facebook page. We discuss "Her Cock is True" from the yet-to-be-released King Missile album Quest for Fire, "Eating People" from The Psychopathology of Everyday Life (2003), and "Sensitive Artist" from Fluting on the Hump (1987). End song: "Garden" by You, Me and This Fuckin’ Guy from Garden Variety Fuckers (2020). Intro: "Detachable Penis" from Happy Hour (1992). Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic. Sponsor: Get three months free of online payroll and benefits software for small businesses at gusto.com/nem.
- [When a Fallacy Ain’t a Fallacy: The Naturalistic Fallacy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/02/27/when-a-fallacy-aint-a-fallacy-the-naturalistic-fallacy/) - An entry in the series "When a Fallacy Ain't a Fallacy," outlining the do's and don'ts of accusing someone of the "naturalistic fallacy."
- [Ep. 386: Hegel on Society (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/02/27/ep-386-1-hegel-society-citizen/) - On. G.W.F. Hegel's The Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), sec. 438-463. What constitutes society? We're beginning a multi-episode arc here on the "Spirit" chapter of the book, so we learn what Spirit actually is and how it relates to individuals. We also talk about the two layers of law that make up society and how these can be in or out of harmony.
- [When a Fallacy Ain't a Fallacy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/04/22/when-a-fallacy-aint-a-fallacy/) - Understanding logical fallacies is crucial to bringing order and discipline to our arguments. But fallacies are also the stock-in-trade of any keyboard warrior fighting it out in the online trenches. It can get tedious. "Fallacy bro" is a term used to pick out this annoying quality. The accusation of a fallacy often comes too quickly,
- [Ep. 385: Guest Graham Harman on Object vs. Continuum (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/02/22/ep385-2-harman-interview/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.In our continuing Q&A with Graham, we engage him about Kantian Things-In-Themselves, complex things (that if divided, must be cut at the joints) vs. mere heaps, fact ontology, natural kinds, fictional objects, why philosophy is not knowledge, and philosophical style. Sponsors: Go to NerdWallet.com/PEL for trustworthy small business loans. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Go to HelloFresh.com/pel10fm to Get 10 free meals + a free Zwilling Knife with your third box.
- [PvI#112: Musical Zoom w/ Jerome Kurtenbach](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/02/19/pvi112-musical-improv-jerome-kurtenbach/) - Jerome is an LA composer/director/screenwriter who is involved in a lot of musical improv, so Mary and Mark interview him about that and about the function of art, plus songs for pets, a support group for people who sing all the time, and more. Hear more PvI. Jerome sticks around for the post-game, shared with you non-supporters just this once. Support the podcast to get this for most episodes, plus an ad free experience. Sponsor: Visit squarespace.com/LINSENMAYER (code LINSENMAYER) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.
- [NEM#246: Robert Deeble in His Talking Voice](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/02/16/nem246-robert-deeble/) - Folky singer/songwriter and psychotherapist Robert started in the '80s but considers 1994 his professional debut and has now released his seventh album since then, The Space Between Us. We discuss "Attic of Desire" (and the intro is "The Forest From the Tree") from that album, plus "Uncertain" from Beloved (2017), the title track from Earthside Down (1998). End song: "Rock A Bye" feat. Victoria Williams from Days Like These (1994). More at robertdeeble.com. Watch Robert's video for "The Forest From the Tree." The previous version of "Attic of Desire" was called "A Formal Apology" from Thirteen Stories (2003). Watch Robert and his band play "Earthside Down" live in 2002. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic. Sponsor: Download the Gametime app and use code NEM for $20 off your first purchase of concert tickets.
- [Ep. 385: Guest Graham Harman on Object vs. Continuum (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/02/16/ep385-1-harman-interview/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.An interview with Graham in light of his new book, Waves and Stones: On the Ultimate Nature of Reality, which elaborates and adds to issues that the gang previously studied in Object-Oriented Ontology. Graham argues that in addition to objects (which have parts), there are continua, such as space and time, and these continua are the links that allow otherwise forever separated objects to touch each other. Sponsors: Go to NerdWallet.com/PEL for trustworthy small business loans. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 384: Graham Harman's Object-Oriented Ontology (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/25/ep384-1-harman-ooo/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On Harman's Object-Oriented Ontology: A New Theory of Everything (2018). What counts as an entity in the world? Harman includes not just physical objects, but fictional objects, "sensual objects," and even events, which you might have thought were the alternative to objects. With this promiscuous ontology comes a strange theory of causality whereby no real object touches another real object, and an epistemology that involves us having no knowledge of real objects at all, though Harman's theory art gives us a back-door to make up for this deficiency, and philosophy itself ends up sharing in these properties of art. Sponsors: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Go to HelloFresh.com/pel10fm to Get 10 free meals + a free Zwilling Knife with your third box.
- [Ep. 384: Graham Harman's Object-Oriented Ontology (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/25/ep384-2-harman-ooo-citizen/) - Continuing on Object-Oriented Ontology: A New Theory of Everything (2018), finishing up ch. 1 (discussing what's so bad about reductionism) and moving to ch. 4, "Indirect Relations," which is about causality.
- [Ep. 385: Guest Graham Harman on Object vs. Continuum (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/02/15/ep385-1-harman-interview-citizen/) - An interview with Graham in light of his new book, Waves and Stones: On the Ultimate Nature of Reality, which elaborates and adds to issues that the gang previously studied in Object-Oriented Ontology. Graham argues that in addition to objects (which have parts), there are continua, such as space and time, and these continua are the links that allow otherwise forever separated objects to touch each other.
- [PREVIEW-Ep. 289: Aesthetic Sense Theory: Hume (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/03/20/preview-ep289-2-aesthetic-sense-theory-hume/) - 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.
- [Ep. 384: Graham Harman's Object-Oriented Ontology (Part Three)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/02/09/ep384-3-harman-ooo/) - Subscribe to get parts 1, 2, and 3 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.We consider chapter 2, "Aesthetics Is the Root of All Philosophy," where Harman describes how art can help us see behind the veil to things-in-themselves. Art is "theatrical" in that it's really the spectator who is standing in like an actor for the object encountered in art. Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health.
- [Ep. 384: Graham Harman's Object-Oriented Ontology (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/02/02/ep384-2-harman-ooo/) - Subscribe to get parts 1, 2, and 3 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on Object-Oriented Ontology: A New Theory of Everything (2018), finishing up ch. 1 (discussing what's so bad about reductionism) and moving to ch. 4, "Indirect Relations," which is about causality. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 384: Graham Harman's Object-Oriented Ontology (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/02/02/ep384-3-harman-ooo-citizen/) - We consider chapter 2, "Aesthetics Is the Root of All Philosophy," where Harman describes how art can help us see behind the veil to things-in-themselves. Art is "theatrical" in that it's really the spectator who is standing in like an actor for the object encountered in art.
- [PMP#213: Stranger Things Grown Familiar](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/13/pmp213-stranger-things/) - The Netflix sci-fi/horror/teen series by the Duffer Brothers that started in 2016 has now finished with its sixth season, attempting to be both epic and sentimental. Who is this show actually aimed at? We talk about the initial appeal through various uneven seasons through the execution of the finale. Has the thing gone on so long that we can't make sense out of the continuity. Featuring, as usual, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al. Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsor: Visit squarespace.com/PRETTY (code PRETTY) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.
- [PvI#111: God Smites Elijah Dann](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/02/08/pvi111-god-smites-elijah-dann/) - Vancouver philosophy prof Elijah was an evangelical Christian who turned liberal and then atheistic, and his latest book, "Unbelieving God: A Skeptics Guide," considers and debunks the various arguments for the existence of God. Mark and Mary chat with him about his journey and about the degree to which we should care about others' beliefs in this area so as to engage them in debate. In the course of this, as you'd expect, God makes a personal appearance (with Mary), and there's an aborted sketch about a brainwashing service. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Sponsor: Visit squarespace.com/LINSENMAYER (code LINSENMAYER) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.
- [Partially Examined Recap: January 2026](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/02/06/partially-examined-recap-january-2026/) - From philosophy to music to everything in between, a recap of all the content from The Partially Examined Life in January of 2026.
- [Ep. 384: Graham Harman's Object-Oriented Ontology (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/25/ep384-1-harman-ooo-citizen/) - On Harman's Object-Oriented Ontology: A New Theory of Everything (2018), ch. 1, 2, and 4. What counts as an entity in the world? Harman's broad ontology includes events, fictions, and many other oddities. However, he also rules out causation among these objects and thinks we have no direct access to them, and hence no knowledge.
- [Closereads: Hegel's "Unhappy Consciousness"](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/02/02/closereads-hegels-unhappy-consciousness/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get previous and future installments of this podcast.We're within the Self-Consciousness chapter of The Phenomenology of Spirit, specifically starting at sec. 206 on the Unhappy Consciousness. This comes after the famous Master-Slave section as well as sections about Stoicism and Skepticism, and it depicts a dividedness within the self stemming from a faulty view of the relation between self and world.
- [Ep. 383: Freud on Love and the Primal Horde (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/12/ep383-1-freud-love/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On the second half of Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego. We talk about the dual origins of group membership for Freud in personal love and in the supposed primitive society where a horde was led by a tyrannical father. Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health.
- [Ep. 383: Freud on Love and the Primal Horde (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/12/ep-383-2-freud-love-citizen/) - Finishing up Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego, finally now turning to Freud's anthropological account of group membership.
- [PvI#110: Memories of 2026 w/ Mark and Mary](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/23/pvi110-memories-of-2026-w-mark-and-mary/) - To kick off 2026, Mark and Mary talk about memory: memory care for the elderly, the relation between things and memories, what professional activities are worth preserving (improv performances?), being the tchotchke, womb nostalgia, puppets and percussion, plus a visit from the future. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Sponsor: Visit squarespace.com/LINSENMAYER (code LINSENMAYER) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.
- [(sub)TEXT: The Character of Authority in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/23/subtext-julius-caesar/) - Brutus is an honorable man, but Caesar is Caesar: at the beginning of Shakespeare’s play, his name is near the point of becoming synonymous with dictatorial power, and his every wish, as Mark Antony points out, has the substance of a command. For the rebels who oppose him, this identification of political authority with personal will is a perversion of republican institutions, and a form of corruption that justifies any means of putting an end to it, even if that means killing a friend. Yet Brutus’s conception of himself as unflaggingly virtuous is one he in fact shares with Caesar, and perhaps reflects the same authoritarian tendency, in grounding the legitimacy of political action in the character of a particular actor. Then again, it is not clear that democratic institutions will always forestall authoritarian tendencies, rather than enable the masses to sanction absolute power in a charismatic leader. Wes & Erin discuss Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” and its sustained reflection on how political power is constructed, located, and legitimated.
- [PEL 2026 Kickoff Nightcap](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/05/pel-2026-kickoff-nightcap/) - Subscribe to hear this ad-free and get tons of bonus content.It's another year, and Mark, Wes, Seth, and Dylan each came in with a short bucket list of philosophical works that we'd like to read before this podcast concludes, whenever that might be. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.It's time to enroll in Mark's spring Big Books in Continental Philosophy Class! Learn more at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [Closereads: Latour on Materialism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/20/closereads-latour-on-materialism/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get all previous and future installments of this podcast.Mark and Wes read and discuss the short 2007 article, "Can We Get Our Materialism Back, Please?" Here Bruno Latour complains that materialism as modern common sense conceives of it is actually idealist: It is a social construction. Instead, a "thick" concept of material things acknowledges and details their historical (i.e. material in the Marxist sense) origins.
- [NEM#245: Darren Michael Boyd's Guitar Instrumentals Beyond Metal](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/20/nem245-darren-michael-boyd/) - Ontario guitarist Darren has released six albums of concise instrumentals since 2019, often using metal guitar tones and tropes, but with a great range of tones and often catchy melodies. We discuss "The Day Beneath Yesterday" (and listen at the end to "Dangerous Curves") from Perpetual Night (2025), "Broken Glass and Disappointment" from Thoughts and Scares (2022), and "The Earth is B Flat" from Lifting the Curse (2019). Intro: The title track from Wonders of the Invisible World (2020). More at darrenboyd.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.
- [Hume's 3rd Prong](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/18/humes-3rd-prong/) - On David Hume's often overlooked views on verdictive judgment and moral evaluation, going beyond the typical realm of abstract reasoning and matters of fact.
- [Ep. 383: Freud on Love and the Primal Horde (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/19/ep383-2-freud-love/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Finishing up Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego, finally now turning to Freud's anthropological account of group membership. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Partially Examined Recap: December 2025](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/17/partially-examined-recap-december-2025/) - From philosophy to music and everything in between, a recap of all the content from The Partially Examined Life in December 2025.
- [Pretty Much Pop #199: Missioning Impossibly](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/24/pretty-much-pop-199-missioning-impossibly/) - On the eight-film action series that launched in 1996 (based on the 1966 TV series) in light of its apparently final film. Featuring Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al. Is this a coherent narrative as the last film would have you believe, or just an excuse for a series of Tom Cruise physically challenges? Maybe the latter is enough for us! For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #200: Hollywood Studio Antics (feat. The Studio and Erica Spyres)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/09/pmp200-hollywood-studios/) - In immediate reaction to the Apple TV+ Seth Rogan show The Studio, we talk about Hollywood's obsession with itself and how studio dynamics interfere with what exactly we all get to see. Also, what's with the fascination with old Hollywood? What's the appeal of Hollywood gossip? Erica our first-season co-host returns to join Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. If you enjoy our show, check out the All the Right Movies podcast.
- [Pretty Much Pop #201: John Wick Minus Wick](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/22/pmp201-john-wick/) - In light of the new film Ballerina, we discuss the John Wick franchise that kicked off in 2014 with four films plus a (bad) Peacock TV show. We also watched the recent documentary Wick Is Pain. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al are joined by Brian Casey to mostly talk about the main four films in the series: They have a formula, but is that bad? Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #202: 50-Year-Old Jaws Busts Our Block](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/05/pmp202-jaws/) - Purported the first summer blockbuster, Jaws has now hit 50 years, and so we discuss this wonderful early Spielberg film, its ill-conceived sequels, some of the making-of docs, and the legacy of shark/big carnivore films that it spawned. Is the film as flawless as it's made out to be? Are the sequels as awful as
- [Pretty Much Pop #203: What Superman?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/19/pmp203-superman/) - In light of the new James Gunn film Superman, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the character, his stories, and past films and shows. Did Zack Snyder (Man of Steel) miss the point? Are the Richard Donner films (chiefly 1978's Superman: The Movie) as good as nostalgia would have us recall them? How does one write a convincing plot centered around a flawless, basically all-powerful hero? How should the Lex Luthor character fit in? Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #204: Naked Gun Rapid Firing](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/03/pmp204-naked-gun/) - What is the state of the stream-of-gags formula that used to stand tall in the films of the Zucker Brothers (mainly Airplane) and Mel Brooks? A new generation attempts to revive that with a new Naked Gun film. How does this new effort relate to the classic films? Are these kinds of films particularly timeless? Rewatchable? Do young people appreciate this kind of thing? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and (for the third or so) Al speculate wildly as usual. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #205: Fantastical Foursome](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/16/pretty-much-pop-205-fantastic-four/) - What do we expect out of a superhero film? Does it need overqualified dramatic actors? Does it even need a real budget? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss the various films modeled after Marvel's Fantastic Four comics initiated by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1961. First Steps is clearly the best of them and surpassed our low expectations, with its delivery of a believable family dynamic and a fun retro-futurist production design. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #206: Abbott Elementary w/o Emmys](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/30/pmp206-abbott-elementary/) - For our Emmys/back-to-school episode, we cover the pinnacle of the current network sitcom landscape: The six-time 2025 Emmy nominated Abbott Elementary, which is beginning its fifth season. Mark, Lawrence, Al and West-Philly-resident Sarahlyn discuss the show's Philly-ness and how it integrates cringe humor with realistic depiction of how messed up it is for schools to be so underfunded. Is this a "black show"? Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsors: Get 50% off Claude AI Pro at Claude.ai/pmp. Try the Stuck in the '80s podcast at sit80s.com.
- [Pretty Much Pop #207: Spinal Tap and Other Fake Bands](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/14/pmp207-spinal-tap/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al watched Spinal Tap and its new sequel, and we throw these into a mix with K-Pop Demon Hunters and other films and shows involving made-for-TV (and film) bands, including We Are Lady Parts, That Thing You Do, Fear of a Black Hat, CB4, Atlanta, The Blues Brothers, The Commitments, Almost Famous, The Rutles, and The Monkees. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for this and nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsors: Get 50% off Claude AI Pro at Claude.ai/pmp. Get 15% off an annual membership at MasterClass.com/PRETTY.
- [Pretty Much Pop #208: An Ed Gein Halloween](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/28/pmp208-ed-gein/) - It's a special two-hander where Mark and Lawrence reflect on the appeal of horror and how the new Monster: Ed Gein Netflix show has to contribute, given that it is not merely a (very loose) presentation of real events, and itself a horror drama, but also a commentary on the Hollywood properties influenced by the Ed Gein murders, including Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Silence of the Lambs. We bring this up to date by including discussion of the Terrifier films as well as the work of Rob Zombie. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsors: Get 50% off Claude AI Pro at Claude.ai/pmp. Go to surfshark.com/pmp or use code pmp at checkout to get 4 extra monthsof Surfshark VPN.
- [Pretty Much Pop #209: Alien Franchised](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/14/pmp209-alien/) - In light of Noah Hawley TV show Alien Earth, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al revisit the franchise through its seven canon films beginning with Ridley Scott's 1979 classic. While there's plenty of sheer repetition (alien loose, killing people one by one) throughout these properties, the various filmmakers attempt to avoid sure repetition by shifting genres. On the new show, we get a pronounced shift to focusing on the synthetic humans; is that a good thing? Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsors: Get 50% off Claude AI Pro at Claude.ai/pmp. Get 15% off an annual membership at MasterClass.com/PRETTY.
- [Pretty Much Pop #210: One Paul Thomas Anderson Film After Another](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/25/pmp210-paul-thomas-anderson/) - In light of One Battle After Another, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al walk through the range of his films from his 1996 crime film Hard Eight through his much lauded Magnolia, Boogie Nights, Punch-Drunk Love, and There Will Be Blood and his more controversial recent ones like Licorice Pizza, The Master, The Phantom Thread, and Inherent Vice. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsors: Go to surfshark.com/pmp or use code pmp at checkout to get 4 extra monthsof Surfshark VPN. If you like our show, check out the Moviestruck podcast.
- [Pretty Much Pop #211: Slow Horses and Predecessors](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/10/pmp211-slow-horses/) - We discuss the British spy show based on the novels of Mick Herron, which are in turn firmly in a tradition of anti-007 books by John le Carré. Featuring Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al. The point is not to glamorize the spy service, but to use realism and black humor to stress the human cost and general boredom of this work along with the dysfunctional nature of the institutions involved. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsors: Get 15% off an annual membership at MasterClass.com/PRETTY. Go to surfshark.com/pmp or use code pmp at checkout to get 4 extra monthsof Surfshark VPN.
- [Pretty Much Pop #212: Holiday Romance Films](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/28/pretty-much-pop-212-holiday-romance-films/) - The Hallmark Channel became famous for producing low-budget, formulaic Christmas films, and this has spread to other outlets, sometimes with higher budgets and ambitions. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al each watched a smattering of these and share their reflections on the genre and their specific experiences. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel. Sponsors: Get up to 50% an annual membership at MasterClass.com/PRETTY. Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at rula.com/pmp.
- [Ep. 382: Freud on Group Psychology (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/21/ep-382-2-freud-group-psych-citizen/) - Continuing on the first half of Sigmund Freud’s Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego, now getting really into Freud's own type of explanation, whereby he explains how libidinal ties bind group members, typically via their shared love of a leader or leading idea.
- [Ep. 383: Freud on Love and the Primal Horde (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/10/ep-383-1-freud-love-citizen/) - On the second half of Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego. We talk about the dual origins of group membership for Freud in personal love and in the supposed primitive society where a horde was led by a tyrannical father.
- [Closereads: Fanon on Hegel](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/10/closereads-fanon-on-hegel/)
- [PvI#109: Choose Your Own Failure w/ Rich Baker](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/10/pvi109-choose-your-own-failure-w-rich-baker/) - Rich runs the Dare to Fail improv school and is author of Improv Made Easier. He joins Mark and Mary to discuss contexts of failure, failing to meet your goals vs. "objective failure," how to react in an improv scene to some topic that's too offensive for you, graveyard humor vs. reverence. Featuring Steaks You Deserve, Robo-Carson, cancer torture, interactive cemetery, Sounds of Failure, and open-sourced MST3K. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Sponsor: Visit squarespace.com/LINSENMAYER (code LINSENMAYER) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.
- [Announcement: Mark's "Big Books in Continental Philosophy" Spring 2026 Class](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/08/announcement-marks-big-books-in-continental-philosophy-spring-2026-class/) - It's time to sign up for the new online class on Hegel, Sartre, Arendt, Schopenhauer, and all your other favorite friends. You can learn all about it and get the link to enroll at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [(sub)TEXT: Society as Swindle in “The Third Man” (1949)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/05/subtext-the-third-man/) - The so-called “third man factor” is a phenomenon in which people in dire circumstances experience the presence of an extra person in their midst who gives comfort and aid when it’s most needed—a guardian angel, perhaps, or some figure of divine intervention. Harry Lime seems to have played just such a role in the lives of Holly Martins and Anna Schmidt. But is Lime from heaven or from hell? Perhaps a less-than-angelic third man might estrange rather than bring together, muddle rather than clarify, adulterate rather than help. And indeed, as a black market middle-man, Lime has the devilish power to intervene in people’s lives for the worse—like a narrator who edits out characters and manipulates the plot. Wes & Erin discuss the 1949 classic film “The Third Man,” about friendship and betrayal, and about the stories we tell ourselves in order to love, survive, kill, or even die.
- [Episode 110: Alfred North Whitehead: What Is Nature?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/02/02/ep110-whitehead/) - On "The Concept of Nature" (1920) about the connection between experience and science. We experience only events; everything else is an abstraction.
- [PEL 2026 Kickoff Nightcap (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2026/01/04/pel-nightcap-end-2025-citizen/) - It's another year, and this time Mark, Wes, Seth, and Dylan each came in with a short bucket list of philosophical works that we'd like to read before this podcast concludes, whenever that might be.
- [Ep. 382: Freud on Group Psychology (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/28/ep-382-2-freud-group-psych/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on the first half of Sigmund Freud’s Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego, now getting really into Freud's own type of explanation, whereby he explains how libidinal ties bind group members, typically via their shared love of a leader or leading idea. Sponsor: Make a tax deductible donation at GiveWell.org; pick "podcast" and enter "The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast" at checkout.Interested in Mark's spring Continental Philosophy class? Learn more and reserve your spot at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [PvI#108: Guess Who's Coming to Christmas Dinner… Lawrence Ware!](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/28/pvi108-lawrence-ware-xmas/) - Philosopher/writer/critic/podcaster Lawrence Ware returns to the show to meet Mary and talk about how Mark is his own personal Leroy Jesus. We act out and/or discuss orphan greeting cards, face-to-face instruction vs. writing books, imaginary friends, laugh trumpets, black ice, and is aesthetic judgment (especially of yourself) a mistake? Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Sponsor: Get the holiday deal (up to 50% off!) at MasterClass.com/IMPROV. Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at rula.com/improv.
- [Ep. 381: Aquinas on Ethical Psychology (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/07/ep-381-2-aquinas-ethics-citizen/) - Continuing to discuss the virtue and moral action from the Summa Theologica (1268). Part One only covered the first two questions about virtue (Is it a disposition? Is it a disposition to act?), so we now move on to the actual definition of virtue and some subsequent questions about what parts of us the term virtue properly applies to.
- [Ep. 382: Freud on Group Psychology (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/22/ep-382-1-freud-group-psych/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On the first half of Sigmund Freud’s Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego (1921). Why do members of a mob get dumber and less inhibited? Freud considers Gustave Le Bon's famous book on crowds but then turns to more organized groups like armies and churches. For all groups, Freud thinks that the leader (or leading ideal) replaces our conscience to some degree. Sponsors: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Get an exclusive 5% discount on NordProtect plans. Go to nordprotect.com/partially and use the code partially at checkout. Interested in Mark's spring Continental Philosophy class? Learn more and reserve your spot at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [Closereads: Aquinas and Scotus on Law (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/20/closereads-aquinas-and-scotus-on-law-part-one/)
- [Closereads: Reason in Hobbes' "Leviathan" (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/22/closereads-reason-in-hobbes-leviathan-part-one/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get parts 2 and 3 of this reading, as well as our previous and future installments of this new podcast. Covering ch. 5 of Hobbes' 1651 book, famous not only for its political theory but for its hard-nosed, mechanistic Enlightenment-era empiricism. How can such an epistemology explain our ability to reason?
- [Ep. 382: Freud on Group Psychology (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/20/ep-382-1-freud-group-psych-citizen/) - On the first half of Sigmund Freud’s Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego (1921). Why do members of a mob get dumber and less inhibited? Freud considers Gustave Le Bon's famous book on crowds but then turns to more organized groups like armies and churches. For all groups, Freud thinks that the leader (or leading ideal) replaces our conscience to some degree.
- [Episode 116: Freud on Dreams](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/05/25/ep116-1-freud-dreams/) - On Sigmund Freud's On Dreams (1902) and other stuff. Are dreams just random, or our best key to understanding the mind? After you listen to this, check out the aftershow. End song: "Sleep" by Mark Lint. Read about it.
- [NEM#244: Year-End Chat with NEM Audio Editor Roger Heathers](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/19/nem244-year-end-chat-roger-heathers/) - In a special holiday episode, we get to meet musician and podcaster Roger Heathers, who edits this show. Together, Roger and I discuss how we make the show and share some highlights and challenges re. recent guests. At the beginning and the end of the show, you get to hear two tracks from his soon to be released Upward Spiral: "Guard Dogs" and "Hopefully." They both feature a warm, holiday-like glow. You can listen to him at rogerheathers.bandcamp.com, or check out The Weekly Song Podcast. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic. Sponsor: Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance; connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at rula.com/nem.
- [Ep. 381: Aquinas on Ethical Psychology (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/06/ep-381-1-aquinas-ethics-citizen/) - On selections about virtue and moral action from the Summa Theologica (1268). Aquinas defines virtue, tells us how it metaphysically fits us into the universe, and discusses how it actually works in us to make us perform moral acts.
- [PREVIEW-Episode 36: More Hegel on Self-Consciousness](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2011/04/10/episode-36-more-hegel-on-self-consciousness/) - Continuing Part B (Ch. 4) of Hegel's "Phenomenology of Spirit" on the master/slave relation, stoicism, skepticism, and Christianity in the growth of self.
- [Ep. 378: Aquinas on God and Mind (Part Four for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/02/ep378-4-aquinas-god-mind-citizen/) - We complete our Aquinas treatment for the moment by considering emotions: categorizing them, asking whether they have opposites, and making them coherent given Aquinas' Aristotelian conception of soul.
- [Ep. 381: Aquinas on Ethical Psychology (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/14/ep-381-2-aquinas-ethics/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a supporter-exclusive part three.Continuing to discuss the virtue and moral action from the Summa Theologica (1268). We discuss the definition of virtue and some subsequent questions about what parts of us the term virtue properly applies to. Sponsors: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Get an exclusive 5% discount on NordProtect plans. Go to nordprotect.com/partially and use the code partially at checkout. Interested in Mark's spring Continental Philosophy class? Check partiallyexaminedlife.com/class for the latest.
- [Ep. 380: Josiah Royce on Community (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/01/ep380-2-royce/) - More on The Problem of Christianity, discussing how communities relate to history, how individuals relate to communities, and what's unique about Royce's ideal Christian world community. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsors: Get $45 off Aura's best-selling Carver Mat electronic picture frame at auraframes.com and use promo code PEL at checkout. Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Interested in Mark's spring Continental Philosophy class? Check partiallyexaminedlife.com/class for the latest.
- [Closereads: Royce on Interpreting Others](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/12/closereads-royce/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get previous and future installments of this podcast.On "The Problem of Christianity," vol. 2, lecture 12, ch. 9, "The Will to Interpret." The point is to help explain Royce's idea of a community of interpretation, and the idea is that in the very act of interpreting a single individual, I'm bringing in some kind of public lexicon, i.e. other people beyond us two.
- [PvI#107: Mary and Mark Argue About Arguing](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/12/pvi107-argumentation/) - Is argumentation essential to philosophy? Should you always be open to arguments challenging your beliefs? We act out a few symbiotic scenarios and reflect back on our last couple of episodes. Plus animal facts, complaining to your significant other about exes, astrology prejudice, sexual harassment videos, and on-stage self-pleasure. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Sponsor: Get the holiday deal (up to 50% off!) at MasterClass.com/IMPROV.
- [(sub)TEXT: Erin’s New Book “Avail”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/10/subtext-erins-new-book-avail/) - Erin just published her first book, “Avail,” which you can order here: https://www.pauldrybooks.com/products/avail “Avail” features a long prose-poem which titles the book and winds through sections of lineated, often formal poems. The prose-poem comprises a series of lyric meditations on the image of the veil—from religious and cultural veils, to veils imbedded in idiom and metaphor, to veiled women in art and classic films, to veils drawn and parted by illness and death—which slowly divulge the harrowing details of the poet’s blood disorder. Throughout, allusions to classic film, literature, and art serve as the “veils” with which the poet attempts to obscure the self-estrangement and vulnerability her illness has induced—insecurities which follow her long after her recovery. In a poem about a break-up set during her career as a jazz singer and against the backdrop of a 1930s screwball comedy, she longs “to shake life by the martini (but stay self- / possessed), to star in the movie of myself / instead of playing second lead.” During a visit to Naples, Mt. Vesuvius becomes “a Crawford eyebrow / arched over the bay.” And in California, after a trip to the Getty Villa, she recalls Sontag’s “missive on allusion, that no part / of any work is new, that all is reproduction.” By the end of the collection, O’Luanaigh has fashioned from the sum of these various allusions her own poetic identity, unveiled in the poems themselves.
- [Ep. 381: Aquinas on Ethical Psychology (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/08/ep-381-1-aquinas-ethics/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On selections about virtue and moral action from the Summa Theologica (1268). Aquinas defines virtue, tells us how it metaphysically fits us into the universe, and discusses how it actually works in us to make us perform moral acts. Sponsors: Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at rula.com/pel. Get $45 off Aura's best-selling Carver Mat electronic picture frame at auraframes.com and use promo code PEL at checkout. Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Interested in Mark's spring Continental Philosophy class? Check partiallyexaminedlife.com/class for the latest.
- [Ep. 380: Josiah Royce on Community (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/23/ep380-2-royce-citizen/) - More on The Problem of Christianity, discussing how communities relate to history, how individuals relate to communities, and what's unique about Royce's ideal Christian world community.
- [NEM#243 Corey Ledet's Eclectic Zydeco](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/05/nem243-corey-ledet-zydeco/) - Corey has released many of zydeco music since 2004, and mixes his dedication to tradition (even recording a recent album in Louisiana Creole) with his love of many types of music. We discuss "J'ai Parti dans la Campagne" (and listen at the end to "Outro") from his new release, Live in Alaska; "That Girl Wanna Dance" from the Grammy nominated Nothin’ But the Best (2012); and "Way Back Home," a Jazz Crusaders cover recorded for 3 Years 2 Late (2003). Intro: "Boudin Man (Remix)" from Destiny (2013). More at coreyledet.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic. Sponsor: Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance; connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at rula.com/nem.
- [PvI#106: Heart Tchotchkes w/ Seth Stephon Brown](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/05/pvi106-heart-tchotchkes-w-seth-stephon-brown/) - Seth is an improviser and aspiring professional "muse," which is a type of life coach that hangs out with you to see where you could be more in touch with your humanity so that you can then work out a coherent plan for your adult life. He discusses with Mary and Mark the conflict between authentic individual humans and a social structure filled with oppressive systems. Should we "deprogram" ourselves from our standardized upbringing? Is there actually an authentic core we would uncover if we do so, or just a void ready to be filled with the promises of self-help gurus? We act out the personality store, the physically safe space, vulnerability coaching, ankle removal consideration, and more. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Sponsor: Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at rula.com/improv.
- [Partially Examined Recap: November 2025](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/12/04/partially-examined-recap-november-2025/) - From philosophy to music and everything in between, a recap of all the content from The Partially Examined Life in November of 2025.
- [The Abuse of "Meaning is Use"](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/14/the-abuse-of-meaning-is-use/) - Someone, somewhere coined the powerful phrase "meaning is use," but the expression as we know it is from Ludwig Wittgenstein. Among other things, it causes a great deal of headache, which includes figuring out what in the world it means. Regardless of whether it's right or even what it means exactly, we can still say
- [Not Ep. 87 Addendum: Citizen Outtakes from "No Exit"](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/01/05/not-ep87-no-exit-outtakes/) - A couple of minutes of us chatting with Lucy Lawless and Jaime Murray as we share our preconceptions about the play and give excuses for being unprepared, about 5 minutes of blooper-type material, then the rest is our talking afterward about some of our choices in silly voices, what we think Sartre was talking about, what we were all up to in our lives that week, etc.
- [Ep. 380: Josiah Royce on Community (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/23/ep380-1-royce/) - On sections of The Problem of Christianity (1913) which establish Royce's concept of a community of interpretation: individuals working together with a sense of shared history and expectation. He claims that such a grouping can be counted as a literal mind and that it solves the problem of human meaning. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsors: Have up to $100 matched when you donate to a well-researched charity at givewell.org; pick PODCAST and enter The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast at checkout. Get $45 off Aura's best-selling Carver Mat electronic picture frame at auraframes.com and use promo code PEL at checkout. Interested in Mark's spring Continental Philosophy class? Check partiallyexaminedlife.com/class for the latest.
- [Ep. 379: Egyptian Philosophy with Chike Jeffers (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/09/ep-379-2-egyptian-philosophy-citizen/) - Continuing on sources from ancient Egypt, finishing up the instructional literature: " "The Instruction of Ptahhotep," and "The Instruction Addressed to King Merikare," and then we move to the dialogues, ""The Eloquent Peasant," and "The Dispute Between a Man and His Ba."
- [Ep. 380: Josiah Royce on Community (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/22/ep380-1-royce-citizen/) - On sections of The Problem of Christianity (1913) which establish Royce's concept of a community of interpretation: individuals working together with a sense of shared history and expectation. He claims that such a grouping can be counted as a literal mind and that it solves the problem of human meaning.
- [NEM#242: Marshall Crenshaw Subtracts](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/20/nem242-marshall-crenshaw/) - Marshall began creating his catchy, harmonically thick rock tunes in the early '80s with six major label albums, but went indie in the '90s to record four more as well as several EPs and live collections. We discuss "Stranger and Stranger," newly reworked for From the Hellhole (2025), "Right On Time" from Jaggedland (2009), "Fantastic Planet of Love" from Life’s Too Short (1991), and we conclude by listening to Our Town" from Field Day (1983). Intro: "Someday, Someway" from Marshall Crenshaw (1982). More at marshallcrenshaw.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic. Sponsors: Go to surfshark.com/nakedly or use code nakedly at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN. Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance; connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at rula.com/nem.
- [Ep. 379: Egyptian Philosophy with Chike Jeffers (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/17/ep-379-2-egyptian-philosophy/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on sources from ancient Egypt, finishing up the instructional literature: "The Instruction of Ptahhotep," and "The Instruction Addressed to King Merikare," and then we move to the dialogues, ""The Eloquent Peasant," and "The Dispute Between a Man and His Ba." Sponsors: Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at rula.com/pel. Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [(sub)TEXT: Bacchic Redemption in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/17/subtext-one-flew-over-the-cuckoos-nest/) - Nurse Ratched likes a rigged game, according to R.P. McMurphy. And it’s true that the game he is playing—lawless and hedonistic, but also vital and free-spirited—is unwinnable on her sandlot. As their conflict develops, we seem to be asked to compare the therapeutic value of McMurphy’s introduction of the Dionysian, to Ratched’s attempt to enforce an ordered calm within the psychiatric ward over which she is absolute ruler. What happens when the Godzilla of superegos takes on a libidinal King Kong? Wes & Erin discuss the 1975 film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
- [PvI#105: Friendtor Debate Club w/ Scott Gelfand](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/14/pvi105-friendtor-debate-club-w-scott-gelfand/) - Scott, ex-professor at Oklahoma State University and author of "Thinking Ethically: A Handbook for Making Moral Choices," chats with Mark and Mary about ethical debate in our age of seemingly unbridgeable divides. We engage in some suspect philosophical counseling, have a staged mini-debate about affirmative action, and simulate a new class of discussion-intensive air travel. More at scottgelfand.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Sponsor: Get 15% off at MasterClass.com/IMPROV.
- [PvI#104: The Hippie Code w/ Vickie Hayley](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/31/pvi104-authenticity-vickie-eistenstein/) - Mark and Mary are joined by improvisor-comedian-actress-filmmaker-host Vickie to talk about code switching and authenticity. Can you be authentic and still work a day job? Can Problem Solvers, Inc. solve the office restroom schedule? Are authentic hippies really beatniks? Also, displaying comic America on Korean talk shows, ethical pornography, commerce vs. art, granola in your hair, and more. Vickie sticks around for a bit of post-game (usually restricted to supporters but shared with you this time), where we talk about the improv lessons and techniques from the episode and refresh what the point of this podcast is. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.
- [Closereads: Hegel on Reason (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/14/closereads-hegel-on-reason/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get previous and future installments of this podcast.On Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit, Part C (AA) Reason, V. The Certainty and Truth of Reason. This section comes right after the self-consciousness sections, and so its big puzzle is why? Why is full recognition by another self-consciousness necessary for Reason, and consequently what is Hegel's conception of Reason?
- [NEM#241: Humor in Music w/ Don Rauf, David Heatley, and Dave Philpott](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/10/nem241-humor-in-music/) - Mark is joined by returning NEM guest Don Rauf (from Life In a Blender), singer/songwriter/cartoonist David Heatley), and writer/musician Dave "Diggy" Dawson aka Dave Philpott. Is funny music necessarily less sincerely emotional, and so a failure at what music is supposed to do? We discuss rock star personas, ironic use of genre, humor in musical gesture, Zappa, Spinal Tap, and more. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic. Sponsor: Go to surfshark.com/nakedly or use code nakedly at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN.
- [Ep. 378: Aquinas on God and Mind (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/26/ep378-3-aquinas-god-mind-citizen/) - We're now moving on to the "mind" portion of our discussion, covering how reason motivates us, how free will is possible, and the degree to which the mind is passive or active.
- [Ep. 379: Egyptian Philosophy with Chike Jeffers (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/10/ep-379-1-egyptian-philosophy/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.The co-author of the African run of the History of Philosophy Podcast (and new book) joins us to go over philosophical works from 2200-1400 BCE: "The Instruction of Ptahhotep," "The Instruction Addressed to King Merikare," "The Great Hymn to the Aten," "The Dispute Between a Man and His Ba," and "The Eloquent Peasant." Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health.
- [Ep. 379: Egyptian Philosophy with Chike Jeffers (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/09/ep-379-1-egyptian-philosophy-citizen/) - The co-author of the African run of the History of Philosophy Podcast (and new book) joins us to go over philosophical works from 2200-1400 BCE: "The Instruction of Ptahhotep," "The Instruction Addressed to King Merikare," "The Great Hymn to the Aten," "The Dispute Between a Man and His Ba," and "The Eloquent Peasant."
- [Ep. 183: Mill on Liberty (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2018/02/04/ep183-mill-citizen/) - Discussing John Stuart Mill's On Liberty (1859). If we disapprove of certain behaviors, when is it okay to prohibit them legally? What about just shaming people? Mill's "harm principle" says that we should permit anything (legally and socially) unless it harms other people. But what constitutes "harm"? And how can we discourage someone from, e.g., just being drunk all the time? Mark, Wes, and Dylan bring this debate to current issues and explore some of the weirder aspects of Mill's view. End song: "Flavor" by Tori Amos with strings by John Philip Shenale, interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #12.
- [Episode 183: Mill on Liberty (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2018/02/05/episode-183-1-mill/) - Discussing John Stuart Mill's On Liberty (1859). If we disapprove of certain behaviors, when is it okay to prohibit them legally? What about just shaming people? Mill's "harm principle" says that we should permit anything (legally and socially) unless it harms other people. But what constitutes "harm"? And how can we discourage someone from, e.g., just being drunk all the time? Mark, Wes, and Dylan bring this debate to current issues and explore some of the weirder aspects of Mill's view. Continues with Part Two. Get the unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition. Please support PEL!
- [Closereads: Aquinas and Aristotle on Soul](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/06/closereads-aquinas-and-aristotle-on-soul/)
- [Closereads: Dispute Between a Man and His Ba](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/06/closereads-dispute-between-man-and-ba/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get previous and future installments of this podcast.In this famous, impossibly ancient (ca. 1900 BCE) Egyptian text, a man negotiations with the part of his soul that's supposed to help him in the afterlife. Can he kill himself now and still get all the benefits of an honorable death? His ba says no. Is this actually philosophy, or just a glimpse into the strangeness of a long-gone culture? You decide!
- [Partially Examined Recap: September 2025](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/01/partially-examined-recap-september-2025/) - From philosophy to music and everything in between, a recap of all the content from The Partially Examined Life in September of 2025.
- [Partially Examined Recap: July 2025](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/01/partially-examined-recap-july-2025/) - From philosophy to music and everything in between, a recap of all the content from The Partially Examined Life in July of 2025.
- [Partially Examined Recap: August 2025](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/01/partially-examined-recap-august-2025/) - From philosophy to music and everything in between, a recap of all the content from The Partially Examined Life in August of 2025.
- [Partially Examined Recap: October 2025](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/05/partially-examined-recap-october-2025/) - Content at The Partially Examined Life (PEL) ran the gamut in October: from Emil Cioran’s dark aphorisms to Aquinas’s scholastic proofs, from dub producers to fake bands, and from improv’s joyful absurdity to Halloween’s macabre reflections. Below is a list of October content (in order of occurrence) you can revisit, or in case you missed
- [PEL Fall Nightcap 2025](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/31/pel-fall-nightcap-2025/) - We talk about recently dead philosophers and the related issue of how someone (like John Searle) can get un-cancelled. Which of us went to the No Kings rally, and why didn't Seth? How is PEL doing on "the charts" these days? We throw out a few bucket list future topics.
- [Ep. 378: Aquinas on God and Mind (Part Three)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/11/02/ep378-3-aquinas-god-mind/) - Subscribe to get parts 1, 2 and 3 of this now, ad-free, plus a supporter-exclusive part 4. Listen to a preview.We're now moving on to the "mind" portion of our discussion, covering how reason motivates us, how free will is possible, and the degree to which the mind is passive or active.Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health.
- [Ep. 372: Kant's Ethics Lectures (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/04/ep372-3-kant-ethics-lectures-citizen/) - Concluding our treatment of these 1785 lectures, focusing now on "Of Duties Towards Other People," including some discussion of friendship, lying, distributive justice, and liberal/moral education.
- [Episode 65: The Federalist Papers (Citizens Only)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2012/10/27/ep65-federalist-papers-citizen/) - On Alexander Hamilton/James Madison's Federalist Papers (1, 10-12, 14-17, 39, 47-51), published as newspaper editorials 1787-8, plus Letters III and IV from Brutus, an Anti-Federalist. What constitutes good government? These founding fathers argued that the proposed Constitution, with its newly centralized (yet also separated-by-branch) powers would be a significant improvement on the Articles of Confederation, which had left states as the ultimate sovereigns. Learn more. End song: "Feeling Time" by Madison Lint (2002).
- [(sub)TEXT: Spirit Unbound in Hawthorne’s “The Birth-Mark” and “Drowne’s Wooden Image”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/31/subtext-hawthorne/) - The short stories we cover in this episode pit the magic of art against that of scientific discovery. In one story, a woodcarver transcends his materials and his own humble talents to create a sculpture that bears an otherworldly resemblance to a real woman. In the other, a scientist uses his estimable but flawed powers to improve on Nature’s design by removing a birthmark from his wife’s otherwise-perfect face. The varying results of these efforts seem to correspond to the extent with which love, that most magical of forces, underscores them. “You cannot love what shocks you,” the scientist’s wife remarks when her husband expresses how disturbed he is by her imperfection. What’s the difference between collaborating with Nature and mining her secrets? Where is the line between imitation and interpretation? And can love only work its magic through the creative, rather than the critical, faculty? Wes & Erin discuss two short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne: “The Birth-Mark” and “Drowne’s Wooden Image.”
- [Ep. 378: Aquinas on God and Mind (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/27/ep378-2-aquinas-god-mind/) - Subscribe to get parts 1, 2, and 3 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on bits of Thomas Aquinas: Selected Philosophical Writings, completing our analysis of his arguments for the existence of God and then turning to eternity and the possibility of actually talking about God, given our finitude. Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health.
- [NEM#240: Jonathan Rundman, Multi-Branded](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/26/nem240-jonathan-rundman-multi-branded/) - Singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Jonathan (currently based in Minneapolis) has been putting out indie rock solo albums since 1992, but has also ventured into traditional Finnish folk music and has multiple releases of tunes that I won't call Christian rock, but more rock that grapples with being someone who goes to church. We discuss "Diner by the Train" (and listen at the end to "Evidence") from Waves (2025), "Home Unknown" from Look Up (2015), "Tape" from Recital (1997), and "Failing Rockstar Attempt" from Sound Theology (2000). Intro: "When I Get Bored" from 11 Years and 28 Days in the Yellow Room (1992) More at junathanrundman.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Visit square.com/go/nem to learn about how Square helps local businesses. Go to surfshark.com/nakedly or use code nakedly at checkout to get 4 extra months of SurfsharkVPN.
- [Ep. 378: Aquinas on God and Mind (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/20/ep378-2-aquinas-god-mind-citizen/) - Continuing on bits of Thomas Aquinas: Selected Philosophical Writings, completing our analysis of his arguments for the existence of God and then turning to eternity and the possibility of actually talking about God, given our finitude.
- [Ep. 377: Emil Cioran's Pessimism (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/05/ep-377-2-cioran-pessimism-citizen/) - Continuing on "Directions for Decomposition" from A Short History of Decay (1949). What is it that humans are inevitably trying to avoid that seems so bad to us? It's our existential separation from others, our essential, incommunicable solitude. Plus, ennui, sloth, and being a "traitor to existence."
- [Ep. 378: Aquinas on God and Mind (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/20/ep378-1-aquinas-god-mind/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On selections from Thomas Aquinas: Selected Philosophical Writings, mostly taken from the Summa Theologica (1268). Given our flawed, finite human nature, how do we fit into the universe? In particular, how can we know and talk about things far beyond our experience such as God and eternity? In this part, we discuss arguments for the existence of God. Sponsors: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 378: Aquinas on God and Mind (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/19/ep378-1-aquinas-god-mind-citizen/) - On selections from Thomas Aquinas: Selected Philosophical Writings, mostly taken from the Summa Theologica (1268). Given our flawed, finite human nature, how do we fit into the universe? In particular, how can we know and talk about things far beyond our experience such as God and eternity? In this part, we discuss arguments for the existence of God.
- [Closereads: Hobbes on Liberty](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/17/closereads-hobbes-on-liberty/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get previous and future installments of this podcast.On Leviathan (1651), ch. 21, "On the Liberty of Subjects." Thomas Hobbes is known for defending absolute monarchy, so as you'd predict, he's not going to say we have a lot of "natural" liberties.
- [PvI#103: Post-COVID Mary and Mark](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/16/pvi103-post-covid-mary-and-mark/) - How does your body talk to you? Your favorite hosts-of-a-philosophy-and-improv-comedy show Mark Linsenmayer and Merry Mary Hynes re-connect after both being sick to get a bit Halloweeny so as to talk about various food-related monsters, experiencing art by disgraced creators, inner homunculi a la "Inside Out," movie talk, Nietzsche's nose fetish, and more. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Sponsor: Get 15% off at MasterClass.com/IMPROV.
- [Ep. 377: Emil Cioran's Pessimism (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/13/ep-377-2-cioran-pessimism/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on "Directions for Decomposition" from A Short History of Decay (1949). What is it that humans are inevitably trying to avoid that seems so bad to us? It's our existential separation from others, our essential, incommunicable solitude. Plus, ennui, sloth, and being a "traitor to existence." Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health.
- [NEM#239: Adrian Sherwood's Dub Productions](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/09/nem239-adrian-sherwood/) - Adrian has applied his distinctive, spacey dub mixing techniques to numerous recordings since 1978 including Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Sinéad O'Connor, and Spoon and has released nine albums under his own name since 2003. He has effectively served as a key band member in several groups including Creation Rebel and African Head Charge. We discuss "Body Roll" from The Collapse of Everything (2025), "Starship Bahia" from Survival & Resistance (2012), and "Sharp as a Needle" by Barmy Army from The English Disease (1989). End song: "Make Up Your Mind" by Coldcut (Ninja Tunes), et al from Outside the Echo Chamber (2017). Intro: "Movement in Space" by Creation Rebel from Starship Africa (1980). More at adriansherwood.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Visit square.com/go/nem to learn about how Square helps local businesses.
- [(sub)TEXT: Faith and Industry in “There Will Be Blood”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/09/subtext-there-will-be-blood/) - The clash between Eli Sunday and Daniel Plainview, between religion and industry, steeple and oil derrick, might come down to something like the difference between a gift and a skill. Eli calls himself a son of the hills of Little Boston, an inheritor of land and legacy, a member of a family, and of a faith imagined as a family. Daniel calls himself an oil man, but only after reciting his resume as proof that he’s earned the title. He tends flocks of derricks, not people, and he leases both land and family to strategic, rather than communal, ends. Yet ultimately, each lacks what the other has. What is a gift without control or discipline, a skill without purpose or meaning? And is there a difference between a gift and luck? Wes & Erin discuss Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 film “There Will Be Blood.”
- [Closereads: Aristotle on Final Causes](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/09/closereads-aristotle-on-final-causes/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get previous and future installments of this podcast.On Aristotle's Physics, book 2, ch. 8 on "final causation," i.e. purposiveness as a natural explanation. Modern science doesn't much like this kind of explanation, but Aristotle found it essential, and here's his argument for it.
- [PvI#102: Pit of Despair w/ Seth Paskin](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/06/pvi102-pit-of-despair-seth-paskin/) - Mark's Partially Examined Life co-host Seth joins us (i.e. Mark and Mary) to introduce Seth to improv and continue introducing philosophy to Mary. We discuss Seth's attraction to depressing texts, act out couples' therapy and monster beauty parlor, and open up a few philosophical cans of worms: Is truth relative? (Hint: no!) Does outer beauty reflect inner beauty? Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.
- [Ep. 376: Plato’s “Laws” (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/20/ep376-2-plato-laws-citizen/) - Continuing on selections from this late Platonic dialogue. Starting in Book 4, Plato's characters are discussing how to create a new state ("Magnesia") from scratch. What sorts of laws should it have? We talk about marriage laws, the nocturnal council, how the law is argued for that everyone has to believe in gods, and more.
- [Ep. 377: Emil Cioran's Pessimism (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/06/ep-377-1-cioran-pessimism/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On A Short History of Decay (1949), a pessimist/existentialist somewhat text from the most famous Romanian philosopher. Cioran's short essays touch on art, humor, God, salvation, time, nostalgia, mourning, death, disease, suicide, revolt, freedom, Buddhism, Daoism, and the role of the philosopher. Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health.
- [Ep. 377: Emil Cioran's Pessimism (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/10/05/ep-377-1-cioran-pessimism-citizen/) - On A Short History of Decay (1949), a pessimist/existentialist somewhat text from the most famous Romanian philosopher. Cioran's short essays touch on art, humor, God, salvation, time, nostalgia, mourning, death, disease, suicide, revolt, freedom, Buddhism, Daoism, and the role of the philosopher.
- [Ep. 374: Discussing Liberalism (Lincoln, et al) with Walter Sterling (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/25/ep-374-1-liberalism-sterling/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.What's the crisis of liberal democracy? Dylan, Wes and Seth are joined by St. John's College President J. Walter Sterling to discuss Abraham Lincoln's "On the Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions" (1838) plus the beginnings of Steven Pinker's Enlightenment Now (2018), Patrick Deneen's Why Liberalism Failed (2018), and Francis Fukuyama's "Liberalism and Its Discontents" (the 2020 essay). Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Enrollment is now open for Mark's online political philosophy course. See partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [Ep. 376: Plato's "Laws" (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/29/ep-376-2-plato-laws/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on selections from this late Platonic dialogue. Starting in Book 4, Plato's characters are discussing how to create a new state ("Magnesia") from scratch. What sorts of laws should it have? We talk about marriage laws, the nocturnal council, how the law is argued for that everyone has to believe in gods, and more. Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health.
- [NEM#238: Eric Andersen Endures](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/26/nem238-eric-andersen/) - Eric was a major figure in the 1960s NYC folk scene, and his early tunes have been covered by Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, and many others. He's released 22 solo albums plus several live albums and two albums with The Band's Rick Danko as Danko/Fjeld/Andersen. We discuss "Don't It Make You Wanna Sing the Blues" from Dance of Love and Death (2025), "Rain Falls Down in Amsterdam" from Memory of the Future (1998), and "Six Senses of Darkness" from Ghosts Upon the Road (1989). End song: "Time Run Like a Freight Train" from Stages: The Lost Album (recorded 1973). Intro: "Violets of Dawn" from 'Bout Changes and Things (1966). More at ericandersen.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Visit square.com/go/nem to learn about how Square helps local businesses.
- [Ep. 375: Luce Irigaray's Feminism (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/05/ep-375-2-irigaray-feminism-citizen/) - Continuing on "Women on the Market" from The Sex Which Is Not One (1977) and other selections. Irigaray gives a Marxist analysis of the commodification of women, addresses psychotherapists about their neglect of women's viewpoints, recommends wonder over objectification, and interprets Hegel's comments about Antigone.
- [Closereads: Horkheimer and Adorno on Enlightenment (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/22/closereads-horkheimer-and-adorno-on-enlightenment-part-one/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get previous and future installments of this podcast.On "The Concept of Enlightenment" (1944), the first essay in this Frankfurt School book of critical theory, The Dialectic of Enlightenment. Our authors lay out what they take The Enlightenment to consist of, including some quotes from Francis Bacon, and some ultimately fatal tensions within it that make it no longer serve the humanistic purposes it was created for.
- [Ep. 376: Plato's "Laws" (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/22/ep-376-1-plato-laws/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On this later dialogue presenting Plato's ideas about the character of laws in a just state. They should all be aimed at making people virtuous, and so should include education to this end. Each law should be equipped with a prelude presenting a rational argument for why people should obey it.Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health.
- [Ep. 376: Plato's "Laws" (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/20/ep376-1-plato-laws-citizen/) - On this later dialogue presenting Plato's ideas about the character of laws in a just state. They should all be aimed at making people virtuous, and so should include education to this end. Each law should be equipped with a prelude presenting a rational argument for why people should obey it.
- [PEL Back-to-School Nightcap 2025](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/15/pel-back-to-school-nightcap-2025/) - Mark, Seth, and Dylan re-litigate the utility of Irigaray's feminist insights and relate this to the overall contrast between political and philosophical argumentation. Second, Dylan and Seth say more about Steven Pinker in light of his near absence in the Lincoln et al. episode. This leads to discussion of current (as of 9/7/25) politics.
- [PvI#101: Co-Hostery: Season Five Premiere with Mark and Mary](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/18/pvi101-season-five-premiere/) - It is a new era! Merry Mary Hynes is now Mark's co-host, and we do some improv related to that and feel our the degree to which Mary has not studied philosophy. Could it be that we ALL do philosophy whether we know it or not? Also: The Feminist Café, Luce Irigaray, Mark's voice training, an aging child pop star, non-binary preliminaries, gratis post-game chatter, and more. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Sponsor: Get 15% off at MasterClass.com/IMPROV.
- [(sub)TEXT: Freedom and Authority in Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/16/subtext-ibsen-an-enemy-of-the-people/) - In Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People,” two conceptions of communal health do battle. Dr. Stockmann’s is progressive, focused as it is on the vitality of the young, their new ideas, and the possibility of growth into a better future, even if that means encroaching on the powers that be. His brother’s is conservative, focused on the use of authority and ascetic self-restraint to preserve existing achievements and ideas. But once in conflict, these conceptions seem to reveal themselves to be competing forms of elitism, and expressions of contempt respectively for both past and future. Wes & Erin discuss whether there is a more nuanced conception of the common good available to us, and how it might be related to the sudden turn at the end of the play to the the role of education.
- [Ep. 375: Luce Irigaray's Feminism (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/15/ep-375-2-irigaray-feminism/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on "Women on the Market" from The Sex Which Is Not One (1977) and other selections. Irigaray gives a Marxist analysis of the commodification of women, addresses psychotherapists about their neglect of women's viewpoints, recommends wonder over objectification, and interprets Hegel's comments about Antigone. Sponsors: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 374: Discussing Liberalism (Lincoln, et al) with Walter Sterling (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/24/ep-374-2-liberalism-sterling-citizen/) - Continuing our discussion of the dangers to and weak points of liberal democracy, including consideration of Patrick Deneen’s Why Liberalism Failed (2018) Francis Fukuyama’s “Liberalism and Its Discontents” (his 2020 essay), and Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now (2018).
- [Closereads: Hegel on Stoicism (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/08/closereads-hegel-on-stoicism-part-one/)
- [PvI#100: Maximizing Turtle Revenue w/ Tim Sniffen and Anthony LeBlanc](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/06/pvi100-mseason-finale-tim-sniffen-anthony-leblanc/) - It's our season finale, and the end of Bill's regular participation on the show. You may wish to weep, but let your tears be of joy as well as reminiscence. We are re-joined by two of our favorite improv guests for a Team Play episode to talk ship of Theseus, philosophy vs. mythology vs. video games, Renaissance contemporaries, long-lived turtles, "realist" morality, goodbyes, and our final boardroom scene. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.
- [Ep. 375: Luce Irigaray's Feminism (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/08/ep-375-1-irigaray-feminism/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On The Sex Which Is Not One (1977) and other Irigaray selections from the French Feminism Reader (2000), featuring guest Jenny Hansen (who wrote the introduction to the book chapter). What role should sexual difference play in philosophy and society? Irigaray qua second-wave feminist claims that unleashing the feminine can and should transform philosophy, public policy, and relationships. Check out the America Dissected podcast.
- [Ep. 375: Luce Irigaray's Feminism (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/05/ep-375-1-irigaray-feminism-citizen/) - On The Sex Which Is Not One (1977) and other Irigaray selections from the French Feminism Reader (2000), featuring guest Jenny Hansen (who wrote the introduction to the book chapter). What role should sexual difference play in philosophy and society? Irigaray qua second-wave feminist claims that unleashing the feminine can and should transform philosophy, public policy, and relationships.
- [NEM#237: Maia Sharp's Homey Subversion](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/04/nem237-maia-sharp/) - Maia has released ten lush, Americana-influenced singer-songwriter albums since 1997 and has collaborated with artists like Art Garfunkel, Bonnie Raitt, and Trisha Yearwood, and been covered by Cher, Paul Carrack, etc. We discuss "Counterintuition" (and listen to the title track) from Tomboy (2025), "Phoenix" from The Dash Between the Dates (2015), and "A Home" from Fine Upstanding Citizen (2005) (co-written with her father Randy Sharp and popularized in a cover version by The Chicks). Intro: "I Need This to Be Love" from Hardly Glamour (1997). More at maiasharp.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/NAKEDLY to take control of your health through testing and get $100 off your membership.
- [Ep. 232: Simone de Beauvoir's "The Second Sex" (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2019/12/21/ep232-beauvoir-citizen/) - On Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949): the intro, conclusion, “Woman’s Situation and Character” and parts of “Lived Experience," with guest Jennifer Hansen. According to Beauvoir, Woman is historically conceived of by society (and herself) as "Other," as not a Subject who creates and makes decisions. Her life is predetermined, revolving around marriage and child-bearing, and is so deformed by this situation. End song: "Wrong Side of Gone" by Beth Kille as discussed on Nakedly Examined Music #13.
- [Ep. 232: Simone de Beauvoir's "The Second Sex" (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2019/12/23/ep232-1-beauvoir/) - On Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949): the intro, conclusion, “Woman’s Situation and Character” and parts of “Lived Experience," with guest Jennifer Hansen. According to Beauvoir, Woman is historically conceived of by society (and herself) as "Other," as not a Subject who creates and makes decisions. Her life is predetermined, revolving around marriage and child-bearing, and is so deformed by this situation. Continue with part 2 or get the unbroken Citizen Edition. Please support PEL!
- [Ep. 232: Simone de Beauvoir's "The Second Sex" (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2019/12/29/ep-232-2-beauvoir/) - Continuing Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949) with guest Jennifer Hansen. How does one become a Subject and how do women traditionally get shut out of this process? We get into Vol. 2, "Lived Experience" where Beauvoir details how this drama unfolds in various stages of life. Also, religion, logic, the relation of biology to situation, and more. How do we modernize Beauvoir's critique given the evolution in women's positions since the book was written? Start with part one or get the full, ad-free Citizen Edition. Please support PEL! End song: "Wrong Side of Gone" by Beth Kille as discussed on Nakedly Examined Music #13.
- [Ep. 234: Beauvoir on Romance in "The Second Sex" (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2020/01/20/ep234-beauvoir-romance-citizen/) - On Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949): "The Woman in Love" and "Myths" with guest Jennifer Hansen. We explore the maladies of love, try to figure how B's picture relates to modern romance and what her positive prescription for good love is, and use the recent film A Marriage Story as a case study. End song: "Easier than Leaving" by Michaela Anne, interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #114.
- [Ep. 234: Beauvoir on Romance in "The Second Sex" (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2020/01/20/ep234-1-beauvoir-romance/) - On Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949): "The Woman in Love" and "Myths" with guest Jennifer Hansen. What is love under patriarchy? We all want to achieve solidity in another's eyes, but the Othered woman wants to live through the man, and the man sees the woman as his rejected corporeal character. Party time! Don't wait for part two; get the full, ad-free, unbroken Citizen Edition now! Please support PEL! Sponsors: Visit thegreatcoursesplus.com/PEL for a free trial of The Great Courses Plus Video Learning Service. Visit Keeps.com/EXAMINED for a free month of hair loss medication. Please consider contributing to the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society through Mina Linsenmayer's campaign; see partiallyexaminedlife.com/cancer.
- [Ep. 234: Beauvoir on Romance in "The Second Sex" (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2020/01/27/ep234-2-beauvoir-romance/) - Concluding Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex (1949): "The Woman in Love" and "Myths" with guest Jennifer Hansen. We continue on the ailments of women under patriarchy as well as the existential problems that we're all subject to. Are we doomed to isolation, or does existentialism allow for intimacy? Is marriage in "bad faith"? We also talk narcissism, abjection, and the film Marriage Story. Start with part 1 or get the Citizen Edition. Please support PEL! End song: "Easier than Leaving" by Michaela Anne, interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #114.
- [Ep. 235: Judith Butler's "Gender Trouble" (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2020/02/03/ep235-1-butler-gender-trouble/) - On Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1990). Is gender socially constructed, and if so, how? Butler describes gender not as an essential quality of a person, but as "performed," as habits of acting in certain ways in accordance with customs. Her idea of social construction is so totalizing that even biological sex itself is constructed. With guest Jennifer Hansen. Please support PEL!
- [Ep. 235: Judith Butler's "Gender Trouble" (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2020/02/04/ep235-butler-gender-trouble-citizen/) - On Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1990). Is gender socially constructed, and if so, how? Butler describes gender not as an essential quality of a person, but as "performed," as habits of acting in certain ways in accordance with customs. Her idea of social construction is so totalizing that even biological sex itself is constructed. With guest Jennifer Hansen. End song: "I'm a Boy" by Lys Guillorn as interviewed for Nakedly Examined Music #44.
- [Ep. 235: Judith Butler's "Gender Trouble" (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2020/02/10/ep-235-2-butler-gender-trouble/) - More Gender Trouble (1990) with Jennifer Hansen. We get into the metaphysics of substance (is gender an attribute that a person has, or is there a better way to describe the situation?), performatives, Beauvoir vs. Irigaray on femininity, and the available mechanisms for changing gender norms. Please support PEL!
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #20: The “Other” Story w/ Jenny Hansen](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2021/12/17/philosophy-vs-improv-20-the-other-story-w-jenny-hansen/) - What is "othering"? Why did Bill get such a bad grade? Is it because of his feather quill pen? Our first real philosophy professor guest joins us for some office hours and anti-vaxxer drama. 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 betterhelp.com/improv to be matched with a licensed, professional therapist. Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/improv.
- [PvI#61: TEAM PLAY CIRCUS with Adal Rifai and Jenny Hansen](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/16/pvi61-team-play-adal-rifai-jenny-hansen/) - It's St. Lawrence University philosophy prof Jenny in the ring with UIC instructor/Podcaster with Hey Riddle Riddle and Hello From the Magic Tavern Adal, along with Mark and Bill, of course. And the Bullshot is flying! Who will be hit? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Take a class this fall from him at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Visit FactorMeals.com/improv50 (code improv50) to get 50% off America's #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit
- [Ep 140/141 Aftershow on Simone De Beauvoir's "Ethics of Ambiguity" feat. Jennifer Hansen](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2016/08/19/ep-140141-aftershow-on-simone-de-beauvoirs-ethics-of-ambiguity-feat-jennifer-hansen/) - Mark and Danny Lobell welcome St. Lawrence University's Jennifer Hansen to follow up on our episodes 140 and 141. Was Beauvoir really a Kantian? Do we find her description for founding ethics persuasive? Featuring PEL listeners Luke, Alex, Tiffany, Brittany, and Ken. Recorded 6/26/16.
- [Fiction Conversation on 'The Map and the Territory'](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/01/04/fiction-conversation-on-the-map-and-the-territory/) - Discussing Michel Houellebecq's novel about being an artist in the modern age, along with thoughts from Zizek and others.
- [Ep. 374: Discussing Liberalism (Lincoln, et al) with Walter Sterling (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/09/01/ep-374-2-liberalism-sterling/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing our discussion of the dangers to and weak points of liberal democracy, including consideration of Patrick Deneen's Why Liberalism Failed (2018) Francis Fukuyama's "Liberalism and Its Discontents" (his 2020 essay), and Steven Pinker's Enlightenment Now (2018).
- [Ep. 374: Discussing Liberalism (Lincoln, et al) with Walter Sterling (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/22/ep-374-1-liberalism-sterling-citizen/) - What's the crisis of liberal democracy? Dylan, Wes and Seth are joined by St. John's College President J. Walter Sterling to discuss Abraham Lincoln's "On the Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions" (1838) plus the beginnings of Steven Pinker's Enlightenment Now (2018), Patrick Deneen's Why Liberalism Failed (2018), and Francis Fukuyama's "Liberalism and Its Discontents" (the 2020 essay).
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #99: Philosophy of Humor w/ Nessa Voss](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/24/pvi99-philosophy-of-humor-nessa-voss/) - Nessa teaches philosophy at Lone Star Community College and writes on the philosophy of humor. We thought we should get this topic out before we wrap our season (and Bill's regular participation) and reach 100 episodes. We go through the main theories (superiority, incongruity/surprise, unconscious triggering, i.e. funny because it's true on some level we don't necessarily want to admit). Then Nessa (fictionally) becomes our podcast format consultant. We wrap up by considering the appeal of various stand-up comedians. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.
- [Closereads: Peter Railton's "Moral Realism" (Wrap Up)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/24/closereads-peter-railton-moral-realism-wrap-up/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get previous and future installments of this podcast.We are concluding our treatment of Peter Railton's "Moral Realism" (1984), and given that you likely haven't listened to the seven preceding parts, or (like us) you've forgotten things from them, this discussion can serve as a standalone summary of not only Railton's view, but of our efforts to actually figure out what a plausible naturalistic, empirical account of ethics could amount to. Read along with us, starting on PDF p. 42.
- [Ep. 373: Michael Walzer on Just Wars (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/10/ep373-2-walzer-just-war-citizen/) - Continuing on on Just and Unjust Wars (1977), ch. 5-6. When might it be morally permissible to strike first? When is it permissible (or obligatory?) to intervene in another country's internal affairs militarily? We discuss Walzer's historical examples and apply his theories to current wars.
- [Announcement: Enrollment is Open for Fall Foundational Political Philosophy Texts Class](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/21/announcement-enrollment-is-open-for-fall-foundational-political-philosophy-texts/) - I bet you'd like to have an excuse to read some Aristotle, and Locke, Rousseau, Simone Weil, and other fun texts. Well, go read about this opportunity at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class, and then follow the link to enroll.
- [Ep. 373: Michael Walzer on Just Wars (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/18/ep373-2-walzer-just-war/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on on Just and Unjust Wars (1977), ch. 5-6. When might it be morally permissible to strike first? When is it permissible (or obligatory?) to intervene in another country's internal affairs militarily? We discuss Walzer's historical examples and apply his theories to current wars. Sponsors: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [(sub)TEXT: Containment and Play in “Jaws”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/19/subtext-jaws/) - We’re never told exactly how Martin Brody ended up as sheriff of a small beach community, despite his fear of the water. But his ultimate confrontation with the water, and the shark that inhabits it, have a fateful character that seems to implicate his own internal conflicts. Oceanographer Matt Hooper tells Martin that sharks are attracted to the “exact kind of splashing” human beings produce when at play in the water, and Martin himself seems to be distinctively lacking in the capacity for relaxing and letting go. What is it about the activity of play that might be dangerous? How do we accommodate our impulses, relationships, and communal strivings, without being consumed by them? Wes & Erin discuss Stephen Spielberg’s 1975 classic “Jaws.”
- [NEM#236: Tee Templeton's Psychedelic Ending](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/15/nem236-tee-templeton/) - ...OK, maybe not his ending, but it's a late career boost into overdrive: This 66-year-old has been making music since the '80s, but you're only going to find two of his releases on the streaming services right now, and only this new album (released 20 years after the previous one) has the polish to count as a world-conquering, professional release. We discuss two songs from this new album Diner of Doubt: "My Dead Friend," and "I Have a Lotta Dreams," plus "Build Another One" (and the intro, "Chinese Lights") from Might Could Have (2004). End song: "Oh Dee Oh Oh" (2023). More at teetempleton.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Visit functionhealth.com/NAKEDLY to take control of your health through testing and get $100 off your membership. Check out The 500 with Josh Adam Meyers for discussion of classic albums with cool guests.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #98: Ragnarocking](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/11/pvi98-ragnarocking/) - Recorded back in June, posting now as we near the end of our season and Bill's tenure on the show, this episode now bleeds with dramatic irony. Mark and Bill discuss how to give a good speech, AI in academics, and we have a tear-stained visit to Empty Street. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.
- [Ep. 372: Kant's Ethics Lectures (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/27/ep372-2-kant-ethics-lectures-citizen/) - Continuing on the 1785 course lecture notes by Georg Ludwig Collins. We cover duties to oneself, which are actually the most important ones. There are some interesting subtleties even though Kant is clearly a creature of his time and place, e.g. in his views of sexuality.
- [Ep. 373: Michael Walzer on Just Wars (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/08/ep373-1-walzer-just-war-citizen/) - On Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument With Illustrations (1977), ch. 4-6 on "jus ad bellum," which refers to moral justifications for going to war. Self-defense is permissible while aggression is not, but this leaves many questions unanswered, and Walzer gives us many historical examples to consider.
- [Ep. 372: Kant's Ethics Lectures (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/04/ep372-2-kant-ethics-lectures/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on the 1785 course lecture notes by Georg Ludwig Collins. We cover duties to oneself, which are actually the most important ones. There are some interesting subtleties even though Kant is clearly a creature of his time and place, e.g. in his views of sexuality. Sponsors: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Visit IDOU.com/PEL for 15% off online courses on using AI in creative, human-centered ways. Learn about Mark's online political philosophy class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [Ep. 373: Michael Walzer on Just Wars (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/11/ep373-1-walzer-just-war/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument With Illustrations (1977), ch. 4-6 on "jus ad bellum," which refers to moral justifications for going to war. Self-defense is permissible while aggression is not, but this leaves many questions unanswered, and Walzer gives us many historical examples to consider. Sponsors: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Check out Richard Dawkins' The Poetry Of Reality Podcast at thepoetryofreality.com. Enrollment is now open for Mark's online political philosophy course. See partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [(sub)TEXT: The Door Slam Heard ‘Round the World: Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/08/03/subtext-ibsen-a-dolls-house/) - Nora Helmer begins Act I as a devoted wife to her respectable husband, Torvald, and a devoted mother to her young children. She ends Act III by walking out on all of them and closing the door behind her. The emotional distance covered in these three acts (representing a span of just a few days in the lives of the Helmers) makes Nora one of the greatest and most coveted acting challenges in the theater. How might we mark out a route between the Nora of Act I, the charming toy of the men in her life who seems to desire nothing more than the comfort and ease her husband’s recent promotion is set to provide, and the Nora of Act III, an independent woman willing to sacrifice everything in pursuit of her own self-determination? Wes & Erin discuss Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House.”
- [Ep. 369: Philippa Foot's Naturalistic Ethics (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/21/ep-369-3-foot-ethics-citizen/) - Mark and Seth return to discuss the remaining chapters of Natural Goodness, covering practical reason, specifically human good, moral goodness vs. happiness, and immoralism (and Nietzsche!).
- [NEM#235: Willie Nile's Poetic Rock Anthems](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/30/nem235-willie-nile/) - New York singer-songwriter Willie has released sixteen albums since 1980. He has opened for The Who and Bruce Springsteen, among others, but rejected the major label life after his first two albums. We discuss "An Irish Goodbye" (feat. Paul Brady) from The Great Yellow Light (2025) (and listen at the end to "Wake Up, America" feat. Steve Earle from that album), "Cell Phones Ringing (In the Pockets of the Dead)" from Streets of New York (2006), and the title track from Places I Have Never Been (1991). Intro: "Vagabond Moon" from Willie Nile (1980). Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/NAKEDLY to take control of your health through testing and get $100 off your membership.
- [Closereads: Peter Railton's "Moral Realism" (Part Four)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/28/closereads-peter-railton-moral-realism-part-four/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get previous and future installments of this podcast.We're jumping back into a 1984 paper that we began a couple of years ago in light of our recent PEL activity on contemporary ethics. How does he jump from individual objective interests to ethical normativity?
- [Ep. 372: Kant's Ethics Lectures (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/28/ep372-1-kant-ethics-lectures/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.We discuss lecture notes from Kant's 1785 ethics course, which provide more examples and an emphasis on the practical than his more famous works. For instance, we get more information on ethical motivation: How can the rational recognition of ethical principles lead to moral feelings? Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Learn about Mark's online political philosophy class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [Ep. 371: Christine Korsgaard on Normativity (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/21/ep371-2-korsgaard-normativity/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content including a supporter-exclusive Nightcap with more Korsgaard discussion.Concluding our treatment of The Sources of Normativity. We give Korsgaard's tweaks to Kant, including her distinction between the categorical imperative and the moral law. We then explain her reference to Wittgenstein's private language argument in her argument that reason-giving, and hence morality, can't be merely self-referential. Sponsors: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Learn about Mark's online political philosophy class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [Ep. 371: Christine Korsgaard on Normativity (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/13/ep371-2-korsgaard-normativity-citizen/) - Concluding our treatment of The Sources of Normativity. We give Korsgaard's tweaks to Kant, including her distinction between the categorical imperative and the moral law. We then explain her reference to Wittgenstein's private language argument in her argument that reason-giving, and hence morality, can't be merely self-referential.
- [PEL Normative Nightcap 2025](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/20/pel-normative-nightcap-2025/) - The full foursome agonizes about the relation between Korsgaard and Foot as well as stressing some additional points from both authors.
- [PvI#97: Peep Dome Pets w/ Merry Mary Hynes](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/26/pvi97-pets-mary-hynes/) - LA Second City improv instructor Mary joins us to act out a pet sitting job interview, talk about sharing our public spaces with animals, and finally return to Empty Street to see if we can get some animal action going in the mart. In the post-game, we talk about Bill's new academic studies and Mark's upcoming Gen Con trip. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Sponsors: Don't wait until the next bite -- protect your home with Bzigo. Go to bzigo.com/discountBUZZ10 to save 10% off. Go to surfshark.com/improv or use code IMPROV at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN!
- [Ep. 372: Kant's Ethics Lectures (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/26/ep372-1-kant-ethics-lectures-citizen/) - We discuss lecture notes from Kant's 1785 ethics course, which provide more examples and an emphasis on the practical than his more famous works. For instance, we get more information on ethical motivation: How can the rational recognition of ethical principles lead to moral feelings?
- [NEM#234: John Kruth the Multi-Hyphenate](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/20/nem234-john-kruth/) - Not only is John a multi-instrumentalist who's played with Violent Femmes, Allen Ginsberg, Hal Willner, John Prine, et al, but he's released around 24 albums as a solo artist or with groups including the NYC world music outfit TriBeCaStan. We discuss "(Be Careful What You Say to) An Armed Lady" by Folklorkestra from A Strange Day in June (2023), the title track from Forever Ago (with La Societe; del Musici) (2018), "Bed Bugs" by TriBeCaStan from New Deli (2012), and listen to "Back Country" by The Electric Chairmen from Toast (1995). Intro: "Grim Reaper’s Song" from Midnight Snack (1986). More at kruthworks.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/NAKEDLY to take control of your health through testing and get $100 off your membership.
- [PEL Sentimentalism Nightcap 2025](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/05/11/pel-sentimentalism-nightcap-2025/) - We put our recent episodes on moral phenomenology into perspective, anticipating our upcoming Hume discussion and going through some other options to enrich this study of sentiment vs. rational intuition. Plus, more potential author-guests and recent philosophy book coverage.
- [(sub)TEXT: Anti-Mystery in “Picnic at Hanging Rock”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/09/subtext-picnic-at-hanging-rock/) - It’s Valentine’s Day in the state of Victoria, Australia in the year 1900. A group from a local girls’ school goes on an excursion to the foot of an eerie, vast geological formation called Hanging Rock. Three girls and one schoolteacher climb up to explore it. All but one are never seen again. This summary constitutes the essential plot but only the first act of Peter Weir’s 1975 film, based on the novel by Joan Lindsay. The remaining two acts concern the surviving characters’ struggle to make sense of what happened on the rock. Yet, sense is not what the film intends to deliver. Rather, it’s an anti-mystery that dismantles the nature of the mystery story itself—its love of solutions, its neat settling of the uncertainties that crime or menace introduce. What happens, this film asks, when an event resists the imposition of order, stands beyond the reach of logic or even language? Wes & Erin discuss “Picnic at Hanging Rock.”
- [Ep. 370: Christine Korsgaard on the History of Ethics (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/27/ep370-2-korsgaard-ethical-history-citizen/) - We dive further into the text of lectures 1 and 2 of The Sources of Normativity (1996). We give Korsgaard's account of the idea of reflective endorsement through Hume and Bernard Williams to get to her own view. When you come to know the origins of your moral sentiments, do you still stand behind them?
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #96: We Allege Humor w/ Mark Schiff and Daniel Lobell](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/13/pvi96-stand-up-mark-schiff/) - Mark Schiff is a legendary stand-up who currently podcasts with friend-of-PEL and philosophy enthusiast, Daniel Lobell as We Think It's Funny. These gents join Mark and Bill to talk about stand-up vs. improv, comedy LPs, waterless urinals, bad press, the path to enlightenment, and how to get rid of syphilis. We run a scene on hiring entertainment for the company party, and engage in some riffs that can only be called improv. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Sponsor: Go to surfshark.com/improv or use code IMPROV at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN!
- [Ep. 371: Christine Korsgaard on Normativity (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/14/ep371-1-korsgaard-normativity/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On lectures 3 and 4 of The Sources of Normativity (1996), where we get Korsgaard's positive view on how morality becomes obligatory for an individual, which has to do with identity, reason-giving, and our fundamentally social nature. And yet, her view is an interpretation of Kant! Sponsors: Don't wait until the next bite—protect your home with Bzigo. Go to bzigo.com/discount/BUZZ10 to save 10%. Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Learn about Mark's online political philosophy class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [Ep. 371: Christine Korsgaard on Normativity (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/13/ep371-1-korsgaard-normativity-citizen/) - On lectures 3 and 4 of The Sources of Normativity (1996), where we get Korsgaard's positive view on how morality becomes obligatory for an individual, which has to do with identity, reason-giving, and our fundamentally social nature. And yet, her view is an interpretation of Kant!
- [Philosophy Has Entered the Chat: Meaning in Large Language Models](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/13/philosophy-has-entered-the-chat-meaning-in-large-language-models/) - The unique interpretive rigor philosophy offers is what's needed in the AI revolution.
- [Ep. 370: Christine Korsgaard on the History of Ethics (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/07/ep370-2-korsgaard-ethical-history/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.We dive further into the text of lectures 1 and 2 of The Sources of Normativity (1996). We give Korsgaard's account of the idea of reflective endorsement through Hume and Bernard Williams to get to her own view. When you come to know the origins of your moral sentiments, do you still stand behind them? Learn more about Mark's fall online political philosophy class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health.
- [NEM#233: Jorma Kaukonen (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna) Is Not Taking This for Granted](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/03/nem233-jorma-kaukonen/) - This famed finger-style guitarist broke through with Jefferson Airplane's seven albums from 1966-1972, recorded eight with Hot Tuna 1970-1976 (with subsequent reunions by both bands), recorded his first solo album in 1974 and then 10 more from 1981-2025, and has collaborated with John Hurlburt, members of the Grateful Dead, and Janice Joplin. We discuss "In My Dreams" from Ain't in No Hurry (2015), "Been So Long" from River of Time (2009), "Sleep Song" by Hot Tuna from America's Choice (1975). End song: "Hesitation Blues" from Reno Road: Unreleased Tracks from the 60s (1960). Intro: "Embryonic Journey" from Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow (1967). More at jormakaukonen.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon. If you enjoy our show, check out the All the Right Movies podcast.
- [Closereads: H.A. Prichard on Ethics (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/07/02/closereads-h-a-prichard-on-ethics-part-one/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get previous and future installments of this podcast.On "Does Moral Philosophy Rest on a Mistake?" (1912). Prichard claims that we feel certain actions to be obligatory, and that we have no justification for globally doubting those raw intuitions. We can only re-check by looking more carefully, but the promise of moral philosophy to find a more robust confirmation is incoherent and illusory.
- [On Politics and Heartbreak in 2024](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/11/19/on-politics-and-heartbreak-in-2024/) - The 2024 Election has left many people will the task of making sense of their now precarious political identities. This essay explores insights for healing.
- [The Inescapable Imperative](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/02/01/the-inescapable-imperative/) - Moral reasons are strong. That's what you'd expect, at least. They're weighty but not dull, alive but not hedonistic. It's strange then that the term used time and again to describe the ultimate importance of moral reasoning is "objective," a word so bloodless and clinical. Still, there's something there that attempts to articulate the bottom-line
- [The Life of the Volunteer](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/05/the-life-of-the-volunteer/) - David Hume said, "Be a philosopher; but amidst all your philosophy, be still a man." The thing is, studying philosophy may or may not have an effect on your life. Even if it does, people usually follow Hume's advice to compartmentalize. Meta-ethics is typical of philosophy here. Moral skeptics often clarify that they're motivated by
- [When a Fallacy Ain't a Fallacy: Tu Quoque](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/05/30/when-a-fallacy-aint-a-fallacy-tu-quoque/) - The tu quoque fallacy is a sneaky one. It can come and go before you know it. Strictly speaking, tu quoque means "you too." It's a lot like accusing someone of hypocrisy. The fallacious part comes a step a down the line when, through an accusation of hypocrisy, doubt is cast on the content of
- [Ep. 369: Philippa Foot's Naturalistic Ethics (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/13/ep-369-2-foot-ethics-citizen/) - Continuing on Natural Goodness, getting more into concrete cases of moral reasoning. How and why do we decide to keep promises, even in cases where violating them would produce more utility? How do we take into account different kinds of grounds in moral reasoning?
- [Ep. 370: Christine Korsgaard on the History of Ethics (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/30/ep370-1-korsgaard-ethical-history/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On The Sources of Normativity (1996), lectures 1 and 2. How are facts related to obligations? We don't want to merely explain our moral impulses, but justify them. Korsgaard walks us through the views of Hobbes, Hume, Bernard Williams and others to arrive at her own breed of Kantianism, which we'll lay out in ep. 371. Sponsor: Don't wait until the next bite—protect your home with Bzigo. Go to bzigo.com/discount/BUZZ10 to save 10%.
- [Ep. 370: Christine Korsgaard on the History of Ethics (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/27/ep370-1-korsgaard-ethical-history-citizen/) - On The Sources of Normativity (1996), lectures 1 and 2. How are facts related to obligations? We don't want to merely explain our moral impulses, but justify them. Korsgaard walks us through the views of Hobbes, Hume, Bernard Williams and others to arrive at her own breed of Kantianism, which we'll lay out in ep. 371.
- [PvI#95: The Techucational Edge w/ Khafiz and Nicholas from Invasive Thoughts](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/27/pvi95-education-technology-invasive-thoughts/) - Khafiz Kerimov and Nicholas Bellinson teach at St. John's College, and they channeled the educational style of that school into a new podcast called Invasive Thoughts. They join Mark and Bill to talk (and act) about various educational technologies, teacher-student relations, circle-drawing competitions, the passivity of thinking, bad quotation use, and more. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Sponsors: Go to surfshark.com/improv or use code IMPROV at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN! Rid your home of mosquitos with the Bzigo Iris; visit bzigo.com/discount/BUZZ10 for 10% off.
- [Pretty Much Pop #198: Andor: Grown-Up Star Wars](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/18/pmp198-andor-star-wars/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss Tony Gilroy's Star Wars Disney+ two-season TV show. Should this actually be a Star Wars show given how different in tone it was? The show adds meat (and banality!) to the evil of the Empire and the rough life of a rebel. We talk characters, themes, settings, and all that other literary stuff. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Ep. 357: Feuerbach on the Evolution of Philosophy (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/23/ep357-2-feuerbach-evolution-of-philosophy/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a supporter-exclusive, part three to this episode. Listen to a preview..We finally discuss Feuerbach's proposed post-Hegelian, materialist approach to philosophy in his "Principles of the Philosophy of the Future" (1843). How can a materialist framework support phenomena central to F's account like our immediate, indubitable recognition of our selves, each other, and love itself?
- [Ep. 357: Feuerbach on the Evolution of Philosophy (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/20/ep357-3-feuerbach-evolution-of-philosophy-citizen/) - For one last go at "Principles of the Philosophy of the Future," Mark, Wes, and Seth detail F's case against Hegel and his consequent strange type of materialist metaphysics.
- [Ep. 369: Philippa Foot's Naturalistic Ethics (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/23/ep-369-2-foot-ethics/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this ad-free, plus a supporter-exclusive part 3. Listen to a preview.Continuing on Natural Goodness, getting more into concrete cases of moral reasoning. How and why do we decide to keep promises, even in cases where violating them would produce more utility? How do we take into account different kinds of grounds in moral reasoning?Sponsor: Visit IDOU.com/PEL for 15% off online courses on using AI in creative, human-centered ways.
- [Ep. 366: Edith Stein on Empathy (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/05/12/ep366-2-stein-empathy/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this ad-free, plus a supporter-exclusive Nightcap discussion that puts these moral sentimentalism discussions into perspective. Listen to a preview.Continuing on The Problem of Empathy. What does it mean to say that we know other people's mental states "non-primordially"? We talk about Stein's project of explaining how empathy is possible, what it gets us, and how her answers differ from Scheler's. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 368: Hume on Reason in Ethics (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/01/ep368-2-hume-reason-ethics-citizen/) - We conclude our discussion of A Treatise of Human Nature (1739): Book III, "Of Morals," plus a bit more discussion of An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751). How do moral sentiments fit into Hume's overall philosophy of mind? Is Hume a relativist? We talk about sociopaths, animals, incest, consent, ethics vs. beauty, moral luck, and more.
- [Closereads: Parfit on Game Theory (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/19/closereads-parfit-on-game-theory-part-one/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get previous and future installments of this podcast.On Derek Parfit's "Prudence, Morality, and the Prisoner's Dilemma" (1978). What is a "prisoner's dilemma" and what is its relevance to ethics?
- [Closereads: Spinoza on Emotions (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/07/closereads-spinoza-on-emotions-part-one/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get previous and future installments of this podcast. On Spinoza's Ethics, Third Part, "Concerning the Origin and Nature of the Emotions." We want to see how emotions ground ethics, but first, we have to explain what emotions are, which means explaining how mind and body (and causality) work
- [PvI#94: Storifying Philosophy w/ Kolby Granville](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/19/pvi94-storifying-philosophy-kolby-granville/) - Kolby runs After Dinner Conversations, which curates short stories about philosophy. He's also been a "producer" of improv shows. We talk about what makes a story philosophical, Kolby tells some stories, and we run some scenes about teleporter shenanigans and guidance counseling. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Sponsor: Go to surfshark.com/improv or use code IMPROV at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN!
- [NEM#232: Chris Church Refines Power Pop](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/18/nem232-chris-church/) - Chris has around 20 releases since 1991, mostly under his own name, while moonlighting as a metal guy and otherwise collaborating. We discuss "She Looks Good in Black" from Obsolete Path (2025), "Intransitive Proverb" from Limitations of the Source Tape (2017), and "Angel Be Mine" from Your Own Chosen Speed (2001). End song: "Sisiphus" by Däng from Tartarus: The Darkest Realm (2014). Intro: "Every Time" by Flat Earth from Prefacipice (1991). More at chrischurch1.bandcamp.com Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.
- [Pretty Much Pop #196: Our "Sinners" Shindig](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/05/15/pmp196-sinners/) - Luvell Anderson (Philosophy prof. at U of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign) joins Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al to discuss Ryan Coogler's new vampire siege/black studies film starring Michael B. Jordan. We talk about the film's comments on black freedom, black music, the church, why the film needed twins, whether the vampires were even necessary, the film's humor and structure, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #197: Medically Dramatic](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/05/29/pmp197-medical-dramas/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss The Pitt and other medical dramas like ER, Gray's Anatomy, ad nauseam. Doctors and patients grappling with life and death stakes seems a strong premise for drama, but how many of these shows do we need? We talk about the gore, the pacing, the characters, the politics, and the other considerations that make The Pitt a great show (at this point). For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Topic for #125: Hannah Arendt on the Political, Private, and Social](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/09/26/topic125-hannah-arendt/) - On 9/26, 6:30 Eastern, tune in to watch us discuss Hannah Arendt's The Human Condition, Parts 1 and 2, about what we need out of public and private realms to be fully human, free individuals and not pawns of society.
- [Ep. 369: Philippa Foot's Naturalistic Ethics (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/16/ep-369-1-foot-ethics/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On Natural Goodness (2001). Can we base ethics on the model of biology? Foot argues that just as we understand what a healthy specimen of a plant or animal is, so there is a natural way for humans to work properly, which will include the ability to will according to reflective reasoning.Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 369: Philippa Foot's Naturalistic Ethics (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/13/ep-369-1-foot-ethics-citizen/) - On Natural Goodness (2001). Can we base ethics on the model of biology? Foot argues that just as we understand what a healthy specimen of a plant or animal is, so there is a natural way for humans to work properly, which will include the ability to will according to reflective reasoning.
- [(sub)TEXT: The Artifice of Eternity in Yeats’s “Sailing to Byzantium”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/12/subtext-yeats-sailing-to-byzantium/) - Yeats’s poem “Sailing to Byzantium” begins and ends with the concept of reproduction. In the first stanza, this reproduction is natural and sexual, and in the final stanza is entirely a matter of artifice. The living songbird is transformed into both product and producer, with a form of singing that is gilded by a consciousness of its departure from nature. Where natural reproduction replenishes entities that are neverthless always in the process of dying, art—the speaker seems to hope—is potentially eternal. And yet the poem’s final stanza also reminds us that art is ultimately for the living, and only as alive as its audience. Wes & Erin discuss Yeats’s meditation on whether creativity can help us transcend mortality, and how artists should conceive of their relationships to nature and posterity.
- [Ep. 368: Hume on Reason in Ethics (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/08/ep368-2-hume-reason-ethics/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.We conclude our discussion of A Treatise of Human Nature (1739): Book III, "Of Morals," plus a bit more discussion of An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751). How do moral sentiments fit into Hume's overall philosophy of mind? Is Hume a relativist? We talk about sociopaths, animals, incest, consent, ethics vs. beauty, moral luck, and more.
- [PvI#93: Poetry Stands its Ground w/ Shannon Bass and Audrey Kohler](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/04/pvi93-poetry-shannon-bass-audrey-kohler/) - Shannon the philosopher and Audrey the poet are Seattle improv buddies that form a duo called Closer to Clarity that uses improv to answer audience members' big life questions (BLQs). Hear philosophy and poetry face off and mind meld and do-si-do as we play through two wacky corporate office scenes and return once again to Empty Street™ for an attempted gas station poetry open mic. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #87: Mystic Toaster with Simon Critchley](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/23/philosophy-vs-improv-87-mystic-toaster-with-simon-critchley/) - Simon is a professor at New York's New School for Social Research and moderates the New York Times' philosophy offering, The Stone. He joins Mark and Bill to discuss his new book, On Mysticism: The Experience of Ecstasy, and we used the occasion to explore how art and mysticism might be connected, including engaging in improv rituals. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the and hear this ad-free at podcast at philosophyimprov.com/support. Check out other Evergreen Podcast offerings.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #83: Half Philosophizing (Season 4 Premiere)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/10/17/pvi83-half-philosophizing/) - Welcome to the beginning of a new round of shenanigans on Philosophy vs. Improv. Let the senior slump begin! Your hosts Mark Linsenmayer and Bill Arnett here talk a blazin' stream of consciousness and then have a pretty long improv scene. Are we already always philosophizing? Watch the proceedings unedited on YouTube. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast at philosophyimprov.com/support. Check out other Evergreen Podcast offerings.
- [PvI#86: Friends with App-Platter Benefits with Sarah Shockey and Tommy Maranges](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/06/pvi86-friends-with-app-platter-benefits-with-sarah-shockey-and-tommy-maranges/) - It's a TEAM PLAY episode just in time for the holiday season! Returning guests improviser and podcaster Sarah and recovering Philosophy Bro Tommy join Mark and Bill to talk AND EXPERIENCE friendship, with our longest single improv scene to date. What is friendship? Do you know your friends enough to imitate them? Does one friendship or fast-casual restaurant have to die so that another may emerge? Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the and hear this ad-free at podcast at philosophyimprov.com/support. Check out other Evergreen Podcast offerings.
- [PvI#88: The Dark Side of Improv w/ Randy Fertel](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/02/01/pvi88-improv-trump-randy-fertel/) - Randy is a literature guy who has written a couple of books about improv and here joins Mark and Bill to talk about WINGING IT: Improv's Power and Peril in the Age of Trump, wherein he basically blames improv for giving us the orange man. Our scenes are about Trumpers hustling a fast food joint and improv for dogs. Mark and Bill stick around for some post-game bringing in yet another metaphor: music and its stylistic development. Watch this as unedited video, if you so choose.
- [PvI#89: Improv 4 Change w/ Shawn and Aaron from srsly wrong](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/02/23/pvi89-improv-4-change-srsly-wrong/) - Mark and Bill are joined by two north-of-the-border podcasters, Shawn Vulliez and Aaron Moritz, who incorporate both improv and philosophy in their dirty leftist podcast. We simulate conversation as competing knowers-of-the-good-life and talk about using improv for political purposes. Note that this was recorded back in December when we were in the thick of Luigi Mangione fever and not yet consumed with daily Presidential antics. You can choose to watch this on unedited video, if you choose.
- [PvI#85: Prototype Protoplasm w/ Mike Gorgone](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/11/21/pvi85-discovery-mike-gorgone/) - Mike hosts the Hitchhikers and Appetizers podcast, and we recorded this episode a bit before Halloween, before the election and the consequent mass exodus, as a sort of memo to the future, i.e. you. We blister our way through many topics including discovery, hospital dramas, time travel sex, self-experimentation, ancient aliens, sharkNATO, Flintstone furniture, the first Wisconsin Thanksgiving, Subway nation-states, and more. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the and hear this ad-free at podcast at philosophyimprov.com/support. Check out other Evergreen Podcast offerings.
- [PvI#84: Interesting? w/ Lorraine Besser](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/11/04/pvi84-interesting-lorraine-besser/) - Lorraine teaches at Middlebury college and has recently written The Art of the Interesting: What We Miss in Our Pursuit of the Good Life and How to Cultivate It. How does "the interesting" fit into human flourishing? How do we know when some attractive stimulation is really in our interest and really good? Can we find something interesting even the most tedious, repetitive tasks? Is it interesting to start an improv scene by declaring that your scene-mates are dealing with alcoholism and divorce? Certainly it is rude. Also, Happiness 12 Step Programs. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast at philosophyimprov.com/support. Check out other Evergreen Podcast offerings.You can choose to watch this on unedited video.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #92: Postale au Naturale w/ Greg McBrayer](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/05/12/pvi92-natural-greg-mcbrayer/) - Greg teaches philosophy (and is Interim Provost at Ashland, loves Xenophon, and runs a podcast. We reflect on the dangers of radon and other "natural" things. How might one of our government agencies become more natural, and would we want that? Are fart jokes the most naturally funny kind? Then, Greg the trucker visits Empty Street and embezzles dead mules. Bill was thrust from the final portion of the call, so Mark and Greg engage in some philosophy podcast shop talk. He returns for the Post-Game after Greg's departure to reflect on the episode and specifically identify the naturalistic fallacy.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #91: Community Breakdown (or Breakdance?) w/ Nick Armstrong](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/04/13/pvi91-community-nick-armstrong/) - Mark and Bill are joined by the actor/improviser who directs Camp Improv Utopia and is involved in managing improv spaces such as Denver's Rise Comedy. We talk about the notion of community, with a scene about the neighborhood watch and a return to Empty Street to deal seriously in a public-service-announcement/after-school special sort of way with the issue of buying liquor underage. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Check out other Evergreen Podcast offerings.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #90: Empty Street](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/24/pvi90-empty-street/) - Mark and Bill introduce a new potential setting and some characters for ongoing use in future improvisations. We talk about techniques for doing that and wrap up by getting an update from Bill on his substitute teaching and talking about what makes for a good teacher. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Check out other Evergreen Podcast offerings.
- [Ep. 368: Hume on Reason in Ethics (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/02/ep368-1-hume-reason-ethics/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.We talk a bit more about David Hume's An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751), and add some parts of A Treatise of Human Nature (1739): sec. 3 "Of the Influencing Motives of the Will" within the third part of Book II, "Of the Passions," and the first two sections of Book III, "Of Morals." Can reason by itself motivate moral action? Hume says no: All ethical reasons must point ultimately to sentiments, which we can generalize about, but which are epistemically basic.
- [Ep. 367: Hume on the Foundations of Ethics (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/05/16/ep367-2-hume-ethics-citizen/) - Continuing on An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751), talking about justice (i.e. property laws), why utility is pleasing and what all it includes, sympathy, utility vs. beauty, and more.
- [Ep. 368: Hume on Reason in Ethics (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/06/01/ep368-1-hume-reason-ethics-citizen/) - We talk a bit more about David Hume's An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751), and add some parts of A Treatise of Human Nature (1739): sec. 3 "Of the Influencing Motives of the Will" within the third part of Book II, "Of the Passions," and the first two sections of Book III, "Of Morals." Can reason by itself motivate moral action? Hume says no: All ethical reasons must point ultimately to sentiments, which we can generalize about, but which are epistemically basic.
- [Not School: Thomas Sheehan's Historical Jesus Stanford Lectures](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/04/26/not-school-thomas-sheehans-historical-jesus-stanford-lectures/) - Featuring Mark Linsenmayer, Michael Burgess, Tara Leigh Bell, John Ludders, Chris Eyre, Benjamin Feddersen. Recorded April 26, 2015, 1 hr., 50 min. Does Sheehan represent a legitimate academic consensus? What are the outlines of his story about the evolution of these stories by faith communities? Should this denial of the historical accuracy of the traditional story imply a loss of faith?
- [NEM#231: Bill Champlin (ex-Chicago) Sings of Love Just to Find It](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/05/26/nem231-bill-champlin/) - Bill released 8 albums from 1969-1977 with Sons of Champlin then moved to LA to become a solo artist and session musician, co-writing two Grammy-winning tunes. He was the designated soul singer in Chicago from 1981-2009 and released several solo albums starting in 1990 while continuing to collaborate widely. We discuss "Alone" from Livin' for Love (2021), the title track from He Started to Sing (1995), and "Right On" by Sons of Champlin from Welcome to the Dance (1973). End song: "Plaid" by Chicago from Stone of Sisyphus (1992). Intro: "Please Hold On" from Chicago 17 (1984). Learn more at billchamplin.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.
- [(sub)TEXT: The Evil of Banality in “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/05/26/subtext-rosemarys-baby/) - On the surface, “Rosemary’s Baby” is a horror film about a woman who gets taken advantage of by a satanic cult and impregnated by the Devil. In the end, it seems to be a satire on the competing entrapments of domesticity and ambition, and the boring conventionality of people who hope that opposition to convention will allow them to retrieve their lost youth. Wes & Erin discuss Roman Polanski’s 1968 classic, and why it is that Satanic evil, when confronted with life’s very frightening realities—including pregnancy itself—turns out to be so banal.
- [Ep. 367: Hume on the Foundations of Ethics (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/05/26/ep367-2-hume-ethics/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content. Continuing on An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751), talking about justice (i.e. property laws), why utility is pleasing and what all it includes, sympathy, utility vs. beauty, and more.
- [Philosophy as a Way of Life: The International Movement Trying to Revivify Ancient Tradition and an Academic Discipline](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/07/philosophy-as-a-way-of-life-the-international-movement-trying-to-revivify-ancient-tradition-and-an-academic-discipline/) - By James Anderson In the beginning, philosophy was a way of life. Dating back to the Zhou Dynasty in China, Confucianism encouraged the cultivation of virtues, which Dong Zhongshu expounded upon centuries later in the “Sangang Wuchan,” often translated as the, “Three Fundamental Bonds and Five Constant Virtues,” a text that speaks to the importance
- [Episode 117: Sophocles's "Antigone" (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/06/13/ep117-antigone-discussion-citizen-edition/) - What can philosophy wrench from the ancient Greek tragedy (BCE 451)? A party, for one! Mark, Wes, and Dylan are rejoined by drama guy John Castro, who played Haimon in our performance. End song: "Woe Is Me," live 2002 on WORT by Madison Lint.
- [Ep 113 Aftershow: Jesus's Parables](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/04/20/ep113-aftershow/) - Featuring Michael Burgess, Ken Presting, Nik Burlew, and a tired Mark Linsenmayer. Recorded April 20, 2015.
- [Closereads: Edith Stein on the Self (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/05/19/closereads-edith-stein-self/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get previous and future installments of this podcast.Mark and Wes discuss "On the Problem of Empathy," ch. 4 "Empathy as the Comprehension of Mental Persons," starting with section 2, "The Mental Subject" and into section 3, "The Constitution of the Person in Emotional Experiences."
- [Ep. 367: Hume on the Foundations of Ethics (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/05/19/ep367-1-hume-ethics/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On David Hume's An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751). What is morality, and how can we know it? Hume claims that we simply find ourselves with sentiments morally approving and disapproving of various things. Characterizing these post hoc, we can say that in general we approve of what brings utility, and this explains the existence of most laws and mores. These may vary by culture because conditions change the utility calculation in different environments. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 366: Edith Stein on Empathy (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/05/02/ep366-2-stein-empathy-citizen/) - Continuing on The Problem of Empathy. What does it mean to say that we know other people's mental states "non-primordially"? We talk about Stein's project of explaining how empathy is possible, what it gets us, and how her answers differ from Scheler's.
- [Ep. 367: Hume on the Foundations of Ethics (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/05/16/ep367-1-hume-ethics-citizen/) - On David Hume's An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751). What is morality, and how can we know it? Hume claims that we simply find ourselves with sentiments morally approving and disapproving of various things. Characterizing these post hoc, we can say that in general we approve of what brings utility, and this explains the existence of most laws and mores. These may vary by culture because conditions change the utility calculation in different environments.
- [Why You Don’t Exist](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/05/08/why-you-dont-exist-how-will-shatner-taught-me-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-emptiness-of-all-things/) - Philippe-Antoine Hoyeck
- [Pretty Much Pop #194: Adolescence Wrecks Us](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/04/21/pmp194-adolescence/) - We watched the 4-part British crime series that's become #1 in 80 countries, breaking Netflix's records for an original series. And man, was it a bummer. But important! We reflect on the purpose of the show, its one-take-per-episode format, the choice of whose perspectives to show, the crazy good acting by such a young person, and we get a little education about incel culture. How have things changed since we were kids? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Ep. 365: Scheler on Love (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/04/19/ep365-2-scheler-love-citizen/) - We conclude our treatment of Max Scheler's The Nature of Sympathy (1922), getting further into the Part II of the book about love and hatred and grappling with the puzzles about what exactly it is we love about someone (the "personality").
- [Pretty Much Pop #195: Mike White's Lotus](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/05/05/pmp95-white-lotus/) - We discuss the HBO dramedy about rich people having existential crises at a luxury resort in light of its third season. What exactly made this latest season less satisfying than the others? Does the show have a sustainable formula? What is the show saying about enlightenment? Travel? Sexuality? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Ep. 366: Edith Stein on Empathy (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/05/05/ep366-1-stein-empathy/) - On The Problem of Empathy (1917). What is empathy, and what is its significance? Stein pictures empathy as a dynamic process that involves what Scheler called sympathy but goes beyond this. Your don't just take the other person's feeling as our object of contemplation, but in doing so, your enter into it (while still not confusing it with YOUR feeling), this relating to it "non-primordially." So how does this work, exactly? Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.
- [Ep. 366: Edith Stein on Empathy (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/05/02/ep366-1-stein-empathy-citizen/) - On The Problem of Empathy (1917). What is empathy, and what is its significance? Stein pictures empathy as a dynamic process that involves what Scheler called sympathy but goes beyond this. Your don't just take the other person's feeling as our object of contemplation, but in doing so, your enter into it (while still not confusing it with YOUR feeling), this relating to it "non-primordially." So how does this work, exactly?
- [Closereads: Husserl on Perceiving Minds](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/21/closereads-husserl-on-perceiving-minds/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts on this reading, as well as our previous and future installments of this podcast.On Edmund Husserl's Ideas, Vol. 2 (1928), Section 3, "The Constitution of the Spiritual World," Ch. 1, "Opposition Between the Naturalistic and Personalistic Worlds."
- [Ep. 365: Scheler on Love (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/04/28/ep365-2-scheler-love/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.We conclude our treatment of Max Scheler's The Nature of Sympathy (1922), getting further into the Part II of the book about love and hatred and grappling with the puzzles about what exactly it is we love about someone (the "personality"). If you enjoy our podcast, check out Working Class History at workingclasshistory.com.
- [Closereads: Scheler on Personhood (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/04/25/closereads-scheler-personhood/) - On Ch. 6 "Formalism and Person," in Max Scheler's most famous work, Formalism in Ethics and Non-Formal Ethics of Values (1916).
- [NEM#230: Dean Wareham (Luna, Galaxie 500) Waxes Poetic](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/04/25/nem230-dean-wareham/) - Dean has released about 20 albums, starting with three '88-'90 with Galaxie 500, then he started fresh in New York as Luna, releasing seven albums and some EPs through 2005 (plus a later reunion), then continued with his Luna bassist and now spouse Britta Phillips as Dean and Britta for five albums, interspersed with now four albums under his own name and other miscellaneous projects. We discuss "We're Not Finished Yet" (and listen at the end to "The Cloud Is Coming" from That's the Price of Loving Me (2025), "Love Is Colder Than Death" from Emancipated Hearts (2013), and "23 Minutes in Brussels" by Luna from Penthouse (1995). Intro: "Strange" by Galaxie 500 from On Fire (1989). More at deanwareham.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.
- [Pretty Much Pop #193: Severance: Mystery Box in Progress](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/04/07/pmp193-severance/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al here discuss the sci-fi/office dramedy in light of its second season. We might normally wait until the end of the show, but given that season 1 was 2022, and it took three years to get us season 2, who knows it it'll actually finish? And who knows if it will not be massively disappointing at that point? We strike while the show is culturally relevant! But did even this season measure up to its phenomenal premise and first season? There are so many juicy plot and character elements on this show that we can't possibly fit them all in. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Ep. 365: Scheler on Love (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/04/21/ep365-1-scheler-love/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On The Nature of Sympathy (1922), Part II: "Love and Hatred." What is love, and how does it relate to ethics and to sympathy? For Scheler, love is a primitive, spontaneous movement from lower to higher values: We see the best in the love one and thereby help enable them to attain that excellence. So is love foundational for value, or is value foundational for love? The two seem to arise together.Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 364: Max Scheler on Sympathy (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/04/05/ep-364-max-scheler-on-sympathy-part-three-for-supporters/) - Mark, Wes, and Dylan reconvened for one more hour on Part I, "Fellow Feeling" (ch. 3-4) in The Nature of Sympathy (1913/1922). We continue to try to figure out the razor's edge of "fellow feeling proper" that does not rely on the sympathizer identifying in any way and look into psychological and metaphysical ways that people can identify with others.
- [Ep. 365: Scheler on Love (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/04/19/ep365-1-scheler-love-citizen/) - On The Nature of Sympathy (1922), Part II: "Love and Hatred." What is love, and how does it relate to ethics and to sympathy? For Scheler, love is a primitive, spontaneous movement from lower to higher values: We see the best in the love one and thereby help enable them to attain that excellence. So is love foundational for value, or is value foundational for love? The two seem to arise together.
- [Ep. 364: Max Scheler on Sympathy (Part Three)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/04/14/ep364-3-scheler-sympathy/) - Subscribe to get all parts of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Mark, Wes, and Dylan reconvened for one more hour on Part I, "Fellow Feeling" (ch. 3-4) in The Nature of Sympathy (1913/1922). We continue to try to figure out the razor's edge of "fellow feeling proper" that does not rely on the sympathizer identifying in any way and look into psychological and metaphysical ways that people can identify with others. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 364: Max Scheler on Sympathy (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/04/07/ep364-2-scheler-sympathy/) - Subscribe to get parts 1, 2, and 3 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on The Nature of Sympathy (1913/1922), Part I: "Fellow Feeling," Ch. 1-4. We look more closely at the text, getting further into how fellow feeling relates to ethics, and why the moral sentimentalists (like Hume) were wrong about this. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.
- [Ep. 364: Max Scheler on Sympathy (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/30/ep364-2-scheler-sympathy-citizen/) - Continuing on The Nature of Sympathy (1913/1922), Part I: "Fellow Feeling," Ch. 1-4. We look more closely at the text, getting further into how fellow feeling relates to ethics, and why the moral sentimentalists (like Hume) were wrong about this.
- [NEM#229: Peter Holsapple (dB's, Continental Drifters) Pays Tribute to His Adolescence](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/04/01/nem229-peter-holsapple/) - Peter recorded with Chris Stamey as early as 1972, and they reconvened as The dB's in the '80s. Peter has released six albums as the dB's, three more as a duo with Chris, four co-fronting the Continental Drifters, and three solo albums. He has also been a supporting/touring member in several bands including REM, Hootie and the Blowfish, and currently The Paranoid Style. We discuss "Larger Than Life" from his new solo album The Face of 68), "Don’t Mention the War" from Game Day (2018), and "She Won’t Drive in the Rain" by The Db’s from their reunion album Falling off the Sky (2012). We conclude by listening to "Where Does the Time Go" by Continental Drivers from Better Day (2001). Intro: "Amplifier" by The Db’s from Repercussion (1981). More info at halfpearblog.blogspot.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.
- [(sub)TEXT: “Where the Meanings Are” – Four Poems by Emily Dickinson](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/04/01/subtext-emily-dickinson/) - If only because of its seeming incongruity with a brain “wider than the sky,” the central fact of Emily Dickinson’s life has become her seclusion. As she wrote to Thomas Wentworth Higginson in 1869, “I do not cross my Father’s ground to any House or town.” Like the relatively modest dimensions of her poems, this self-imposed constraint—of the property line within Amherst, Massachusetts, then the Dickinson home itself, then her bedroom—proved no barrier to a cosmic poetic imagination which “went out upon circumference,” and to which no subject, tone, or emotion was foreign. Erin & Wes discuss four of Dickinson’s best-loved poems, whose little rooms contain some of the definitive poetic statements on grief, pain, violence, death, reason, identity, and encounters with the divine: numbers 340, 372, 320, and 477.
- [Ep. 364: Max Scheler on Sympathy (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/31/ep364-1-scheler-sympathy/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On The Nature of Sympathy (1913, expanded 1922), Part I: "Fellow Feeling," Ch. 1-4. What is it to feel sympathy (aka "fellow feeling") for another person? It is NOT to "identify" with that person; ethics requires that the person be irreducibly Other, not part of my (extended) ego. Sponsor: Check out the History of the Germans podcast at historyofthegermans.com.
- [Ep. 364: Max Scheler on Sympathy (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/28/ep364-1-scheler-sympathy-citizen/) - On The Nature of Sympathy (1913, expanded 1922), Part I: "Fellow Feeling," Ch. 1-4. What is it to feel sympathy (aka "fellow feeling") for another person? It is NOT to "identify" with that person; ethics requires that the person be irreducibly Other, not part of my (extended) ego.
- [Ep. 363: Franz Brentano's Moral Epistemology (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/15/ep-363-2-brentano-ethics-citizen/) - Continuing on "The Origin of the Knowledge of Right and Wrong" (1889), getting into how we measure the comparative value of things. While Brentano does observe actual practices in these areas, his phenomenology detects moral facts that can be used to cast judgments of people's actual practices, saving him from relativism.
- [Pretty Much Pop #181: M. Night Shyamalan's Films Are a Trap](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/19/pmp181-m-night-shyamalan/) - In light of the new film Trap, we look at this writer/director's oeuvre. Was he a bright light (The Sixth Sense) that at one point went out (certainly by The Happening), and has that light gone back on as he's regained full control in his most recent films (Knock at the Cabin, The Visit, et al.)? Is he a genius, overrated, or somehow both? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al disagree both about Trap and about the overall Shyamalan experience. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.Sponsors: Get 10% off your first month of online therapy at betterhelp.com/pretty. Try a new podcast: Today In History With the Retrospectors at podfollow.com/retrospectors.
- [Pretty Much Pop #183: Classic Universal Monster Movies](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/10/25/pretty-much-pop-183-classic-universal-monster-movies/) - It's our Halloween episode! Brooker Nourse from the Autopsy of a Horror Movie podcast joins the gang about a wave of 1930's films including Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Invisible Man. Are these actually enjoyable to modern audiences? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #182: Tim Burton: Shtick Macabre](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/10/14/pmp182-tim-burton/) - In light of the new Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, we discuss the films of director (and occasional writer) Tim Burton since his career was firmly established by his early work in the '80s including the original 1988 Beetlejuice. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al have very mixed reactions to the new film, but we agree that the animation style that characterizes his vision is very rich and has had a massive cultural impact. We discuss his stop-motion work, his Batman films, his Disney commissions, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #184: !BREAKING! Comedy News](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/11/11/pmp184-comedy-news/) - Many people use shows like Last Week Tonight or The Daily Show to not just satirize the news but to provide us with our news. Late night shows, SNL, and many other shows get in on this, and conservative media is catching up via Gutfield! How does the comedy news format relate to panel shows, podcasts, and other light-hearted political talk? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #185: Steve Martin: X-Tuple Threat](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/11/25/pmp185-steve-martin/) - Steve Martin was the biggest comic celebrity in the late '70s, became a huge movie star, and now delivers gentle comedy and fast banjo licks according to his desired rich guy schedule. In light of the popularity of Only Murders in the Building, we consider his many talents. Our 50ish hosts Mark and Sarahlyn are all in on this guy, but our 40ish hosts Lawrence and Al are not necessarily tickled. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #186: From Oz Books to Wicked Film](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/14/pmp186-oz-wicked/) - We're coming up on the 125th anniversary of L. Frank Baum's children's book, The Wizard of Oz, and the film version of (the first half of) the musical Wicked has been released. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al talk about the landmark 1939 film musical, the 1978 film The Wiz, Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel Wicked, the stage musical, the other Oz books by Baum, Maguire, et al, and other films like 1985's Return to Oz and 2013's Oz the Great and Powerful. How does this film stack up to other recent Broadway-to-film adaptations? Will there ever be a faithful film or TV adaptation of the books? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #187: Taking Down Santa Claus](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/23/pmp187-santa-claus/) - For our annual holiday episode, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al talk about Santa qua mythical and cultural figure, getting into the history of the character, his film appearances, and how the emphasis on kids' belief compares to religious belief. Plus, grading Xmas movies on a curve and Black Santa! For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Learn about Mark's Core Texts in Philosophy class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [Pretty Much Pop #189: Bob Dylan As We Know Him](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/02/10/pmp189-bob-dylan/) - In light of the recent release of the James Mangold film A Complete Unknown, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Dylan superfan Al discuss the man, the myth, and the music. The film clearly aimed to make the music, environment, and political activity of the '60s come alive today, but does the simplification required to make a coherent film undermine that goal? We also touch on his Chronicles, plus I'm Not There and other Dylan-related films. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #190: The Substance: Act Your Age!](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/02/23/pmp190-the-substance/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al discuss the Coralie Fargeat/Demi Moore film The Substance in light of its Oscar nominations, along with related reflections on lost youth, e.g. Sunset Boulevard (1950), Death Becomes Her (1992), and Neon Demon (2016). We also touch on other cloning scenarios. Is this film a serious meditation on aging in Hollywood, or just a particularly vivid but logically confused Twilight Zone episode? Is the message of this film already itself past its prime? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Get 10% off your first month of online therapy at BetterHelp.com/pretty.
- [Pretty Much Pop #191: Saturday Night Liver](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/07/pmp191-saturday-night-live/) - Are we taking for granted this unique, talent-filled weekly nationally televised live comedy event that's been around for 50 years? (as in "What do we think this show is? Chopped liver?") Does its format even make sense at this time given YouTube and streaming? What will its legacy be? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss
- [Ep. 362: Ecclesiastes: Biblical Existentialism? (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/02/ep-362-2-ecclesiastes-citizen/) - Continuing on Ecclesiastes with guest Jesse Peterson, getting into some more close reading of particular sections. We make some connection from the author's observations to ancient Greek Skepticism, Epicureanism, and Stoicism. How is the world "absurd" according to this book?
- [Ep. 363: Franz Brentano's Moral Epistemology (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/24/ep-363-2-brentano-ethics/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on "The Origin of the Knowledge of Right and Wrong" (1889), getting into how we measure the comparative value of things. While Brentano does observe actual practices in these areas, his phenomenology detects moral facts that can be used to cast judgments of people's actual practices, saving him from relativism.Sponsor: Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel.
- [Ep. 363: Franz Brentano's Moral Epistemology (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/17/ep-363-1-brentano-ethics/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a brand new Nightcap recording.On "The Origin of the Knowledge of Right and Wrong" (1889). What justifies basic moral facts? Brentano claims that right there in our experience, we can rationally sense with complete certainty that certain kinds of preferences are good ones, and others are not. This take on intuitionism is a response to Kant that (like Kant) cuts between the traditional epistemic categories of rationalism and empiricism, and Brentano's descriptive psychology kicked off the whole project of phenomenology. Sponsors: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Learn about African history at historyofafricapodcast.podbean.com.
- [Pretty Much Pop #192: Exhibitionist Reality TV](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/21/pmp192-reality-tv/) - We acknowledge this hugely popular form of "entertainment" recently embodied by The Baldwins, but popularized by shows like The Osbournes and The Kardashians, wherein some celebrity and/or family just shows off their life, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al are joined by returning guest Kayla Dryesse to talk about why this kind of show exists, its variations, and its redeeming value (if any). Is The Baldwins basically just a lengthy Instagram post? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [(sub)TEXT: The Weight of Memory in Hitchcock’s “Rebecca” (1940)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/21/subtext-hitchcock-rebecca/) - Alfred Hitchcock’s first American film—part love story, part ghost story, part courtroom melodrama—centers on a poor, timid young woman who falls in love with wealthy aristocrat Maxim de Winter, a widower tortured over the death of his first wife. When the young woman becomes the second Mrs. De Winter and moves into Maxim’s estate, she finds her predecessor’s initials stamped all over the house, and its staff in thrall to her beautiful, vibrant memory. But at the heart of the first Mrs. De Winter’s legacy lies a rot, and just what that rot represents in the film—be it the oppressions of vitality and ambition, the wages of class mobility, the unruly desires of sexuality, or the latent evidence of civilizational decline—is our subject today. Wes & Erin discuss the 1940 Best Picture winner “Rebecca,” starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier.
- [Ep. 362: Ecclesiastes: Biblical Existentialism? (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/02/ep-362-1-ecclesiastes-citizen/) - Ecclesiastes is often cited as one of the most philosophical books of the Bible, so we approached it in that spirit with the help of Jesse M. Peterson, whose soon-to-be-published book is called Qoheleth and the Philosophy of Value.
- [Ep. 362: Ecclesiastes: Biblical Existentialism? (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/10/ep-362-2-ecclesiastes/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on Ecclesiastes with guest Jesse Peterson, getting into some more close reading of particular sections. We make some connection from the author's observations to ancient Greek Skepticism, Epicureanism, and Stoicism. How is the world "absurd" according to this book? Sponsors: Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 362: Ecclesiastes: Biblical Existentialism? (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/03/ep-362-1-ecclesiastes/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Ecclesiastes is often cited as one of the most philosophical books of the Bible, so we approached it in that spirit with the help of Jesse M. Peterson, whose soon-to-be-published book is called Qoheleth and the Philosophy of Value. Sponsor: Check out the History of the Germans podcast at historyofthegermans.com.
- [Ep. 363: Franz Brentano's Moral Epistemology (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/15/ep-363-1-brentano-ethics-citizen/) - On "The Origin of the Knowledge of Right and Wrong" (1889). What justifies basic moral facts? Brentano claims that right there in our experience, we can rationally sense with complete certainty that certain kinds of preferences are good ones, and others are not. This take on intuitionism is a response to Kant that (like Kant) cuts between the traditional epistemic categories of rationalism and empiricism, and Brentano's descriptive psychology kicked off the whole project of phenomenology.
- [Ep. 361: Marx on Machines (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/02/16/ep361-2-marx-machines-citizen/) - On "Fragment on Machines" (1858). Shouldn't automating work free workers? Not according to Marx, until capitalism is overthrown. Until then, automation actually just makes labor conditions worse and certainly doesn't give people more free time, since the capitalist keeps all the surplus gained by greater productivity.
- [(sub)TEXT: Possibility and Loss in the Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/12/subtext-rilke/) - In his poem “You Who Never Arrived,” Rainer Maria Rilke suggests that we can mourn love as an unrealized possibility, and see this loss signified everywhere in the ordinary objects of the external world. In “Be Ahead of All Parting” (II.13 from his “Sonnets to Orpheus”), he seems to claim that poetry has the capacity to redeem such losses—and retrieve them, so to speak, from their underworld. Wes & Erin discuss these two classics, and whether—as Rilke suggests—death can be put in service of life, and suffering sourced as the principal wellspring of a joyful existence.
- [PEL Dawn of Spring Nightcap 2025](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/12/pel-dawn-of-spring-2025/) - We reflect on the current political situation, Chat GPT, and then dwell on the aftermath of our Marx series and think about starting to play guitar as an adult.
- [NEM#228: John "JR" Robinson: Omnipresent Drummer](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/03/06/nem228-john-jr-robinson/) - JR has drummed on over 200 US Billboard Hot 100 songs and 50 Grammy winning tunes. He was in Rufus w/ Chaka Khan in the late 70s/early 80s, has released two solo albums, written for soundtracks, produced other artists, and has led various combos over the years. He is currently promoting his auto-biography King of the Groove. We discuss "Gonna Be Alright" from The Bronx, USA soundtrack (2020), "Flight 81" from his first solo album, Funkshui (2004), and "You're Really Out of Line" by Rufus from Seal in Red (1983). End song: "Tal Shia" by SRT from Vanguards of Groove (2023). Intro: "Higher Love" by Steve Winwood (1986). More at johnjrrobinson.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.
- [Ep. 361: Marx on Machines (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/02/23/ep361-2-marx-machines/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On "Fragment on Machines" (1858). Shouldn't automating work free workers? Not according to Marx, until capitalism is overthrown. Until then, automation actually just makes labor conditions worse and certainly doesn't give people more free time, since the capitalist keeps all the surplus gained by greater productivity. Sponsor: Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel.
- [Ep. 360: Karl Marx on Economic Value (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/02/02/ep360-2-marx-economic-value-citizen/) - Continuing on Capital, Ch. 1 on commodities. We go into detail on his account of how money gets derived from the continued comparison of various commodities, how use value comes back into play when we compare the economic value of one commodity as compared to another, and finally, the details of commodity fetishism.
- [Closereads: Guattari on Fascism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/02/18/closereads-guattari-on-fascism/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts on this reading, as well as our previous and future installments of this podcast.Mark and Wes read through and discuss the beginning of Felix Guattari's "Everybody Wants to Be a Fascist" (1973). Guattari was a Lacanian psychotherapist, and he argues for explaining fascist tendencies via a "micropolitics of desire," i.e. looking at the individual psychology of fascism instead of merely focusing on sociological, material causes of the rise of fascism.
- [Ep. 361: Marx on Machines (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/02/17/ep361-1-marx-machines/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.We finish our treatment of Capital, Ch. 1, covering the little bit that Marx says about actual communism (he was wary of utopianism, contra his reputation), and think through a number of related practical problems. We introduce "Fragment on Machines" (1858). Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 360: Karl Marx on Economic Value (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/02/10/ep360-2-marx-economic-value/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on Capital, Ch. 1 on commodities. We go into detail on his account of how money gets derived from the continued comparison of various commodities, how use value comes back into play when we compare the economic value of one commodity as compared to another, and finally, the details of commodity fetishism.Sponsors: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel.
- [Ep. 361: Marx on Machines (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/02/16/ep361-1-marx-machines-citizen/) - We finish our treatment of Capital, Ch. 1, covering the little bit that Marx says about actual communism (he was wary of utopianism, contra his reputation), and think through a number of related practical problems. We introduce "Fragment on Machines" (1858), and will cover this explicitly in part two.
- [Intellectual Character and the So-Called Hot Hand Fallacy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/03/27/intellectual-character-and-the-so-called-hot-hand-fallacy/) - Does our public discourse have the capacity for many negative assessments of one another’s intellectual character? How long can we go before our conversations become fit for cable news rather than reasoned discussion?
- [Philosophy as Conceptual Border Patrol](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2013/03/06/philosophy-as-conceptual-border-patrol/) - The British philosopher Peter Hacker does not abide nonsense. In his January article "Why Philosophy" Hacker puts in his cross-hairs ideas taken seriously by politicians, scientists, and the intelligentsia in general. Let’s get to the specifics in a minute – the general outline is relevant to anyone hoping to grok the never-ending attempt to define
- [What’s the Deal with Why?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/18/whats-the-deal-with-why/) - Why? handles forbidding content in philosophy and science not only with high competence, but with a sense of adventure and ingenuity. It’s a read well worth it.
- [Quasi-Moral Skepticism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/02/11/quasi-moral-skepticism/) - Philosophy is littered with realisms and skepticisms. Meta-ethics is no different. Moral skepticisms abound and there are many moral realisms. It's a risk of excess to add one more to the pile, but hopefully the risk is worth it. This essay charts a middle course that could just as easily be called Quasi-realism, a more
- [NEM#227: Django Haskins (The Old Ceremony): Pop Noir](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/02/12/nem227-django-haskins/) - Django is a singer/songwriter/guitarist who released his first solo album in 1996 and has released seven albums with The Old Ceremony since 2004 plus several more solo releases. We discuss The Old Ceremony songs "Too Big to Fail" (and listen to "Hangman's Party at the end) from Earthbound (2024), "The Disappear" from Walk On Thin Air (2009), and "Reservations" from Our One Mistake (2006). Intro: "Beautiful" from Folding Stars (1996). More at theoldceremony.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.
- [A Lagging, Nagging Take on Her](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/09/05/a-lagging-nagging-take-on-her/) - Jay Jeffers just can’t shake his first impression of "Her," a story set against the backdrop of artificial intelligence.
- [Give me Liberty in the month of February!](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/02/01/give-me-liberty-in-the-month-of-february/) - This month's Intro Group reading will be On Liberty by the nineteenth century British philosopher John Stuart Mill. There couldn't be a topic more relevant to our politics today. Consider the fact that in our national discussions, communities that make life difficult for individuals (who don't fit for one reason or another) are presumed to be
- [January Not School Intro Group Reading](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/01/01/january-not-school-intro-group-reading/) - The Intro Reading Group for January is getting started in Not School, and we're looking for a couple or a few more takers. Hillary Szydlowski, the historical leader and organizer of the Intro group, is taking a much deserved break, and I'm excited to fill in as we're reading Harry Frankfurt's essay "On Bullshit" -
- [Stop Playing the Parlor Game!](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2020/07/28/stop-playing-the-parlor-game/) - The confusion caused by categorical reasoning in the cancel culture debate.
- [Ep. 359: Karl Marx's Project (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/01/20/ep-359-karl-marxs-project-part-two-for-supporters/) - We continue on the introduction to Marx's Grundrisse, going through his criticisms of prior economists who were too ahistorical and didn't understand how production, consumption, distribution and exchange hang together as a single system.
- [SUBTEXT: Irony as Anesthetic in Robert Altman’s “M.A.S.H” (1970)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/02/10/subtext-irony-as-anesthetic-in-robert-altmans-m-a-s-h-1970/) - It begins with the “stupidest song ever written,” as Robert Altman called it, and ends with a self-referential jab at the very idea of finding comic relief in the tragedy of war. But it is equally unserious, the film “M.A.S.H” seem to suggest, to take seriously the authority of war-making institutions, and their pretense to putting violence in service of an ideal. And so morality succumbs to mockery, love to hedonism, and military rank to the form of authority immanent in the power to save lives. Yet suicide is not in fact painless, if it means robbing others of our presence, or ridding ourselves of the capacities for grief and earnestness. Wes & Erin discuss the 1970 classic “M.A.S.H,” and whether irony ought always to be our anesthetic, when confronted with traumas that are otherwise unspeakable.
- [Ep. 360: Karl Marx on Economic Value (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/02/03/ep360-1-marx-economic-value/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On Capital (1867), Ch. 1, "The Commodity." What makes something we buy or sell valuable? Marx says it's ultimately the labor that goes into it, though there are some wrinkles in formulating this accurately, and the commodities and surrounding marketplace activity blind us to labor's role and its ethical import.Sponsor: You may also the Fallacious Trump podcast at fallacioustrump.com.
- [Ep. 360: Karl Marx on Economic Value (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/02/02/ep360-1-marx-economic-value-citizen/) - On Capital (1867), Ch. 1, "The Commodity." What makes something we buy or sell valuable? Marx says it's ultimately the labor that goes into it, though there are some wrinkles in formulating this accurately, and the commodities and surrounding marketplace activity blind us to labor's role and its ethical import.
- [Closereads: Marx on Stirner (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/02/01/closereads-marx-on-stirner/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts on this reading, as well as our previous and future installments of this podcast.Mark and Wes read through and discuss Karl Marx's The German Ideology (1846), delving deep into the middle of his critique of Max Stirner's The Ego and Its Own. Marx articulates and criticizes Stirner's attempt to distinguish the mere common egoism of an unthinking person from the enlightened egoism that Stirner is recommending.
- [Pretty Much Pop #188: Vampire Appreciation](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/01/26/pmp188-vampires/) - In light of Robert Eggers' film Nosferatu and the end of What We Do in Shadows, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss the many vampire shows and films all the way back to Bram Stoker's 1897 novel. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsors: Get 10% off your first month of online therapy at BetterHelp.com/pretty. Learn about LGBT stereotypes at gayishpodcast.com.
- [Ep. 359: Karl Marx's Project (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/01/26/ep359-2-marx-grundrisse/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.We continue on the introduction to Marx's Grundrisse, going through his criticisms of prior economists who were too ahistorical and didn't understand how production, consumption, distribution and exchange hang together as a single system.Sponsor: Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel.
- [Ep. 358: Max Stirner's Egoism (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/01/04/ep358-2-stirner-citizen/) - Continuing on The Ego and Its Own, focusing now on the sections "The Owner" and "My Power." Stirner lets us know that his egoism ("ownness") is not compatible with liberal egalitarianism, which he sees as just a continuation of the Christian project of perfecting humanity.
- [Ep. 359: Karl Marx's Project (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/01/19/ep359-1-marx-grundrisse/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On the intro to Marx's Grundrisse (1857) and "Theses on Feuerbach" (1845). Why economics, and why do it the way Marx does? We see Marx argues that Feuerbach's materialism was not materialistic enough, start looking at production, consumption, distribution, and exchange as moments within a single process, and talk about why anyone would want to read a historical economic text. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 359: Karl Marx's Project (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/01/17/ep359-1-marx-grundrisse-citizen/) - On the intro to Marx's Grundrisse (1857) and "Theses on Feuerbach" (1845). Why economics, and why do it the way Marx does? We see Marx argues that Feuerbach's materialism was not materialistic enough, start looking at production, consumption, distribution, and exchange as moments within a single process, and talk about why anyone would want to read a historical economic text.
- [PEL '24-'25 Transition Nightcap](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/30/pel-nightcap-end-2024/) - Subscribe to get this ad-free, plus numerous other Nightcap recordings of this sort and many hours of bonus content.Mark, Wes, Seth, and Dylan reflect on our past year of PEL recording, catch you up on our habits and interests, and talk about what might come next.Learn about Mark's spring Core Texts in philosophy class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [Marx 2 Seminar Enrollment](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/01/16/marx-2-seminar-enrollment/)
- [Ep. 355: Marx on Alienation (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/11/18/ep355-1-marx-alienation/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On three of Karl Marx's Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, "Estranged Labor," "Private Property and Communism," and "The Power of Money on Bourgeois Society." Featuring guest Lawrence Dallman. What is the plight of the working poor? It's that they are in an unnatural situation with regard to their work, which is supposed to gain them a sense of self but doesn't do so when it's a result of selling one's time. If you enjoy our podcast, check out Ghost Town at ghosttownpod.com.
- [Ep. 358: Max Stirner's Egoism (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/01/13/ep358-2-stirner/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on The Ego and Its Own, focusing now on the sections "The Owner" and "My Power." Stirner lets us know that his egoism ("ownness") is not compatible with liberal egalitarianism, which he sees as just a continuation of the Christian project of perfecting humanity. Sponsor: Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel.
- [SUBTEXT: Aesthetic Humility in Marianne Moore’s “The Jerboa”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/01/12/subtext-marianne-moore-the-jerboa/) - Of all the great American Modernists, the poetry of Marianne Moore is perhaps the most idiosyncratic, even the most radical, of them all—no small feat in a group of friends and admirers that included Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, Wallace Stevens, William Carlos Williams, e. e. cummings, and HD. Moore’s preferred form was a syllabic stanza bespoke to each poetic occasion, like the unique shell of each individual snail or paper nautilus, and often containing rhyme. In these stanzas, Moore hid behind her virtuosic performance of deflection and difficulty and, of course, revealed herself in it, much as one of her pet-subjects, the exotic animal-portrait, contained a self-portrait at its heart. In her poem on the jerboa, Moore contrasts the desert mouse’s decorousness with the decadence of empire, and in so doing, distinguishes her ideal of true artistry—a vigorous, humble, and ultimately liberated response to one’s natural and formal limitations—with a false art which oppresses the natural in service of the powerful. Wes & Erin discuss Marianne Moore’s poem, “The Jerboa,” first published in 1932, and whether power and wealth might paradoxically prove less abundant than the strictures of form and necessity.
- [NEM#226: The Evolution of Iain Matthews (Fairport Convention, Southern Comfort, Plainsong)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/01/09/nem226-iain-matthews/) - Iain started in Britain's Fairport Convention in the late '60s, but quickly left that band to start a couple more and then move to the US for a lengthy solo career. He has in total released close to 50 albums, including many collaborations. We discus the title track from How Much Is Enough (2024), the title track from God Looked Down (1996), and "Road to Ronderlin" by Matthews Southern Comfort from Later That Same Year (1970). End song: "St. Theresa's Ghost" by Ian Matthews and the Searing Quartet, from Joy Mining (2008). Intro: "Book Song" by Fairport Convention from What We Did on Our Holidays (1969). Learn more at iainmatthews.nl. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.
- [Enrollment Now Open for Core Texts in Philosophy Spring 2025](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/01/01/core-texts-spring-2025-2/) - Read more about Mark's online class that starts later this month at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class, and sign up at partiallyexaminedlife.com/enroll.
- [Ep. 358: Max Stirner's Egoism (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/01/06/ep358-1-stirner/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On The Ego and its Own (1844), another big influence on Karl Marx and a precursor of Nietzsche, or perhaps an early Ayn Rand. Sponsor: Have up to a $100 donation to effective charities matched at GiveWell.org.
- [Ep. 356: Feuerbach Against Theology (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/01/ep356-2-feuerbach-religion-citizen/) - We dig in and start our detailed treatment of Ludwig Feuerbach’s essay “Principles of the Philosophy of the Future” (1843). Feuerbach claims that people don't realize that the entity they worship is really just whatever it is about humanity and the world that we value, wrongly posited as an independent entity. So God is a mirror for any given society.
- [SUBTEXT: Word and Image in “Sunset Boulevard” (1950)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/01/06/subtext-word-and-image-in-sunset-boulevard-1950/) - When the film starts, its two leads are already dead, more or less. Silent Screen legend Norma Desmond’s career is dead, and because she’s nothing more than her career, the best she can do is linger in the tomb of her former glory, hoping for a resurrection. And failed screenwriter Joe Gillis quite literally enters the film as a corpse, so, as the film’s narrator, he has no choice but to tell his story in flashback. Thus, it’s safe to say that both Norma and Joe are, well, fatally disadvantaged in the realization of their respective dreams. And yet, both achieve a kind of post-mortem success—Norma as the star of one last film, and Joe as the writer of one last, great, highly-personal tale. (In an expression of what might be the screenwriter’s secret fantasy, he even gets to star in it, to boot.) How is such life after death possible? Arguably only through the magic of celluloid, a medium ghoulishly capable of preserving humans precisely as they are—which all too soon becomes as they were. What can the contrast between silent and talking pictures teach us about the nature of film itself? And how might it reflect the age-old rivalries between word and image, movement and stasis, the living and the dead? Wes & Erin discuss Billy Wilder’s 1950 masterpiece, “Sunset Boulevard.”
- [Ep. 358: Max Stirner's Egoism (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/01/03/ep358-1-stirner-citizen/) - On "The Ego and its Own" (1844), another big influence on Karl Marx and a precursor of NIetzsche, or perhaps an early Ayn Rand. Stirner rejects all group-think, including traditional morality, universal freedom, religion, and socialism. Instead, might makes right, and we all want to be owners.
- [Closereads: Husserl on Essences (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/29/closereads-husserl-essences/)
- [PEL '24-'25 Transition Nightcap (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/30/pel-nightcap-end-2024-citizen/) - Mark, Wes, Seth, and Dylan reflect on our past year of PEL recording, catch you up on our habits and interests, and talk about what might come next.
- [Ep. 355: Marx on Alienation (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/11/28/ep355-3-marx-alienation-citizen/) - Your four hosts reconvene to talk more about "Private Property and Communism" (1844). You'll get more about property vs. labor vs. capital, how Marx's views differ from "crude communism," and what humans would be like post-alienation.
- [SUBTEXT: The Sublime Mundane in Conrad Aiken’s “Morning Song of Senlin”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/20/subtext-morning-song-of-senlin/) - Where the repetitions of ordinary life threaten to overwhelm any sense of the sublime, the poet Conrad Aiken seems to suggest that they can be transformed into a way of being connected to it. The mundane order is, after all, just a part of the cosmic. When we get ready to go to work, it is on a “swiftly tilting planet” that “bathes in a flame of space.” The sun is “far off in a shell of silence,” but its light decorates the walls of our homes. We might wonder, in light of modernity’s crisis of faith, if the sublime is meant to replace the divine, and if so whether what Aiken calls “humble offerings” to a “cloud of silence” are enough. Wes & Erin discuss Aiken’s “Morning Song of Senlin,” and whether humanity’s religious impulses can be fully compensated with an aesthetic or ironic relation to nature and cosmic scale.
- [Ep. 357: Feuerbach on the Evolution of Philosophy (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/16/ep357-1-feuerbach-evolution-of-philosophy/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Mark, Wes, and Dylan continue to look at Ludwig Feuerbach's "Principles of the Philosophy of the Future" (1843), recounting his story about how increasingly mature notions of God should lead philosophy eventually to a materialism where the sensual is the real. Sponsors: Have up to a $100 donation to effective charities matched at GiveWell.org. Check out the Constant Wonder podcast Learn about Mark's spring Core Texts in philosophy class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Buy the PEL book for someone cool at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.
- [Ep. 355: Marx on Alienation (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/11/25/ep355-2-marx-alienation/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a supporter-exclusive, part three to this episode. Listen to a preview..Continuing on "Estranged Labor," "Private Property and Communism," and "The Power of Money on Bourgeois Society" with guest Lawrence Dallman. Does capitalism give rise to alienation, or is it alienation that is responsible for capitalism? Does a person (capitalist) have to be responsible for someone's alienation? What would we be like unalienated? Sponsors: Have up to a $100 donation to effective charities matched at GiveWell.org. Check out the Constant Wonder podcast.
- [Ep. 357: Feuerbach on the Evolution of Philosophy (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/15/ep357-2-feuerbach-evolution-of-philosophy-citizen/) - We finally discuss Feuerbach's proposed post-Hegelian, materialist approach to philosophy in his “Principles of the Philosophy of the Future” (1843). How can a materialist framework support phenomena central to F's account like our immediate, indubitable recognition of our selves, each other, and love itself?
- [Ep. 357: Feuerbach on the Evolution of Philosophy (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/15/ep357-1-feuerbach-evolution-of-philosophy-citizen/) - Mark, Wes, and Dylan continue to look at Ludwig Feuerbach’s “Principles of the Philosophy of the Future” (1843), recounting F's story about how increasingly mature notions of God should lead philosophy eventually to a materialism where the sensual is the real.
- [NEM#225: Loudon Wainwright III, the Reporter-Songwriter](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/14/nem225-loudon-wainwright-iii/) - Loudon has released 30 albums since 1970. He's the quintessential singer-songwriter, relying on crafty, personal lyrics delivered dynamically and typically solo, though his studio work has varied in production style and orchestration level over the years. We discuss "How Old is 75" from Lifetime Achievement (2022), "Road Ode (Live)" from Career Moves (1993), and "Be Careful There’s a Baby in the House" from Album II (1971). We wrap up by listening to "Missing You" from Last Man on Earth (2001). Intro: "The Swimming Song" from Attempted Mustache (1973). Learn more at lw3.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.
- [Ep. 356: Feuerbach Against Theology (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/09/ep356-2-feuerbach-religion/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.We dig in and start our detailed treatment of Ludwig Feuerbach's essay "Principles of the Philosophy of the Future" (1843). Feuerbach claims that people don't realize that the entity they worship is really just whatever it is about humanity and the world that we value, wrongly posited as an independent entity. So God is a mirror for any given society. Sponsors: Have up to a $100 donation to effective charities matched at GiveWell.org. Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel. Learn about Mark's spring Core Texts in philosophy class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Buy the PEL book for someone cool at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.
- [Closereads: Mill on Induction (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/06/closereads-mill-induction/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts on this reading, as well as our previous and future installments of this podcast.We're discussing John Stuart Mill's A System of Logic (1843), specifically from Book III, "Of Induction," ch. 8, "Of the Four Methods of Experimental Inquiry."
- [Closereads: Sartre on Nothingness (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/11/05/closereads-sartre-on-nothingness-part-one/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts on this reading, as well as our previous and future installments of this podcast.We skip the introduction of Being and Nothingness (1943) and start with Part One, "The Problem of Nothingness," Ch. 1, "The Origin of Negation."
- [The Return of Mark's Core Texts in Philosophy Class](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/02/core-texts-spring-2025/) - I am prepared once again to teach my Core Texts in Philosophy class to a new crop of students (returning students are of course also welcome!). But I need to know when you all are available, so please go read about it and email me your availability per the instructions.
- [Ep. 351: Sophie Grace Chappell on Transgender (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/10/03/ep351-2-chappell-trans-citizen/) - Mark, Seth and Dylan continue talking about philosophy surrounding trans phenomena in light of our interview with Sophie Grace about Trans Figured. In this supporter-exclusive discussion, we get into sex and gender as cluster concepts, ethical theory in equity discussions, and the practical matters you'd expect: sports participation, pronouns, bathrooms and dress codes.
- [Ep. 355: Marx on Alienation (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/11/17/ep355-2-marx-alienation-citizen/) - Continuing on "Estranged Labor," "Private Property and Communism," and "The Power of Money on Bourgeois Society" with guest Lawrence Dallman. Does capitalism give rise to alienation, or is it alienation that is responsible for capitalism? Does a person (capitalist) have to be responsible for someone's alienation? What would we be like unalienated?
- [Ep. 356: Feuerbach Against Theology (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/02/ep356-1-feuerbach-religion/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On Ludwig Feuerbach's "Principles of the Philosophy of the Future" (1843) and the introduction to The Essence of Christianity (1841). What was the original point of religion? Can we retain what was emotionally good about it yet direct our efforts to purely practical matters? Feuerbach says yes, and this was a key influence on Marx. Sponsors: Have up to a $100 donation to effective charities matched at GiveWell.org. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Learn about Mark's spring Core Texts in philosophy class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [SUBTEXT: The Aesthetics of Death in “Beetlejuice” (1988)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/02/subtext-beetlejuice/) - Adam and Barbara Maitland are dead, but their troubles have just begun. The farmhouse decor of their home is under threat from the pretentious modernism of Delia Deetze, and her plan to remake it in her own image could turn their post-life purgatory into earthbound hell. Solving this problem leaves them with an impossible choice between figuring out how to navigate an intractable netherworld bureacracy, or seeking the help of a renegade demon whose perverse remedies are worse than what they’re supposed to cure. Their way out of this impasse involves teaming up with Delia’s step-daughter Lydia, whose goth style seems to lend itself to communicating with the dead. Wes and Erin discuss “Beetlejuice,” and what its battle royale between conflicting aesthetic sensibilities—rustic, gothic, and avante-garde—has to say about the connections between love, mortality, and the many pitfalls of growing up.
- [Ep. 356: Feuerbach Against Theology (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/12/01/ep356-1-feuerbach-religion-citizen/) - On Ludwig Feuerbach’s “Principles of the Philosophy of the Future” (1843) and the introduction to The Essence of Christianity (1841). What was the original point of religion? Can we retain what was emotionally good about it yet direct our efforts to purely practical matters? Feuerbach says yes, and this was a key influence on Marx.
- [SUBTEXT: A Strange Fashion of Forsaking in the Poetry of Thomas Wyatt](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/11/21/subtext-thomas-wyatt/) - As an advisor to Henry VIII and ambassador to France and Italy, poet Thomas Wyatt was something of a professional court-surfer, practiced in riding the peaks and troughs of royal favor. Such were his verbal and diplomatic gifts that, though twice accused of and imprisoned for treason, he was twice released. His poetry reflects all the intrigue, paranoia, airlessness, and downright cruelty of the Tudor Court, where a misplaced word or an ill-timed look might see you not just out of favor, but a head shorter. In two of his most celebrated poems—which might draw upon the affair he might have had with Anne Boleyn—certainty is suspect, irony thick, allegiance changeable, and hunters apt to find they’ve become the hunted. Wes & Erin discuss Thomas Wyatt’s “Whoso List to Hunt” and “They Flee from Me.”
- [Ep. 354: Guest Tim Williamson on Philosophic Method (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/11/02/ep354-2-williamson-heuristics-citizen/) - We continue talking with Tim about Overfitting and Heuristics in Philosophy (2024), considering Tim's overall project and view of what philosophy should be doing and with what tools. We get into modeling, ethics, public philosophy, and more.
- [Ep. 355: Marx on Alienation (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/11/15/ep355-1-marx-alienation-citizen/) - On three of Karl Marx's Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, "Estranged Labor," "Private Property and Communism," and "The Power of Money on Bourgeois Society." Featuring guest Lawrence Dallman. What is the plight of the working poor? It's that they are in an unnatural situation with regard to their work, which is supposed to gain them a sense of self but doesn't do so when it's a result of selling one's time.
- [Ep. 354: Guest Tim Williamson on Philosophic Method (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/11/11/ep354-2-williamson-heuristics/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a new, supporter-exclusive, PEL Nightcap.We continue talking with Tim about Overfitting and Heuristics in Philosophy (2024), considering Tim's overall project and view of what philosophy should be doing and with what tools. We get into modeling, ethics, public philosophy, and more.Sponsor: Apply for convenient term life insurance from Fabric by Gerber Life at meetfabric.com/PEL.
- [PEL Thick-of-Fall Nightcap 2024](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/11/10/pel-nightcap-fall-2024/) - Mark, Wes, and Seth talk about horror media and what scares us in light of Halloween. We then give some follow-up discussion re. our Williamson and Chappell interviews. Do we actually want to participate in Williamson's science-minded analytic philosophy of the future? Were we too one-sided in our trans coverage? We respond to an email about our trans episode.
- [Ep. 354: Guest Tim Williamson on Philosophic Method (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/11/04/ep354-1-tim-williamson-heuristics/) - Oxford philosophy professor Timothy Williamson talks to us about his new book, Overfitting and Heuristics in Philosophy. How can we best apply the insights of philosophy of science to philosophy itself? Maybe some alleged philosophical counter-examples are just the result of psychological heuristics gone wrong. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 348: Tim Williamson's Knowledge-First Epistemology (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/08/19/ep348-1-williamson-epistemology/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On "Knowledge First Epistemology" (2011), "Justifications, Excuses, and Sceptical Scenarios" (2015), and "Morally Loaded Cases in Philosophy" (2019). Is knowledge basic, or is it dissolvable into more basic ingredients such as justification, truth, and belief? Williamson argues that these latter things should instead be defined in terms of knowledge. Sponsor: Apply for convenient term life insurance from Fabric by Gerber Life at meetfabric.com/PEL.
- [Ep. 353: Thomas Reid on Visual Knowledge (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/10/21/ep353-2-reid-vision-citizen/) - Concluding our treatment of "Of Seeing" in Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense. We continue to hammer at this idea of "resemblance" between mental contents and physical objects, consider more carefully Reid's level of support for the primary/secondary quality distinction, how he treats non-signifying feelings like pain and warmth, and his comparison of sense experience to testimony.
- [Ep. 354: Guest Tim Williamson on Philosophic Method (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/11/02/ep354-1-williamson-heuristics-citizen/) - Oxford philosophy professor Timothy Williamson talks to us about his new book, Overfitting and Heuristics in Philosophy. How can we best apply the insights of philosophy of science to philosophy itself? Maybe some alleged philosophical counter-examples are just the result of psychological heuristics gone wrong.
- [NEM#224: Steve Dawson (Dolly Varden) Elevates Americana](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/10/28/nem224-steve-dawson/) - Steve fronted Chicago's Dolly Varden for six albums from the '90s through 2013. He also started releasing albums under his own name 2003 and has just released his seventh. We discuss "A Mile South of Town" (and listen at the end to "Oh, California") from Ghosts (2024), the title track from The Dumbest Magnets by Dolly Varden (2000), and "Bronko Nagurski," a 1989 recording by the early iteration of Varden, Stump the Host. Intro: "Saskatchewan to Chicago" by Dolly Varden from For a While (2013). More at stevedawsonmusic.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.
- [Ep. 352: Thomas Reid on Smelling and Knowledge (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/10/07/ep352-2-reid-epistemology-smelling-citizen/) - Continuing on Inquiry into the Human Mind, getting further into the chapter on smelling as well as the conclusion and Reid's exchange with Hume. What exactly is our relation with objects in the world according to Reid?
- [Ep. 353: Reid on Visual Knowledge (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/10/28/ep353-2-reid-vision/) - Concluding our treatment of "Of Seeing" in Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense. We continue to hammer at this idea of "resemblance" between mental contents and physical objects, consider more carefully Reid's level of support for the primary/secondary quality distinction, how he treats non-signifying feelings like pain and warmth, and his comparison of sense experience to testimony. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and bonus content. Sponsor: Check out the Constant Wonder podcast. Have you subscribed to the other podcasts by PEL hosts? Check out Closereads, Philosophy vs. Improv, SUBTEXT, Nakedly Examined Music, and Pretty Much Pop. Buy the PEL book.
- [Ep. 353: Reid on Visual Knowledge (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/10/21/ep353-1-reid-vision/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.We're continuing our treatment of Thomas Reid's Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense (1764), now discussing ch. 6: "Of Seeing." Does vision provide the exception to Reid's point that our sensations do not resemble objects in the world? Images surely seem to do so! What does this mean for Reid's epistemology? Sponsor: Apply for convenient term life insurance from Fabric by Gerber Life at meetfabric.com/PEL.
- [Formal Meets Feral in “A New Leaf” (Elaine May, 1971)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/10/25/formal-meets-feral-in-a-new-leaf-elaine-may-1971/) - Henry Graham belongs to the most exclusive clubs, dines regularly at the most lavish restaurants, drives a Ferrari, employs a butler, and owns something called a Montrazini—in short, he capitalizes fully on his inheritance, despite having little understanding of what “capital” actually is. The very ignorance of practicality that his wealth affords turns out to be his undoing, as soon finds that he’s run out of money and must bid goodbye to the high life—unless, that is, he can find a single, wealthy, isolated woman to marry and, for the sake of preserving his refined, hermetically-sealed existence, murder. Enter Henrietta Lowell. Similarly stunted by her own inheritance, she’s friendless, awkward, and utterly helpless: the perfect mark… But Henry soon discovers that protecting his own interests also means protecting hers, that competence can grow out of the exigency incompetence creates, and that practicing love for someone turns out to be just as good as actually loving them. Wes & Erin discuss the 1971 film “A New Leaf,” written and directed by Elaine May.
- [Ep. 343: Plotinus the Neo-Platonist (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/06/16/ep343-2-plotinus/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a supporter-exclusive Closeread part three to this episode, coming out this week.Continuing with guest Chris Sunami, mostly discussing "The Good or The One," though we start off by completing "The Descent of the Soul" about why there is something rather than nothing, given that materiality is so undesirable compared to The One.Learn about our new book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.
- [Ep. 343: Plotinus the Neo-Platonist (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/06/09/ep343-1-plotinus/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On selections from the Enneads (270 C.E.), as presented by Elmer O'Brien as the first four essays in The Essential Plotinus: "Beauty," "The Intelligence, Ideas and Being," "The Descent of the Soul," and "The Good or The One." Featuring Mark, Wes, Dylan, Seth, and guest Chris Sunami. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Learn about our new book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book (whch Chris edited).
- [Ep. 342: Zhuangzi on Knowledge and Virtue (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/06/03/ep342-2-zhuangzi/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.We're concluding our treatment of the Daoist sage, focusing on the relation between metaphysics and ethics. Is a "wu wei" (non-action) philosophy compatible with fighting for justice? Does it even necessitate kindness? Information on our book is available at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book. Listen to Mark's new band, including the ending song to this episode, "I Insist," at marklint.bandcamp.com.
- [Ep. 340: Brian Ellis on the Implications of Essentialism (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/05/06/ep340-2-ellis-essentialism/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Concluding on The Philosophy of Nature: A Guide to the New Essentialism (2002) with guest Chris Heath. Are we OK with the metaphysical necessity of natural laws? How do Ellis' mind-independent fundamental objects in the world relate to higher level things, whether biological species or human nature or even things like colors? Get the new PEL book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.
- [Ep. 339: Brian Ellis on the Metaphysics of Science (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/04/08/ep-339-1-ellis-essentialism/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On The Philosophy of Nature: A Guide to the New Essentialism (2002). What kind of metaphysics underlies chemistry and physics? Ellis argues that items such as chemical elements and physical particles have essences, and that these essential properties determine their behavior, which is characterized by scientific laws. Thus, these laws are necessary; they apply in all possible worlds.
- [PEL 15th Anniversary and Book Release](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/04/22/pel-15th-anniversary/) - Your four hosts plus book editor Chris Sunami reflect on doing the podcast for 15 years and making the new book, which you should order on April 25. Plus, the three rules, future ambitions, and more. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.Learn more about the book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.
- [Closereads: F.H. Bradley's "Appearance and Reality" (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/10/11/closereads-bradley/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts on this reading, as well as our previous and future installments of this podcast.Bradley was a prominent British Hegelian, best known now for being the springboard for Bertrand Russell, who was initially a follower but then rejected idealism entirely to co-create what is now known as analytic philosophy. Today we read just the Introduction to this massive 1893 tome, where Bradley argues that metaphysics is possible and worthwhile.
- [Ep. 353: Reid on Visual Knowledge (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/10/20/ep353-1-reid-vision-citizen/) - We're continuing our treatment of Thomas Reid's Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense (1764), now discussing ch. 6: "Of Seeing." Does vision provide the exception to Reid's point that our sensations do not resemble objects in the world? Images surely seem to do so! What does this mean for Reid's epistemology?
- [Ep. 352: Thomas Reid on Smelling and Knowledge (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/10/14/ep352-2-reid-epistemology-smelling/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on Inquiry into the Human Mind, getting further into the chapter on smelling as well as the conclusion and Reid's exchange with Hume. What exactly is our relation with objects in the world according to Reid?
- [Ep. 350: Rorty on Justification and Essentialism (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/13/ep350-2-rorty-justification-citizen/) - Concluding on "Universality and Truth" from Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism. It it coherent to simply not have a theory of truth? Rorty claims that he's not a relativist; he's just avoiding some useless parts of philosophy that just cause problems, including inculcating the respect for a non-human absolute, and this attitude undermines democracy.
- [Ep. 352: Thomas Reid on Smelling and Knowledge (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/10/07/ep352-1-reid-epistemology-smelling/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense (1764): the introduction, conclusion, ch. 2 "Of Smelling" ch. 4 "Of Hearing," and some correspondence between Reid and Hume. According to Reid, the big mistake of "modern" philosophy is thinking that objects in the world need to resemble the sensations we have of them. Smelling is supposed to give us an obvious counter-example: the scent of a rose in no way resembles a physical rose.Sponsors: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Check out the Constant Wonder podcast.
- [Ep. 352: Thomas Reid on Smelling and Knowledge (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/10/06/ep352-1-reid-epistemology-smelling-citizen/) - On Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense (1764): the introduction, conclusion, ch. 2 "Of Smelling" ch. 4 "Of Hearing," and some correspondence between Reid and Hume. According to Reid, the big mistake of "modern" philosophy is thinking that objects in the world need to resemble the sensations we have of them. Smelling is supposed to give us an obvious counter-example: the scent of a rose in no way resembles a physical rose.
- [Ep. 347: Nyaya Sutra Against Buddhist Skeptics (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/08/11/ep347-3-nyaya-skepticism-citizen/) - Mark and Dylan reconvened to finish discussing personal identity (ch. 4) in the Nyaya Sutra, focusing on ethics, reincarnation, and materialism.
- [PREVIEW-Ep. 351: Sophie Grace Chappell on Transgender (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/10/03/preview-ep-351-2-chappell-trans/) - Subscribe to get Part 3 of this episode in its entirety, along with tons of other supporter-exclusive content. You can alternately choose to make a one-time purchase at patreon.com/partiallyexaminedlife.
- [Ep. 351: Guest Sophie Grace Chappell on Transgender (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/30/ep351-1-chappell-trans/) - Subscribe to get this interview ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a supporter-exclusive part two by Mark, Seth, and Dylan.Mark, Seth, and Dylan interview this British philosophy prof about her new book, Trans Figured, and philosophy's role in discussing the phenomena of transgender (which, yes, can be used as a noun, according to Sophie).Sponsors: Apply for convenient term life insurance from Fabric by Gerber Life at meetfabric.com/PEL. Try the Chutzpod podcast at chutzpod.com.
- [NEM#223: Dale Crover (Melvins) the Accidentalist](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/29/nem223-dale-crover-melvins/) - Though Dale is known as the long-time drummer for Washington sludge-metal band Melvins ('88-present), he's also a guitarist and singer who led the band Altamont though four alternative rock albums ('97-'05) and has now released his third full-length, stylistically varied solo album. We discuss "I Quit" from Glossolalia (2024), "Bad Move" from The Fickle Finger of Fate (2017), and "The Bit" by Melvins from Stag (1996). End song: "El Stupido" by Altamont from The Monkees' Uncle (2005). Intro: "Spread Eagle Beagle" by Melvins from Houdini (1993). More at dalecrover.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon. If you like our podcast, check out Heavy Metal 101.
- [Ep. 351: Guest Sophie Grace Chappell on Transgender (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/28/ep351-1-chappell-trans-citizen/) - Mark, Seth, and Dylan interview this British philosophy prof about her new book, Trans Figured, and philosophy's role in discussing transgender.
- [PvI#82: LIVE in Personability w/ James Whittington](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/20/pvi82-live/) - Chicago's iO Theater was graced on August 21 by Mark, Bill, and special guest theater educator James Whittington, who spoke about embodiment (see Maurice Merleau-Ponty), the possible disconnect between meaning and tone, and being in the physical presence of greatness. They acted out scenes (while still sitting!) about an unsuccessful party and Experiences-R-Us. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast at philosophyimprov.com/support.Sponsor: Get 10% off your first month of online therapy at betterhelp.com/improv.
- [Ep. 350: Rorty on Justification and Essentialism (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/22/ep350-2-rorty-justification/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Concluding on "Universality and Truth" from Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism. It it coherent to simply not have a theory of truth? Rorty claims that he's not a relativist; he's just avoiding some useless parts of philosophy that just cause problems, including inculcating the respect for a non-human absolute, and this attitude undermines democracy.Sponsor: Check out the Constant Wonder podcast.
- [Pretty Much Pop#177: Inside Out - Animated Psyche](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/18/pmp177-inside-out/) - We discuss the 2015 and 2024 Pixar films by writer/director Pete Docter , featuring the usual crew of Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al. These films show kids that it's OK to be sad and how to cope with anxiety. Is the films' emotional impact objectionably manipulative? Does the "mental landscape" depicted helpfully represent the various elements we juggle, or is it just a fun pile of metaphors? Sponsors: Give online therapy a try at BetterHelp.com/pretty. Immerse in GoT/House of the Dragon at historyofwesteros.com. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #175: Podcast of the Planet of the Apes](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/06/21/pmp175-podcast-of-the-planet-of-the-apes/) - We discuss the ten films that all started with the 1968 Charlton Heston vehicle (based on Pierre Boulle's 1963 novel) through the latest offering, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. What psychologically are these films about? Which parts of this sprawling franchise are worth your time? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #176: Furiosa: Are We Mad Maxed Out?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/05/pmp176-mad-max/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss the five films in George Miller's Mad Max/Road Warrior franchise. What was the original appeal of the series, and has this changed? Are we still afraid of an "Apunkalypse," or is this just an aesthetic to be ripped off by Fallout and other properties? How can films 80% occupied by car chases be actually good? Is Mad Max an icon a la Indiana Jones, and is there actual world building in this series? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #178: The Bear's Incomplete Dish](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/08/03/pmp178-the-bear/) - We discuss Christopher Storer's culinary dramedy in light of the release of its strange third season. What made this a uniquely wonderful show in its first season? Is the unsatisfying character of this season just a matter of its being only the first half of what was originally planned? We talk about the flashbacks, the cameos, the comedy, "food porn," and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. If you enjoy our show, check out the Pop Pantheon podcast.
- [Pretty Much Pop #180: Season Four Wrap Party: Nostalgia](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/05/pmp180-nostalgia/) - As Pretty Much Pop ends its 5th year of podcasting, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al break from our usual format to talk in a more free-form way about the thin line between the "new" media we talk about on the show and the classics of yesteryear. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Ep. 350: Rorty on Justification and Essentialism (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/16/ep350-1-rorty-justification/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On "Universality and Truth" and "Pan-Relationalism," which are lectures 3-5 in Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism. How do we justify democracy? Rorty says we don't have to refer to transcendent Truth or Good to do this. He also denies the disinction between essential and accidental properties, and in fact between substance and property: Everything is just described in terms of its relations to other things, and which relations are important are not intrinsic to the thing, but a matter of a speaker's purposes.If you like our podcast, try the Saga Thing podcast.
- [SUBTEXT: Love Dishonored in Euripides’ “Medea” (Part 1)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/13/subtext-love-dishonored-in-euripides-medea-part-1/) - Known for casting mythical heroes in human proportions, Eurpides has his hands full with Medea—homocidal sorcerous, granddaughter of the sun, and a woman who does not take betrayal lightly. Nevertheless, the poet is able to capture the agony of someone who has given up everything for love—family, home, and homeland—only to find her passion disregarded, and her sacrifices unappreciated, by a man who robotically puts practicality above all else. But can we sympathize with a woman who would kill her own children, just for spite? Wes & Erin discuss Ancient Greece’s most notorious battle of the sexes, and Euripides’ rumination on the question of whether the Athenian ideals of rationality and moderation sufficiently honor the instinctual side of human nature.
- [Ep. 349: Rorty's Pluralistic Pragmatism (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/02/ep349-2-rorty-religion-citizen/) - Continuing on Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism, ch. 1, "Pragmatism and Religion" and 2, "Pragmatism as Romantic Polytheism." Rorty evaluates past pragmatists' approaches to religion, arguing contra James that it can't be "privatized," that democratic social goals involve shared rationality, which means that all of our beliefs are open to the judgment of our peers.
- [Ep. 350: Rorty on Justification and Essentialism (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/13/ep350-1-rorty-justification-citizen/) - On "Universality and Truth" and "Pan-Relationalism," which are lectures 3-5 in Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism. How do we justify democracy? Rorty says we don't have to refer to transcendent Truth or Good to do this. He also denies the disinction between essential and accidental properties, and in fact between substance and property: Everything is just described in terms of its relations to other things, and which relations are important are not intrinsic to the thing, but a matter of a speaker's purposes.
- [NEM#222: Amy Rigby’s Nostalgic Simplicity](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/12/nem222-amy-rigby/) - Amy started out as an NYC punk fan, was in the "cow punk" band Last Roundup with her brother, and then in a vocal trio called The Shams that released an album and an EP around 1993. She finally emerged as a full front-person as a solo artist in 1997; she's since released nine solo albums plus three more with her husband Wreckless Eric, who now serves as her producer. We discuss "Bricks" from Hang In There With Me (2024), "Genovese Bag" by Amy Rigby and Wreckless Eric from A Working Museum (2012), and "Beer and Kisses" from Diary of a Mod Housewife (1997). End song: "Dancing with Joey Ramone" from Little Fugitive (2005). Intro: "Dark Angel" by The Shams from Quilt (1993). More at amyrigby.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Get 10% off your first month of online therapy at betterhelp.com/nakedly.
- [Ep. 348: Tim Williamson's Knowledge-First Epistemology (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/08/18/ep348-2-williamson-epistemology-citizen/) - Continuing on "Knowledge First Epistemology" (2011), "Justifications, Excuses, and Sceptical Scenarios" (2015), and "Morally Loaded Cases in Philosophy" (2019). How does knowledge-first epistemology relate to reliabilism? What are its moral implications? Does W. have a good argument against relativism and skepticism?
- [Closereads: Merleau-Ponty on the Body (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/09/closereads-merleau-ponty-on-the-body-part-one/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts on this reading, as well as our previous and future installments of this podcast.We begin a long series on Maurice Merleau-Ponty's "Phenomenology of Perception" (1945), focusing on Part I, "The Body": "Experience and Objective Thought."
- [Ep. 349: Rorty's Pluralistic Pragmatism (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/09/ep349-2-rorty-religion/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism, ch. 1, "Pragmatism and Religion" and 2, "Pragmatism as Romantic Polytheism." Rorty evaluates past pragmatists' approaches to religion, arguing contra James that it can't be "privatized," that democratic social goals involve shared rationality, which means that all of our beliefs are open to the judgment of our peers.Sponsors: Apply for convenient term life insurance from Fabric by Gerber Life at meetfabric.com/PEL. Give online therapy a try at BetterHelp.com/partially and get 10% off your first month.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #81: Unshelved, Untitled](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/05/philosophy-vs-improv-81-unshelved-untitled/) - Our long lost episode. Consider it a mystery box. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, a video version of the podcast, and other bonus stuff.
- [SUBTEXT: Love and Loneliness in “Arthur” (1981) – Part 1](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/05/subtext-love-and-loneliness-in-arthur-1981-part-1/) - Wes & Erin continue their discussion of two of Marie de France’s most famous lais—”Laustic” and “Guigemar”—and how their narratives marry the “flesh” of text, art, and symbology, to the “spirit” of the spoken word (via dialogue, oaths and covenants, and authorial commentary), in order, perhaps, to communicate something of the mysterious and dangerous union that is romantic love.
- [Episode 72: Terrorism with Jonathan R. White (Citizens Only)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2013/03/09/ep72-terrorism-citizen/) - We're joined by an international terrorism expert to discuss how to define terrorism and whether it can ever be ethical. With readings by Donald Black, J. Angelo Corlett, Igor Primoratz, Karl Heinzen, Bhagat Singh, and Carl von Clausewitz. Learn more. End song: "1000 Points of Light" by The MayTricks (1992).
- [Ep. 349: Rorty's Pluralistic Pragmatism (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/02/ep349-1-rorty-religion/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism (1997), ch. 1-2 about religion. Should democracy be defended on absolutist grounds, e.g. by reference to God-given or natural rights, the nature of Man, or the dictates of Reason? Rorty says no! Democracy, ethics, and even truth itself are a matter for societies to decide for themselves. Monotheistic religion provides a negative model for ceding authority on these matters no something non-human. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
- [Ep. 349: Rorty's Pluralistic Pragmatism (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/09/01/ep349-1-rorty-religion-citizen/) - On Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism (1997), ch. 1-2 about religion. Should democracy be defended on absolutist grounds, e.g. by reference to God-given or natural rights, the nature of Man, or the dictates of Reason? Rorty says no! Democracy, ethics, and even truth itself are a matter for societies to decide for themselves. Monotheistic religion provides a negative model for ceding authority on these matters no something non-human.
- [Ep. 347: Nyaya Sutra Against Buddhist Skeptics (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/08/04/ep347-2-nyaya-skepticism-citizen/) - Mark, Seth, and Dylan now turn to ch. 4 of Dasti/Phillips' Nyaya Sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries about the self. Buddhism famously claims that there is no self, and the Nyaya philosophers respond with both common-sensical arguments (e.g. psychological properties must be possessed by something) and religious (without a soul, what persists through reincarnation?).
- [Ep. 348: Tim Williamson's Knowledge-First Epistemology (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/08/26/ep348-2-williamson-epistemology/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a new, supporter-exclusive, PEL Nightcap.Continuing on "Knowledge First Epistemology" (2011), "Justifications, Excuses, and Sceptical Scenarios" (2015), and "Morally Loaded Cases in Philosophy" (2019). How does knowledge-first epistemology relate to reliabilism? What are its moral implications? Does W. have a good argument against relativism and skepticism?
- [PEL End-Of-Summer Nightcap 2024](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/08/26/end-of-summer-nightcap-2024/) - Mark, Wes, and Dylan again talk politics, including conspiracy theorist psychology, whether post-modernism is responsible for current "post-truth" discourse on the Right, John Ganz, Hitler chewing carpet, and having a non-elderly Presidential choice.
- [Ep. 348: Tim Williamson's Knowledge-First Epistemology (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/08/18/ep348-1-williamson-epistemology-citizen/) - On "Knowledge First Epistemology" (2011), "Justifications, Excuses, and Sceptical Scenarios" (2015), and "Morally Loaded Cases in Philosophy" (2019). Is knowledge basic, or is it dissolvable into more basic ingredients such as justification, truth, and belief? Williamson argues that these latter things should instead be defined in terms of knowledge.
- [PvI#80: Brief, Alternative Facts w/ David Shields](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/08/18/pvi80-david-shields-alternative-facts/) - Internationally best-selling author David wrote a book (and made a film) called How We Got Here, which traces the gradual path in the history of ideas from the ancients through various forms of perspectivism, relativism, and post-modernism to the post-truth discourse that authoritarians and wanna-be authoritarians engage in. Some improv scenes are inserted awkwardly into the discussion. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. See us live Wed. 8/21, 6pm at iO Theater, Chicago. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, a video version of the podcast, and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Try online therapy at betterhelp.com/improv.
- [NEM#221: David Nagler Goes Brazilian](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/08/16/nem221-david-nagler/) - The New York-based singer/keyboardist/guitarist had several releases with Nova Social from '98-'14 while also serving as music director for Wesley Stace's Cabinet of Wonders variety show. After four solo releases, he's formed a new project setting his droll lyrics in a '60s Brazilian setting called As For the Future. We discuss "Koan for the Music Business" (and listen at the end to "Encyclopedia of Songs") from this project's 2024 self-titled album, "See the Devil" from Songs of Advice and Adversity (2020 EP), and "Drunk at the Prom" by Nova Social from For Any Inconvenience (2011). Intro: "Theme in Yellow" (feat. Jeff Tweedy) from Carl Sandburg's Chicago Poems (2016). More at davidnagler.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Get 10% off your first month of online therapy at betterhelp.com/nakedly. Check out the Let Me Ask My Dad podcast w/ Bon Jovi co-founder David Bryan.
- [Ep. 345: William James on Religious Experience (Part Three for Supporters/Closereads Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/19/ep345-3-james-religious-experience-citizen/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts on this reading, as well as our previous and future installments of this podcast.On "The Varieties of Religious Experience," the conclusion of lecture 15 on asceticism and saints. Why do some saintly types engage in ascetic practices like voluntary poverty? James thinks we could all do with some self-discipline of this sort, as extreme as the examples of literary saints may be. Self-denial is a less destructive way of expressing a martial character than actually going to war.
- [Ep. 346: Nyaya Sutra on Knowledge (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/21/ep346-2-nyaya-knowledge-citizen/) - Continuing on ch. 1, "Knowledge Sources," of the Matthew Dasti/Stephen Phillips presentation of the Nyaya-Sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries. We finish up perception and then talk about inference and testimony. Are these all independent sources, or do they, e.g. all reduce ultimately to perception as Western empiricists claim?
- [SUBTEXT: Courtly Reciprocity in “Laustic” and “Guigemar” by Marie de France (Part 1)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/08/12/subtext-marie-de-france/) - The lai, a short narrative poem from the Middle Ages that treats themes of courtly love, was originally accompanied by music and sung by minstrels. But in the 1170s, poet Marie de France translated a series of Breton lais into French and, in so doing, converted an oral tradition into text. It’s no wonder, then, that her lais’ narratives are so often preoccupied with methods of communication: both the spoken word, with its spiritual, incantatory, or even magical qualities, and the written word—physical, embodied, and analogous to the art object (particularly and, appropriately, the textile, a medium associated since antiquity with female artistry). Wes & Erin discuss two of the poet’s most famous lais—”Laustic” and “Guigemar”—and how their narratives marry the “flesh” of text, art, and symbology, to the “spirit” of the spoken word (via dialogue, oaths and covenants, and authorial commentary), in order, perhaps, to communicate something of the mysterious and dangerous union that is romantic love.
- [Ep. 338: Aristotle on Potential vs. Actual and the Unmoved Mover (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/03/25/ep338-1-aristotle-potential/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.We read portions of books 9 (Theta) and 12 (Lambda) of Aristotle's Metaphysics, first on "being-at-work" (actuality) vs. mere potency, then on Aristotle's famous argument for the existence of God.
- [Ep. 337: Aristotle on Primary Being (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/03/18/ep337-2-aristotle-primary-being/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on Aristotle's Metaphysics, Book 7 (Zeta), on essences and what sorts of things have them. Contrasting with Plato, Aristotle believes that some changing, visible things have forms. How do they get them? Well, they're received from some previous thing that has a comparable form, e.g. a child from its parents, or perhaps a form could come from a creator's mind. Learn about our new book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.
- [Ep. 337: Aristotle on Primary Being (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/03/10/ep337-1-aristotle-primary-being/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing for our third session on Aristotle's Metaphysics, now covering Book 7 (Zeta). What exactly is the type of being that is the chief reason why we call anything being? Aristotle says its the substantial form present in an individual animal or plant.
- [Ep. 335: Aristotle on Fundamental Explanations (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/02/19/ep335-2-aristotle-metaphysics-causes/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a supporter-exclusive Closereads/part 3 drilling into the argument against Platonic forms in Aristotle's Metaphysics. Listen to a preview.Continuing on Aristotle's Metaphysics, book 1. We get seriously into Aristotle's four types of causation and how previous philosophers in leaving out one or most of these made a mistake. This includes a critique of Platonic forms, which as eternal, unchanging patterns can't actually explain why change occurs in the world.
- [Ep. 335: Aristotle on Fundamental Explanations (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/02/12/ep335-1-aristotle-metaphysics-causes/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On Aristotle's Metaphysics, book 1 (aka Alpha) (ca. 340 BCE). What constitutes a basic explanation of the universe? We talk about how mere practical knowledge of how things in fact work is not enough; there's greater wisdom in knowing the theoretical underpinnings. Various philosophers before Aristotle had given different kinds of explanations of what the universe is at bottom, but for a complete explanation, Aristotle says we'll need to include all four types of causation: material, formal, efficient, and final.
- [Ep. 347: Nyaya Sutra Against Buddhist Skeptics (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/08/12/ep347-2-nyaya-skepticism/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a supporter-exclusive, part three to this episode. Listen to a preview..Mark, Seth, and Dylan now turn to ch. 4 of Dasti/Phillips' Nyaya Sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries about the self. Buddhism famously claims that there is no self, and the Nyaya philosophers respond with both common-sensical arguments (e.g. psychological properties must be possessed by something) and religious (without a soul, what persists through reincarnation?). Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and bonus content including a supporter-exclusive part three to this discussion. Listen to a preview. Sponsor: Give online therapy a try at BetterHelp.com/partially and get 10% off your first month.
- [Ep. 347: Nyaya Sutra Against Buddhist Skeptics (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/08/05/ep347-1-nyaya-skepticism/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.We're continuing to explore Nyaya epistemology, in this part focusing on ch. 3, "In Defense of the Real," in Nyaya Sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries (2017). Sponsors: Apply for convenient term life insurance from Fabric by Gerber Life at meetfabric.com/PEL. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Time is short for your enrollment in Mark's Big Books in Continental Philosophy fall class; see partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Learn about the PEL book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.
- [Ep. 347: Nyaya Sutra Against Buddhist Skeptics (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/08/04/ep347-1-nyaya-skepticism-citizen/) - We're continuing to explore Nyaya epistemology, in this part focusing on ch. 3, "In Defense of the Real," in Nyaya Sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries (2017).
- [NEM#220: Jah Wobble's Bass Worship](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/08/03/nem220-jah-wobble/) - John Wardle (named Jah Wobble by Sid Vicious) started playing bass in John Lydon's post Sex Pistols band Public Image Ltd. in 1978, left after two albums, and has since recorded 50+ solo and collaborative albums, largely led by the bass, but spanning many genres including some particularly famous work in the world-music area. We discuss "Last Exit" from A Brief History of Now (2023), "21 Towards Lewisham Shopping Centre" from The Bus Routes of South London (2023), "Fly Away" from Jah Wobble & Invaders of the Heart from Ocean Blue Waves (2019), and "Blowout" (a 1985 single). End song: "Visions of You" by Jah Wobble’s Invaders of the Heart (feat Sinéad O'Connor) from Rising Above Bedlam (1991). Intro: "Public Image" by PiL from First Issue (1978). Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.
- [Closereads: Heidegger on Technology (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/29/closereads-heidegger-on-technology-part-one/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts on this reading, as well as our previous and future installments of this podcast.On "The Question Concerning Technology" (1954). What is technology, REALLY? People think of it as neutral, as something that can be used for good or misused, but what is it really to be a TOOL in such a way? Heidegger analyzes causality itself, arguing that our modern emphasis on the mechanical (efficient) cause of something is impoverished as compared to Aristotle's.
- [PvI#79: Edificial Intentions with Danny Mora](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/29/pvi79-edificial-intentions-with-danny-mora/) - Danny was in a sketch troupe called Maximum Party Zone with your improv host Bill, and they've now revived that trio to create the MPZ Listening Party podcast, which workshops sketch ideas in real time as a fun form of conversation. So we try out their shtick, combining two properties (The Apprentice and Argyle) and brainstorming about serial killer branding. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, a video version of the podcast, and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Try online therapy at betterhelp.com/improv.
- [SUBTEXT: Sight and Solitude in Le Samouraï (1967) by Jean-Pierre Melville (Part 1)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/28/subtext-sight-and-solitude-in-le-samourai-1967-by-jean-pierre-melville-part-1/) - Jef Costello is a hit-man with airtight alibis, impeccable style, and a strict code of honor. Add to this a masterful ability to evade his pursuers, mobsters and authorities alike, and a simple but effective home alarm system in the form of a bird. But what he cannot orchestrate, control, or evade is the improvisational nature of a genuine encounter with another person, which he unexpectedly finds with the jazz musician who witnesses him leaving the scene of one of his crimes. Wes & Erin discuss Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1967 noir thriller “Le Samouraï,” and the surprising power of love to capture its fugitives, even if it means finding them in the most shadowy of underworlds.
- [Ep. 346: Nyaya Sutra on Knowledge (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/29/ep346-2-nyaya-knowledge/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on ch. 1, "Knowledge Sources," of the Matthew Dasti/Stephen Phillips presentation of the Nyaya-Sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries. We finish up perception and then talk about inference and testimony. Are these all independent sources, or do they, e.g. all reduce ultimately to perception as Western empiricists claim? Enrollment is now open for Mark's Big Books in Continental Philosophy fall class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Learn about the PEL book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.
- [Ep. 345: William James on Religious Experience (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/06/ep345-2-william-james-religious-experience-citizen/) - Continuing on The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902). Does James' claim that science and culture shouldn't ignore the subjective point of view really mean that the religious objects that motivate people are metaphysically real? Is the "unseen realm" part of our common world?
- [Ep. 346: Nyaya Sutra on Knowledge (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/22/ep346-1-nyaya-knowledge/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On The Nyaya Sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries, originally by Gautama (ca. 150 CE), plus explanations by Vatsyayana (450 CE), Uddyotakara (550), and Vācaspatimiśra (900), and the editors Matthew Dasti and Stephen Phillips (2017). We discuss "knowledge sources," mostly the various kinds of perception, which is supposed to be inerrant and non-linguistic. Illusions aren't bad perceptions; they aren't perceptions at all.Check out Mark's Big Books in Continental Philosophy fall class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Learn about the PEL book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.
- [Ep. 343: Plotinus the Neo-Platonist (Part Three for Supporters/Closereads Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/06/19/ep343-3-plotinus-citizen/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts on this reading, as well as our previous and future installments of this podcast.On "The Intelligence, The Ideas, and Being" from the Enneads (270 C.E.), about the various elements of Neo-Platonist cosmology, focusing in particular on The Intelligence, which isn't quite God and contains The Forms.
- [Ep. 346: Nyaya Sutra on Knowledge (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/21/ep346-1-nyaya-knowledge-citizen/) - On The Nyaya Sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries, originally by Gautama (ca. 150 CE), plus explanations by Vatsyayana (450 CE), Uddyotakara (550), and Vācaspatimiśra (900), and the editors Matthew Dasti and Stephen Phillips (2017). We discuss "knowledge sources," mostly in this part the various kinds of perception, which is supposed to be inerrant and non-linguistic. Illusions aren't bad perceptions; they aren't perceptions at all.
- [NEM#219: Oliver Wakeman Beyond the Keyboard](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/19/nem219-oliver-wakeman/) - Oliver, son of Rick, has played on around 50 albums, including maybe 10 solo albums plus collaborations with Clive Nolan, Steve Howe, Gordon Giltrap, Yes, Starcastle, Light Freedom Revival, and more. We discuss "Golden Sun in Grey" from Anam Cara (2024), "Is This the Last Song I Write?" from Ravens and Lullabies (2013), and "Mind Over Matter" from The 3 Ages of Magick (2001). End song: "To the Moment" by Yes from From a Page (recorded 2010, released 2019). Intro: "Diving" from Heaven’s Isle (1997). More at oliverwakeman.co.uk. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Give online therapy a try at BetterHelp.com/nakedly.
- [SUBTEXT - “Notes from the Underground” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky: An Anatomy of Human Self-Destructiveness (Part 1)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/18/subtext-notes-from-underground-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/) - What is the cause of human self-destructiveness? According to Dostoyevkys’s underground man, this “most advantageous advantage” is designed to save freedom from the constraints of rationality, and vitality from the quiescence that follows success. Yet he himself finds freedom only in spite and fantasy, while in real life he oscillates between failed and humiliating attempts to dominate or ingratiate himself with other people. Wes & Erin discuss “Notes from the Underground” and its agonized rumination on whether freedom can be reconciled with love, individuality with virtue, and action with reflection.
- [Not School: Heidegger's "The Question Concerning Technology"](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2013/12/15/not-school-heidegger-technology/) - Featuring Dylan Casey, Daniel Cole, Philip Cherny, and Paul Harris. Recorded December 15, 2013.
- [PvI#78: We Essence Merge with Tamler Sommers](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/15/pvi78-self-tamler-sommers/) - Tamler teaches philosophy at The University of Houston and hosts the Very Bad Wizards podcast. He joins Mark and Bill to talk about personal identity and whether the "self" is necessarily co-extensive with a particular body. Plus: meditation, Daniel Day Improv's method acting, All of Me vs. Regarding Henry, what does "metaphysics" mean to YOU, dreams as improv, unstuck-in-time Grandma the last slaveholder, and more. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, a video version of the podcast, and other bonus stuff.
- [Ep. 345: William James on Religious Experience (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/15/ep345-2-william-james-religious-experience/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus contentContinuing on The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902). Does James' claim that science and culture shouldn't ignore the subjective point of view really mean that the religious objects that motivate people are metaphysically real? Is the "unseen realm" part of our common world? Sponsors :Give online therapy a try at BetterHelp.com/partially. Check out The Overwhelmed Brain podcast at theoverwhelmedbraincom. Check out Mark's Big Books in Continental Philosophy fall class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Learn about our new book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.
- [Ep. 345: William James on Religious Experience (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/07/ep345-1-william-james-religious-experience/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902), focusing on lectures 1-3 and 20. What is religion and how should philosophers study it? James describes it as a sincere, full-life reaction to the world, more emotional than intellectual, and conveys the experiences of the extreme "religious geniuses" that are merely received second or third hand by the believing masses. Check out Mark's Big Books in Continental Philosophy fall class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Learn about our new book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.
- [Announcement: Fall 2024 "Big Books in Continental Philosophy" Class](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/13/announcement-fall-2024-big-books-in-continental-philosophy-class/) - Do you want to wrestle yourself with some of the weirdest and most engaging texts in philosophical history? Do you want to do this in a beginner-friendly environment with a familiar voice guiding you and sharp fellow learners? Consider signing up for Mark's Fall class, and experience Hegel, Sartre, Arendt, and more first hand in a supportive, low-risk environment. See partiallyexaminedlife.com/class for details.
- [PvI#76: Hello, Larry w/ Lawrence Ware](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/06/09/pvi76-race-education-lawrence-ware/) - The philosopher and entertainment journalist direct from Mark's Pretty Much Pop podcast joins PvI for an hour of merriment. We talk parenthood, philosophy of race, the RULES of improv (or the singular answer to a philosophy question), old 9th graders, one black Peggy, using racy improv in a classroom setting, and more. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, a video version of the podcast, and other bonus stuff.
- [PEL Mid-Summer Nightcap 2024](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/08/pel-mid-summer-nightcap-2024/) - Mark, Wes, and Seth talk about worries about the utility of various subgenres or explanation types in philosophy, Dr. Drew's recent interview with Seth and Seth's writing project about non-linguistic communication, accuracy in historical or scientific details in philosophy, and our current political moment (our candidate choices, the debate, etc.).
- [Ep. 344: Gettier and Goldman on Justified True Belief (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/06/23/ep344-2-gettier-goldman-citizen/) - On "What Is Justified Belief?" (1979) by Alvin Goldman, where he tries to come up with a "function" for justification: If a belief has such-and-such non-epistemic properties, then it counts as justified.
- [SUBTEXT: Staking Claims in “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (1948) (Part 1)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/08/subtext-treasure-of-the-sierra-madre/) - It’s considered the definitive film on greed, a demonstration of just what the lust for gold can do to a man’s heart. Fred C. Dobbs starts out as a down-on-his-luck panhandler in a poor Mexican town and comes into a fortune of over $100,000 before the film’s end. Yet, in more ways than one, Dobbs never stops panhandling, never stops being subject to the vagaries of fate, to forces that might just as soon give as take away his fortune, and to the darkness within himself that he can neither understand nor control. Perhaps the film doesn’t chart his moral corruption and gradual descent into greed-fueled madness so much as it critiques the system that turned Dobbs into a beggar in the first place—a system which, the film might argue, teaches all of us to stick out our hands (and our necks) in the pursuit of profit. Wes & Erin discuss John Huston’s 1948 classic, “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.”
- [Ep. 345: William James on Religious Experience (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/06/ep345-1-william-james-religious-experience-citizen/) - On The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902), focusing on lectures 1-3 and 20. What is religion and how should philosophers study it? James describes it as a sincere, full-life reaction to the world, more emotional than intellectual, and conveys the experiences of the extreme "religious geniuses" that are merely received second or third hand by the believing masses.
- [NEM#218: Pat Mastelotto: Prog Neanderthal Drum-Painting](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/01/nem218-pat-mastelotto/) - Pat has been a session drummer since the mid '70s, was a founding member of Mr. Mister in the '80s, and played in all line-ups of King Crimson since '94. He's also a producer and no stranger to electronics. We discuss "31" by Tu-Ner from T-1 Contact Information (2023), "Flinch" by TUNER from Totem (2005), "Life Goes On" by Mr. Mister from I Wear the Face (1984), and we conclude by listening to "Prog Noir" by Stick Men (2016). Intro: "Vroom Vroom" by King Crimson from Thrak (1995). Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.
- [Ep. 344: Gettier and Goldman on Justified True Belief (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/07/01/ep344-2-gettier-goldman/) - On "What Is Justified Belief?" (1979) by Alvin Goldman, where he tries to come up with a "function" for justification: If a belief has such-and-such non-epistemic properties, then it counts as justified. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Learn about Mark's Big Books in Continental Philosophy Fall online class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Learn about the PEL book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.
- [New Fall Class Offering: Big Books in Continental Philosophy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/06/24/new-fall-class-offering-big-books-in-continental-philosophy/) - I've now worked out the details of my new class, including the dates and readings. Get details at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class, and follow the instructions there to let me know that you're interested and which of my proposed time slots work for you.
- [Ep. 343: Plotinus the Neo-Platonist (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/06/12/ep343-2-plotinus-citizen/) - Continuing with guest Chris Sunami, mostly discussing "The Good or The One," though we start off by completing "The Descent of the Soul" about why there is something rather than nothing, given that materiality is so undesirable compared to The One.
- [Ep. 344: Gettier and Goldman on Justified True Belief (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/06/23/ep344-1-gettier-goldman/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content. On "Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?" (1963) by Edmund Gettier, "What Is Justified Belief?" (1979) by Alvin Goldman, and "The Inescapability of Gettier Problems" (1994) by Linda Zagzebski. What is knowledge? Even if a belief is true and justified, does that make it knowledge? Gettier came up with exceptions, and other philosophers tried to figure out how to revise "justification" to rule these out.Learn about our new book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.
- [Ep. 344: Gettier and Goldman on Justified True Belief (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/06/22/ep344-1-gettier-goldman-citizen/) - On “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?” (1963) by Edmund Gettier, “What Is Justified Belief?” (1979) by Alvin Goldman, and “The Inescapability of Gettier Problems” (1994) by Linda Zagzebski. What is knowledge? Even if a belief is true and justified, does that make it knowledge? Gettier came up with exceptions, and other philosophers tried to figure out how to revise "justification" to rule these out.
- [Pretty Much Pop #142: Song Lyric Literality w/ Dave Philpott](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/13/pmp142-song-lyrics-dave-philpott/) - Since 2008, Dave has written cheeky (but actually heavily researched) letters to rock stars that point out logical flaws in and/or deliberately misunderstand their lyrics. Many of these have been answered by the artists and housed in three books: Dear Mr. Kershaw, Dear Mr. Popstar, and Grammar Free In The U.K. Mark and Al Baker talk to Dave about the "green ink" stereotype in British comedy, metaphors in songwriting, how meaning escapes the intentions of the author, the clash between lyrical meaning and musical style, avoiding clichés, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #149: Rocky and Creed](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/05/17/pmp149-rocky/) - It's our most successful sports film franchise ever, starting with the Best Picture winning, highest grossing film from 1976, through eight sequels to land us with Creed III. Mark, Al, Sarahlyn, and Lawrence talk about the ups and downs of this journey. How can such an apparently simple formula stay fresh? Is there any rationale for a larger Rocky-verse? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsors: For ready-to-eat meal delivery, visit FactorMeals.com/pretty50 and use code pretty50 for 50% off your first box. Try the Straight To Video podcast at stvpod.com.
- [Pretty Much Pop #151: Everybody’s Talkin’ ‘Bout “Succession”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/14/pretty-much-pop-151-everybodys-talkin-bout-succession/) - The regular gang (Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al) address Jesse Armstrong's prestige HBO dramedy that premiered in 2018 and has just wrapped up. Why all the fuss over this show? Is it really worthy of comparison to Shakespeare? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsors: Get 50% off your first box of ready-to-eat meals at FactorMeals.com/pretty50 (use code pretty50). Check out the Banned Camp comedy podcast.
- [Pretty Much Pop #155: Existentialist Barbie](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/14/pmp155-barbie/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the most discussable movie of the summer made by the unlikely pairing of feminist indie director Greta Gerwig and Barbie's corporate overlords at Mattel. Does the film convey at least a legitimate teen version of feminist existentialism? It is actually enjoyable? What sort of irony is this, and can any film be both a blockbuster children's film yet also be a meditation on serious social and philosophical issues? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Check out the Jordan Harbinger Show at jordanharbinger.com/subscribe.
- [Pretty Much Pop #156: Black Mirror's Tech Horrors](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/28/pmp156-black-mirror/) - For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #157: The Function of a Pop Culture Podcast](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/06/pmp157-podcasting-season-finale/) - What is media criticism, and is that what we're doing? For our Season 3 finale (i.e. the end of PMP's 4th year of operation), your now officially official hosts Mark Linsenmayer, Lawrence Ware, Sarahlyn Bruck, and Al Baker turn their gazes fully toward their collective navel to think about what purposes are served by discussions about pop culture and how we can do it better. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsors: Get 60% off (and free shipping) on America's #1 Meal Kit for Eating Well at GreenChef.com/60pmp (code 60pmp). Check out the Articles of Interest podcast.
- [Pretty Much Pop #158: "Oppenheimer" and Other Christopher Nolan Films](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/24/pmp158-oppenheimer-christopher-nolan-films/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the writer-director's work, touching on not only his recent tour-de-force, but back to Memento, Dunkirk, Tenet, Inception, The Prestige, Interstellar, Insomnia, and The Following. Is Nolan overrated as a thinker and storyteller? Do his plots actually make sense? We talk heroes, noir, philosophy, twists, and his depiction of women. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Get 60% off (and free shipping) on America's #1 Meal Kit for Eating Well at GreenChef.com/60pmp (code 60pmp).
- [Pretty Much Pop #159: Watching “How To with John Wilson”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/16/pmp159-how-to-with-john-wilson/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al all watched the three seasons of this groundbreaking, polarizing documentary show that serves as a visual diary and collection of essays by its creator. While episode titles sound like practical advice, the investigations invariably swerve into something weird or philosophical. But did we enjoy it? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content for every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #160: Mvto to "Reservation Dogs"](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/22/pmp160-reservation-dogs/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss the groundbreaking Native-written/starring TV show about four teens trying to get away from their Oklahoma reservation, getting into its treatment of death, community, wokeness, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content for every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. If you like our podcast, check out The Opus podcast from Consequence Media, about great albums.
- [Pretty Much Pop #161: Revisiting "The Exorcist"](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/01/pmp161-exorcist/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the original 1973 film (and the 1971 novel), the new Exorcist: Believer, with some talk of the early sequels. What makes the original film so scary? Its adjacency to real-life parental fears? Does the new film really dialogue intelligently with that original? Is demonic possession an inherently problematic plot device?For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #163: Marvel Fatigue?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/10/pmp163-marvels/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, Al and special guest Vi Burlew talk about the new film The Marvels as well as more generally what's been coming out in film and TV from the Marvel folks in the latest "phase." Does Marvel have a consistent tone at this point)? What explains the box office poison of the new film? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #164: Muppets, esp. Their Xmas Carol](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/21/pmp164-muppets-xmas/) - For our annual holiday episode, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk all things Muppets, but in particular the 1992 film The Muppet Christmas Carol. What's the appeal of this puppet act? Is its humor post-funny ironic? Should it still exist and can it still have the magic with a new generation behind the felt? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [PvI#77: Fashionation with Sheri Flanders](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/06/21/pvi77-fashionation-with-sheri-flanders/) - The actor/writer/comedian joins us to talk about the philosophy of fashion, from the ancients to the present: Is clothing a mode of self-expression or something more (or less)? What does retro fashion say about the current state of culture? Are philosophers anti-fashion, and is that sexist? What color wedding dress is best for an arranged marriage? Are improv scenes like tissues? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, a video version of the podcast, and other bonus stuff.
- [Pretty Much Pop #162: Poe Flavoring Upon the House of Usher](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/21/pmp162-poe-house-of-usher/) - We discuss the loose mishmash adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe stories that makes up Mike Flanagan's Netflix show, The Fall of the House of Usher. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the various creative choices, moral responsibility in the show, the relation between gothic and camp, Poe's continued standing as horror icon, and more.For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #171: The Traitors - A Multi-National Reality Game Show Phenom](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/04/13/pmp171-traitors/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss the American version, and to a lesser extent the British and Australian versions, of this reality game show that originated in 2021 in the Netherlands, based on the party game Mafia (aka Werewolf), plus Survivor-like challenges and a gothic tone. How does such a simple (stupid?) concept end up creating compelling TV? Are we cruel for liking this show? Is it better suited to hardened reality game show players, or with normal people? What's the role of the host, and is Alan Cumming the best possible one? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #172: Curb Larry David's Shtick](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/05/01/pretty-much-pop-172-curb-larry-davids-shtick/) - The incredible post-Seinfeld improvised sit-com Curb Your Enthusiasm has had its finale, and so Mark, Lawrence, Sarah and Al reflect on its format, its characters, its way of exploring puzzles of modern manners, its treatment of race and gender, and more. Was it too repetitive? Did it get too contrived? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Get 50% off your first box of ready-to-eat meals at FactorMeals.com/pretty50 (use code pretty50).
- [Pretty Much Pop#173: Cowboy Beyoncé? (Cross-Genre Music)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/05/20/pretty-much-pop173-cowboy-beyonce-cross-genre-music/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al look at pop music and the idea of genre. Beyoncé is beloved enough that she can do whatever she wants to musically, but the response to her Cowboy Carter album among country music listeners has been pretty critical. Is it real country, and what is it to even ask that question? Is gate-keeping about your favorite genre always stupid? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Get 50% off your first box of ready-to-eat meals and 20% off your next box at FactorMeals.com/pretty50 (use code pretty50).
- [Pretty Much Pop #174: Fallout Plays Post-Apocalyptic](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/05/31/pmp174-fallout/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al discuss the new Amazon TV show based on on the video game series that launched in 1997. How does one best adapt a sandbox game? How dark is too dark for comedy? We talk world-building and exposition dumps, narrative structure and character revelation, and morality in a ruined world. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Closereads: Aristotle Against Platonic Forms (Audio Part One), aka PEL Ep. 335 (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/02/09/closereads-aristotle-forms/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts on this reading, as well as our previous and future installments of this new podcast.Aristotle offers a critique of Plato's theory of forms at a few points in his Metaphysics, and in this and the following part of this series, we'll be tackling this by reading part of book 1, ch. 9.
- [NEM#217: Richard Thompson's Moments in Time](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/06/16/nem217-richard-thompson/) - Richard started as guitarist in the folk-rock staple Fairport Convention in 1967 but left in 1970 after five albums. He then recorded his debut solo album, six as Richard and Linda Thompson, and has since recorded 20 more solo albums of lyrically inventive, stylistically varied tunes that nearly always feature very skilled guitar work. We discuss "Freeze," the first single from his new album Ship to Shore, "The Ghost of You Walks" from You? Me? Us? (1996), and "Don't Take It Lying Down" from Still/Variations EP (2015). End song: "When I Get to the Border" by Richard and Linda Thompson from I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight (1974). Intro: "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" from Rumor and Sigh (1991). More at richardthompson-music.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.
- [Ep. 342: Zhuangzi on Knowledge and Virtue (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/05/26/ep342-2-zhuangzi-citizen/) - We're concluding our treatment of the Daoist sage, focusing on the relation between metaphysics and ethics. Is a "wu wei" (non-action) philosophy compatible with fighting for justice? Does it even necessitate kindness?
- [Ep. 343: Plotinus the Neo-Platonist (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/06/09/ep343-1-plotinus-citizen/) - On selections from the Enneads (270 C.E.), as presented by Elmer O'Brien as the first four essays in The Essential Plotinus: "Beauty," "The Intelligence, Ideas and Being," "The Descent of the Soul," and "The Good or The One." Featuring Mark, Wes, Dylan, Seth, and guest Chris Sunami.
- [Closereads: Levinas on Buber (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/05/31/closereads-levinas-on-buber-part-one/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts on this reading, as well as our previous and future installments of this podcast.We read the first pages of Emmanuel Levinas' 1958 article, "Martin Buber and the Theory of Knowledge," with sections subtitled "The Problem of Truth" and "From the Object to Being."
- [Ep. 324: Plato's "Cratylus" on Language (Part Three/Closereads)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/08/ep324-3-plato-cratylus-citizen/) - Continuing on Plato's mid-period dialogue about language. Is attaching a word to a thing, i.e. naming it, like other activities such as carpentry or sewing that can go wrong? Can we put the "form" of a thing into letters and syllabus of its name? We go through many examples where Socrates claims to have done just that.
- [NEM#216: Kim Richey Learns to Cherish Collaboration](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/05/27/nem216-kim-richey-learns-to-cherish-collaboration/) - Kim has recorded about ten meticulously recorded country-evolving-to Americana albums out of Nashville since 1995. We discuss "Joy Rider" (and listen at the end to "Floating on the Surface") from Every New Beginning (2024), "A Place Called Home" from Rise (2002), and "I’m Alright" from Bitter Sweet (1997), which is also the home of the intro, "Every River." More at kimrichey.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.
- [Ep. 319: Schiller on Experiencing Beauty (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/19/ep319-2-schiller-beauty/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this ad-free, plus a supporter-exclusive part three. Listen to a preview..Starting with letter 20 in On the Aesthetic Education of Man (1795), we tell more of the story of how art is supposed to get us from sensation to thinking. Aesthetic perception ends up being essential to any conceptualization (thinking) whatsoever!
- [Ep. 342: Zhuangzi on Knowledge and Virtue (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/05/27/ep342-1-zhuangzi/) - More on the Zhuangzi, books 1-6 and 17-19 with guest Theo Brooks. We discuss epistemology (Can we know the mind of someone else? How can virtue make truth more accessible?), metaphysics (Is the world constantly changing such that we can't actually refer to anything? Does each thing somehow contain its opposite in virtue of being defined by its contrast with all that it is not?), and ethics (What constitutes the Utmost Person, i.e. the sage?). Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Learn about our new book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.
- [Ep. 342: Zhuangzi on Knowledge and Virtue (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/05/26/ep342-1-zhuangzi-citizen/) - More on the Zhuangzi, books 1-6 and 17-19 with guest Theo Brooks. We discuss epistemology (Can we know the mind of someone else? How can virtue make truth more accessible?), metaphysics (Is the world constantly changing such that we can't actually refer to anything? Does each thing somehow contain its opposite in virtue of being defined by its contrast with all that it is not?), and ethics (What constitutes the Utmost Person, i.e. the sage?).
- [Ep. 320: Friedrich Schlegel on Romanticism (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/03/ep320-2-friedrich-schlegel/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this ad-free, plus a supporter-exclusive part three. Listen to a preview..We continue on Schlegel's "Dialogue on Poesy" (1799) and "Concerning the Essence of Critique" (1804). How can Romantic art always aim at some common source of our humanity yet also require originality? How can having some sort of common mythology help artists be original in this way, and how can we embrace mythology as modern people?discussion.
- [Ep. 322: Schelling on Art vs. Nature (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/24/ep322-1-schelling-art/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content including (next week) a supporter-exclusive part three to this discussion.Discussing "On the Relation Between the Plastic Arts and Nature" (1807) and Part 6 of System of Transcendental Idealism (1800). Is the goal of art to imitate nature? Only if that means showing the divine, ideal, dynamic aspect of the subject matter (and the artist)!
- [Ep. 321: August Schlegel on Beauty (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/10/ep321-1-august-schlegel/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content including (next week) a supporter-exclusive Nightcap discussion.Covering the elder Schlegel brother's Theory of Art (ca. 1800). How does our experience of Beauty relate to the infinite? Schlegel provides a Romantic response to Kant on knowing the divine, inner essences of things through art, how genius works, and the relationship between art and nature.
- [Ep. 323: Acquiring Language: Tomasello vs. Chomsky (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/21/ep323-1-tomasello-chomsky-language/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On Michael Tomasello's "Language Is Not an Instinct" (1995) and Constructing a Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition (2003). With guest Christopher Heath.
- [Ep. 324: Plato's "Cratylus" on Language (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/04/ep324-1-plato-cratylus/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content including a supporter-exclusive part three to this discussion coming out next week.On Plato's mid-period dialogue from around 388 BCE. How do words relate to the things they represent? Socrates first argues that words represent things, and so doing etymology is a way of learning philosophical truths, then seemingly reverses himself.
- [Ep. 325: Paul Grice on Meaning and Conversation (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/18/ep325-1-grice/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On "Meaning" (1957), "Utterer’s Meaning and Intentions" (1969), and "Logic and Conversation" (1975), with guest Steve Gimbell. Grice tries to give a rigorous analysis of what it means for a speaker (as opposed to a sentence) to mean something in particular. Let the increasingly elaborate potential counter-examples commence!
- [Ep. 326: Guest Michael Tomasello on the Evolution of Agency (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/02/ep326-1-tomasello-agency/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On The Evolution of Agency (2022), with the author, and guest panelist Chris Heath. What is human agency? How would we determine whether an animal is a legitimate agent, as opposed to just acting automatically? Tomasello investigates this by thinking about what capabilities and behaviors constitute agency and the degree to which near-human animals have these.
- [Ep. 327: Harry Frankfurt on Bullshit and Authenticity (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/16/ep327-1-frankfurt-bullshit/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Seth discuss the celebrated 1986 essay "On Bullshit." Does bullshit necessarily involve lying? Frankfurt defines it as instead indifferent to truth, though still deceptive about what kind of speech act the audience is supposed to think that it is.
- [Ep. 327: Harry Frankfurt on Bullshit and Authenticity (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/22/ep327-2-frankfurt-bullshit/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this ad-free, plus a supporter-exclusive Nightcap discussion that gets more into bullshit, hypocrisy, and more..On Frankfurt's essay "The Importance of What We Care About" (1982), which distinguishes the question of what to value from ethical questions and explores the extent to which deciding what to care about is a free act.
- [Ep. 328: Guest Yascha Mounk Against Identity Politics (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/06/ep328-2-mounk-identity-politics/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a supporter-exclusive, guest-free part three to this episode. Listen to a preview..Continuing from part one on The Identity Trap (2023). Which works better to achieve social progress; classical liberalism, or strategies involving emphasis of identity group membership? Do we even have to pick a side, or can we pragmatically choose strategies from whichever philosophy most effectively addresses the situation in question? We discuss cultural appropriation, free speech, standpoint epistemology, and more.
- [Ep. 329: Kierkegaard on Irony (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/13/ep329-1-kierkegaard-irony/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Discussing On the Concept of Irony (1841). Kierkegaard builds up to telling us what irony is by showing how Socrates invented irony, as characterized by his wholly negative project of showing others that their beliefs inherited from society are wrong.
- [Ep. 329: Kierkegaard on Irony (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/20/ep329-2-kierkegaard-irony/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a third part to this discussion.Continuing with On the Concept of Irony, defined as "infinite absolute negativity." K criticizes his Romantic peers of taking irony too far. So what is healthy, well-grounded irony?
- [Ep. 330: Kierkegaard's "Either/Or": The Aesthetic Life (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/27/ep330-1-kierkegaard-either-or-aesthetic/) - On the aphorisms ("Diapsalmata") that begin Soren Kierkegaard's Either/Or (1843), plus the essay also in the first volume, "Rotation of Crops." What is it to live your life as if it were a work of art? K thinks such a life is unserious and unsatisfying. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.
- [Ep. 330: Kierkegaard's "Either/Or": The Aesthetic Life (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/04/ep330-2-kierkegaard-either-or-aesthetic/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a supporter-exclusive, part three to this episode. Listen to a preview..Continuing on "Diapsalmata" and "Rotation of Crops" from the "Either" portion of Kierkegaard's pseudonymous book. We talk through more of K's aphorisms, his narrator's solution to boredom, and we take the critique personally: Is this Romantic view described one that we held as younger people (or now)?
- [Ep. 331: Kierkegaard's "Either/Or": The Ethical Life (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/11/ep331-1-kierkegaard-either-or-ethical/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On "The Balance Between the Esthetic and the Ethical in the Development of the Personality" from Vol. 2 of Soren Kierkegaard's Either/Or (1843). What is choice? Kierkegaard's character Judge William criticizes the aesthete from our previous episode on the earlier part of this book: The aesthete doesn't make any authentic choices and so doesn't develop a coherent self.
- [Ep. 331: Kierkegaard's "Either/Or": The Ethical Life (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/18/ep331-2-kierkegaard-either-or-ethical/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a supporter-exclusive, part three to this episode. Listen to a preview..Continuing on "The Balance Between the Esthetic and the Ethical in the Development of the Personality," with a critique of (Hegelian) philosophy and concrete advice for how to build yourself in an optimal way.
- [Ep. 332: Kierkegaard's "Either/Or": The Ethical Self (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/25/ep332-1-kierkegaard-either-or-ethical/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content. On the second half of "The Balance Between the Esthetic and the Ethical in the Development of the Personality" from Vol. 2 of Either/Or (1843). How do we "absolutely" form a coherent self by embracing ethical conventions like marriage, friendship, and having a job?
- [Ep. 332: Kierkegaard's "Either/Or": The Ethical Self (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/01/01/ep332-2-kierkegaard-either-or-ethical/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a supporter-exclusive, Kierkegaard-related Nightcap. Listen to a preview.Concluding our discussion of Either/Or, still this time considering "The Balance Between the Esthetic and the Ethical in the Development of the Personality" on how the ethical helps us to develop a self. What is this ideal self that Kierkegaard wants us to aim for, but yet which is within us as individuals already? How can each of us merge with the universal ethically yet assert our individuality?
- [Ep. 333: Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling" on Faith (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/01/08/ep333-1-kierkegaard-fear-and-trembling/) - To wrap up our coverage of Kierkegaard, we consider his religious stage of development through this 1843 text analyzing the Biblical story of Abraham. Can we understand, much less admire, an attitude whereby you think God has commanded you to kill your son and you gladly go along with it? How does this sort of "greatness" relate to ethics? Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.
- [Ep. 334: Gabriel Marcel's Christian Existentialism (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/01/22/ep334-1-gabriel-marcel/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Discussing "On the Ontological Mystery" (1933) about our need for meaning. Marcel asserts that our need for "mystery" is much more primal than the scientific, technical point of view that breaks down problems into component parts for easy analysis. In fact, this more modern-seeming way of looking at the world presupposes and relies on the more originary position.
- [Ep. 333: Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling" on Faith (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/01/14/ep333-2-kierkegaard-fear-and-trembling/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a supporter-exclusive episode of Closereads that relates the Sermon on the Mount to Kierkegaard Listen to a preview.Continuing on Kierkegaard's perhaps most famous book, this time focusing largely on "Problem One: Is There a Teleological Suspension of the Ethical?"
- [SUBTEXT: Psychedelic Regrets in "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"(Part 1)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/05/27/subtext-psychedelic-regrets-in-rime-of-the-ancient-marinerpart-1/) - The ancient Mariner kills his Albatross with a carelessness that stands in stark contrast to his impulse for confession. For several days he and his shipmates feed the albatross, play with it, and treat it as if it were inhabited by a “Christian soul.” The mariner never tells the wedding guest why it is that he kills the bird, but the casual and seemingly unmotivated act is followed by a psychedelic nightmare that gives us some clues. Why do we rebel against our position within the natural world, even to the point of self-destruction? What is required to restore us? Wes & Erin discuss Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s classic poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.”
- [SUBTEXT: Sins of Omission in “On the Waterfront” (1954) (Part 1)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/05/27/subtext-sins-of-omission-in-on-the-waterfront-1954-part-1/) - Terry Malloy and his fellow longshoremen on the New York docks are witnesses to union corruption under labor boss Johnny Friendly, but won’t testify against him because of his violent intimidation tactics, which ensure that union members remain “D and D”—that is, deaf and dumb—to any illegal activity. When Terry’s collaboration with Friendly results in the death of his friend Joey Doyle, and when Terry subsequently falls in love with Joey’s sister, Edie, he’s forced to reckon with this D and D policy, as well as his own passivity, guilt, and naivete. Wes & Erin discuss Elia Kazan’s 1954 film On the Waterfront, which might be said to dramatize the so-called “sin of omission” while asserting that its opposite, truth-telling, can be a radical and perhaps even a strangely physical form of heroism.
- [Ep. 341: Guest Karyn Lai on Daoism in the Zhuangzi (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/05/12/ep341-karyn-lai-zhuangzi-citizen/) - Mark, Dylan, Seth, and Theo Brooks discuss the Zhuangzi (ca. 325 BCE) UNSW Sydney prof. Karyn, co-author of the History of Philosophy Podcast Chinese series. We talk through Daoist advice about virtue, political action, perspectivism, and more.
- [Ep. 341 Supplemental: Zhuangzi for Closereads Evergreen Network Launch](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/05/19/ep341-2-zhuangzi-closereads/) - Sign up for the new Closereads public feed at evergreen.com/closereadsphilosophy. For an ad-free experience with many extra episodes, sign up to support Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy, or combine your support for PEL and Closereads at patreon.com/partiallyexaminedlife.Mark and Wes read through and discuss the first couple of pages of ch. 19, "Fathoming Life," following up on ep. 341 How does Daoism compare to Stoicism, Aristotelianism, and Existentialism? How can being a Daoist sage keep one from harm? How is a really effective cicada catcher such a sage? Learn about our new book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.
- [Ep. 339: Brian Ellis on the Metaphysics of Science (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/04/08/ep-339-2-ellis-essentialism-citizen/) - Continuing on The Philosophy of Nature: A Guide to the New Essentialism (2002) with guest Chris Heath. We get further into the text about metaphysical realism, criteria for a natural kind, properties vs. predicates, and much more.
- [PvI#75: The Alien Literally Has Two Faces w/ Bran Peacock](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/05/19/pvi75-cultural-relativism-bran-peacock/) - The Hitchhikers and Appetizers co-host joins Mark and Bill to talk about cultural relativism. We talk about foreign-ness, what parts of ethics seem to apply to all cultures, the Museum of Soup, pushing back tactfully in a scene, and more. In my culture, listening to this episode while in a work meeting is polite. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, a video version of the podcast, and other bonus stuff.
- [Ep. 341 Supplemental: Zhuangzi for Closereads Evergreen Network Launch (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/05/19/ep-341-supplemental-zhuangzi-for-closereads-evergreen-network-launch-citizen-edition/) - Mark and Wes read through and discuss the first couple of pages of ch. 19, "Fathoming Life," How does Daoism compare to Stoicism, Aristotelianism, and Existentialism? How can being a Daoist sage keep one from harm? How is a really effective cicada catcher such a sage?
- [Ep. 341: Guest Karyn Lai on Daoism in the Zhuangzi](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/05/12/ep341-karyn-lai-zhuangzi/) - Subscribe to get every PEL episode ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Mark, Dylan, Seth, and Theo Brooks discuss the Zhuangzi (ca. 325 BCE) UNSW Sydney prof. Karyn, co-author of the History of Philosophy Podcast Chinese series. We talk through Daoist advice about virtue, political action, perspectivism, and more.Learn about our new book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.
- [Ep. 340: Brian Ellis on the Implications of Essentialism (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/04/28/ep340-1-ellis-essentialism/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on The Philosophy of Nature: A Guide to the New Essentialism. Ellis' essentialism about physics and chemistry says that, for example, atoms of various elements are truly and unambiguously different and behave in ways that make them what they are. What does this entail? Learn about our new book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.
- [Ep. 340: Brian Ellis on the Implications of Essentialism (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/04/29/ep340-2-ellis-essentialism-citizen/) - Concluding on The Philosophy of Nature: A Guide to the New Essentialism (2002) with guest Chris Heath. Are we OK with the metaphysical necessity of natural laws? How do Ellis' mind-independent fundamental objects in the world relate to higher level things, whether biological species or human nature or even things like colors?
- [NEM#215: Lynn Drury's New Orleans Emotionality](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/05/03/nem215-lynn-drury/) - Singer-songwriter Lynn has released 10 albums since 2001. We discuss the title track (and listen at the end to "I Waited Too Long") from High Tide (2024), "11:11" from Rise of the Fall (2017), and "Drugstore" from Crossing Frequencies (2001). Intro: "City Life" from Sugar on the Floor (2011). Hear more at lynndrury.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.
- [Ep. 340: Brian Ellis on the Implications of Essentialism (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/04/28/ep340-1-ellis-essentialism-citizen/) - Continuing on The Philosophy of Nature: A Guide to the New Essentialism. Ellis' essentialism about physics and chemistry says that, for example, atoms of various elements are truly and unambiguously different and behave in ways that make them what they are. What does this entail?
- [Closereads: Peter Railton's "Moral Realism" (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/04/26/closereads-railton/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts on this reading, as well as our previous and future installments of this podcast.Railton's goal is to give a naturalistic account of ethics (i.e. ethics within a framework of natural science) that both connects tightly to observed empirical facts and also makes moral facts real parts of our world, not merely reducible to non-moral facts about pleasure, social norms, or the like that wouldn't necessarily exert normative force on us like morality is supposed to.
- [PEL 15th Anniversary and Book Release (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/04/21/pel-15th-anniversary-and-book-release-citizen/) - Your four hosts plus book editor Chris Sunami reflect on doing the podcast for 15 years and making the new book, which you should order on April 15. Plus, the three rules, future ambitions, and more.
- [PvI#74: A Psychedelic Embrace with David Peña-Guzmán (Overthink)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/04/20/pvi74-a-psychedelic-embrace-with-david-pena-guzman-overthink/) - David is co-host of the excellent Overthink podcast, popular among the young people today, and so we have him monologue to children as an anti (?) drug speaker. How can drugs change us, our sense of self, and the ways we see the world? Can some drugs be considered "natural"? Also, legally defensible drug use at work, and Nancy Reagan the Heel. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, a video version of the podcast, and other bonus stuff.
- [NEM#214: Head vs. Gut Songwriting w/ Roger Joseph Manning Jr., David Christian, Rachel Taylor Brown](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/04/20/nem214-head-vs-gut-songwriting/) - It's a new, discussion-only format, just for this episode (and perhaps some rare ones in the future)! When we write, how much is planned vs. improvised? How much is inspirational vs. double-or-triple checked? How does this factor weigh into how much music we release, how eclectic our sound is, and how well we improvise with others? This discussion features three returning guests: Roger Joseph Manning Jr. was the keyboardist/singer for Jellyfish and Imperial Drag, and more recently as a solo artist and with the Likerish Quartet. Hear his solo episode. The end song on this episode "I'm Startin' a Band" from his Radio Daze EP (2023). David Christian is the singer/guitarist for Britain's Comet Gain. Hear his solo episode. The intro music to this discussion is "Love and Hate on the Radio" from Radio Sessions 1996-2011. Portland-based Rachel Taylor Brown has released 10 solo albums. Hear her solo episode. Her song choice relevant to this discussion was "Stagg Field." Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon.
- [Episode 93: Freedom and Responsibility (Strawson vs. Strawson)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/05/02/ep93-freedom-strawson-citizen/) - On P.F. Strawson's "Freedom and Resentment" (1960), Galen Strawson's "The Impossibility of Moral Responsibility" (1994), and Gary Watson's "Responsibility and the Limits of Evil: Variations on a Strawsonian Theme" (1987). With guest Tamler Sommers. Learn more. End song: "Irresistible" by New People. Download the album.
- [Ep. 339: Brian Ellis on the Metaphysics of Science (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/04/15/ep-339-2-ellis-essentialism/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on The Philosophy of Nature: A Guide to the New Essentialism (2002) with guest Chris Heath. We get further into the text about metaphysical realism, criteria for a natural kind, properties vs. predicates, and much more. Learn about the new PEL book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book. Make a note on your calendar to purchase it on Thursday, April 25.
- [Pretty Much Pop #167: "May December" and Other Docudramas](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/02/08/pretty-much-pop-167-may-december-and-other-docudramas/) - When we've already heard about someone's personal scandal in the news, do we need to also see it dramatized with A-list actors? We discuss Todd Haynes' 2023 film fictionalizing the long-aftermath of the Mary Kay Letourneau story. We also touch on Joe vs. Carole, Inventing Anna, Dirty John, The Act, The Shrink Next Door, and The Thing About Pam, etc. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #168: Writing Women's Fiction w/ Kathryn Leigh Scott](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/02/23/pmp168-writing-womens-fiction-kathryn-leigh-scott/) - To celebrate the publication of the latest novel by one of our hosts, Sarahlyn Bruck, we bring back acclaimed actor/author Kathryn Leigh Scott to join Mark and Al. We discuss women's fiction as a marketing category, its relation to genres like romance and literary fiction, and the writing process. The books that we read for this are Sarahlyn's Light of the Fire and Kathryn's September Girl (2019). For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Visit GoodChop.com/pretty120 and use code pretty120 to get $120 off four boxes of organic, sustainable meat and/or seafood.
- [Pretty Much Pop #169: Doctor Who? (When?)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/03/11/pretty-much-pop-169-doctor-who-when/) - Do you Who? Did you Who back in the day, or just from the point of the 2005 revival? Did you Who through Tennant, Smith, Capaldi... Were you still on board for Whittaker, and now as Disney+ and revival creator Russell T. Davies attempt to make this more readily accessible in all ways with the transition to Ncuti Gatwa? Mark, Al, and Lawrence are joined by our special guest, improv comedian Chris Rathjen to talk about the appeal and evolution of this very long-running British sci-fi show. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Visit GoodChop.com/pretty120 and use code pretty120 to get $120 off four boxes of organic, sustainable meat and/or seafood.
- [Pretty Much Pop #170: Poor Things and Other Yorgos](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/03/21/pmp170-poor-things/) - We discuss the 4-Oscar-winning film Poor Things as well as the other creations of writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos, including most notably The Lobster, Dogtooth, and The Killing of a Sacred Deer. These films mix high concepts, purposively stilted line-readings, and increasingly rich cinematography with horror and gross sex. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Get 50% off your first box of ready-to-eat meals at FactorMeals.com/pretty50 (use code pretty50).
- [Ep. 338: Aristotle on Potential vs. Actual and the Unmoved Mover (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/03/25/ep338-2-aristotle-potential-citizen/) - To conclude our discussion of Aristotle's Metaphysics, we finish discussing potency by talking about the potential to learn (the Meno problem), the metaphysical priority of the actual over the merely potential, and how the Unmoved Mover motivates all primary beings to strive toward their full actualization.
- [Ep. 339: Brian Ellis on the Metaphysics of Science (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/04/07/ep-339-1-ellis-essentialism-citizen/) - On The Philosophy of Nature: A Guide to the New Essentialism (2002). What kind of metaphysics underlies chemistry and physics? Ellis argues that items such as chemical elements and physical particles have essences, and that these essential properties determine their behavior, which is characterized by scientific laws. Thus, these laws are necessary; they apply in all possible worlds.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #73: Family Whêtspät w/ Colleen Doyle](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/04/05/pvi73-family/) - The co-host of the Those Who Aunt podcast joins Mark and Bill to joke about the family as the fundamental political unit and its special place in ethics. On the flip side, what questions should you ask yourself about your character at the start of a scene? Plus, Jan. 6, Platonic eugenics, transcending physical desire, a story that doesn't quite get started, a military upbringing, and the real Cheff. Papa will give you all the same name and make you listen to every episode of this podcast, because he loves you. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, a video version of the podcast, and other bonus stuff.
- [NEM#213: Paul Chastain (Velvet Crush): Flavors of Brightness](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/04/02/nem213-paul-chastain-velvet-crush/) - Illinois singer/bassist Paul had his first release in 1985 and joined with drummer Ric Menck to form a band eventually called Velvet Crush, which released six albums from 1991-2004. He has since played in Matthew Sweet's band and has released two albums under the name The Small Square. We discuss "Can't Let Go (Oh, Tommy)" by The Small Square from Ours & Others (2023), "California Incline" by Velvet Crush from Stereo Blues (2004), and "Flower Field" by Choo Choo Train from Briar Rose EP (1988). Intro: "Hold Me Up" by Velvet Crush from Teenage Symphonies to God (1994). End song: "SML" from The Small Square (2015, remastered 2023). More at smallsquaremusic.com and actionmusik.bandcamp.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon.
- [Ep. 338: Aristotle on Potential vs. Actual and the Unmoved Mover (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/04/01/ep338-2-aristotle-potential/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.To conclude our discussion of Aristotle's Metaphysics, we finish discussing potency by talking about the potential to learn (the Meno problem), the metaphysical priority of the actual over the merely potential, and how the Unmoved Mover motivates all primary beings to strive toward their full actualization.
- [Ep. 337: Aristotle on Primary Being (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/03/10/ep337-2-aristotle-primary-being-citizen/) - Continuing on Aristotle's Metaphysics, Book 7 (Zeta), on essences and what sorts of things have them. Contrasting with Plato, Aristotle believes that some changing, visible things have forms. How do they get them? Well, they're received from some previous thing that has a comparable form, e.g. a child from its parents, or perhaps a form could come from a creator's mind.
- [Closereads: Descartes' <em>Passions of the Soul</em> (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/03/25/closereads-descartes-passions-of-the-soul-part-one/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts on this reading, as well as our previous and future installments of this podcast.We're reading the final text by René Descartes, published in 1649, about how mind and body relate to each other.
- [Ep. 338: Aristotle on Potential vs. Actual and the Unmoved Mover (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/03/24/ep338-1-aristotle-potential-citizen/) - We read portions of books 9 (Theta) and 12 (Lambda) of Aristotle's Metaphysics, first on "being-at-work" (actuality) vs. mere potency, then on Aristotle's famous argument for the existence of God.
- [PEL Nightcap w/ Chris Sunami (March 2024)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/03/19/nightcap-mar-2024/) - Mark, Seth, and Dylan are joined by the editor of our new book (see partiallyexaminedlife.com/book) to talk a bit about his background, meeting celebrities (or being met qua celebrity) and more generally how a writer or performer's real personality relates to their work, various things we're reading and watching, scientists' attitudes towards philosophy, and the usual musings about future episodes.
- [The Partially Examined Life: 15 Years with Your Favorite Philosophy Podcasters](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/03/18/the-partially-examined-life-15-years-with-your-favorite-philosophy-podcasters/) - We are proud to announce the upcoming release of the long-anticipated PEL book, April 25th, in celebration of the 15th anniversary of our first podcast. It will be available on Kindle and in print on Amazon, or by request from libraries and bookstores worldwide. We'll share the Amazon link here on April 25. If you
- [PvI#72: Spock Fever w/ Cole Nasrallah and Chris Rathjen](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/03/15/pvi72-spock-fever-w-cole-nasrallah-and-chris-rathjen/) - It's another TEAM PLAY episode, with our returning champions, star of improv stages and podcasts Chris and College of Southern Nevada philosophy prof Cole receiving NOT THE INFORMATION THEY EXPECT and gettin' all rational and such when consoling a friend and wrangling about a math quiz. Luxuriate in the rich characters and philosophy tools! Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, and other bonus stuff.
- [Seeking Advance Readers](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/03/13/seeking-advance-readers/) - The PEL team has a limited number of advance review copies of our new book, "The Partially Examined Life: 15 Years with Your Favorite Philosophy Podcasters." If you would like to be considered for one (no guarantees!), please sign up at the following link: https://forms.gle/H4KTCAp6ghFFF7Gk7 We are especially looking for fans who have a good
- [Ep. 336: Aristotle on Being and Non-Contradiction (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/02/24/ep336-2-aristotle-being-non-contradiction-citizen/) - Continuing on Book 4 (Gamma) of the Metaphysics. We discuss further the relations between the logical and metaphysical versions of the principle of non-contradiction and how Aristotle characterizes relativists like Protagoras who he claims violate non-contradiction.
- [NEM#212: Graham Parker's Hard Graft](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/03/11/nem212-graham-parkers-hard-graft/) - Graham has released 25+ studio albums of soul-infused British singer-songwriter goodness since 1976, first with the Rumour, but often in the second half of his career playing live entirely solo. We discuss "Lost Track of Time" by Graham Parker and the Goldtops from Last Chance to Do the Twist (2023), "Going There" by Graham Parker & The Rumour from Mystery Glue (2015), "She Wants So Many Things" from Struck By Lightning (1991), and "Between You and Me" by Graham Parker & The Rumour from Howlin' Wind (1976). Intro: "Local Girls" from Squeezing Out Sparks (1980). Hear more at GrahamParker.net Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon.
- [Ep. 337: Aristotle on Primary Being (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/03/10/ep337-1-aristotle-primary-being-citizen/) - Continuing for our third session on Aristotle's Metaphysics, now covering Book 7 (Zeta). What exactly is the type of being that is the chief reason why we call anything being? Aristotle says its the substantial form present in an individual animal or plant.
- [Ep. 336: Aristotle on Being and Non-Contradiction (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/02/24/ep336-1-aristotle-being-non-contradiction-citizen/) - On Aristotle's Metaphysics, book 4 (aka Gamma). What does studying "being" entail? It involves claiming that all beings are distinct individuals, as opposed to, for instance, an undifferentiated flux. They're thus subject to the law of non-contradiction, which Aristotle defends against objectors.
- [Ep. 335: Aristotle on Fundamental Explanations (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/02/07/ep335-2-aristotle-metaphysics-causes-citizen/) - Continuing on Aristotle's Metaphysics, book 1. We get seriously into Aristotle's four types of causation and how previous philosophers in leaving out one or most of these made a mistake. This includes a critique of Platonic forms, which as eternal, unchanging patterns can't actually explain why change occurs in the world.
- [Ep. 336: Aristotle on Being and Non-Contradiction (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/03/03/ep336-2-aristotle-being-non-contradiction/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on Book 4 (Gamma) of the Metaphysics. We discuss further the relations between the logical and metaphysical versions of the principle of non-contradiction and how Aristotle characterizes relativists like Protagoras who he claims violate non-contradiction.
- [Ep. 336: Aristotle on Being and Non-Contradiction (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/02/26/ep336-1-aristotle-being-non-contradiction/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On Aristotle's Metaphysics, book 4 (aka Gamma) (ca. 340 BCE). What does studying "being" entail? It involves claiming that all beings are distinct individuals, as opposed to, for instance, an undifferentiated flux. They're thus subject to the law of non-contradiction, which Aristotle defends against objectors. Sponsor: Get 50% off delicious, ready-to-eat meals at FactorMeals.com/pel50 (code pel50).
- [PEL Book Cover Reveal!](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/03/03/pel-book-cover-reveal/) - The cover design has been finalized! Please let us know what you think. Note: Yes, the title is a bit different than in the last blog post. This looked better on the cover. Also, it's a proven winner :) As before, if you are interested in being considered for an advance review copy, or just
- [NEM#211: Louis Michot (Lost Bayou Ramblers) Evolves Cajun Music](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/02/23/nem211-louis-michot-lost-bayou-ramblers/) - Coming from a family who played traditional cajun music in Louisiana, violinist Louis and his accordion-playing brother Andre have released nine albums (plus some live releases and EPs since 2001), winning two Grammy awards, plus Louis has had a couple of releases under the name Michot's Melody Makers, and he just released his first solo album. We discuss the title track (and listen at the end to "Ti Coeur Bleu" from Rêve du Troubadour, that 2023 solo album, plus "Marée Noire" from Mammoth Waltz (2012) and "Mexico One Step" from Bayou Perdu (2005). Intro: "Grand Marais" by Michot’s Melody Makers from Blood Moon (2018). Learn more at louismichot.com and lostbayouramblers.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon.
- [Closereads: Isaiah Berlin on Liberty (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/02/23/closereads-isaiah-berlin-on-liberty/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts on this reading, as well as our previous and future installments of this podcast.
- [Partially Examined Book: Title Reveal](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/02/21/partially-examined-book-title-reveal/) - Hello PEL fans, it's time for the Title Reveal for our upcoming book. We went back and forth on the title for a while, but I wanted something that paid tribute to the special relationship between you, the fans, and the podcast. After all, if it wasn't for you guys asking for it, we would
- [PvI#71: The Cranio-Fascism Exchange](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/02/19/pvi71-the-cranio-fascism-exchange/) - If people would be uniquely healed by your blood, how much would you charge for it? Would it make a difference if they were wealthy vampires? Bill entices Mark to join a cult. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, a video version of the podcast, and other bonus stuff. You can watch video for this episode and hear the post-game talking gratis just by visiting our Patreon page.
- [Partially Examined Book](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/02/10/partially-examined-book/) - Announcement of the forthcoming Partially Examined Life book, and a link to a sign-up for being part of the advance publicity effort.
- [PvI#68: Mark and Bill Oozing at Christmastime](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/01/15/pvi68-mark-and-bill-oozing-at-christmastime/) - It's our office holiday party, where we engage in chit-chat then enter into a few holiday scenes. Is there any philosophy content in this one at all? We do talk a bit about status and authority. Was there any particular improv lesson? We forgot to actually lay out our lessons at the end, and (SPOILER) declined to name a winner. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. You'll see there the link to the video version of this. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.
- [NEM#209: Bruce Hornsby Is a Lifelong Student](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/01/18/nem209-bruce-hornsby/) - Bruce is best known for his first album The Way It Is (1986), but has come light years since then through 18+ albums, experimenting with different styles, playing over 100 shows with the Grateful Dead, and scoring numerous projects for Spike Lee. He's won three Grammys and recorded with music royalty including Elton John, Ornette Coleman, Branford Marsalis, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, etc. We discuss "Sidelines" (feat. Ezra Koenig from Vampire Weekend) from 'Flicted (2022), "My Resolve" (feat. James Mercer of The Shins) from Non-Secure Connection (2020), and a new live version of "Shadow Hand" from the 25th Anniversary Edition of Spirit Trail. End song: "Cast-Off" (feat. Justin Vernon of Bon Iver) from Absolute Zero (2019). Intro: "The Way It Is" (Live from Köln, 2019). More at brucehornsby.com Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Visit GreenChef.com/60Nakedly (use code 60Nakedly) to get 60% off your first box from America's #1 Meal Kit for eating clean (plus 20% off for the next two months) Get the ultimate gift: A custom-written song from Songfinch. Use songfinch.com/NEM to get free Spotify streaming for your song. Listen to the song Mark commissioned.
- [Pretty Much Pop #166: Miyazaki's Anime Dreamscapes](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/01/28/pretty-much-pop-166-miyazakis-anime-dreamscapes/) - In light of the new, acclaimed film, The Boy and the Heron, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al reflect on the Studio Ghibli films that Hayao Miyazaki has directed since the '80s. Does the visionary design make up for the languorous pacing? We talk about the anime style, subtitles vs. dubbed, using this style for children's vs. adult entertainment, the relation of these films to fairy tales, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Check out the Historical Blindness podcast.
- [Pretty Much Pop #165: Jewish Comedy w/ Daniel Lobell](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/01/12/pmp165-jewish-comedy-daniel-lobell/) - Your hosts Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al explore Jewish comedy with stand-up Daniel, whose film Reconquistador is about his ancestors being kicked out of Spain. What's the connection of Jewish humor to anti-semitism? What's the relation of a creator's identity to the creation? How does comedy relate to politics and philosophy? We touch on Mel Brooks, Larry David, Adam Sandler, Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce, and feminist Jewish comedy. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Get a meal for $1.49 plus $1 steaks for life at EveryPlate.com/podcast, code 49pretty.
- [PvI#69: Alternative Religious Practices w/ Katie Caussin](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/01/28/pvi69-katie-caussin/) - Katie is the co-artistic director of Chicago's IO theater and used to do Comedy Sports improv with Bill. She also took a lot of classes in philosophy and religion, so we talk some about cults, Kierkegaard, tolerance, and more. In our scenes, a family contemplates celebrating Christmas differently this year, and people debate the appropriate gift for a newborn king. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. You'll see there the link to the video version of this. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsors: Get a meal for $1.49 plus $1 steaks at EveryPlate.com/podcast, code 49improv. Get a weekly dose of Internet comedy at CanYouDontPodcast.com.
- [NEM#210: Matt Piucci (Rain Parade) Retires BACK to Music](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/02/03/nem210-matt-piucci-rain-parade/) - After Matt's "paisley underground" band Rain Parade recorded two albums and an EP from '83-'85, he was a member of Crazy Horse (taking the Neil Young guitar role in Neil's absence), and released a few albums intermittently as he worked in law enforcement. Now that he has retired, he's back devoting all his time to music, and Rain Parade has been touring and released its first album of the millennium. We discuss the title track from this 2023 release, Last Rays of the Dying Sun, then the title track by the Hellenes' I Love You All the Animals (2018), and "Blue" from Rain Parade's Glass Palace EP (1984). Finally, we listen to "Reason for Living" from the self-titled album by Boatclub (2008). Intro: "What She's Done to Your Mind" (a 1982 single). More at rainparade.bandcamp.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Get the ultimate gift: A custom-written song from Songfinch. Use songfinch.com/NEM to get free Spotify streaming for your song. Listen to the song Mark commissioned.
- [PvI#70: Paramilitary Existentialism w/ Jonny Thomson](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/02/04/pvi70-kierkegaard-jonny-thomson/) - Jonny taught philosophy at Oxford, wrote the international bestseller Mini Philosophy, and now writes for Big Think. We talk Kierkegaard and act out some scenes about scouting and military recruitment. Do we have to live within labels? Does one have to leap to a label, without justification?/p> Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. You'll see there the link to the video version of this. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, a video version of the podcast, and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: If you enjoy our podcast, check out Historical Blindness.
- [Ep. 331: Kierkegaard's "Either/Or": The Ethical Life (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/17/ep331-3-kierkegaard-either-or-ethical-citizen/) - Mark and Wes talk in more details about the "stages of despair" Kierkegaard lays out in “The Balance Between the Esthetic and the Ethical in the Development of the Personality” from Vol. 2 of Either/Or.
- [Closereads: Al-Kindi on Dispelling Sorrows (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/01/18/closereads-al-kindi-on-dispelling-sorrows-audio-part-one/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts on this reading, as well as our previous and future installments of this new podcast.Reading the 9th century "father of Arabic philosophy" Yaqub ibn Ishaq Al-Kindi, writing about how we can immunize ourselves to the sorrows of life through some means akin to Stoicism.
- [Ep. 334: Gabriel Marcel's Christian Existentialism (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/01/22/ep334-2-gabriel-marcel-citizen/) - Continuing on "On the Ontological Mystery" (1933), we talk more about problems vs. mysteries: The latter implicate OURSELVES; we are not merely witnesses, but our involvement complicates things. Also, what makes Marcel an existentialist?
- [Ep. 335: Aristotle on Fundamental Explanations (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/02/07/ep335-1-aristotle-metaphysics-causes-citizen/) - On Aristotle's Metaphysics, book 1 (aka Alpha) (ca. 340 BCE). What constitutes a basic explanation of the universe?We talk about how mere practical knowledge of how things in fact work is not enough; there's greater wisdom in knowing the theoretical underpinnings. Various philosophers before Aristotle have given different kinds of explanations of what the universe is at bottom, but for a complete explanation, Aristotle says we'll need to include all four types of causation: material, formal, efficient, and final.
- [Ep. 333: Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling" on Faith (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/01/07/ep333-2-kierkegaard-fear-and-trembling-citizen/) - Continuing on Kierkegaard's perhaps most famous book, this time focusing largely on "Problem One: Is There a Teleological Suspension of the Ethical?"
- [Ep. 334: Gabriel Marcel's Christian Existentialism (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/01/28/ep334-2-gabriel-marcel/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content, including a supporter-exclusive Nightcap anticipating our upcoming series on Aristotle's Metaphysics. Listen to a preview.Continuing on "On the Ontological Mystery" (1933), we talk more about problems vs. mysteries: The latter implicate OURSELVES; we are not merely witnesses, but our involvement complicates things. Also, what makes Marcel an existentialist?
- [PEL Long Winter's Nightcap (Jan-Feb 2024)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/01/28/nightcap-jan-feb-2024/) - We pre-discuss some issues with Aristotle's Metaphysics, respond to another podcast that treated Mounk's book, and think about Presidential disqualification.
- [Ep. 334: Gabriel Marcel's Christian Existentialism (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/01/21/ep334-1-gabriel-marcel-citizen/) - Discussing "On the Ontological Mystery" (1933) about our need for meaning. Marcel asserts that our need for "mystery" is much more primal than the scientific, technical point of view that breaks down problems into component parts for easy analysis. In fact, this more modern-seeming way of looking at the world presupposes and relies on the more originary position.
- [Closereads: Hegel on Jesus and Kant (Audio Part Five + Reflections on Recent PEL Episodes)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/01/12/closereads-hegel-jesus-five-citizen/) - Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get the previous four parts on this reading, as well as our previous and future installments of this new podcast.On Hegel's "The Spirit of Christianity and Its Fate," ch. 2: "The Moral Teaching of Jesus: The Sermon on the Mount Contrasted with the Mosaic Law and with Kant’s Ethics." We connect this with Kierkegaard and PEL's forthcoming Gabriel Marcel discussion.
- [Ep. 332: Kierkegaard's "Either/Or": The Ethical Self (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/24/ep332-2-kierkegaard-either-or-ethical-citizen/) - Concluding our discussion of Either/Or, still this time considering “The Balance Between the Esthetic and the Ethical in the Development of the Personality” on how the ethical helps us to develop a self.
- [(SUB)TEXT: Identity and Infamy in “Citizen Kane” (1941) (Part 1)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/01/08/subtext-identity-and-infamy-in-citizen-kane-1941-part-1/) - It’s a film bursting with objects—the treasure troves of Xanadu, a snowglobe, jigsaw puzzles, a winner’s cup, the famous sled. Even the conceptual elements of the film’s plot are expressed tangibly. Kane’s mind-boggling wealth isn’t an abstraction, but a list of concrete holdings—gold mines, oil wells, real estate. And the news Kane controls and manipulates, when yoked to another noun, is something one can hold in one’s hands: a newspaper. Kane, too, is described as the incarnation of several abstractions. As his obituary tells us, he himself was “news,” as well as the embodiment of whole years in a swath straddling the 19th and 20th centuries. One might call him the American idea personified. But what these terms really mean and how they’re made manifest in Kane is hard to pin down. At times, he seems to be no more than a vast, empty planet around which objects swirl. What’s at his core, then? What did his life mean? One reporter searching for the secret of Kane bets that just one fact—the identity of “Rosebud”—would explain his whole life. Another suggests that it’s in the sum total of his possessions. Yet another thinks, curiously, that even Kane’s actions won’t tell us who he really was. So what, then, determines his or any identity? What’s the measure of a person? The objects they possess? The abstract ideals they claim to stand for? Their actions? Or something still deeper? Wes & Erin discuss possibly the greatest film ever made: from 1941, Orson Welles’s “Citizen Kane.”
- [Ep. 333: Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling" on Faith (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2024/01/07/ep333-1-kierkegaard-fear-and-trembling-citizen/) - We consider Kierkegaard's religious stage of development through this 1843 text analyzing the Biblical story of Abraham. Can we understand an attitude whereby you think God has commanded you to kill your son and you gladly go along with it?
- [PEL Winter Nightcap (Concluding 2023)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/31/winter-nightcap-2023/) - Mark, Wes, Seth, and Dylan set ourselves as part of our ongoing Kierkegaard reading to re-listen to our 2010 episode 29 on The Sickness Unto Death. This leads us to our personal histories regarding faith and how the idea of faith intersects with our philosophy studies.
- [NEM#208: Laura Osnes: From Broadway to Nashville](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/30/nem208-laura-osnes/) - After winning a TV reality competition in 2007 to become Sandy in Grease on Broadway, Laura went on to star in shows like South Pacific, Bonnie & Clyde, Anything Goes, and Cinderella. In 2021 she left Broadway and is now a pop-country songwriter. We discuss her 2023 singles "Getaway" and "Enough," and her performance of the Bonnie & Clyde song "How 'Bout a Dance," from Dream a Little Dream: Live at at the Café Carlyle (2012). End song: "Fell for You" (feat. Chuck Wicks). Intro: "Hopelessly Devoted" from the Grease Soundtrack (2007). More at lauraosnes.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Get the ultimate gift: A custom-written song from Songfinch. Use songfinch.com/NEM to get free Spotify streaming for your song. Listen to the song Mark commissioned.
- [Ep. 318: Friedrich Schiller on the Civilizing Potential of Art (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/05/ep318-2-schiller-art-education/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this ad-free, plus a supporter-exclusive part three. Listen to a preview..We continue working through letters 1-15 of On the Aesthetic Education of Man (1795), helped by Markus Reuter. We get clearer on what Schiller means by Beauty, and how two contrary drives toward matter and form somehow cancel each other out to combine in a "play drive" that is at the heart of appreciating and creating art.
- [Closereads: Hegel on Jesus and Kant (Part Three)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/24/closereads-hegel-on-jesus-and-kant-part-three/) - Mark and Wes read "The Spirit of Christianity and its Fate" along with the Sermon on the Mount that Hegel is interpreting.
- [Closereads: Hegel on Jesus and Kant (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/07/closereads-hegel-on-jesus-and-kant/) - We're starting a new Closereads series on an early, comparatively early Hegel essay called "The Spirit of Christianity and Its Fate," (1798). Listen to the first ten minutes of the first part at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy.
- [Ep. 332: Kierkegaard's "Either/Or": The Ethical Self (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/24/ep332-1-kierkegaard-either-or-ethical-citizen/) - On the second half of “The Balance Between the Esthetic and the Ethical in the Development of the Personality” from Vol. 2 of Either/Or (1843). How do we "absolutely" form a coherent self by embracing ethical conventions like marriage, friendship, and having a job?
- [Ep. 331: Kierkegaard's "Either/Or": The Ethical Life (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/10/ep331-2-kierkegaard-either-or-ethical-citizen/) - Continuing on “The Balance Between the Esthetic and the Ethical in the Development of the Personality," with a critique of (Hegelian) philosophy and concrete advice for how to build yourself in an optimal way.
- [Ep. 301: Is Abortion Morally Permissible? (Part Three)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/10/ep301-3-abortion/) - 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" (1971) by Judith Jarvis Thomson. Sponsor: Get 10% off therapy at BetterHelp.com/partially.
- [Ep. 330: Kierkegaard's "Either/Or": The Aesthetic Life (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/03/ep330-3-kierkegaard-either-or-aesthetic-citizen/) - Mark, Wes, and Seth read through more of Kierkegaard's Diapsalmata, translated as "Refrains," which are the aphorisms that begin the book and demonstrate the aesthetic point of view. Kierkegaard (or rather his character "A") criticizes himself, gives advice for authors, analyzes laughter, talks about how to live with suffering in a debased age, and more.
- [PvI#67: Consent to Improv w/ Sukaina Hirji](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/21/pvi67-consent-sukaina-hirji/) - Sukaina teaches philosophy at U. of Pennsylvania, combining work from ancient Greek, contemporary moral, and feminist philosophy. She lets Mark and Bill know about critiques by feminist philosophers of the idea of consent. We talk a bit about moral agency, teaching dynamics given these kids today, Aristotelian virtue, and testing personality types by turning them up to 11. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. You'll see there the link to the video version of this. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff, including a special holiday video (which is free to all viewers)
- [NEM#207: Jason Narducy: Punk Matured](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/17/nem207-jason-narducy/) - Jason plays bass for Bob Mould's band, is a touring member of Superchunk, and has been making the promo rounds as he tours as guitarist with actor Michael Shannon to play R.E.M.'s debut Murmur live for its 40th anniversary. He's a singer-songwriter who played as Verbow in the 90s, and more recently as Split Single. We discuss two Split Single tunes: "Bitten by the Sound" from Amplificado (2021), "Monolith" from Fragmented World (2014), plus Verbow's "Fan Club" from Chronicles (1997). End song: "Blood Break Ground" from Callado (2022). Intro: "He’s a Panther" by Verböten (his first band, when he was but a tween, live in 1983). Learn more at splitsinglemusic.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Get the ultimate gift: A custom-written song from Songfinch. Use songfinch.com/NEM to get free Spotify streaming for your song.
- [Ep. 328: Yascha Mounk Against Identity Politics (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/06/ep-328-3-mounk-identity-politics-citizen/) - Mark, Wes, Dylan, and now Seth too discuss further Mounk's project in The Identity Trap and what philosophically we can glean from it.
- [Announcement: Spring 2024 Core Texts in Philosophy Class](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/10/announcement-spring-2024-core-texts-in-philosophy-class/) - Mark will again be teaching students like YOU over the Internet, once every two weeks, homework entirely optional. Get details and express your interest at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [Ep. 330: Kierkegaard's "Either/Or": The Aesthetic Life (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/25/ep330-2-kierkegaard-either-or-aesthetic-citizen/) - Continuing on "Diapsalmata" and "Rotation of Crops" from the "Either" portion of Kierkegaard's pseudonymous book. We talk through more of K's aphorisms, his narrator's solution to boredom, and we take the critique personally: Is this Romantic view described one that we held as younger people (or now)?
- [Ep. 331: Kierkegaard's "Either/Or": The Ethical Life (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/10/ep331-1-kierkegaard-either-or-ethical-citizen/) - On “The Balance Between the Esthetic and the Ethical in the Development of the Personality” from Vol. 2 of Soren Kierkegaard's Either/Or (1843). What is choice? Kierkegaard's character Judge William criticizes the aesthete from our previous episode on the earlier part of this book: The aesthete doesn't make any authentic choices and so doesn't develop a coherent self.
- [PvI#66: Legacy Mops w/ Kevin Allison](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/04/pvi66-legacy-mops-w-kevin-allison/) - Kevin is the creator and host of the storytelling podcast RISK! and is the alphabetically foremost member of the MTV-televised, newly reformed, celebrity-infested sketch comedy troupe The State. But can he improvise? Mark and Bill surprise Kevin into a scene about a suspicious hotel. How does one engineer one's legacy? Will history inevitably either reduce your greatest contributions to mere noise or reinterpret them in light of your final, embarrassing moments? Perhaps the legendary comedy team of Ricky and Lester can serve as a scenic example; let's let them say a little about who they are and how their career reached its current nadir. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. You'll see there the link to the video version of this. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.
- [Ep. 329: Kierkegaard on Irony (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/10/ep329-2-kierkegaard-irony-citizen/) - Continuing with On the Concept of Irony, defined as "infinite absolute negativity." K criticizes his Romantic peers of taking irony too far. So what is healthy, well-grounded irony?
- [Ep. 329: Kierkegaard on Irony (Part Four for Supporters/Closereads Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/12/01/ep329-4-kierkegaard-irony-citizen/) - Mark and Wes conclude our read-through of the final section of The Concept of Irony, "Irony as a Controlled Element, the Truth of Irony." How can a controlled level of irony help us gain health and truth?
- [Ep. 273: Friedrich Schelling's Foundationalist Idealism (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2021/07/03/ep273-1-schelling-idealism-citizen/) - On Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling’s System of Transcendental Idealism (1800). What's the relationship between mind and world? Schelling thought that our minds produce the world, but also that the perceiver-world dichotomy comes to us as a single piece. "Transcendental philosophy" is an exploration of the internal logic of that revelation.
- [Episode 28: Nelson Goodman on Art as Epistemology (Citizens Only)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2010/10/31/ep28-nelson-goodman-citizens/) - On Goodman's Ways of Worldmaking (1978). With guest painter Jay Bailey. What's the relationship between art and science? Does understanding works of art constitute "knowledge," and if so, how does this relate to other kinds of knowledge? End song: "Staple Gun" by Mark Lint and Stevie P (1999).
- [NEM#12 Bonus: More Conversation and Tunes with John Philip Shenale](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2016/04/12/nem12-bonus-john-philip-shenale/) - Following up to the Nakedly Examined Music interview, Mark talks more with Phil about the state of the music industry, playing live, how many pieces to use in a string arrangement, and more.
- [Ep. 143: Plato's "Sophist" on Lies, Categorization, and Non-Being (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2016/07/09/ep143-plato-sophist-citizen/) - On the later Platonic dialogue. What is a sophist? These were guys in Ancient Greece who taught young people the tools of philosophy and rhetoric. They claimed to teach virtue. In Sophist, "the Eleatic Stranger" (i.e. not Socrates) tries to figure out what a sophist really is, using a new "method of division." This leads to a long digression on the nature of "not-being" as a necessary component of false beliefs, which is what the Stranger claims that sophists provide. End song: "Dumb," by Mark Lint and the Fake from the album So Whaddaya Think? (2000).
- [Ep. 148: Aristotle on Friendship and Happiness (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2016/10/02/ep148-aristotle-friendship-citizen/) - On the final books 8–10 of Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics. What does friendship have to do with ethics? Aristotle thinks that friends are necessary for the good life and that the only true friend is a virtuous one. But the number one virtue is reason, and the chief activity for the good life for Aristotle is contemplation, so how does this connect with being a good friend? With guest Ana Sandoiu. End song: "A Few Gone Down" from The MayTricks' Happy Songs Will Bring You Down (1994).
- [Ep. 150: Guest Peter Singer on Famine, Affluence, and Morality (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2016/10/24/ep150-peter-singer-citizen/) - What do we owe the poor? Mark and Wes interview perhaps the world's most influential living philosopher, then the full foursome discusses. Our focus is his ongoing work rooted in his 1971 essay "Famine, Affluence, and Morality," about the warped priorities of our consumerist society: We spend money on luxuries while innocent children overseas die from inexpensively preventable causes. For more about Peter, see www.petersinger.info. End song: "Ann the Word" by Beauty Pill (2015), explored in Nakedly Examined Music #19.
- [Ep. 165: Spinoza on Biblical Criticism (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2017/06/04/ep165-spinoza-bible-citizen/) - On Benedict de Spinoza's Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (1670), ch. 1–11. For Spinoza, the Bible was a political issue, and he was interested in a way to read it that didn't lead to people fighting wars and persecuting each other. Spinoza argues that a respectful reading is one that looks for the central message and doesn't paper over many places where the text was tailored to its original audience's prejudices, or where for historical reasons we can't now really know what it meant to them. End song: "Spinoza's Dream" (2016) by Dave Nachmanoff, as discussed on Nakedly Examined Music ep. 20.
- [Ep. 172: Mind, Self, and Affect with Guest Dr. Drew (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2017/09/17/ep172-drew-pinsky-citizen/) - 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 recognition by others of the self. Listen to more Dr. Drew at DrDrew.com, especially his interviews with Wes and Mark. End song: "Anything but Love" by Steve Hackett, as featured on Nakedly Examined Music #45.
- [Not School: James B. Miles's "The Free Will Delusion"](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2017/10/06/not-school-miles-free-will/) - PEL Citizens Justin Modra, Alexander Roth, and Brian Wise discuss free will as expressed by the question, “Could I have done otherwise?” The book selected is The Free Will Delusion: How We Settled for the Illusion of Morality (2015).
- [PEL Nightcap Late September 2020 (Citizens Only)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2020/09/21/nightcap-late-september-2020/) - We answer listener emails and/or reflect on what secondary sources we use, anarchism, having on as guests adherents of the philosophy we're discussing, which reading that we've covered that's pleasantly surprised each of us the most, and how to front-load our episodes so that non-paying listeners are more OK with only hearing part one.
- [Ep. 286: Malebranche on Causality and Theology (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/01/22/ep286-2-malebranche-causality-theology-citizen/) - Continuing on Dialogues on Metaphysics and Religion (1688), dialogue 7 where he gets into his occasionalist theory of causality. How does this relate to mind-body interaction and concepts in physics like inertia? What is the metaphysical relation of natural law to things in the world?
- [Ep. 299: Philosophy in Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens" (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/08/28/ep299-3-shakespeare-timon-citizen/) - Mark, Wes, and Dylan conclude our discussion of Shakespeare's play. What does he have to say about art? How can one be a good Shakespeare consumer?
- [Ep. 297: Heidegger on the Human Condition (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/07/09/ep297-2-heidegger-human-condition-citizen/) - We continue on Being and Time, now in ch. 2 on what "the world" is in our Being-in-the-World and so what it is for us to encounter objects and how this is different than, e.g. the interaction of two physical objects.
- [Ep. 301: Is Abortion Morally Permissible? (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/24/ep301-1-abortion-citizen/) - We discuss widely read papers about abortion, including an excerpt from Roe v. Wade (1973) and Judith Jarvis Thomson's "A Defense of Abortion" (1971).
- [Ep. 322: Schelling on Art vs. Nature (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/22/ep322-1-schelling-art-citizen/) - Discussing "On the Relation Between the Plastic Arts and Nature" (1807) and Part 6 of System of Transcendental Idealism (1800). Is the goal of art to imitate nature? Only if that means showing the divine, ideal, dynamic aspect of the subject matter (and the artist)!
- [Ep. 323: Acquiring Language: Tomasello vs. Chomsky (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/19/ep323-1-tomasello-chomsky-language-citizen/) - On Michael Tomasello's "Language Is Not an Instinct" (1995) and Constructing a Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition (2003). With guest Christopher Heath.
- [Ep. 327: Harry Frankfurt on Bullshit and Authenticity (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/15/ep327-2-frankfurt-bullshit-citizen/) - On Frankfurt's essay "The Importance of What We Care About" (1982), which distinguishes the question of what to value from ethical questions and explores the extent to which deciding what to care about is a free act.
- [Ep. 330: Kierkegaard's "Either/Or": The Aesthetic Life (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/25/ep330-1-kierkegaard-either-or-aesthetic-citizen/) - On the aphorisms ("Diapsalmata") that begin Soren Kierkegaard's Either/Or (1843), plus the essay also in the first volume, "Rotation of Crops." What is it to live your life as if it were a work of art? K thinks such a life is unserious and unsatisfying.
- [NEM#206: Wreckless Eric: "Without Sound, You've Got Nothing"](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/25/nem206-wreckless-eric/) - Eric Goulden has recorded 29 albums since 1978, typically as Wreckless Eric but also with his wife Amy Rigby or under band names like Captains of Industry and The Len Bright Combo. We discuss "Standing Sunday Morning" from Leisureland (2023), "Another Drive-In Saturday" by Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby from their self-titled debut (2008), and "Depression" by Le Beat Group Electrique from their self-titled album (1989). Outro: "Father to the Man" from Transience (2019). Intro: "Whole Wide World" (single version, 1977). Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon.
- [Ep. 329: Kierkegaard on Irony (Part Three/Closereads Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/25/ep329-3-kierkegaard-irony/) - Mark and Wes Closeread the conclusion to Soren Kierkegaard's On the Concept of Irony (1841), "Irony as a Controlled Element, the Truth of Irony." The discussion starts with the role of irony in good art, and then moves on to discuss the proper role of irony as an existential strategy in a well-grounded, thoughtful life. To get all Part Three PEL episodes, plus paywalled vintage episodes, Nightcaps, and all PEL episodes ad-free, become a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support. Signing up to support Closereads: Philosophy with Mark and Wes at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy will get you access to 20+ recordings like this, including (soon) the direct sequel to this one.
- [(sub)TEXT: The Emptiness of Signification in Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” (Part 1)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/21/subtext-shakespeare-winters-tale-1/) - When King Leontes accuses his pregnant wife of adultery, the nobleman Antigonus assumes that Leontes has been “abused and by some putter-on”—in other words, some Iago-like villain has been putting malevolent ideas into his head. In fact, Leontes is the father of his own misconceptions, just as he is the father of his wife’s children. But unlike his children, his ideas might be said to have no mother; they lack corroboration, which is to say, collaboration with a source outside himself. How, then, do we account for the seemingly spontaneous generation of his thoughts? How can false apprehensions arise out of nothing? And what price must one pay for bearing these misconceptions, these “nothings,” into the world? In this episode, the first part of a six part discussion, Wes & Erin discuss one of Shakespeare’s last plays, “The Winter’s Tale.”
- [Ep. 329: Kierkegaard on Irony (Part Three for Supporters/Closereads Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/20/ep329-3-kierkegaard-irony-citizen/) - Mark and Wes Closeread the conclusion to Soren Kierkegaard's On the Concept of Irony (1841), "Irony as a Controlled Element, the Truth of Irony." The discussion starts with the role of irony in good art, and then moves on to discuss the proper role of irony as an existential strategy in a well-grounded, thoughtful life. Closereads supporters (see patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy) will get much more audio like this.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #65: Pop Spice](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/17/pvi65-pop-philosophy/) - Recorded on 9/11 (a date not known primarily for its improv activities), only now making its way to you, this discussion between Mark and Bill talk child deification, pop philosophy vs. pop improv, foreign accents, and guns in schools in the hands of improvisers. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.
- [(sub)TEXT: The Tyranny of the Good in Woody Allen’s “Hannah and Her Sisters”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/13/subtext-the-tyranny-of-the-good-in-woody-allens-hannah-and-her-sisters/) - Hannah supports her sisters. She’s a source of money, encouragement, and advice, and seems to ask for nothing in return. In fact, she’s so giving and self-reliant that her husband Eliott begins to believe that she has no needs. This seems to be the spark that ignites his infatuation with Hannah’s sister Lee. It also leads her sister Holly to rebel against what might be called Hannah’s regime of care, only to marry another of her dissidents, her ex-husband Mickey. Today we discuss Woody Allen’s 1986 classic, and try to figure out why those closest to Hannah need to escape her goodness to find themselves, and whether a loved one can be too perfect for our own good.
- [Ep. 329: Kierkegaard on Irony (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/10/ep329-1-kierkegaard-irony-citizen/) - Discussing On the Concept of Irony (1841). K. builds up to telling us what irony is by showing how Socrates invented irony, as characterized by his wholly negative project of showing others that their beliefs inherited from society are wrong.
- [Ep. 328: Guest Yascha Mounk Against Identity Politics (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/28/ep-328-2-mounk-identity-politics-citizen/) - Continuing on The Identity Trap (2023). Which works better to achieve social progress; classical liberalism, or strategies involving emphasis of identity group membership? Do we even have to pick a side, or can we pragmatically choose strategies from whichever philosophy most effectively addresses the situation in question? We discuss cultural appropriation, free speech, standpoint epistemology, and more.
- [Not School: Heidegger's "Letter on Humanism"](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2013/03/14/not-school-heideggers-letter-on-humanism/) - Featuring Seth Paskin, Rian Mitch, Daniel McKay, Marilynn Lawrence, Alyson Jones. Recorded March 14, 2013. Recorded some months prior to our episode on this text, this discussion works through Heidegger's idea that Humanism as a concept was inextricably tied to the history of Western metaphysics that sees man as a animal rationale, language as techne and understands Being only through beings.
- [Ep. 325: Paul Grice on Meaning and Conversation (Part Three for Supporters/Closereads Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/24/ep325-3-grice-citizen/) - Mark and Wes Closeread through the 1975 ordinary language philosophy paper. What are the assumptions behind everyday conversation? When someone violates a conversational norm by, e.g., giving too much information or stating something literally untrue, what are the strategies by which we try to make sense of what they're saying as still a sensible contribution to the conversation? Closereads supporters (see patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy) can watch video for this episode and get two further parts to this Closeread.
- [PvI#64: TEAM PLAY GENERALS with Linda Orr and Andrew Lavin](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/06/pvi64-liberalism-linda-orr-andrew-lavin/) - Returning freedom fighters Andrew and Linda and join Bill and Mark to talk about philosophical liberalism: Its rationales and varieties. Plus, preschool orientation, and Greek gods creating a new world. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. This episode includes the post-game to give you a sample. Sponsor: Visit FactorMeals.com/improv50 (code improv50) to get 50% off America's #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit.
- [NEM#205: Tom Heyman: Unreliable Narrator](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/11/06/nem205-tom-heyman/) - Tom is best known as a steel guitar player who has guested with artists like Alejandro Escovedo, John Doe, and Sonny Smith. He started in the late '80s with the Philadelphia energetic alt-country band Go to Blazes. After five albums with them, he moved to San Francisco in 1997 and has since released six solo albums of Dylan-esque, lyrically driven folk-rock. We discuss "Desperate" from 24th Street Blues (2023), "Chickenhawks and Jesus Freaks" from That Cool Blue Feeling (2013), "Bloody Sam" by Go To Blazes from Any Time... Anywhere (1994), and listen to "Etch A Sketch" from Show Business, Baby (2017). Intro: A Waylon Jennings cover, "Brand New Goodbye Song" (2008). Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Visit FactorMeals.com/nem50 (code improv50) to get 50% off America's #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit. Try the Calm History podcast at CalmHistory.com.
- [Ep. 315: Mengzi (Mencius) on Virtuous Leaders (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/04/17/ep315-1-mengzi/) - Subscribe to get this ad-free, plus a supporter-exclusive final part to this discussion.Continuing from ep. 314, we go further into the collected teachings of this early Confucian (aka Ruhist) from the late 4th century BCE. What's the best way to be a virtuous person and hence an effective leader?
- [Ep. 316: Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov": PEL Live in NYC (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/05/08/ep316-2-dostoevsky-karmazov/) - Subscribe to get the ad-free, unbroken Citizen Edition of this episode along with plenty of bonus content.Continuing on Dostoevsky's 1880 novel, we respond to some objections to the Christian arguments that the characters Alyosha and Zosima put forward to respond to Ivan's "Rebellion" and "Grand Inquisitor" arguments. Most of these objections come from the audience Q&A.
- [Ep. 318: Friedrich Schiller on the Civilizing Potential of Art (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/05/29/ep318-1-schiller-art-education/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content including an exclusive part three to this discussion.Can art make us better people? Musician Markus Reuter joins Mark, Wes, and Seth to discussion the first half of On the Aesthetic Education of Man (1795). Given the failure of the French Revolution, this famous German poet wondered what could make the masses capable of governing themselves? His answer: Beauty! Aesthetic appreciation puts us at a distance from our savage desires, enables the abstract thought necessary for Kantian rationalist morality, and yet keeps us in touch with our feelings so that we don't just become cogs in the industrial machine.
- [Ep. 328: Guest Yascha Mounk Against Identity Politics (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/30/ep-328-1-mounk-identity-politics/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On The Identity Trap (2023), an intellectual history of wokeness (aka "the identity synthesis") and defense of philosophical liberalism against this set of ideas. Are our differences more important than that which unites us?
- [(SUB)TEXT: Terminal Wooings in “The Odyssey” (Part 3 of 3)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/30/subtext-terminal-wooings-in-the-odyssey-part-3-of-3/) - Wes & Erin discuss the final 12 books of “The Odyssey," translated by Emily Wilson.
- [Ep. 328: Guest Yascha Mounk Against Identity Politics (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/27/ep-328-1-mounk-identity-politics-citizen/) - On The Identity Trap (2023), an intellectual history of wokeness (aka "the identity synthesis") and defense of philosophical liberalism against this set of ideas. Are our differences more important than that which unites us?
- [PEL Fall Nightcap 2023](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/21/fall-nightcap-2023/) - Mark, Wes, and Seth talk more about bullshit, Derrida and other difficult and arguably bullshitty philosophy, expressing truths through bodily movement, horror movies, and our coverage of author-guests and works that provide an introductory roadmap to some philosophical area.
- [Closereads: Hume on Passions (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/18/closereads-hume-on-passions-part-one/)
- [Ep. 327: Harry Frankfurt on Bullshit and Authenticity (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/14/ep327-1-frankfurt-bullshit-citizen/) - Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Seth discuss the celebrated 1986 essay "On Bullshit." Does bullshit necessarily involve lying? Frankfurt defines it as instead indifferent to truth, though still deceptive about what kind of speech act the audience is supposed to think that it is.
- [NEM#204: Tim and Sue Lee Learn Their Craft, from Windbreakers to Bark](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/16/nem204-tim-lee-bark/) - Tim began with The Windbreakers in Mississippi in 1982 and has released around 30 albums including solo albums starting in the late '80s plus albums with his wife Susan Bauer Lee (first on bass, then on drums) as The Tim Lee 3 and now Bark. We discuss Bark's "Love Minus Action" from Loud (2023), "Magnolia Plates" by Tim Lee 3 from 33 ⅓ (2015), "Like Sand" from Tim's Crawdad (1998), and the title track from The Windbreakers' Run (1987, with lyrics by Sherry Cothren). We conclude by listening to "Dead Guy Story" from Concrete Dog (2006). Intro: "All That Stuff" by The Windbreakers from Terminal (1985). Learn more at bark-loud.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Visit FactorMeals.com/nem50 (code improv50) to get 50% off America's #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit.
- [Ep. 326: Michael Tomasello on the Evolution of Agency (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/29/ep326-2-tomasello-agency-citizen/) - Wes, Dylan, and guest Chris Heath continue to discuss The Evolution of Agency (2022) in light of our interview with the author. We relate examples from the book of animals of various levels of complexity making deliberative decisions, exhibiting rationality, experiencing causality, or otherwise engaging in agentive behaviors.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #63: Virtual Socrates w/ David Chalmers](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/14/pvi63-virtual-reality-david-chalmers/) - The New York University Prof and author of many influential books including the new Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy joins Mark and Bill to simulate debates about AI, cybersex, actor vs. character, and keeping children safe from reality. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Take a class this fall from him at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Visit FactorMeals.com/improv50 (code improv50) to get 50% off America's #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit.
- [(sub)Text: Foolish Adventures in “The Odyssey” (Part 2 of 3)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/09/subtext-foolish-adventures-in-the-odyssey-part-2-of-3/) - Wes & Erin continue their discussion of the Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson. In this episode, part 2 of our 3-part series, they look closely at the heart of the poem, books 5-12, in which Odysseus arrives in Phaeacia and provides the tale-within-the-tale of his adventures after the Trojan War. They discuss the significance of Odysseus’s fantastical encounters and asking what they might reveal both about his character and about the nature of our own progress—through times of safety, complacency, excitement, danger, and loss—as we wend our way back home.
- [Ep. 326: Michael Tomasello on the Evolution of Agency (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/09/ep326-2-tomasello-agency/) - Subscribe to get this ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Wes, Dylan, and guest Chris Heath continue to discuss The Evolution of Agency (2022) in light of our interview with the author. We relate examples from the book of animals of various levels of complexity making deliberative decisions, exhibiting rationality, experiencing causality, or otherwise engaging in agentive behaviors. Sponsor: Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel.
- [Closereads: Forms in Plato's "Republic" (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/04/closereads-forms-in-platos-republic-part-one/) - Toward the end of Book VI of the Republic, Plato begins a series of metaphors for the role "the good itself" plays in our knowledge and values. We discuss the form of the good as the "light" of knowledge and the first part of his "divided line" illustration for what knowledge is possible for various types of being.
- [Ep. 326: Guest Michael Tomasello on the Evolution of Agency (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/29/ep326-1-tomasello-agency-citizen/) - On The Evolution of Agency (2022), with the author, and guest panelist Chris Heath. What is human agency? How would we determine whether an animal is a legitimate agent, as opposed to just acting automatically? Tomasello investigates this by thinking about what capabilities and behaviors constitute agency and the degree to which near-human animals have these.
- [Ep. 325: Paul Grice on Meaning and Conversation (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/18/ep325-2-grice-citizen/) - Continuing on "Meaning" (1957), "Utterer’s Meaning and Intentions" (1969), and "Logic and Conversation" (1975) with guest Steve Gimbell. We tie the articles together, talk more about the rules implicit in conversation, and try to relate Grice's project to other parts of philosophy.
- [PvI#62: Cutting Every Edge w/ Jeremy Richards](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/02/pvi62-self-improvement-jeremy-richards/) - The author of The Accomplished Creative, a sort of anti-self-help book based around Jeremy's improv experience and what he learned as a philosophy major, joins Mark and Bill to talk impostor syndrome and benign violations, get real meta about Die Hard scenarios, and have a cheese intervention. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Take a class this fall from him at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more and get the link to the video for this episode at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.
- [NEM#203: Andy White Tells the Truth](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/10/02/nem203-andy-white/) - Andy has released 20 albums since 1986, touring with just him and his acoustic guitar. We discuss "The Happiness Index" from AT (2023), his second collaboration with Tim Finn; the title track from The Guilty and the Innocent (2017); and "Speechless" from Out There (1992). End song: "Italian Girls on Mopeds" from Boy 40 (2003). Intro: "Vision of You" from Rave On (1986). More at andywhite.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Sponsor: Visit FactorMeals.com/nem50 (code improv50) to get 50% off America's #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit.
- [Ep. 325: Paul Grice on Meaning and Conversation (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/25/ep325-2-grice/) - Continuing on "Meaning" (1957), "Utterer’s Meaning and Intentions" (1969), and "Logic and Conversation" (1975) with guest Steve Gimbell. We tie the articles together, talk more about the rules implicit in conversation, and try to relate Grice's project to other parts of philosophy. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and a supporter-exclusive part three to this discussion.
- [(SUB)TEXT: Foolish Adventures in “The Odyssey” (Part Two of Three)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/25/subtext-odyssey-2/) - Wes & Erin continue their discussion of the Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson. In this episode, part 2 of our 3-part series, they look closely at the heart of the poem, books 5-12, in which Odysseus arrives in Phaeacia and provides the tale-within-the-tale of his adventures after the Trojan War. They discuss the significance of Odysseus’s fantastical encounters and asking what they might reveal both about his character and about the nature of our own progress—through times of safety, complacency, excitement, danger, and loss—as we wend our way back home.
- [(SUB)TEXT: Home as Identity in “The Odyssey” (Part One of Three)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/04/subtext-odyssey-1/) - He was famously a man of many ways, whether we interpret these as abilities or norms; designs or deceptions; reasons or identities. Yet despite such resources, he was also famously stuck, making a 10-year odyssey of his attempt to return home from a 10-year war. What keeps the man of master plans from homecoming and domestic bliss? In the first of a three part discussion of Homer’s classic, Wes & Erin try to figure out what Odysseus really wants, and whether the “lord of lies” can master the trick of entrusting his mind to others.
- [Episode 15: Hegel on History](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2010/02/24/ep15-citizen/) - Discussing G.W.F Hegel's Introduction to the Philosophy of History. Though he didn't actually write a book with this name, notes on his lectures on this topic were published after his death, and the first chunk of that serves as a good entrance point to Hegel's very strange system. How should a philosopher approach the study of history? Is history just a bunch of random happenings, or is it a purposive force manipulating us to fulfill its hidden ends? If you have asked yourself this question in this way, then you, like Hegel, are mighty strange.
- [Closereads: Epictetus' "Discourses" (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/11/closereads-epictetus-discourses-part-one/) - We return to this foundational Stoic figure, reading through ch. 1 of this series of informal lectures written down by Epictetus' student Arrian in around 108 C.E.
- [Episode 88: G.E.M. Anscombe: Should We Use Moral Language?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/02/18/ep88-anscombe-citizen/) - On Elizabeth Anscombe's "Modern Moral Philosophy" (1958), Intention sections 22-27 (1957), and "War and Murder" (1961). Anscombe thinks that our moral language was developed in a theistic context, and without a law-giver, the idea of a moral law or obligation doesn't make sense. However, there are lots of evaluative words like "justice" that have established social contexts and can be used unproblematically, but they can't be added up into some overall judgement that "This is good! You must do it!" With guest Philosophy Bro. Learn more. End song: "Adds Up to Nothing," by Mark Lint.
- [VIDEO of Philosophy vs. Improv Team Play (#61)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/21/video-of-philosophy-vs-improv-team-play-61/) - To kick of the new season, we're recording and releasing video. Check out the video for our most recent release.
- [Ep. 324: Plato's "Cratylus" on Language (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/02/ep324-2-plato-cratylus-citizen/) - Continuing on Plato's mid-period dialogue about language. Is attaching a word to a thing, i.e. naming it, like other activities such as carpentry or sewing that can go wrong? Can we put the "form" of a thing into letters and syllabus of its name? We go through many examples where Socrates claims to have done just that.
- [Ep. 325: Paul Grice on Meaning and Conversation (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/17/ep325-1-grice-citizen/) - On "Meaning" (1957), "Utterer’s Meaning and Intentions" (1969), and "Logic and Conversation" (1975), wtih Steve Gimbell of Gettysburg College.
- [Science, Religion, and Secularism, Part XXI: Charles Taylor: A Secular Age (Part A)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2018/03/06/science-religion-and-secularism-part-xxi-charles-taylor-a-secular-age-part-a/) - Of the three elements in our series—science, religion, and secularism—science has probably received the most philosophical attention, at least in the contemporary context. Indeed, the constitution of a category, “philosophy of religion,” presumes a sectioning-off of certain topics that have, historically, been integral to philosophy. It presumes, in other words, a growing distance between religion
- [The Epistemological Basis of Economics](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2018/03/15/the-epistemological-basis-of-economics/) - What do the epistemological limitations of economic reasoning tell us about popular political discourse?
- [Science, Religion, and Secularism Part XXV: Charles Taylor—The Protestant Reformation and the Rise of the Disciplinary Society](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2018/04/05/science-religion-and-secularism-part-xxv-charles-taylor-the-protestant-reformation-and-the-rise-of-the-disciplinary-society/) - In previous articles, we’ve taken some first steps toward answering the underlying question of Charles Taylor’s book, A Secular Age. He asks us to look at Europe around the year 1500, and observe that belief in God had an unproblematic, normative, even a central, character for those societies. But when we look around today, we
- [Kitsch and Camp in the Age of Trump](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2018/02/21/kitsch-and-camp-in-the-age-of-trump/) - A burning question: are the aesthetics of the Trump regime more "kitsch" or "camp"?
- [Science, Religion, and Secularism Part XXII: Charles Taylor—The Bulwarks of Belief (A Secular Age, Part B)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2018/03/14/science-religion-and-secularism-part-xxii-charles-taylor-the-bulwarks-of-belief-a-secular-age-part-b/) - In our last article, we began to explore the philosophy of secularism, through Charles Taylor’s book, A Secular Age. We saw how Taylor’s three senses of the word describe a progressive development: first, a retreat of religion (itself a problematic term) from the public to the private sphere; then, a decline of religiosity in the
- [Science, Religion, and Secularism Part XXIII: Charles Taylor—Time, Space, and Self in the Enchanted World (Part A)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2018/03/23/science-religion-and-secularism-part-xxiii-charles-taylor-time-space-and-self-in-the-enchanted-world/) - In the previous article, we explored the “Bulwarks of Belief”—those features of the premodern, European mindset that, according to Charles Taylor, made belief in transcendent realities nearly inescapable. There were basically three of them: God’s purposes were evident in the design of nature, and in particular incidents (often construed as this-worldly dispensations of divine justice);
- [Science, Religion, and Secularism Part XXIV: Charles Taylor—Time, Space, and Self in the Enchanted World (Part B)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2018/03/29/science-religion-and-secularism-part-xxiv-charles-taylor-time-space-and-self-in-the-enchanted-world-part-b/) - In our previous articles, we began to explore what Charles Taylor calls the “bulwarks of belief.” These are the aspects of psychology and society that made belief nearly irresistible for most Europeans around the year 1500. Taylor postulates these bulwarks thus: that purpose and design were evident in nature and history; that God was implicated
- [Science, Religion, and Secularism Part XXVI: Charles Taylor — Providential Deism and the Impersonal Order](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2018/04/12/science-religion-and-secularism-part-xxvi-charles-taylor-providential-deism-and-the-impersonal-order/) - In the last article, we saw how the Protestant Reformation challenged the premodern conception of reality, and began to put in place some of the elements we can recognize today in modern, Western-style secularism. In particular, there was a “flattening effect” when it came to time, space, and devotion. More and more, secular, ordinary time
- [Science, Secularism, and Religion, Part XXX: William Kingdon Clifford—The Ethics of Belief](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2018/07/05/science-secularism-and-religion-part-xxx-william-kingdon-clifford-the-ethics-of-belief/) - Imagine a ship owner who sells tickets for transatlantic voyages. He is at the dock one day, bidding his ship farewell, when he remembers a warning he had received from his mechanics the week before, that the integrity of the ship’s hull was questionable and that it might not be seaworthy. But on some plausible
- [Science, Religion, and Secularism, Part XXXII: Alvin Plantinga and Reformed Epistemology](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2018/08/02/science-religion-and-secularism-xxxii-alvin-plantinga-and-reformed-epistemology/) - “Faith is not to be contrasted with knowledge: faith (at least in paradigmatic instances) is knowledge, knowledge of a certain special kind.” —Alvin Plantinga
- [Science, Religion, and Secularism Part XXXIII: Justin L. Barrett—Why Would Anyone Believe in God? Part A](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2018/08/16/science-religion-and-secularism-part-xxxiii-justin-l-barrett-why-would-anyone-believe-in-god/) - "Belief in God is an almost inevitable consequence of the kind of minds we have." —Justin L. Barrett
- [Science, Religion, and Secularism, Part XXXV: Justin L. Barrett—Why Would Anyone Believe in God? Part C](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2018/09/20/science-religion-and-secularism-part-xxxv-justin-l-barrett-why-would-anyone-believe-in-god-part-c/) - In our last two articles, we've explored one book in the exciting new field of cognitive science of religion. And we've seen how one of the findings in this area is that belief in God, or something like God, is natural to us, given the types of minds we have. Of course, this doesn't show
- [REISSUE-NEM#41: Glenn Mercer (Feelies): Produce Yourself](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/16/reissue-nem41-glenn-mercer-feelies/) - Glenn's albums with the Feelies since 1980 have a unique sound, due to his insistence that production is part of the composing process. We discuss "Been Replaced" and "Gone Gone Gone," from The Feelies' 2017album Here Before, then "Larmaie" from Glenn's instrumental solo album Incidental Hum (2015). We conclude by listening to "Should Be Gone" by the Feelies from Here Before (2011). Intro music: "The High Road"by the Feelies from The Good Earth (1986). This reissue concludes with the Feelies newly released live recording of "Who Loves the Sun?" from their album of Velvet Underground covers, Some Kinda Love. Learn more at thefeeliesweb.com. Sponsor: Visit FactorMeals.com/nem50 (code improv50) to get 50% off America's #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page.
- [Closereads: Hegel on Spinoza (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/07/closereads-hegel-on-spinoza-part-one/) - It's a brand new podcast! Closereads: Philosophy with Mark and Wes, where we read through and talk about a text line by line. Today we're starting the entry on Spinoza from Hegel's Lectures on the History of Philosophy (1830).
- [Ep. 324: Plato's "Cratylus" on Language (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/11/ep324-2-plato-cratylus/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this ad-free, plus a supporter-exclusive part three. Listen to a preview..Continuing on Plato's mid-period dialogue about language. Is attaching a word to a thing, i.e. naming it, like other activities such as carpentry or sewing that can go wrong? Can we put the "form" of a thing into letters and syllabus of its name? We go through many examples where Socrates claims to have done just that.
- [Ep. 323: Acquiring Language: Tomasello vs. Chomsky (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/19/ep323-2-tomasello-chomsky-language-citizen/) - Continuing on Michael Tomasello's "Language Is Not an Instinct" (1995) and Constructing a Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition (2003). With guest Christopher Heath. We get into more of the factors that drove Chomsky and Pinker to argue that language is largely innate and how Tomasello rebuts these claims.
- [Pretty Much Pop #154: Indiana Jones and the Various MacGuffins](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/31/pmp154-indiana-jones/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the blockbuster archaeological adventure films created in 1981 by George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg that we grew up with and which have now been revived and apparently concluded twice, currently via James Mangold's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsors: Get 50% off and free shipping at GreenChef.com/pmp50 (code pmp 50). Check out the Skeptoid podcast at skeptoid.com.
- [Ep. 324: Plato's "Cratylus" on Language (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/09/02/ep324-1-plato-cratylus-citizen/) - On Plato's mid-period dialogue from around 388 BCE. How do words relate to the things they represent? Socrates first argues that words represent things, and so doing etymology is a way of learning philosophical truths, then seemingly reverses himself.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #60: Elu-Sedations w/ Matt Teichman](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/31/pvi60-language-matt-teichman/) - Philosopher Matt, host of the Elucidations podcast and frequent PEL guest, finally gets in on Philosophy vs. Improv in this, our Season Two Finale. And many is he a de dicto. Or is he a de re? Slowly learn the difference as we make things personal through scenes of shit-talking and crime reporting. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Take a class this fall from him at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Check out The Good Life Method by Meghan Sullivan and Paul Blaschko.
- [NEM#202: Richard Lloyd (Television): Guitar is Combustible](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/31/nem202-richard-lloyd-television/) - Richard joined Television in 1973 and has released three albums with them, plus seven solo albums starting in 1980. He has also played with Matthew Sweet, John Doe, Rocket from the Tomb, and others, and has a 2019 memoir Everything Is Combustible. We discuss "So Sad" from The Countdown (2018), "Glurp" from Radiant Monkey (2007), "Pleading" from Field of Fire (1985), and "Misty Eyes" from Alchemy (1980). We conclude by listening to "May This Be Love" from The Jamie Neverts Story, Richard's album of Jimi Hendrix covers. Intro: "Venus" by Television from Marquee Moon (1977). More at richardlloyd.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon.
- [Closereads: How to Hear and Watch Emerson's Oversoul Parts Two, Three and Four (and Future Installments)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/20/closereads-how-to-hear-and-watch-emersons-oversoul-parts-two-three-and-four-and-future-installments/) - We took three more sessions to get through the rest of the essay, and you can hear all parts of this and all future series by signing up at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy or just go to that site to check out previews of what you're missing.
- [Ep. 323: Acquiring Language: Tomasello vs. Chomsky (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/28/ep323-2-tomasello-chomsky-language/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this ad-free, plus a supporter-exclusive Nightcap discussion about cognitive science, evolutionary psychology, and more.Continuing on Michael Tomasello's "Language Is Not an Instinct" (1995) and Constructing a Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition (2003), as contrasted with Chomsky universal grammar (the flag that Steven Pinker continues to carry). With guest Christopher Heath. Learn about the online Core Philosophy Texts course Mark is running this fall at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [PEL End-of-Summer Nightcap 2023](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/26/nightcap-august-2023/) - Mark, Seth, Dylan, and eventually Wes talk about traveling, Barbie, gender, evolutionary psychology, cognitive science, and more.
- [Episode 3: Hobbes's Leviathan: The Social Contract](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2009/06/07/episode-3-hobbess-leviathan-the-social-contract/) - Discussing Hobbes's Leviathan, Chapters 13-15.
- [Ep. 320: Friedrich Schlegel on Romanticism (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/01/ep320-3-friedrich-schlegel-citizen/) - Mark and Wes conclude our discussion of the younger Schlegel brother by going through more of his critical fragments, largely published in 1797 in the journal Lyceum tier schonen Kunste.
- [Ep. 322: Schelling on Art vs. Nature (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/28/ep322-3-schelling-art-citizen/) - Mark and Wes conclude with some close reading of Part 6 of System of Transcendental Idealism (1800), section 3: "Relation of Art to Philosophy." Schelling thinks that art enables us to do intuitively what philosophy tries to do with concepts.
- [NEM#201: Ivan Neville Gets Personal (but Still Funky)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/21/nem201-ivan-neville/) - Ivan is the keyboardist/singer/multi-instrumentalist son of Aaron Neville and has played with the Neville Brothers, The Rolling Stones The Spin Doctors, etc. He has released eight albums since 1988, half of these under the band name Dumpstaphunk. We discuss "Pass It Around" and listen to "Hey All Together" from Touch My Soul (2023), "They Don’t Care" by Dumpstaphunk from Dirty Word (2013), "What You Want from Me" from Saturday Morning Music (aka Scrape) (2002), and "Stay What You Are" (feat. Aaron Neville) from Thanks (1995). Intro: "Not Just Another Girl" from If My Ancestors Could See Me Now (1988). More at ivannevillemusic.com and dumpstaphunk.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. If you like our podcast, check out another show: Articles of Interest.
- [PvI#59: Yes, and Technological Dystopia w/ Anthony LeBlanc](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/21/pvi59-yes-and-technological-dystopia-w-anthony-leblanc/) - How does new technology affect ethics? Anthony (who is on strike, but that doesn't apply to improv) is an improviser with a computer science degree who now coaches kid TV actors. We talk personal identity, transhumanism, genetic engineering, AI, organizational ethics, Black Mirror, Beastars, and transporter virginity. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Take a class this fall from him at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. If you like our podcast, check out another show: Articles of Interest.
- [Announcement: Mark's Core Philosophy Texts Fall 2023 Class](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/14/announcement-marks-core-philosophy-texts-fall-2023-course/) - Go to partiallyexaminedlife.com/class for more information and to enroll for the class.
- [Ep. 312: The Dao De Jing on Virtue (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/03/13/ep312-2-daodejing-virtue/) - Subscribe to get both parts of this episode ad free.Concluding our discussion of the Daodejing with guest Theo Brooks. We cover some more ambiguous cosmological passages and return to political philosophy.
- [Ep. 309: Wittgenstein On Certainty (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/23/ep309-1-wittgenstein-on-certainty/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free.Discussing the notes Ludwig Wittgenstein made at the end of his life in 1951 that were published as On Certainty in 1969. Can we coherently doubt propositions like "physical objects exist," "the world is more than 50 years old," and "this is my hand"? Wittgenstein looks at these questions via his framework of language games. Is doubting one of these a legitimate move in a game?
- [Ep. 314: Mengzi (Mencius) on Moral Psychology (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/04/03/ep314-1-mengzi/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.On the greatest early philosopher interpreting and expanding on Confucius, from ca. 350 BCE. with guest Krishnan Venkatesh of the St. John's College Eastern Classics program. We talk about the challenges of connecting ancient Chinese and Greek philosophies and explore Mencius' distinctively Chinese take on respecting your parents.
- [Ep. 316: Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov": PEL Live in NYC (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/05/01/ep316-1-dostoevsky-karmazov/) - Subscribe to get the ad-free, unbroken Citizen Edition of this episode.On Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1880 existentialist novel, focusing mostly on the "Rebellion" and "Grand Inquisitor" chapters. How can we reconcile ourselves to the existence of evil and suffering? The character Ivan argues that we can't, that children's suffering can't be justified by any alleged Divine Plan. Dostoevsky's answer to this challenge is practical, concrete love and service to others, but does this really address or merely sidestep Ivan's challenge?
- [Closereads on Emerson's Oversoul: Audio and Video Podcast Premiere](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/14/closereads-emerson-1/) - Subscribe to get this discussion ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Are we underlyingly all really a single, unified organism? Or do we just have a lot in common? PEL's most verbose hosts Mark Linsenmayer and Wes Alwan begin unraveling this puzzling claim by reading Ralph Waldo Emerson's 1841 essay "The Over-Soul" and explaining it line-by-line. Watch this episode on video at YouTube. We encourage you to read along in the essay with us. This is the first of four parts. To hear the others as they are released this week, plus weekly episodes going forward and three episodes already posted, please support this new effort at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy (or support PEL and Closereads together via support at the $10 level at patreon.com/partiallyexaminedlife). Sponsor: Check out Drilled, a true-crime podcast about climate change. Enrollment is now open for Mark's Core Philosophy Texts class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [Closereads: Emerson's Oversoul (Part One for PEL Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/14/closereads-emerson-1-citizen/) - Are we underlyingly all really a single, unified organism? Or do we just have a lot in common? We begin unraveling this puzzling claim by reading Ralph Waldo Emerson's 1841 essay "The Over-Soul." You can watch video for this episode and/or read along with us.
- [Closereads: Hegel on Spinoza (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/09/closereads-hegel-on-spinoza-part-two/) - Mark and Wes continue reading through the entry on Spinoza from Hegel's "Lectures on the History of Philosophy" (1830). As is the nature of Closereads, you can watch the video and/or follow along with the text.
- [Closereads: Hegel on Spinoza (Part Three)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/11/closereads-hegel-on-spinoza-part-three/) - Mark and Wes conclude our Closeread of the Spinoza section from Hegel's Lectures on the History of Philosophy (1830) by getting into some heavy metaphysical issues.
- [Mark's "Core Philosophical Texts" Class: Fall 2023](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/13/marks-core-philosophical-texts-course-fall-2023/) - Indicate your interest to attend a 10-week crash course in the history of philosophy.
- [NEM#200: Mikaela Davis: Singer-Songwriter-Harpist](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/07/nem200-mikaela-davis/) - Mikaela has a degree in harp performance and has been recording since 2011. We discuss "Cinderella" (and listen at the end to "Leave It Alone") from her second label-released album, And Southern Star (2023), "Left Hand Path" (2002, released on the compilation album Spelljams), and "In My Groove" from Delivery (2018). Intro: "When You're Away" (recorded 2015). Hear more at mikaeladavis.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Check out the Jordan Harbinger Show at jordanharbinger.com/subscribe.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #58: Avant Garde Accounting](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/07/pvi58-artistic-individuality/) - The guests are away, and so Billy and Markaroony will play. This fast-paced, sweet-moving discussion covers the genius individual artist and how that might or might not allow collaboration, genres and definitions, strife, and more. Mark just can't WAIT for a canoe, and getting CRAZY at the salad bar. Oops, we forgot to determine a winner, so YOU decide. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Take a class this fall from him at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. If you like our podcast, check out another show: Articles of Interest.
- [Ep. 322: Schelling on Art vs. Nature (Part Three)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/07/ep322-3-schelling-art/) - Subscribe to get parts 1-3 of this discussion ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Mark and Wes conclude with some close reading of Part 6 of System of Transcendental Idealism (1800), section 3: "Relation of Art to Philosophy." Schelling thinks that art enables us to do intuitively what philosophy tries to do with concepts. We're providing this typically supporter-exclusive content for all of you in anticipation of the new Closereads: Philosophy with Mark and Wes project that we'll be unveiling next week. Sponsors: Get 50% off the #1 Meal Kit for Eating Clean (plus free shipping) at greenchef.com/pel50 (promocode pel50). Give more effectively via GiveWell.org (and let them know we sent you!). Check out the Articles of Interest podcast. There are still spots available in Mark's Core Philosophy Texts class this fall. See partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [(sub)Text: Competing Affections in “The Lion in Winter”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/08/04/subtext-the-lion-in-winter/) - Before Henry VIII changed history for lack of a son, Henry II had too many. His eldest, Richard, a fierce soldier who controls the wealthy Aquitaine, is the favorite of his mother, Eleanor. The youngest, John, is immature and dull, but his father’s favorite. And the middle son, scheming Geoffrey, is, quite dangerously, no one’s favorite. In the end, there are no winners; competing affections and power schemes serve only to cancel each other out. Is it true then, as this story suggests, that being a favorite amounts to nothing more than a target on one’s back, as its benefits are counteracted by the destructive envy of the disfavored? What drives our own propensities for favoritism? And does occupying any position in the pecking order entail, in Eleanor’s words, learning to live with disappointment? Wes & Erin discuss the 1968 film “The Lion in Winter,” starring Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn.
- [PEL Tech Nightcap July 2023](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/14/nightcap-july-2023/) - Available on video! Mark, Wes, and Seth talk about how we might cover philosophy of technology and other areas like medical ethics, business ethics, environmental ethics, etc. Do we remember things that we recorded a few years back? What summer films are we looking forward to? Finally, can we cover David Foster Wallace?
- [Pretty Much Pop #152: BELIEVE in Ted Lasso](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/03/pmp152-ted-lasso/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al disagree about the Jason Sudeikis-headed Apple TV+ pandemic hit that's just wrapped up with its third season. Was it actually as good as everyone thought when its first season hit, or was its vibe just something we needed at the time? Should it have stayed slim and comic instead of becoming the stretched out, soapy dramedy that it ended up as? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Check out the Skeptoid podcast at skeptoid.com.
- [Pretty Much Pop #153: Kids' Films, Adult Messages](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/13/pmp153-kids-films/) - Mark, Lawrence, and returning parents/panelists Michelle Parrinello-Cason and Chris Sunami take on animated blockbuster films by Pixar, et al. Why do some adults prefer these? What's the ideology of this kind of media? We touch on Puss in Boots, Turning Red, Soul, Trolls, Enola Holmes, and many other things that we watched with our kids and/or as kids. Note that this discussion was recorded in late April, so no Little Mermaid for you! For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsors: Get 50% off your first box of ready-to-eat meals at FactorMeals.com/pretty50 (use code pretty50). Check out the Jordan Harbinger Show at jordanharbinger.com/subscribe.
- [Ep. 322: Schelling on Art vs. Nature (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/22/ep322-2-schelling-art-citizen/) - Continuing on "On the Relation Between the Plastic Arts and Nature" (1807) and Part 6 of System of Transcendental Idealism (1800). We talk sculpture vs. painting and why art is the direct, intuitive way to achieve the insight that philosophy can only approximate using concepts.
- [Ep. 322: Schelling on Art vs. Nature (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/31/ep322-2-schelling-art/) - Subscribe to get parts 1-3 of this discussion now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on "On the Relation Between the Plastic Arts and Nature" (1807) and Part 6 of System of Transcendental Idealism (1800). We talk sculpture vs. painting and why art is the direct, intuitive way to achieve the insight that philosophy can only approximate using concepts. Learn about the online Core Philosophy Texts course Mark is running this fall at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [Episode 89: Berkeley: Only Ideas Exist!](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/03/12/ep89-berkeley-citizen/) - On Bishop George Berkeley's Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous (1713). Does the "real" existence of the everyday objects around us have to mean existence as matter, i.e. as something that could exist in the absence of any mind to think about it? Berkeley says no! These objects are really ideas! Learn more. End song: "I Am the Cosmos," performed by Mark Lint, covering a 70s classic by Chris Bell.
- [PvI#57: Happier Cancer w/ Monica McCarthy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/24/pvi57-eudaimonia-monica-mccarthy/) - Monica is an actor and writer who ran a live-on-stage philosophy podcast called The Happier Hour, and so naturally we talk about happiness, or flourishing (eudaimonia). You can watch this episode in its unedited video form. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Take a class this fall from him at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsors: Get 16 free meals and free shipping via HelloFresh.Com/improv16 (code improv16). Visit Twit.tv/apple for three great podcasts about all things Apple.
- [NEM#199: Alan Jenkins' Cornucopia of Experiments](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/24/nem199-alan-jenkins/) - Alan has released 50+ albums, starting in the late '70s with The Deep Freeze Mice, then with several collaborative bands, experimental surf in the '00s with The Thurston Lava Tube, and now typically records as Alan Jenkins and the Kettering Vampires. We discuss "The Multibear" from Be My Enemy £1 (2023), "Hitler’s Knees" by The Deep Freeze Mice from Saw a Ranch House Burning Last Night (1983), "The Morozovo Meteorite” by The Melamine Division Plates from Novosibirsk (2023), and "The Eagle Hates Your Poetry" by Alan Jenkins & The Creams from ie (1994). End song: "Nobody’s Getting My Hair" by The Chrysanthemums from Decoy for a Dognapper! (2022). Intro: "A Red Light for the Greens" by The Deep Freeze Mice from The Gates of Lunch (1982). For more, see cordeliarecords.co.uk. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Get 50% off (and free shipping) for America's #1 Meal Kit at HelloFresh.com/nem50 (code nem50). Check out KEWL.FM for a great mix of music.
- [Ep. 321: August Schlegel on Beauty (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/08/ep321-2-august-schlegel-citizen/) - We continue on Theory of Art, getting more into sections of the text about the relationship between beauty and purposiveness, genius, unconscious vs. conscious creation, style vs. manner, and art imitating nature.
- [Ep. 321: August Schlegel on Beauty (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/17/ep321-2-august-schlegel/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this ad-free, plus a supporter-exclusive Nightcap discussion largely about philosophy of technology. Listen to a preview..We continue on Theory of Art, getting more into sections of the text about the relationship between beauty and purposiveness, genius, unconscious vs. conscious creation, style vs. manner, and art imitating nature.Learn about the online Core Philosophy Texts course Mark is running this fall at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.
- [Polyarchy and Public Policy in the United States](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/11/16/polyarchy-and-public-policy-in-the-united-states/) - Why doesn't public policy reflect more the preferences of ordinary citizens? The answer is institutional.
- [NEM#198: Chris Stamey Keeps on Developing](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/13/nem198-chris-stamey/) - Chris started in the mid 70s in Sneakers, then backed Alex Chilton, started a record label, and then founded the dB's, which he left after two albums in 1983. He then became a producer and has released nine solo albums plus avant garde guitar collaborations with Kirk Ross and four reunion albums with Peter Holsapple and/or the dB's. We discuss "I Will Try" from The Great Escape (2023), the title track from Lovesick Blues (2013), "Glorious Delusion" from Fireworks (1988, released in 1991), and "I Don't Think of You" by Chris Stamey & The Fellow Travelers feat. Ramune Martin from A Brand-New Shade of Blue (2020). Intro: "The Summer Sun" (1977 single). More at chrisstamey.com Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Get 50% off (and free shipping) for America's #1 Meal Kit at HelloFresh.com/nem50 (code nem50). Check out the Jordan Harbinger Show at jordanharbinger.com/subscribe.
- [Ep. 320: Friedrich Schlegel on Romanticism (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/23/ep320-2-friedrich-schlegel-citizen/) - We continue on Schlegel's "Dialogue on Poesy" (1799) and "Concerning the Essence of Critique" (1804). How can Romantic art always aim at some common source of our humanity yet also require originality? How can having some sort of common mythology help artists be original in this way, and how can we embrace mythology as modern
- [PvI#56: Interpreting the Monkey Man w/ Chris George](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/10/pvi56-understanding-art-chris-george/) - Chris has an act called "I Am the Show" where he improvises to a film that he hasn't seen that's playing silently, making up all the dialogue and sound effects. Mark and Bill talk to Chris about being a spectator or critic of art: To understand a work, is it good or necessary to try to divine the artist's intentions, or is meaning in art something that happens after a work becomes an objective thing, such that the artist's intentions are not really relevant, and in fact the author might not have any better idea than you do of its meaning? This spurs us for some reason to enact some scenes initiated by pantomime, i.e. silence. Darts, anyone? You can watch the unedited video of this episode for free. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of most recent episodes, and other bonus stuff.
- [(sub)Text: Friendship and Honor in “Becket” (1964)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/10/subtext-anoulih-beckett/) - In Jean Anouilh’s 1959 play “Becket,” the titular character seems at first to be a Saxon collaborationist to the Norman rule of England, and a man who has sacrificed his personal honor to his friendship with King Henry II and, as he puts it, “good living.” This will change when he becomes Archbishop of Canterbury, only to realize that he is enchanted by the “honor of God,” leading him to to defend at any cost the prerogatives of the Church against those of the state. When is honor more important than friendship? Wes & Erin discuss the 1964 film version of the play, with Peter O’Toole and Richard Burton, about a 12th-century high-profile bromance-gone-bad.
- [Ep. 321: August Schlegel on Beauty (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/08/ep321-1-august-schlegel-citizen/) - Covering the elder Schlegel brother's Theory of Art (ca. 1800). How does our experience of Beauty relate to the infinite? Schlegel provides a Romantic response to Kant on knowing the divine, inner essences of things through art, how genius works, and the relationship between art and nature.
- [Ep. 273: Friedrich Schelling's Foundationalist Idealism (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2021/07/05/ep-273-1-schelling-idealism/) - Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode. Listen to a preview. On Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling's System of Transcendental Idealism (1800). What's the relationship between mind and world? Schelling thought that our minds produce the world, but also that the perceiver-world dichotomy comes to us as a single piece. "Transcendental philosophy" is an exploration of the internal logic of that revelation.
- [Combat & Classics Ep. 82 Homer's "Iliad" Book 24](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/05/combat-classics-ep-82-homers-iliad-book-24/) - It's here: our last episode on the Iliad! Achilles continues to mourn Patroclus, and to try to disfigure Hector's body. After days of this, Apollo intervenes, and the gods help Priam to retrieve his son's body from Achilles' tent. Brian, Shilo, and Jeff consider Achilles' "foreign policy" in his dealings with Priam, and the meaning of It's here: our last episode on the Iliad! Achilles continues to mourn Patroclus, and to try to disfigure Hector's body. After days of this, Apollo intervenes, and the gods help Priam to retrieve his son's body from Achilles' tent. Brian, Shilo, and Jeff consider Achilles' "foreign policy" in his dealings with Priam, and the meaning of Homer's epic as a whole. Does the end of the Iliad portray a decline to a world run by liars and dancers, or an ascent to an almost joyful tragic insight into human power? In the final analysis, is it better to be a human being than to be a god? Do we need to read the Odyssey together to answer these questions?
- [Not School Philosophy of Mind Group: David Chalmers](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2012/11/17/not-school-philosophy-of-mind-group-david-chalmers/) - On The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory (1997). Featuring Mark Linsenmayer, Alan Cook, Evan Gould, Russ Baker, Steve Lindsay, and Marilyn Lawrence. Recorded 11/17/12. He argues for a form of property dualism in which consciousness, or more likely something like "proto-consciousness" is best conceived as a fundamental feature of the world.
- [Ep. 319: Schiller on Experiencing Beauty (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/16/ep319-3-schiller-beauty-citizen/) - We complete our treatment of On the Aesthetic Education of Man by considering its final letters in more detail. Does Reason really make us more moral? And does the embrace of Beauty really point us to Reason, or does self-consciousness rule out immersion in art?
- [Ep. 318: Friedrich Schiller on the Civilizing Potential of Art (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/05/28/ep318-2-schiller-art-education-citizen/) - We continue working through letters 1-15 of On the Aesthetic Education of Man (1795), helped by Markus Reuter. We get clearer on what Schiller means by Beauty, and how two contrary drives toward matter and form somehow cancel each other out to combine in a "play drive" that is at the heart of appreciating and creating art.
- [NEM#196: Michael Gira (Swans) Is Not Done](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/10/nem196-michael-gira-swans/) - Swans started in the early '80s with a brutal sound gradually became more subtle and textured. The band broke up in 1995 after ten albums (and three other releases under the name World of Skin), then Michael released a couple of solo albums and six alt-country releases as Angels of Light before starting a new chapter of Swans in 2010 which has now released its sixth album. We discuss "Michael Is Done" from The Beggar (2023), "It's Coming It's Real" from Leaving Meaning (2019), and "Power for Power" from Filth (1983). You then get to hear Michael's opus "The Beggar Lovers (Three)," also from the new album. Intro: "Screen Shot" from To Be Kind (2014). Hear more at swans.bandcamp.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Check out the Skeptoid podcast at skeptoid.com.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #54: Do You Want to Be Here? w/ Brain in a Vat](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/10/pvi54-rationality-brain-in-a-vat/) - Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff of the Brain in a Vat podcast join Bill and Mark L. (aka Alf) to talk about rationality, broadly construed, while not moving a couch and not giving each other Christmas presents. Does "reason" by itself tell us what to do and what to believe? Is trypophobia really just bigotry? (It is not.) What's the rationale for making negative comments on a podcast? Are bigots bigger than bigamists? Was Ayn Rand a cannibal? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of recent episodes, and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Check out the Banned Camp comedy podcast.
- [Ep. 319: Schiller on Experiencing Beauty (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/09/ep319-1-schiller-beauty-citizen/) - On the second half of Friedrich Schiller's On the Aesthetic Education of Man (1795), getting into the mechanics of how aesthetic experience work in giving us a midpoint between animality and pure rationality where we can feel free.
- [Ep. 317: Character Philosophies in Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov" (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/05/14/ep317-2-doestoevsky-karamazov-citizen/) - To conclude our discussion of the novel, we turn to the philosophies of Dmitri and Ivan, plus the Biblical book of Job and our takeaways. Do we need some philosophy of transcendence to cope?
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #53: XTREME BEEF Quicheticles w/ Zach Thompson](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/05/philosophy-vs-improv-53-xtreme-beef-quicheticles-w-zach-thompson/) - Zach is an improvisor who's written for MST3K, been a commentator for Resistance Pro Wrestling, and has been a recurring guest on Hello From the Magic Tavern. He joins Mark and Bill to discuss competitiveness in all its forms. Is strife part of utopia, or would all conflict be removed in an ideal political situation? Is the controlled competitiveness of sports or improv games fundamentally different than mere aggression? Also, we chase a dog. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of recent episodes, and other bonus stuff. Sponsors: Get 16 free meals and free shipping via HelloFresh.Com/improv16 (code improv16). Check out the Skeptoid podcast at skeptoid.com.
- [Ep. 313: Mozi's Political Ethics (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/03/27/ep313-2-mozi/) - Continuing on the central Mohist text, with guest Tzuchien Tho. We talk about Mozi's ideas about encouraging morality, preventing war, restricting music and elaborate funerals, plus the Will of Heaven, identification with one's superiors, and fatalism. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and a supporter-exclusive part three to this discussion. Sponsors: Check out the Continuing the Conversation web series by St. John's College at sjc.edu. Check out the Hermitix podcast at hermitix.net. Get your streaming or in-person ticket to our April 15 live show at partiallyexaminedlife.com/live.
- [Combat & Classics Ep. 79 Homer's "Iliad" Book 21](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/02/combat-classics-ep-79-homers-iliad-book-21/) - We're back, with our preantepenultimate episode on the Iliad! In Book 21, we get into the action. Achilles kills so many Trojans that the river Scamander protests the mess he is making. So Achilles fights the river, and nearly dies. Then there is a war between the gods; they lay it on without restraint. Meanwhile, Achilles We're back, with our preantepenultimate episode on the Iliad! In Book 21, we get into the action. Achilles kills so many Trojans that the river Scamander protests the mess he is making. So Achilles fights the river, and nearly dies. Then there is a war between the gods; they lay it on without restraint. Meanwhile, Achilles kills two of Priam's sons, as he watches. And the Trojans are driven back into the gates of Troy. Join Brian, Shilo, and Jeff as they talk about what it might look like to fight a river, and wonder why Achilles cares about how his body looks after he dies. Is Achilles driven by justice in this book, or the noble, or both? Is excellence more visible in a contest between equals, or between unequals? And does Zeus enjoy the suffering of the gods because it makes them better?
- [Ep. 317: Character Philosophies in Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov" (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/05/14/ep317-1-doestoevsky-karamazov-citizen/) - Following up on our live episode, we further ponder the 1869 novel, revisiting the "problem of evil" arguments and how the various brothers cope with an imperfect world. Plus, we relate Dostoevsky to other existentialists.
- [Ep. 318: Friedrich Schiller on the Civilizing Potential of Art (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/05/28/ep318-1-schiller-art-education-citizen/) - Can art make us better people? Musician Markus Reuter joins Mark, Wes, and Seth to discussion the first half of On the Aesthetic Education of Man (1795). In light of the failure of the French Revolution, this famous German poet wondered what could make the masses capable of governing themselves? His answer: Beauty! Aesthetic appreciation puts us at a distance from our savage desires, enables the abstract thought necessary for Kantian rationalist morality, and yet keeps us in touch with our feelings so that we don't just become cogs in the industrial machine.
- [Combat & Classics Ep. 78 Homer's "Iliad" Book 20](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/05/26/combat-classics-ep-78-homers-iliad-book-20/) - In Book 20, Achilles gets new armor from his mom, and rejoins the battle. Zeus tells the gods to take sides, and to go nuts. And Achilles faces Aeneas and Hector, and fights them, so that the gods have to save them. Brian, Shilo, and Jeff talk about why Achilles' single combat with Aeneas is In Book 20, Achilles gets new armor from his mom, and rejoins the battle. Zeus tells the gods to take sides, and to go nuts. And Achilles faces Aeneas and Hector, and fights them, so that the gods have to save them. Brian, Shilo, and Jeff talk about why Achilles' single combat with Aeneas is the centerpiece of the book, and why Achilles and Aeneas talk so much before they fight. Does the combat between Achilles and Aeneas prompt Poseidon to change sides? We also talk about why Zeus wants to see the spectacle of all the soldiers at Troy and all the gods fighting one another. Does Zeus find the suffering of soldiers and gods to be pleasant?
- [NEM#195: Nicholas Tremulis Reads Better Books](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/05/26/nem195-nicholas-tremulis/) - Nick has fronted 10+ carefully arranged solo albums since 1985 in various styles from R&B to Latin to alt-country. We discuss "Amanda and the God’s Honest Truth" from Rarified World (2021), "Buffalo Man" from Little Big Songs (2008), and "River of Love" from More Than Truth (1986). End song: "Super Human Love" from For the Baby Doll (2013). Intro: "Heartbeat Getting Stronger" from Nicholas Tremulis (1985). Follow @NickTremulis1. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Get 16 free meals and free shipping via HelloFresh.Com/nem16 (code nem16). Listen to The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman.
- [(sub)Text: Time and Taboo in “Back to the Future” (1985)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/05/26/subtext-back-to-the-future/) - In the parking lot of the Twin Pines Mall, Doc Brown plans to use his Delorean time machine to head 25 years into the future and see, as he puts it, “the progress of mankind.” But like the license plate on the Delorean, Doc is out of time. Through his absent-mindedness—and angering some terrorists—Doc has failed to provide a future into which he or his friend Marty McFly can progress. Meanwhile, Marty’s own options and possibilities have been foreclosed by the mistakes of his parents, whose inaction and passivity have failed to secure happy lives for themselves or their children. Out of time and without a viable future, Marty’s only way forward is back. Wes & Erin discuss the 1985 film, “Back to the Future,” and how securing the provisions for one’s own future depends on two modes of confrontation: one in the present and one with the past.
- [Combat & Classics Ep. 77 Homer's "Iliad" Book 19](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/05/20/combat-classics-ep-77-homers-iliad-book-19/) - We're back! And so is Achilles. But what is he back for? Join Brian, Shilo, and Jeff as we ask why the Iliad isn't over, now that Achilles says his wrath is done. We discuss whether Achilles has a new cause for wrath, against Hector, for the death of Patroclus', and whether this new cause is We're back! And so is Achilles. But what is he back for? Join Brian, Shilo, and Jeff as we ask why the Iliad isn't over, now that Achilles says his wrath is done. We discuss whether Achilles has a new cause for wrath, against Hector, for the death of Patroclus', and whether this new cause is the same or different from his old cause for wrath, against Agamemnon, for the theft of Briseis. Are both causes for wrath based on an injustice? Who really is responsible for Patroclus' death? We also consider how the gods use nectar and ambrosia to embalm Patroclus' corpse and spare Achilles the need to eat. Are the gods' bodies dead?
- [Ep. 316: Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov": PEL Live in NYC (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/04/30/ep316-dostoevsky-karmazov-citizen/) - On Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1880 existentialist novel, focusing mostly on the "Rebellion" and "Grand Inquisitor" chapters. How can we reconcile ourselves to the existence of evil and suffering? The character Ivan argues that we can't, that children's suffering can't be justified by any alleged Divine Plan. Dostoevsky's answer to this challenge is practical, concrete love and service to others, but does this really address or merely sidestep Ivan's challenge?
- [Ep. 315: Mengzi (Mencius) on Virtuous Leaders (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/04/15/ep315-2-mengzi-citizen/) - To conclude our treatment of this seminal Confucian text, we consider a particularly puzzling passage about ethics and then move to politics and economics.
- [Ep. 317: Character Philosophies in Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov" (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/05/15/ep317-1-doestoevsky-karamazov/) - Subscribe to get this ad-free, plus a supporter-exclusive final part to this discussion, which you can preview.Following up on our live episode, we further ponder the 1869 novel, revisiting the "problem of evil" arguments and how the various brothers cope with an imperfect world. Plus, we relate Dostoevsky's views of freedom and ethics to those of other existentialists.
- [Ep. 310: Wittgenstein On World-Pictures (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/02/06/ep310-1-wittgenstein-science/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free.We continue with Ludwig Wittgenstein's On Certainty (written 1951), with guest Christopher Heath. What is Wittgenstein's philosophy of science as it's reflected in this book? We talk about Weltbilds (world pictures) and how these relate to language games, relativism, verification, paradigms, testimony, and more.
- [Ep. 311: Understanding the Dao De Jing (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/02/20/ep311-1-daodejing/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free.On the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching) by Laozi (ca. 500 BCE), with guest Theodore Brooks. We talk about the wildly different, interpretive translations of this foundational Daoist (Taoist) text, its political views, and what the Dao might actually be.
- [Ep. 315: Mengzi (Mencius) on Virtuous Leaders  (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/04/15/ep315-1-mengzi-citizen/) - Continuing from ep. 314, we go further into the collected teachings of this early Confucian (aka Ruhist) from the late 4th century BCE. What's the best way to be a virtuous person and hence an effective leader?
- [NEM#194: Vashti Bunyan Is Not a Folk Singer](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/05/07/nem194-vashti-bunyan/) - Vashti was discovered in the mid-60s by the Rolling Stones manager, recorded a seminal acoustic album in 1970, then quit music until her work was rediscovered in 2000, recording two albums and releasing an autobiography since then. We discuss "I Want to Be Alone" (a 1965 single), "Rose Hip November" from Just Another Diamond Day (1970), "Wayward from Lookaftering (2005), and the title track from Heartleap (2014). Intro: "Train Song" (1966 single); the singles were released on Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind (2007). More at anotherday.co.uk. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Listen to The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #52: Elegant Stoicism w/ Tanner Campbell](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/05/07/pvi52-practical-stoicism-tanner-campbell/) - Tanner runs the popular daily podcast Practical Stoicism, so of course we brought him on to talk about on-board flight services and attitudes among retail service workers. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of recent episodes, and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Listen to The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman.
- [(sub)Text: The Violence of Redemption in John Donne’s “Batter My Heart” (Holy Sonnet 14)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/04/28/subtext-the-violence-of-redemption-in-john-donnes-batter-my-heart-holy-sonnet-14/) - In “Holy Sonnet 14,” John Donne would like his “three person’d God” to break instead of knock, blow instead of breathe, and burn instead of shine. This vision of redemption is about remaking rather than reform. And it seems to be motivated by a sense that reason and the typical rhetoric of faith are not enough to bridge the mortal and the divine—what’s needed is God’s violent intervention. Wes & Erin discuss Donne’s surprising and paradoxical use of war and rape as metaphors for salvation.
- [Ep. 295: Kant on Preventing War (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/06/06/ep295-1-kant-perpetual-peace/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus the supporter-only part 3 that will come out next week.On Immanuel Kant's essay "Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch" (1795). Do nations have the "right" to go to war? What principles ground just international relations, and are there structures and agreements that we can embrace to prevent prevent future wars?
- [PEL Nightcap April 2023](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/04/21/nightcap-april-2023/) - Mark, Wes and Dylan talk about The Last of Us and possible future episodes on animal ethics and/or animal consciousness, the death drive, plus the already tentatively scheduled episodes about the Romantics and Kierkegaard. In the course of this, we consider the relationship between philosophy and scientific fact.
- [Ep. 279: Aristotle's "Categories" of Being (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2021/10/10/ep279-1-aristotle-categories/) - 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 substances existing. So how exactly do these other categories relate to substances, and why does A divide the world the way he does?
- [PEL Live Brothers K Video for Q&A by 4/22](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/04/19/pel-live-brothers-k-video/) - Hey, supporters. Thanks to anyone who came out to our show last Saturday or bought a streaming ticket. This was a pretty short show by PEL episode standards, so we're going to beef up part two (and three?) of our upcoming episode by answering questions from you, the supporters at home. We plan on recording
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #51: All Croutons](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/04/17/pvi51-all-croutons/) - Mark and Bill engage in a wide-ranging discussion (with scenes, of course) covering the categorization of things, paradigm components and essences of things, historical advertisements, what goes in a museum, irresponsible loans, using the tools of convenience, diner culture, obsolete storage media, undefined locations, self-serve oil change, and a surprise ending whereby you learn that we've been painting the fence all along! Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of recent episodes, and other bonus stuff.
- [Ep. 314: Mengzi (Mencius) on Moral Psychology (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/04/10/ep314-2-mengzi/) - Subscribe to both parts of this discussion ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.Continuing on the teachings of Mengzi from ca. 350 BCE, without our guest. We go into textual quotes, covering the "sprouts" of virtue, whether human nature is good or simply malleable, whether tastes are universal, and more. Get your streaming or in-person ticket to our April 15 live show at partiallyexaminedlife.com/live. Sponsor: Secure your Internet and get three extra months free at ExpressVPN.com/PEL.
- [Ep. 313: Mozi's Political Ethics (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/03/25/ep313-3-mozi-citizen/) - We get into quotes from Mozi about his arguments against fatalism and Confucianism, support for meritocracy and identifying with superiors, and description of the Will of Heaven.
- [Ep. 313: Mozi's Political Ethics (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/03/19/ep313-2-mozi-citizen/) - Continuing on the central Mohist text, with guest Tzuchien Tho. We talk about Mozi's ideas about encouraging morality, preventing war, restricting music and elaborate funerals, plus the Will of Heaven, identification with one's superiors, and fatalism.
- [Nakedly Examined Music #193: Peter Case's Songs About Now](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/04/10/nem193-peter-case/) - Initially compared as a rock singer with John Lennon in the late '70s and early '80s with The Nerves and The Plimsouls, his subsequent sixteen solo albums beginning in 1986 have embraced blues, solo acoustic guitar, and on his new album, highly percussive piano (on his new album). We discuss "Have You Ever Been in Trouble?" from Dr. Moan (2023), "Every 24 Hours" feat. Richard Thompson from Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John (2007), "When You Find Out" by the Nerves from their self-titled EP (1976). End song: "Anything" from Torn Again (1995). For more, see petercase.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon.
- [Ep. 306: Dworkin and the Dobbs Decision (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/19/ep306-2-dworkin-dobbs/) - Continuing on Ronald Dworkin's "Unenumerated Rights: Whether and How Roe Should be Overruled" (1992) and the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2021) decision featuring guest Robin Linsenmayer. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion including the supporter-exclusive part three to this episode.
- [Ep. 306: Dworkin and the Dobbs Decision (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/12/ep306-1-dworkin-dobbs/) - 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.
- [Ep. 307: G.E. Moore Defends Common Sense (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/26/ep307-1-moore-common-sense/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free.On "A Defense of Common Sense" (1925), featuring Mark, Wes, Seth, and Dylan. Moore defends our pre-philosophical certainty in beliefs about the existence of physical objects and other minds against skeptics and idealists.
- [Ep. 308: Moore's Proof of Mind-Independent Reality (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/09/e308-1-moore-proof-external-world/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free.On G.E. Moore's "Proof of the External World" (1939) and "Certainty" (1941). Moore shows you his hands and says "these are my hands, which are physical objects, and thus the external world exists!" Does this defeat skepticism?
- [Ep. 308: Moore's Proof of Mind-Independent Reality (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/16/e308-2-moore-proof-external-world/) - Subscribe to get both parts of this episode ad free and tons of bonus content. We quickly complete our treatment of G.E. Moore's "Proof of the External World" (1939) and move on to consider "Certainty" (1941).
- [Ep. 314: Mengzi (Mencius) on Moral Psychology (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/04/02/ep314-1-mengzi-citizen/) - On the greatest early philosopher interpreting and expanding on Confucius, from ca. 350 BCE. with guest Krishnan Venkatesh of the St. John's College Eastern Classics program. We talk about the challenges of connecting ancient Chinese and Greek philosophies and explore Mencius' distinctively Chinese take on respecting your parents.
- [Ep. 314: Mengzi (Mencius) on Moral Psychology (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/04/02/ep314-2-mengzi-citizen/) - Continuing on the teachings of Mengzi from ca. 350 BCE, without our guest. We go into textual quotes, covering the "sprouts" of virtue, whether human nature is good or simply malleable, whether tastes are universal, and more.
- [Episode 100: Plato's Symposium Live Celebration!](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/08/15/ep100-plato-symposium/) - Our big live episode (also on video) about love, sex, self-improvement, and ancient Greek pederasty! Featuring a set by Mark Lint, plus Philosophy Bro on Plato's "Apology."
- [PEL Mini-Nightcap and Announcements: Meet Theo!](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/02/27/mini-nightcap-meet-theo/) - Who is this Theodore Brooks that has graced our presence on our Daodejing episodes? Mark makes some announcements (reminders, really) about the streaming option for our live show, Discord, and our network podcasts.
- [NEM#192: Guitarist Ivan Julian Serves the Song](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/03/27/nem192-ivan-julian/) - Ivan was a founding member of Richard Hell and the Voidoids in 1977, fronted The Outsets in the '80s, and has put out two solo albums while playing with Matthew Sweet, Shriekback, and other projects. We discuss "I am Not a Drone (Alone)" (and listen to "Voodoo Christmas") from Swing Your Lanterns (2023), the title track from Naked Flame (2011), and "Liars Beware," by Richard Hell and the Voidoids from Blank Generation (1977). Other clips: "Everything or Nothing" by Outsets from Punk Voodoo Collection (1984) and "Someone to Pull the Trigger" by Matthew Sweet from Altered Beast (1993). For more, see ivanjulian.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon to get an extra Ivan song with some more interview footage. Sponsor: Check out the Songs My Ex Ruined podcast.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #50: Pro Tips w/ Marla Cáceres](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/03/27/pvi50-etiquette-marla-caceres/) - Marla is an improviser from the Whirled News Tonight iO Theater show. We talk about obeying proper forms of behavior and drawing improv inspiration from outside sources. Plus, a thruple blind date and BBQ chain of custody. And introducing a new character, Lil' Confucius. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of recent episodes, and other bonus stuff.
- [Pretty Much Pop #145: Growing Up Sitcommed](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/02/27/pretty-much-pop-145-growing-up-sitcommed/) - Mark, Sarahlyn, Lawrence, and guest Landen Celano from the Grunt Work podcast talk about talk about our ambivalence toward the three-camera, laugh-tracked half-hour comedies that filled our childhoods. Why did some of these stand the test of time? Are some shows well suited for hate-watching or background watching? Why the Night Court reboot doing so well? We touch on some new shows like Kevin Can F*** Himself and Reboot that reflect on sitcom tropes, shows that subverted the format even at the time (Norman Lear), the juggernaut that is Chuck Lorre, catch phrases, and our memories of Three's Company, Happy Days, Good Times, Saved by the Bell, A Different World, etc. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [NEM#191: Chris Slusarenko and John Moen As (And Before) Eyelids](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/03/06/nem191-chris-slusarenko-john-moen-eyelids/) - Chris and John are veterans of the Portland music scene since the mid '80s. By the '00s, John was drumming for bands like the Decembrists, while Chris was playing bass for Guided by Voices. They recorded together as Boston Spaceships (aka The Takeovers) with GBV frontman Robert Pollard from 2005-2011 and then founded Eyelids, which has now issued 17 releases including four full albums. We discuss "Runaway, Yeah" from A Colossal Waste of Light (2023), "Seagulls Into Submission" from 854 (2014), "Shrunken Head" by Chris' band Svelt from Souvenir (1996), and we listen to "Blindfold Follies" by John's band The Maroons from You’re Gonna Ruin Everything (2002) and "Ceremony" by Eyelids from The Accidental Falls (2019). Intro: "My Will" by The Takeovers from Bad Football (2007). For more, see musicofeyelids.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Try The 500 with Josh Adam Meyers podcast
- [Ep. 313: Mozi's Political Ethics (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/03/19/ep313-1-mozi-citizen/) - On selections of the central Mohist text, from ca. 430 B.C.E., with guest Tzuchien Tho. Mozi claims that we should regard everyone on the same level as our family and believe whatever doctrines will be most beneficial to the people.
- [Ep. 313: Mozi's Political Ethics (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/03/20/ep313-1-mozi/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content including including a new Nightcap discussion relevant to this episode about tributes to the dead.On selections of the central Mohist text, from ca. 430 B.C.E., with guest Tzuchien Tho. Mozi claims that we should regard everyone on the same level as our family and believe whatever doctrines will be most beneficial to the people. Sponsors: Check out the Continuing the Conversation web series by St. John's College at sjc.edu. Check out The Daily Shower Thoughts Podcast at https://bit.ly/DailyShowerThoughts. Get your streaming or in-person ticket to our April 15 live show at partiallyexaminedlife.com/live.
- [Ep. 312: The Dao De Jing on Virtue (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/03/05/ep312-2-daodejing-virtue-citizen/) - Concluding our discussion of the Daodejing with guest Theo Brooks. We cover some more ambiguous cosmological passages and return to political philosophy.
- [PEL Eulogies Nightcap Late March 2023](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/03/16/pel-eulogies-nightcap-late-march-2023/) - Mark, Seth, and Dylan talk about what makes for a fitting tribute for those departed, mourning customs, how Daoism has personally affected us, and more.
- [(sub)Text: Mortal Pretensions in John Donne’s “Death Be Not Proud” (Holy Sonnet 10)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/03/16/subtext-john-donne-1/) - A recusant Catholic turned Protestant, a rake turned priest, a scholar, lawyer, politician, soldier, secretary, sermonizer, and of course, a poet— John Donne’s biography contains so many scuttled identities and discrete lives, perhaps its no wonder that his great subjects were mortality and death. His Holy Sonnets, likely composed between 1609 and 1610, and published posthumously in 1633, are a collection of 19 poems written after the sea change in Donne’s subject matter from the secular to the sacred. They reflect his anxiety over his conversion to Anglicanism and his eventual decision to enter the priesthood, and meditate on salvation, death, and the wages of sin. Erin & Wes discuss Sonnet 10 in this series, “Death Be Not Proud,” an address of Death personified, whose power gradually diminishes beneath the force of Donne’s dazzling poetic rhetoric.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #49: Ferrets in Uniform with Cole Nasrallah](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/03/13/pvi49-transcendental-idealism-cole-nasrallah/) - We talk transcendental idealism and Schopenhauer with Cole, who teaches philosophy at the College of Southern Nevada. Also, the least effective confidential informant! Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of recent episodes, and other bonus stuff.
- [Ep. 303: H.L.A. Hart on the Foundations of Law (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/07/ep303-2-hart-law/) - 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 generally obey it? Sponsor: Get 10% off a month of therapy at BetterHelp.com/partially.
- [Ep. 303: H.L.A. Hart on the Foundations of Law (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/31/ep303-1-hart-law/) - 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.
- [Ep. 305: Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian" (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/28/ep305-1-cormac-mccarthy-blood-meridian/) - 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.
- [Ep. 305: Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian" (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/05/ep305-2-cormac-mccarthy-blood-meridian/) - 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.
- [Ep. 304: Dworkin v. Hart on Legal Judgment (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/21/ep-ep304-2-dworkin/) - 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 partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion including the supporter-exclusive part three to this episode.
- [Ep. 304: Dworkin v. Hart on Legal Judgment (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/14/ep-ep304-1-dworkin/) - 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 legal principles which guide judges, even if these principles are not written out in legal rules.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #48: Debates in the Orthaganon](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/03/06/pvi48-debates-in-the-orthaganon/) - Mark and Bill act out a couple of scenes of a person trying to convince a stubborn person of something. But there's a twist in the characterization! Also, before you were born, the world did not exist. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of recent episodes, and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Check out the Self Esteem Party podcast on TheSonarNetwork.com.
- [Ep. 311: Understanding the Dao De Jing (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/02/18/ep311-2-daodejing-citizen/) - Continuing on the central Daoist text with guest Theodore Brooks. We explore practical vs. metaphysical interpretations of the Dao, the relation of things to their opposites, emptiness, and "straw dogs."
- [Ep. 306: Dworkin and the Dobbs Decision (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/18/ep306-3-dworkin-dobbs-citizen/) - Concluding on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2021) Supreme Court decision. We talk more about the rationale for the decision and in particular the dissent by Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan. How do the arguments made play into philosophers' fears about the tyranny of the majority in democracies?
- [Ep. 312: The Dao De Jing on Virtue (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/03/05/ep312-1-daodejing-virtue-citizen/) - For our second full discussion on the Daodejing by Laozi, we talk about the actions and attitudes that characterize the Daoist sage. With Theo Brooks. Topics include being virtuous vs. just following rules, Daoist tranquility, achieving without trying too hard, and more.
- [PEL Self-Help Nightcap Early March 2023](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/03/04/nightcap-early-march-2023/) - We reflect on the interpretive challenges of that text and then consider the activity of reading philosophy and Daoism in particular as self-help.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #43: Return Policy Violations](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/12/pvi43-customer-service/) - 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 to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Check out the Totes Recall film review podcast at totesrecall.com.
- [NEM#186: Simon Ratcliffe (Basement Jaxx, Village of the Sun): From House Music to Jazz Fusion](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/12/nem186-simon-ratcliffe-basement-jaxx/) - Simon has produced programmed dance music since the early '90s, winning Grammys and topping charts with his partner Felix Buxton as Basement Jaxx through their seven albums and several EPs. We discuss "Village of the Sun" by his new project of that name from First Light (2022), "Flying by the Sun" by Ratcliffe from Dorus Rijkers EP (2011), to "Alkazaar" by Basement Jaxx from Zephyr (2009), and "Ephemerol" a 1992 single Simon released under the name Tic Tac Toe. Intro: "Where's Your Head At" by Basement Jaxx from Rooty (2001). For more, see thevillageofthesun.bandcamp.com and basementjaxx.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Buy one annual membership and get one free at masterclass.com/examined. Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM).
- [Pretty Much Pop #140: First Nations Culture w/ John Beaubien](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/19/pmp140-first-nations-culture/) - Mark and Lawrence talk to "Iroqois propagandist" and philosophy nerd John about how Native cultures currently relate to American and Canadian mainstream cultures with regard to the study of philosophy, TV (e.g. Reservation Dogs), cultural appropriation, identity politics, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Check out the Geek Freaks podcast network for 11 fun pop culture podcasts.
- [Ep. 311: Understanding the Dao De Jing (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/02/18/ep311-1-daodejing-citizen/) - On the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching) by Laozi (ca. 500 BCE) with guest Theodore Brooks. We talk about the wildly different, interpretive translations of this foundational Daoist (Taoist) text, its political views, and what the Dao might actually be.
- [C&C Ep. 76 Homer's "Iliad" Book 18](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/02/26/cc-ep-76-homers-iliad-book-18/) - Achilles is crushed by Patroclus' death. Thetis, his mother, helps him to revenge himself on Hector by asking Hephaestus to make Achilles some new armor. We ask about the elaborate and famous description of Achilles' shield. How should we understand the details on this shield, which looks like the world of the living? Does the Achilles is crushed by Patroclus' death. Thetis, his mother, helps him to revenge himself on Hector by asking Hephaestus to make Achilles some new armor. We ask about the elaborate and famous description of Achilles' shield. How should we understand the details on this shield, which looks like the world of the living? Does the shield conceal the world of the dead, who are under the shield just like Achilles is? We also think about Hephaestus' intentions in making Achilles' shield. Is he the artisan who makes the artifact that must fail? Is Hephaestus the wisest god because he can sum up human life?
- [Ep. 306: Dworkin and the Dobbs Decision (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/10/ep306-2-dworkin-dobbs-citizen/) - Continuing from on Ronald Dworkin's "Unenumerated Rights: Whether and How Roe Should be Overruled" (1992) and the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2021) decision featuring guest Robin Linsenmayer.
- [Ep. 306: Dworkin and the Dobbs Decision (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/10/ep306-1-dworkin-dobbs-citizen/) - 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.
- [PEL Nightcap January 2023](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/29/nightcap-january-2023/) - We compare translations of Dostoyevsky in prep for our April live show, discuss future show topics, and go over insights from our past discussions on Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations.
- [NEM#188: Pat Irwin (Raybeats, B-52s, SUSS) Writes for TV (and Himself)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/20/nem188-pat-irwin-raybeats-b-52s-suss-writes-for-tv-and-himself/) - musicrewindpodcast.com.
- [Ep. 309: Wittgenstein On Certainty (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/21/ep309-2-wittgenstein-on-certainty-citizen/) - Continuing to discuss On Certainty, we get deeply into textual quotes. How does he actually respond to Moore's argument about his hand? How does he extend his account to talk about mathematical and scientific statements? Is Wittgenstein a pragmatist?
- [Ep. 309: Wittgenstein On Certainty (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/21/ep309-1-wittgenstein-on-certainty-citizen/) - Discussing the notes Ludwig Wittgenstein made at the end of his life in 1951 that were published as On Certainty in 1969. These musings respond to the G.E. Moore articles from our last two episodes. Can we coherently doubt propositions like "physical objects exist," "the world is more than 50 years old," and "this is my hand"? Wittgenstein looks at these questions via his framework of language games. Is doubting one of these a legitimate move in a game?
- [Ep. 310: Wittgenstein On World-Pictures (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/02/04/ep310-1-wittgenstein-science-citizen/) - We continue with Ludwig Wittgenstein's On Certainty (written 1951), with guest Christopher Heath. What is Wittgenstein's philosophy of science as it's reflected in this book? We talk about Weltbilds (world pictures) and how these relate to language games, relativism, verification, paradigms, testimony, and more.
- [Ep. 310: Wittgenstein On World-Pictures (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/02/04/ep310-2-wittgenstein-science-citizen/) - Concluding our discussion of On Certainty, with guest Chris Heath. We try one last time to get a handle on Wittgenstein's philosophy of science. How do people actually change their minds about fundamental beliefs?
- [Pretty Much Pop #143: Pinocchio the Unfilmable (Yet Frequently Filmed)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/30/pmp143-pinocchio/) - Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss the original 1883 freaky children's story and consider the recent rush of film versions, from a new Disney/Robert Zemikis CGI take to Guillermo del Toro's stop-motion passion project to a heavily costumed Italian version by Matteo Garrone. Why do people keep remaking this story, and how has the original moral of "be a good boy and obey" changed over the years? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. If you like this podcast, try The Social Breakdown at TheSocialBreakdown.com.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #46: Seize the Day How Exactly? w/ Nick Riggle](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/30/pvi46-seize-the-day-nick-riggle/) - What does the shortness of our lives and the beauty of the world actually entail in terms of behavior and philosophy? Nick is a former pro skater who teaches philosophy at U. of San Diego and has written This Beauty about this question. Mark and Bill engage Nick via car wash planning, the appearance of Bill's imaginary friend, Groundhog Day, and other invitations to awesomeness. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Check out Spencer Wants to Know.
- [Nakedly Examined Music #189: Claire Hamill's Epic Journey](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/02/06/nem189-claire-hamill/) - Claire is a folky singer-songwriter whose 13 albums since 1971 have ventured into prog, new age, dance, adult contemporary, and more. We discuss "Aphrodite Obscured" from A Pocket Full of Love Songs (2022), "Love Has a Mind of Its Own" from Over Dark Apples (2019), "The River Song" from One House Left Standing (1971), and conclude by listening to "The Last Shirt" by Claire Hamill and Andrew Warren from Summer (1998). Intro: "Leaf Fall" from Voices (1986). Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Check out the Super Awesome Mix podcast at superawesomemix.com.
- [PEL Nightcap February 2023](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/02/12/nightcap-feb-2023/) - Mark, Wes, and Seth anticipate our Dao De Jing and Dostoevsky recordings, talk about Russian literature and covering Hebrew ethics, and, of course, Chat F-ing GPT.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #47: What’s in the Chili? w/ Rachael Mason](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/02/20/pvi47-chili-functionalism/) - Rachael was a mentor of Bill's and works with him at the newly reopened iO Theater. So it's like we have TWO improv instructors here. We run some scenes, talk a bit too much about chili, and touch on functionalism, idealism, napism, and other isms. Jump into the marzipan! Brucie and Frucie are waiting for you! Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of recent episodes, and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Check out the History Cache Podcast.
- [(sub)Text: <a href="https://subtextpodcast.com/chinatown-1974-polanski/">Trauma and Repetition in Roman Polanski’s “Chinatown” (1974)</a>](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/02/20/subtext-chinatown/) - Roman Polanksi’s 1974 film “Chinatown” seems to have little to do with its titular neighborhood, which is the setting for only one horrible and final scene. Chinatown functions instead to represent the traumatic moment that drives this story just because it is hidden from view—a place indecipherable even to the hard-boiled private investigator who has seen it all … the place he doesn’t go … the place that bothers him to talk about … the place where inaction and evasion are the only ways to avoid causing harm. Wes & Erin discuss what Chinatown has to do with “Chinatown,” and how the theme connects the seemingly disparate themes of police work, political corruption, water rights, and incest.
- [NEM#190: Jad Fair (Half Japanese): Being Productive = Being Yourself](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/02/22/nem190-jad-fair-half-japanese/) - Jad estimates he's released over 180 albums between his band, solo, and collaborative work. He started Half Japanese with his brother David in 1975. We discuss "Fate Is On Our Side" by Jad with Samuel Locke Ward from Happy Hearts (2023), "Hold On" by Half Japanese from Perfect (2016), "Frankenstein Must Die" (1977), "Do It To It" from Now It's Back (2021), and conclude by listening to "Cupid" by Teenage Fanclub and Jad from Words of Wisdom and Hope (2002). Intro: "Said and Done" by Half Japanese from Charmed Life (1988). For more see jadfair.net. For the results of Jad's 150 albums in one year experiment, see jadfair1.bandcamp.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Get 15% off at at MasterClass.com/examined. Try the Inside the Mix podcast at marcmatthewsproducer.com/inside-the-mix-podcast.
- [Ep. 159: Confucius on Virtuous Conduct (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2017/02/26/ep159-confucius-citizen/) - On the Analects, compiled after 479 BCE. How should we act? What's the relation between ethics and politics? Can a bunch of aphorisms written in the distant past for an unapologetically hierarchical culture emphasizing traditional rituals actually give us relevant, welcome advice on these matters? Are we even in a position to determine the meaning of these sayings? With guest Tzuchien Tho. End song: "Please Allow Me to Look at You Again," from The Edge of Heaven (2013) by Gary Lucas, as interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music ep. 7.
- [Stendhal’s Red and Black (Le Rouge et le Noir) - Phi Fic Ep. 46](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/02/13/stendhals-red-and-black-le-rouge-et-le-noir-phi-fic-ep-46/) - One of Nietzsche’s favorite novels, Le Rouge et le Noir contains some of the most profound psychological analysis in all of fiction. The novel tells the story about a young man from a modest background who seeks a glorious career, but ends up in enormous trouble as a result of his love affairs.
- [Episode 12: Chuang Tzu's Taoism: What Is Wisdom?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2009/12/06/ep12-citizen/) - Discussing the Chuang Tzu (now transliterated as Zhuangzi), Chapters 2, 3, 6, 18, and 19. It's the second-most-famous Taoist text and the most humorous, with anecdotes about people singing at funerals and jumping out of moving coaches while drunk. What could it possibly mean to "make all things equal?" and how is the Taoist sage different from our other favorite paragons of virtue (hint: magical powers)?
- [Episode 12: Chuang Tzu's Taoism: What Is Wisdom?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2009/12/06/episode-12-chuang-tzus-taoism-what-is-wisdom/) - On the Chuang Tzu (now transliterated as Zhuangzi), Chapters 2, 3, 6, 18, and 19. With guest Erik Douglas.
- [Ep. 308: Moore's Proof of Mind-Independent Reality (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/08/e308-2-moore-proof-external-world-citizen/) - We quickly complete our treatment of G.E. Moore’s "Proof of the External World" (1939) and move on to consider "Certainty" (1941).
- [C&C Ep. 75 Homer's "Iliad" Book 17](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/29/cc-ep-75-homers-iliad-book-17/) - Shilo gets a new gig, and we offend a whole county! But back in the Iliad, Patroclus is dead, and the Greeks and Trojans fight over his body. Why is a whole book concerned with Patroclus' body? And why do we care about the armor and the horses of Achilles? Brian, Shilo and Jeff talk about Shilo gets a new gig, and we offend a whole county! But back in the Iliad, Patroclus is dead, and the Greeks and Trojans fight over his body. Why is a whole book concerned with Patroclus' body? And why do we care about the armor and the horses of Achilles? Brian, Shilo and Jeff talk about how this book contributes to the suspense of the story, and about the meaning of Patroclus' embodiment. Is Patroclus his body, or is he different from his body? Are human bodies different from those of the gods? We explore the strange image of the stretched bullhide, and whether Patroclus' body is a valuable commodity.
- [C&C Ep. 74 Homer's "Iliad" Book 16](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/22/cc-ep-74-homers-iliad-book-16/) - In this book, Achilles comes upon the crying Patroclus, and pities and chides him. Then Patroclus puts on Achilles' armor, joins the fight, is stunned by Apollo, and killed by Hector. Brian, Shilo and Jeff ask why Achilles lets Patroclus join the fight wearing Achilles' armor, when Achilles himself says he is ready to return In this book, Achilles comes upon the crying Patroclus, and pities and chides him. Then Patroclus puts on Achilles' armor, joins the fight, is stunned by Apollo, and killed by Hector. Brian, Shilo and Jeff ask why Achilles lets Patroclus join the fight wearing Achilles' armor, when Achilles himself says he is ready to return to battle? We explore Achilles' thinking: what is it like to be far superior to everyone around you? Does Achilles want everyone around him, Greek or Trojan, dead -- except Patroclus? We learn why Plato's Socrates warns against identifying with Achilles' wrath, and how superior human beings dangerously test their friends.
- [(sub)Text: Better and Bested in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/20/subtext-whos-afraid-of-virginia-woolf/) - It’s a play full of contradictions, secrets, lies, and unspoken rules. It’s a play decidedly for adults, but about a child—an imaginary one, no less. It takes place on a college campus, but it is absent of students. And it’s about “fun and games” and “playing pretend,” but its games are harsh and shocking, and playing pretend involves vengeance and even murder. Wes & Erin discuss Mike Nichols’s 1966 film “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, adapted from Edward Albee’s 1962 play, and ask what it has to say about the nature of game and play itself, as well as what might be generative on the one hand or contraceptive and inhibiting on the other about our relationships with our spouses, our parents, our children, and our work.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #45: Meaningful Road Trips w/ Dee Bradley Baker](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/11/pvi45-meaning-of-life-dee-bradley-baker/) - Voice actor Dee, who has a background in both improv and stand-up, talks to Mark and Bill about the meaning of life and engages in THREE scenes all about a parent trying to get some kids into a vehicle and on the road. Also, does COVID cause ennui? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Check out Killed to Death, an improvised true crime podcast.
- [Ep. 307: G.E. Moore Defends Common Sense (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/24/ep307-2-moore-common-sense-citizen/) - Continuing on "A Defense of Common Sense" (1925). Moore argues that physical facts are not dependent on minds and considers the various ways of analyzing the act of seeing and identifying your hand. Yes, he really does this!
- [Ep. 308: Moore's Proof of Mind-Independent Reality (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/08/e308-1-moore-proof-external-world-citizen/) - On G.E. Moore’s "Proof of the External World" (1939) and "Certainty" (1941). Moore shows you his hands and says "these are my hands, which are physical objects, and thus the external world exists!" Does this defeat skepticism?
- [Combat & Classics Ep. 73 Homer's "Iliad" Book 15](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/06/combat-classics-ep-73-homers-iliad-book-15/) - Zeus wakes up, and gives us a spoiler of the rest of the Iliad. Then he sets his will in motion. Apollo fills Hector with chutzpah, and he leads the Trojans to fight among the Greek ships. In this episode, Brian, Shilo, and Jeff ask about the smile of Zeus. Has he caught Hera in a Zeus wakes up, and gives us a spoiler of the rest of the Iliad. Then he sets his will in motion. Apollo fills Hector with chutzpah, and he leads the Trojans to fight among the Greek ships. In this episode, Brian, Shilo, and Jeff ask about the smile of Zeus. Has he caught Hera in a lie? Does his smile mean that he thinks he is superior to all the other gods? Is it boring to be by far the greatest of the gods?
- [Ep. 307: G.E. Moore Defends Common Sense (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/24/ep307-1-moore-common-sense-citizen/) - On "A Defense of Common Sense" (1925), featuring Mark, Wes, Seth, and Dylan. Moore defends our pre-philosophical certainty in beliefs about the existence of physical objects and other minds against skeptics and idealists.
- [Ep. 307: G.E. Moore Defends Common Sense (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/02/ep307-2-moore-common-sense/) - Subscribe to get both parts of this episode ad free, plus a supporter exclusive PEL Nightcap discussion.Continuing on "A Defense of Common Sense" (1925). Moore argues that physical facts are not dependent on minds and considers the various ways of analyzing the act of seeing and identifying your hand. Yes, he really does this! Sponsors: Check out The Mad Scientist Podcast at themadscientistpodcast.com. Get a highly effective donation of up to $100 matched at Givewell.org, pick PODCAST and enter THE PARTIALLY EXAMINED LIFE at checkout.
- [PEL Nightcap 2022 Wrap-Up](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/01/01/nightcap-2022-wrap-up/) - Recorded by Mark, Wes, and Dylan before our Moore discussion, we play one more listener appreciation clip that leads us into an examination of whether you listeners should try to read the texts we cover yourselves.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #44: Stand-Up vs. Improv w/ Matty Goldberg](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/26/pvi44-stand-up-comedy-matty-goldberg/) - As our first stand-up comedian (albeit one on sabbatical) guest, Matty has inspired us to largely ignore the philosophy on this one and instead look at these two different ways of producing comedy. Do the motivations of improv folks and comics differ? Which group is more annoying? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Check out the A Pastor and a Philosopher Walk Into a Bar podcast.
- [NEM#187: Eszter Balint Interprets Her Past](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/23/nem187-eszter-balint-interprets-her-past/) - Eszter is an actor/musician, gaining initial fame starring in Jim Jarmusch's first major film Stranger Than Paradise (1984). She has released four albums of often autobiographical songs since 1998. We discuss "The First Day" (and end by listening to "Freaks") from I Hate Memory (2022) feat. Stew and Syd Straw; this album has been made into a stage show. We then turn to "Exit at 63" from Airless Midnight (2015) and "Almost Gone" from Flicker (1998). The introduction is the theme from her debut film, Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You." For more, see eszterbalint.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM). Check out Jughead's Basement (a punk music interview podcast) at jugheadsbasementpodcast.com
- [Ep. 299: Philosophy in Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens" (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/08/29/ep299-2-shakespeare-timon/) - Continuing to discuss the play, now with guest Sarah Manton. We get into Cynicism, the Alcibiades sub-plot, a feminist angle on the play, and more. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion including the supporter-exclusive part three to this episode.
- [Ep. 300: Nietzsche on Relating to History (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/12/ep-300-nietzsche-on-relating-to-history-part-one/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free. In this live-streamed show, we discuss “On the Uses and Disadvantages of History for Life” (1874), aka Untimely Meditation #2. What is the healthiest way to relate to our history? Nietzsche describes some approaches to history which meet human needs but which can also become oppressive.
- [Pretty Much Pop #138: What Are "Creatives"?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/21/pmp138-creatives/) - 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 artists, the relation between artist and consumer, art vs. commerce, bad art vs. non-art, and much more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #134: Unpopular Music Genre Fandom](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/07/pmp34-unpopular-music-genre-fandom/) - 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 about our relation to the mainstream, the different types of unpopular music (popular 30 years ago vs. never popular avant garde), post-irony, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Get a huge discount and free month at NordVPN.com/pmp.
- [Pretty Much Pop #127: You Down with Downton Abbey?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/07/06/pmp127-downton-abbey/) - We discuss the appeal of this Julian-Fellowes-penned British historical drama in light of the new film. Is this really "a new era" or just more of the same, and is that bad? Mark is joined by returning guest Jon Lamoreaux (host of The Hustle music podcast), plus a couple: former newscaster Corrinne MacLeod and her husband, the photographer Michael MacLeod. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [PMP#128: Jurassic Shlock](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/07/18/pmp128-jurassic-park/) - Mark is joined by NY Time entertainment writer/philosophy prof Lawrence Ware, novelist/ex-actor Sarahlyn Bruck, and filmmaker/Remakes, Reboots, and Revivals host Rolando Nieves to discuss the Jurassic Park franchise in light of the new film, Jurassic World: Dominion. Is the mere presence of cool dinosaurs enough to justify a film, or are these actually good films by any standard? What childhood itch do these scratch? How do these films work as sci-fi and political commentary? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsors: Get 15% off great wireless earbuds at BuyRaycon.com/pretty. Find a top-rated doctor by visiting ZocDoc.com/PMP and downloading the free ZocDoc app.
- [Pretty Much Pop #129: Wherefore the Cover Song?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/08/01/pmp129-cover-songs/) - Is re-playing or re-recording a song written and performed by someone else an act of love or predation? Mark is joined by Too Much Joy's Tim Quirk, the Gig Gab Podcast's Dave Hamilton, and the author of A Philosophy of Cover Songs Prof. P.D. Magnus to talk about different types of and purposes for covers, look a little at the history, share favorites, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsors: Find a top-rated doctor by visiting ZocDoc.com/PMP and downloading the free ZocDoc app. Check your rate for a loan at upstart.com/PRETTY.
- [Pretty Much Pop #130: CODA and Deaf Culture](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/08/09/pmp130-coda/) - The 2022 Oscar winner for Best Picture was CODA, a story about a musically inclined girl with a deaf family. Kambri Crews, herself a CODA, joins your host Mark, Sarahlyn Bruck, and Al Baker to talk about how deaf culture interacts with film. Films tend to show deafness as tragic, which is not necessarily how the deaf community views themselves. We talk about balancing the demands of a story, how real life works, and the need for positive representation. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #131: Hope for Jordan Peele's "Nope"](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/08/27/pmp131-nope/) - Jordan Peele's launch from a solid comedy base with Key & Peele to the unexpected Get Out was so impressive that he's generated a huge amount of good will that allows him to play the full-on auteur with huge budgets. Did that pay off with his third film, the monster movie Nope? Mark is joined by Lawrence Ware, Sarahlyn Bruck, and Nicole Pometti. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop#132: "Too Soon" in Comedy?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/08/pmp132-too-soon-in-comedy/) - To honor the death of Gilbert Gottfried, we discuss jokes like the 9-11 one he was pilloried for. Can comedy really be "too soon" in relation to its tragic subject matter? Is comedy really tragedy plus time, or are jokes in fact most needed immediately when pain and discomfort are most acute? Mark is joined by three comedians: Adam Sank (of the LGBTQ-themed Adam Sank Show), Twitch-streaming songster Meri Amber, and returning guest Daniel Lobell (graphic novelist and podcaster). We get into tailoring jokes for an audience, coping with grief, triggering, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Get a huge discount and free month at NordVPN.com/pmp.
- [Pretty Much Pop #133: Predator (Films) and Prey](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/23/pretty-much-pop-133-predator-films-and-prey/) - Thanks to the new film Prey, we now have six films (starting with 1987's Predator) featuring the dreadlocked, camouflaged, infrared-seeing race of alien hunters who have apparently been flying around collecting our skulls for 300 years. Mark is joined by Lawrence Ware, Sarahlyn Bruck, and Al Baker to talk about the appeal of this franchise and what makes a good Predator film. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Get a huge discount and free month at NordVPN.com/pmp.
- [Pretty Much Pop #135: The Breaking Bad-O-Verse](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/24/pmp135-breaking-bad/) - 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. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
- [Pretty Much Pop #137: Slashing the "Halloween" Film Franchise](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/10/pretty-much-pop-137-slashing-the-halloween-film-franchise/) - 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 Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Check out The Create Unknown podcast.
- [(sub)Text: Pagan Poetics in “Sunday Morning” by Wallace Stevens](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/20/subtext-sunday-morning-wallace-stevens/) - Wallace Stevens was an ungainly insurance executive, but his poetry is serene and secularly reverential. In particular, his poem “Sunday Morning” seems to suggest that the rhythm of the natural world—if we give it enough rapt attention—is as good as any chant or prayer. But can a return to nature worship solve the problem of nihilism, once monotheism has been eclipsed by modernity? Are memory and desire as permanent heaven, and can the poet become their high priest? “Sunday Morning” is a poetic dialogue about these questions. And whether or not we’re satisfied with its conclusion that the world is nothing more than an “old chaos of the sun,” the poem itself is an orderly and beautiful form of communion. Wes & Erin discuss.
- [Ep. 300: Nietzsche on Relating to History (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/19/ep300-2-nietzsche-history/) - Subscribe to get Parts 1 and 2 ad-free, plus a supporter exclusive Part 3, which you can preview.Continuing on “On the Uses and Disadvantages of History for Life” (1874), we get into the antiquarian use of history and the critical approach to history and Nietzsche's humanistic goals in his essay. How can we use history to help refine human nature?
- [Ep. 305: Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian" (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/04/ep305-3-cormac-mccarthy-blood-meridian-citizen/) - To conclude our discussion of Blood Meridian, we talk about the roles of maturation and regression in the novel. Plus, more on Judge Holden's philosophy and how our view of this should be affected by the fact that Holden is a hypocritical child molester, the (small) role of women in the novel, the character of the idiot, "white man's burden," and more.
- [Ep. 305: Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian" (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/26/ep305-2-cormac-mccarthy-blood-meridian-citizen/) - 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.
- [Ep. 303: H.L.A. Hart on the Foundations of Law (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/06/ep303-3-hart-law-citizen/) - 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.
- [Combat & Classics Ep. 72 Homer's "Iliad" Book 14](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/03/combat-classics-ep-72-homers-iliad-book-14/) - Poseidon interferes with the will of Zeus because Hera has seduced the king of the gods with a sexy belt. Also, the battle between the Greeks and Achaeans continues to escalate. We return to the question of "who should be in charge?" and try to figure out why someone should be in charge of something Poseidon interferes with the will of Zeus because Hera has seduced the king of the gods with a sexy belt. Also, the battle between the Greeks and Achaeans continues to escalate. We return to the question of "who should be in charge?" and try to figure out why someone should be in charge of something (war, sports, business) generally. We think especially about taking feedback on your decisions as a leader. Thanks to our supporters and donors! You can support the show at combatandclassics.org.
- [Combat & Classics Ep. 71 Homer's "Iliad" Book 13](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/03/combat-classics-ep-71-homers-iliad-book-13/) - We wonder why Book 13 doesn't have a cool name like Book 12 did. Then we turn to other questions, like what is on the minds of both sides of this conflict? is it true that military prowess, or military virtue, gives you other virtues, such as skill at deliberation? Or are the two things We wonder why Book 13 doesn't have a cool name like Book 12 did. Then we turn to other questions, like what is on the minds of both sides of this conflict? is it true that military prowess, or military virtue, gives you other virtues, such as skill at deliberation? Or are the two things separate? Said another way and using the example of sports, why isn’t the best player the coach? And as it relates to the Iliad: who should be in charge of the Greek army? Email us at combatandclassics@gmail.com, or you can call and leave a voicemail question at 703.677.8645.
- [Combat & Classics Ep. 70 Homer's "Iliad" Book 12](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/12/03/combat-classics-ep-70-homers-iliad-book-12/) - Shilo, Jeff and Brian continue their read through of Homer's Iliad. We try to figure out why Book 12 exists as the midpoint of the story and how Homer is using it to build on his themes and continue the narrative. Specifically we ask why is the book so short compared to the others? Why Shilo, Jeff and Brian continue their read through of Homer's Iliad. We try to figure out why Book 12 exists as the midpoint of the story and how Homer is using it to build on his themes and continue the narrative. Specifically we ask why is the book so short compared to the others? Why all the similes about war and the natural world and is war a natural phenomenon? You can rate us on iTunes or follow us on social @combatandclassics. You can also leave a voicemail question at 703.677.8645.
- [Ep. 304: Dworkin v. Hart on Legal Judgment (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/11/ep304-dworkin-2-citizen/) - 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?
- [<a href="https://nakedlyexaminedmusic.com/nem185-bruce-thomas/">NEM#185: Bruce Thomas’ Bass Lines Before, After, and During the Attractions</a>](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/28/nem185-bruce-thomas/) - Bruce is best known as Elvis Costello's bassist for his first on about a dozen albums as The Attractions, but he's been in bands since 1970 and has done numerous session gigs. We discuss his work on "Blood Makes Noise" by Susanne Vega from 99.9 Degrees (1992), play clips from several of the most famous Attractions tunes plus "La La La La Loved You" by The Attractions from Mad About the Wrong Boy (1980), the first half of the title track of Quiver's Gone in the Morning (1972), and we conclude by listening to "There's a Place" by Spencer Brown and Bruce Thomas from Back to the Start (2018). Intro: "Radio Radio" by The Attractions feat. Fito Paez from Spanish Model (2021). For more info, see brucethomas.co.uk. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Buy and sell music products like beats, loops, etc. at beatstars.com/NEM, which is free for beginners, or get a free one-month virtual store using code NEM. Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM).
- [(sub)Text: <a href="https://subtextpodcast.com/his-girl-friday/">Production for Use in “His Girl Friday”</a>](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/28/subtext-his-girl-friday/) - 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 their respective plots are twinned. Both are, in a sense, looking for their own reprieves. And Hildy has her own production-for-use dilemma. What was she made for—the life of a newspaperman, or the life of a housewife? To what kinds of production should we devote our own lives? What are we made for—risk and adventure or security and insurance? Wes & Erin discuss.
- [Ep. 305: Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian" (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/26/ep305-1-cormac-mccarthy-blood-meridian-citizen/) - 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.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #42: The Worth of a Human Life w/ Carneades the YouTube Star](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/21/pvi42-economics-carneades/) - 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
- [PEL Nightcap November 2022: Listener Testimonials](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/19/nightcap-nov-2022/) - We recently put out a call among our supporters for some short audio clips of folks telling us about their relationship to PEL, and here they are. Mark, Seth, and Dylan play and respond to all of these. We are grateful to those that submitted and all of you!
- [Combat & Classics Ep. 68 Bonus Pod Q&A with Mr. Mark Eleveld's AP Literature Class at Kankakee High School](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/18/combat-classics-ep-68-bonus-pod-qa-with-mr-mark-elevelds-ap-literature-class-at-kankakee-high-school/) - We got some calls! Thanks a ton to Mark Eleveld and his students at Kankakee High School. We’re truly honored that you all took the time to call or write in with your questions about our Episode 62 on the Iliad Book 5, where we discussed the apparent blurring of gods and mortals, and especially We got some calls! Thanks a ton to Mark Eleveld and his students at Kankakee High School. We’re truly honored that you all took the time to call or write in with your questions about our Episode 62 on the Iliad Book 5, where we discussed the apparent blurring of gods and mortals, and especially Diomedes' wounding of a god, as well as the difference between courage and the absence of fear.
- [Not Ep. 299: Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens" Audioplay Feat. Jay O. Sanders, Michael Ian Black, and Michael Tow (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/08/08/not-ep299-1-shakespeare-timon-audioplay/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free.The PEL players do an unrehearsed reading of Shakespeare's least popular play, which is about money and cynicism. This part includes Acts 1-3.
- [Episode 1: "The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living."](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2009/05/12/part-1-of-episode-1-the-unexamined-life-is-not-worth-living/) - Discussing Plato's "Apology." Does studying philosophy make you a better person? No.
- [Ep. 298: Marsilio Ficino on Love (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/08/01/ep298-2-ficino/) - Subscribe to get Parts 1 and 2 ad-free, plus a supporter exclusive Nightcap featuring more Ficino discussion, which you can preview.Continuing on Commentary on Plato's Symposium on Love with guest Peter Adamson. We consider F's views on beauty and fill out his neo-Platonic epistemology.
- [Episode 1: "The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living"](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2009/05/12/ep1-1-citizen/) - Discussing Plato's "Apology." This reading is all about how Socrates is on trial for acting like an ass and proceeds to act like an ass and so is convicted. Big surprise. On this our inaugural discussion, Mark, Seth, and Wes talk about how philosophers are arrogant bastards who neglect their children, how people of all political stripes don't usually examine their fundamental beliefs (but probably should), why it might be better to know you know nothing than to only think that you know nothing, and how Plato was a super genius all of whose texts you should worship uncritically. Plus: podcaster philosophical origin stories, like when Wes was bitten by a radioactive Anaxagoras.
- [NEM#184: Mike Baggetta Feels Out the Guitar](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/14/nem184-mike-baggetta/) - Mike has put out 18 releases of largely instrumental guitar music since 2004 and is now playing with legendary bassist Mike Watt and with drummer by either Jim Keltner. We discuss the title track to Everywhen We Go (2022), "Hospital Song" from Wall of Flowers (2019), and "The Mystery Of" from Main Street Stop Valve (2020). End song: "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Social Justice" from mssv Meets Nels Cline (a 2022 EP). Intro: The title track by Tin/Bag from There, Just As You Look For It (2005). For more see mikebaggetta.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM). Get 15% off at at MasterClass.com/examined.
- [Ep. 304: Dworkin v. Hart on Legal Judgment (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/11/ep304-1-dworkin-citizen/) - 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 "runs out" and doesn't definitively decide an issue, do judges then just draw on their personal moral judgments? Dworkin says no, that moral principles are (contra Hart) built into the legal principles which guide judges, even if these principles are not written out in legal rules.
- [Ep. 303: H.L.A. Hart on the Foundations of Law (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/30/ep303-2-hart-law-citizen/) - 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 generally obey it?
- [PREVIEW-Ep. 303: H.L.A. Hart on the Foundations of Law (Part Three)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/11/preview-ep303-3-hart-law/) - 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.
- [Combat & Classics Ep. 67 Homer's "Iliad" Book 10](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/08/combat-classics-ep-67-homers-iliad-book-10/) - The Night Raid! It’s an important book kinda in the middle of the story with lots of action. Agamemnon wakes up in the middle of the night and convenes a war planning committee. Nestor says the Greeks should send some spies out; Diomedes and Odysseus volunteer. Hector also calls for a spy to go look The Night Raid! It’s an important book kinda in the middle of the story with lots of action. Agamemnon wakes up in the middle of the night and convenes a war planning committee. Nestor says the Greeks should send some spies out; Diomedes and Odysseus volunteer. Hector also calls for a spy to go look at the what the Greeks are up too, and Dolon volunteers.We talk about the asymmetries between the Greek mission and the Trojan mission and the image of Diomedes killing sleeping soldiers and ask what role beauty plays in this book. We also ask what the goal of war is: to kill the enemy or to defeat the enemy's war to fight?
- [Ep. 302: Erasmus Praises Foolishness (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/21/ep302-3-erasmus-citizen/) - Mark, Wes, and eventually Dylan recap The Praise of Folly and get personal. We cover Erasmus' ambivalent take on asceticism, his sexism and comments on love, the folly of fandom, and the role of humor in philosophy.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #41: Situatedness in Three Persons w/ Sarah Shockey](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/01/philosophy-vs-improv-41-situatedness-in-three-persons-w-sarah-shockey/) - 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 improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.
- [(sub)Text: Post-Doctoral Bedevilment in Christopher Marlowe's "Dr. Faustus"](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/11/01/subtext-faustus/) - 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 insignificant part of a formidable machine. For Faustus, the only way to make book learning great again is to extend it to the domain of black magic. And yet all this seems to earn him is an all-expenses-paid European vacation—notwithstanding the perk of having Mephistopheles as tour guide—to be followed by eternal damnation. What’s the point of selling your soul to the devil? How do we avoid subordinating our own search for meaning to the desire for power? Wes & Erin discuss Christopher Marlowe’s “Dr. Faustus.”
- [Ep. 303: H.L.A. Hart on the Foundations of Law (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/30/ep303-1-hart-law-citizen/) - 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.
- [Ep. 302: Erasmus Praises Foolishness (Part Two for Supporters) ](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/15/ep302-2-erasmus-citizen/) - 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.
- [NEM#183: Neil Gust (No. 2, Heatmiser) Walks Around](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/29/nem183-neil-gust/) - Neil is known as the long-time collaborator of the late Elliot Smith in the Portland band Heatmiser, which released three albums and an EP starting in 1993. Then Neil fronted the band No. 2 for two albums before taking a break until recently from music. We discuss "You Might Be Right" (and listen at the end to "I'm on a Mission") from the new No. 2 album First Love, "Critical Mass" from No Memory (1999), and "Why Did I Decide to Stay" by Heatmiser from Cop and Speeder (1994). Intro: "Rest My Head Against the Wall" by Heatmiser from Mic City Sons (1996). Hear more at no2music.bandcamp.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM). Check out the Unsung Podcast for more music chatting.
- [PEL Network Podcast FY2022 Reflections with Mark and Tyler](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/06/pel-network-podcast-fy2022-reflections/) - Mark and audio editor Tyler HIslop talk about the evolution of PEL, how it gets edited, about PEL guests, plus conversation about the last year's worth of activity for Philosophy vs. Improv, Pretty Much Pop, and Nakedly Examined Music.
- [Ep. 302: Erasmus Praises Foolishness (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/24/ep302-2-erasmus/) - 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.
- [PREVIEW-Ep. 302: Erasmus Praises Foolishness (Part Three)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/29/preview-ep302-3-erasmus/) - 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 partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.
- [Ep. 300: Nietzsche on Relating to History (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/17/ep-300-nietzsche-on-relating-to-history-part-three-for-supporters/) - Concluding on “On the Uses and Disadvantages of History for Life” (1874). We talk more about information overload, the cultivation of genius, truth and justice, and more.
- [Ep. 301: Is Abortion Morally Permissible? (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/01/ep301-3-abortion-citizen/) - 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" (1971) by Judith Jarvis Thomson.
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #40: Rules and Voices with Stephen West (Philosophize This!)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/17/pvi40-stephen-west/) - 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 our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.
- [NEM#182: Allan and Barb Vest Together as doubleVee](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/17/nem182-doublevee-allan-barb-vest/) - Through the 00's and four studio albums, Allan led the "baroque pop" Oklahoma band Starlight Mints. Then he met his wife Barb; as doubleVee, they've released two albums and an EP since 2017. The three of us talk about "The Middle Side of Me" from Treat Her Strangely (2022), then the title track from Jack the Rider (2017), then "Submarine #3" by Starlight Mints from The Dream That Stuff Was Made Of (2000). End song: "Map the Channels" from Songs for Birds and Bats (2019). Intro: "Eyes of the Night" by Starlight Mints from Drowaton (2006). More at doublevee.net. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Buy and sell music products like beats, loops, etc. at beatstars.com/NEM, which is free for beginners, or get a free one-month virtual store using code NEM. Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM).
- [Ep. 302: Erasmus Praises Foolishness (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/17/ep302-1-erasmus/) - 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.
- [Ep. 301: Is Abortion Morally Permissible? (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/26/ep301-1-abortion/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free.We discuss widely read papers about abortion, including an excerpt from Roe v. Wade (1973) and Judith Jarvis Thomson's "A Defense of Abortion" (1971).Thomson argues that even if we grant (for the sake of argument) that a fetus is a person, abortion should still be permissible given that a woman owns her body.
- [Ep. 302: Erasmus Praises Foolishness (Part One for Supporters) ](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/15/ep302-1-erasmus-citizen/) - 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?
- [PREVIEW-PEL Representation Nightcap October 2022](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/08/preview-pel-representation-nightcap/) - 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?
- [PEL Representation Nightcap October 2022](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/08/pel-representation-nightcap-october-2022/) - 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?
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #39: Cutting Edge Post-Patternation](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/07/pvi39-pattern-breaking/) - 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 chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.
- [Combat & Classics Ep. 66 Homer's "Iliad" Book 9](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/04/ep-66-homers-iliad-book-9/) - The Trojans have pushed the Greeks all the way back to their ship. Night falls, and a panicked Agamemnon and Menelaus need a plan. They decide to send an embassy to Achilles, to beg him to rejoin the fighting. And (spoiler alert) the embassy fails -- but interestingly. It looks like Achilles' position softens; but The Trojans have pushed the Greeks all the way back to their ship. Night falls, and a panicked Agamemnon and Menelaus need a plan. They decide to send an embassy to Achilles, to beg him to rejoin the fighting. And (spoiler alert) the embassy fails -- but interestingly. It looks like Achilles' position softens; but if so, why doesn't Odysseus report this to the rest of the Greeks? Does Achilles have a moment of philosophic insight about the superiority of the contemplative life? Or is he just a prisoner on the beach, like Odysseus and the rest of the heroes? How does Achilles want to be remembered?
- [Ep. 301: Is Abortion Morally Permissible? (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/03/ep301-2-abortion/) - Subscribe to get Parts 1, 2, and 3 ad-free right now.Continuing on Judith Jarvis Thomson's "A Defense of Abortion" (1971), plus Don Marquis' "Why Abortion is Immoral" (1989) and a summary of Mary Anne Warren's "On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion" (1973), which we'll continue next week in part three with Jenny Hansen.Marquis claims that killing is wrong is because it deprives a being of a "future like ours," and so this will be true of fetuses too.
- [NEM#181: Robyn Hitchcock Forgets Himself, Sharply](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/10/02/nem181-robyn-hitchcock/) - Robyn has been producing a distinctive flavor of very British rock with surrealist lyrics for 35+ albums since 1979. We discuss "The Raging Muse" (and close by listening to "The Shuffle Man") from Shufflemania (2022), "Mad Shelly's Letterbox" from Robyn Hitchcock (2017), "Television" from Spooked (2004), and "Glass" from Fegmainia! (1985). Intro: "I Wanna Destroy You" by The Soft Boys from Underwater Moonlight (1980). More at robynhitchcock.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM).
- [Ep. 301: Is Abortion Morally Permissible? (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/24/ep301-2-abortion-citizen/) - Continuing on Judith Jarvis Thomson's "A Defense of Abortion" (1971), plus Don Marquis' "Why Abortion is Immoral" (1989) and a summary of Mary Anne Warren's "On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion" (1973), which we'll continue next week in part three with Jenny Hansen.
- [(sub)Text: Fate and Blame in “Long Day’s Journey into Night”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/29/subtext-long-days-journey-into-night/) - Who is to blame for Mary Tyrone’s morphine addiction? Is it Mary herself? Is it Edmund, her younger son, after whose difficult birth Mary was first prescribed the drug? Is it Jamie, her older son, who caused the death of the brother that Edmund was born to replace? Is it the doctor who prescribed morphine too readily? Or is it James, Mary’s husband, who hired a third-rate doctor because he was too cheap to pay for his wife’s proper care? James, in turn, will have his own story to tell of familial suffering and a miserliness acquired from a childhood fear of the poorhouse. To ask who is to blame for Mary’s addiction, or for the alcoholism that seems to plague every other Tyrone, is to ask who or what is responsible for our own suffering. Are our woes self-created—or at least self-perpetuated? Or is suffering something visited upon us by caregivers, the legacies of nature or nurture that we are powerless to control? If so, whom do we have the right to accuse? Wes & Erin discuss.
- [Edith Wharton's The Custom of the Country (Phi Fic Ep. 45)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/26/edith-whartons-the-custom-of-the-country-phi-fic-ep-45/) - We discuss Edith Wharton's satirical novel of ambition and social climbing, The Custom of the Country.
- [Ep. 294: Quine on Science vs. Epistemology (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/05/23/ep294-1-quine-epistemology-naturalized/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus next week's supporter-only part 3. On W.V.O. Quine's "Epistemology Naturalized" (1969). What justifies scientific theory? Not theory-free observations, as Quine shows us by considering how we figure out foreign languages. Instead of basing science on epistemology, Quine thought we need to make epistemology part of science.
- [Ep. 294: Quine on Science vs. Epistemology (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/05/30/ep-294-quine-on-science-vs-epistemology-part-two/) - Subscribe to get Parts 1 and 2 ad-free, plus a supporter exclusive Part 3, which you can preview.Continuing from part one on "Epistemology Naturalized" (1969), we work further through the text, getting into what this new psychology-rooted epistemology might look like and how Quine changed empiricism. Plus, more of us trying to figure out his claims about the indeterminacy of translation.
- [Ep. 295: Kant on Preventing War (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/06/11/ep295-2-kant-perpetual-peace/) - Subscribe to get Parts 1 and 2 ad-free, plus a supporter exclusive Part 3, which you can preview.Continuing on Immanuel Kant's essay "Perpetual Peace," we go further into how Kant's politics relate to his ethics and consider his actual policy proposals: each state must be a republic, they should join in a federation, and we all owe each other hospitality as a cosmopolitan right.
- [Ep. 296: Heidegger Questions Being (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/07/04/ep296-2-heidegger-questions-being/) - Subscribe to get Parts 1 and 2 ad-free plus tons of bonus content.Continuing with our close reading of Being and Time, we talk about why time is the focus of Heidegger's analysis of the human condition, what are phenomena, and so what his phenomenological method looks like and why it must investigate us in our "average everydayness."
- [Ep. 297: Heidegger on the Human Condition (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/07/11/ep297-1-heidegger-human-condition/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free.We continue on Being and Time (1927), now into ch. 1 (sec. 9) on Existenz and how our way of Being is different than that of the objects of science, and what this means for authenticity and choice.
- [Ep. 300: Nietzsche on Relating to History (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/10/ep300-2-nietzsche-history-untimely-meditations-citizen/) - Continuing on “On the Uses and Disadvantages of History for Life” (1874), we get into the antiquarian use of history and the critical approach to history and Nietzsche's humanistic goals in his essay. How can we use history to help refine human nature?
- [PREVIEW-Ep. 300: Nietzsche on Relating to History (Part Three)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/17/preview-ep300-3-nietzsche-history/) - Subscribe to get Part 3 of this episode in its entirety.Mark, Wes, and Dylan conclude our discussion of “On the Uses and Disadvantages of History for Life” (1874). What is the practical upshot of Nietzsche's recommendations for using history well and not letting it overwhelm you?
- [NEM#180: Rebecca Pidgeon's Inner Speech](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/17/nem180-rebecca-pidgeons-inner-speech/) - Rebecca has balanced her musical career with her acting career since the mid '80s, starting in Scotland with Ruby Blue and then moving to New York in 1989 and releasing 10+ solo albums. We discuss "Silent Sound" from Parts of Speech Pieces of Sound (2022), the title track to the Stark Naked EP (2020), and "24 Hours of Love" from New York Girls' Club (1996). End song: "You Have Got My Number" from Blue Dress On (2013). Intro: "So Unlike Me" by Ruby Blue from Glances Askances (1987). More at rebeccapidgeonmusic.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Buy and sell music products like beats, loops, etc. at beatstars.com/NEM, which is free for beginners, or get a free one-month virtual store using code NEM. Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM).
- [Philosophy vs. Improv #38: The Bones of Tragedy with Jay O. Sanders](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/17/pvi38-tragedy-jay-sanders/) - Jay Sanders, famed not only for his appearances on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and The Day After Tomorrow and many many other screens and stages, joins us to talk tragedy, how he's applied the lessons of improv to his scripted acting, and more. Jump into the improv maelstrom with us! In the post-game, which just this once, we're sharing with the general public, we more about Jay's projects and getting recognized on the street for things. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.
- [Combat & Classics Ep. 65 Homer's "Iliad" Book 8](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/13/combat-classics-ep-65-homers-iliad-book-8/) - The gods assemble on Mount Olympus after the Trojans put a whooping on the Greeks. The Greeks decide to build defensive fortifications for the first time in the nine year war. Zeus gives a speech to the other gods warning them about going against his will. What do we think of Zeus as a leader? The gods assemble on Mount Olympus after the Trojans put a whooping on the Greeks. The Greeks decide to build defensive fortifications for the first time in the nine year war. Zeus gives a speech to the other gods warning them about going against his will. What do we think of Zeus as a leader? How does he compare to the leaders of the Greeks and Trojans?
- [Ep. 300: Nietzsche on Relating to History (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/10/ep300-1-nietzsche-history-untimely-meditations-citizen/) - In this live-streamed show, we discuss “On the Uses and Disadvantages of History for Life” (1874), aka Untimely Meditation #2. What is the healthiest way to relate to our history? Nietzsche describes some approaches to history which meet human needs but which can also become oppressive.
- [Episode 1: "The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living" (2022 Re-Edit)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/08/26/ep1-plato-apology-citizen/) - Discussing Plato's "Apology." This reading is all about how Socrates is on trial for acting like an ass and proceeds to act like an ass and so is convicted. In this our inaugural 2009 discussion (freshly remixed in 2022), Mark, Seth, and Wes talk about how philosophers are arrogant bastards who neglect their children, how people of all political stripes don't usually examine their fundamental beliefs (but probably should), why it might be better to know you know nothing than to only think that you know nothing, and how Plato was a super genius all of whose texts you should worship uncritically. Plus: podcaster origin stories!
- [Ep. 299: Philosophy in Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens" (Part Two for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/08/19/ep299-2-shakespeares-timon-citizen/) - Continuing to discuss the play, minus Jonathan now but plus Seth and guest Sarah Manton. We get into Cynicism, the Alcibiades sub-plot, a feminist angle on the play, and more.
- [Combat & Classics Ep. 64 Homer's "Iliad" Book 7](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/07/combat-classics-ep-64-homers-iliad-book-7/) - Book 7 opens with a duel. The Greeks draw lots to fight Hector and (supposedly) end the war. Nine Greeks volunteer to fight and lots are drawn. Ajax wins the lottery and fights Hector. Ajax seems to be winning but the fighters make a truce and decide to take a day off to bury and Book 7 opens with a duel. The Greeks draw lots to fight Hector and (supposedly) end the war. Nine Greeks volunteer to fight and lots are drawn. Ajax wins the lottery and fights Hector. Ajax seems to be winning but the fighters make a truce and decide to take a day off to bury and honor the dead. Our opening question is: Who are the Greeks without Achilles? Some followup questions are: Does this book set up Nestor being wrong in the future? Does having Achilles around damage the other heroes?
- [NEM#179: Mike Lindup's Atlantean Visions and Level 42](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/05/nem179-mike-lindup-level-42/) - Mike played keyboards and shared lead vocals for synth jazz-pop Level 42's initial run for nine albums from 1982-1994 (and rejoined in 2006) and is working on his fourth solo release. We talk about his new single, "Atlantia," plus "Madness" from On the One (2011) and Level 42's "Weave Your Spell" from The Pursuit Of Accidents (1982). End song: "Heart of the Matter" from Conversations with Silence (2003). Intro: "Something About You" by Level 42 from World Machine (1985). More at mikelindup.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM).
- [Combat & Classics Ep. 63 Homer's "Iliad" Book 6](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/09/01/combat-classics-ep-63-homers-iliad-book-6/) - Oh hey! You can call us now! 703.677.8645. Leave a voicemail with your question and we may play it on the air and try to answer it. You can also email us at combatandclassics@gmail.com In this week's episode we find the Trojans getting beat pretty badly by the Greeks, so Helenus (a soothsayer and Hector's In this week's episode we find the Trojans getting beat pretty badly by the Greeks, so Helenus (a soothsayer and Hector's brother) tells Hector to go back to Troy and get the women to sacrifice to Athena. While he's back in town Hector visits his brother and chastises him for not returning to the battlefield. But then Hector goes and visits his wife and newborn son. Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Agamemnon chastises Menelaus for taking prisoners, and Diomedes and Glaucus fight, but find out their grandpappies were buddies... so they decide to exchange armor and agree to a personal truce. We try to tease out in this episode: who is Hector? How does he compare to Agamemnon and Achilles?
- [PvI#37: Season One Final Round](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/08/30/pvi37-season-one-final-round/) - It's all down to this. Which discipline, which host will prevail? Will a third-party cheater bust in and take the big prize? All stakes are on the table, and if this thinking isn't critical enough, if these scenes aren't congruent enough, if we fail the big scan-tron test that is life, then it's all been
- [Not Ep. 299: Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens" Audioplay (Part Two)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/08/15/not-ep299-2-shakespeare-timon-audioplay/) - Subscribe to get Parts 1 and 2 ad-free plus tons of bonus content.Continuing our performance of William Shakespeare's play, finishing things up with acts 4 and 5 plus some post-performance discussion with the cast. Start with part one. We'll be live-streaming video for our big ep. 300 on Friday, Aug. 19 at 8pm ET. More info at partiallyexaminedlife.com/pel-live. Sponsors: Maximize the impact of your charitable giving via GiveWell.org; choose "podcast" and enter "Partially Examined Life." Download the Zocdoc app free to find a top rated doctor at Zocdoc.com/PEL.
- [Ep. 297: Heidegger on the Human Condition (Part Three for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/07/17/ep297-3-heidegger-human-condition-citizen/) - Concluding our close reading of Being and Time, on ch. 3, sec. 15 and 16 on the world as "ready to hand" or equipment.
- [Ep. 299: Philosophy in Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens" (Part One)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/08/22/ep299-1-shakespeares-timon/) - Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free.Jonathan Bate, editor of the new RSC complete Shakespeare, joins us to talk about the role of money in the play, the psychology, cynicism, and more.Listen to our performance of the play first.
- [PREVIEW-Ep. 299: Philosophy in Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens" (Part Three)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/08/29/preview-ep299-3-shakespeare-timon/) - Subscribe to get Part 3 of this episode in its entirety.Mark, Wes, and Dylan conclude our discussion of Shakespeare's play. Chiefly, we talk about the exchanges about art in the play: How does art relate to life and to commerce?
- [Ep. 299: Philosophy in Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens" (Part One for Supporters)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/08/19/ep299-1-shakespeares-timon-citizen/) - Jonathan Bate, editor of the new RSC complete Shakespeare, joins us to talk about the role of money in the play, the psychology, cynicism, and more.
- [NEM#178: Chastity Brown in Wonderment](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2022/08/19/nem178-chastity-brown/) - Bill has been a hit-making country songwriter for his duo Foster and Lloyd as well as artists like Martina McBride and Trisha Yearwood, but his true love has been power pop, starting with Sgt. Arms (our intro song is the 1982 single, "Caught in Traffic," a 1982 single) through his 10+ solo albums. We discuss the title track from Don't Kill the Messenger (2020), "What Time Won't Heal" (co-written with Graham Gouldman) from Working the Long Game (2018), and "Off and Running" a track from the expanded version of his first solo album Feeling the Elephant (1987). End song: "Rough Edges" by Cimarron 615 (a 2022 take on a song that he wrote with Rusty Young and Radney Foster for the band Poco). More at billlloydmusic.net. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. Supporters will get a bonus song with more discussion with Bill about his collaborations and formative projects. Sponsors: Upgrade your showering at nebia.com/nem (code NEM). Get 15% off at at MasterClass.com/examined.
- [Episode 110: Alfred North Whitehead: What Is Nature? (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/02/02/ep110-whitehead-citizen/) - On The Concept of Nature (1920). Nature, i.e. the object of our experience, is events, not things, ya dig? End song: "Run Away," by Mark Lint
- [Episode 107: Edmund Burke on the Sublime (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/12/19/ep107-burke-citizen/) - On A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, where young Burke lays out our knee-jerk aesthetic reactions, including those to scary things at a safe distance. With guest Amir Zaki. Learn more. End song: "Stoobis in the Sky," by Mark Lint.
- [Episode 109: Jaspers's Existentialism with Paul Provenza (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/01/19/ep109-jaspers-citizen/) - On Karl Jaspers's "On My Philosophy" (1941), featuring comedian/actor/director/author Paul Provenza. What's the relationship between science and philosophy? What about religion? Jaspers thinks that science gives you facts, but for an overarching world-view, you need philosophy. Living such a world-view requires Existenz, or a leap towards transcendence, which is of course religion's stock and trade, though Jaspers is not a fan of dogmatism. End song: "Another Way to Fall," by New People, from The Easy Thing (2009). Download the album.
- [Episode 108: Dangers of A.I. with Guest Nick Bostrom (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/01/06/ep108-bostrom-citizen/) - On Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, and Strategies (2014) with the author. What can we predict about, and how can we control in advance, the motivations of the entity likely to result from eventual advances in machine learning? Also with guest Luke Muehlhauser. Learn more. End song: "Volcano," by Mark Linsenmayer, recorded in 1992 and released on the album Spanish Armada: Songs of Love and Related Neuroses.
- [Episode 111: Gadamer's Hermeneutics (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/03/02/episode-111-gadamers-hermeneutics-how-to-interpret-citizen-edition/) - On Hans-Georg Gadamer's Truth and Method (1960, ch. 4), "Aesthetics and Hermeneutics" (1964), "The Universality of the Hermeneutical Problem" (1966), and "Hermeneutics as Practical Philosophy" (1972). What's the best way to interpret a text, or anything else? With guest Law Ware. End song: "The Default Relation," by Mark Lint (2015).
- [Episode 112: Ricoeur on Interpreting Religion (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/03/16/episode-112-ricoeur-on-interpreting-religion-citizen-edition/) - On Paul Ricoeur's "The Critique of Religion" and "The Language of Faith" (1973), with guest Law Ware. How can we apply hermeneutics to the Bible? End song: A live 1998 cover of Elvis's "Suspicious Minds" by Mark Lint and the Fake.
- [Episode 113: Jesus's Parables (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/04/06/episode-113-jesuss-parables-citizen-edition/) - Interpreting the Parables using texts from Paul Ricoeur, John Dominic Crossan, Paul Tillich, et al, with guest Law Ware. End song: "Jesus Noise" by Mark Lint
- [Episode 115: Schopenhauer on Music with Guest Jonathan Segel (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/05/11/ep115-schopenhauer-music-ad-free/) - The Camper Van Beethoven violinist/composer/multi-instrumentalist joins us to discuss The World as Will and Representation, book 3 selections. End song: "(Ever and) Always" by Jonathan Segel from All Attractions (2012).
- [Episode 114: Schopenhauer: "The World Is Will" (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2015/04/27/episode-114-schopenhauer-the-world-is-will-citizen-edition/) - On The World As Will and Representation (1818), book 2. The world is a blind, striving force! End song: "Sinking” from Mark Lint & the Simulacra
- [Episode 97: Michael Sandel on Social Justice and the Self (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/07/19/ep-97-sandel-citizen/) - On "Liberalism and the Limits of Justice" (1982), mostly ch. 1 & 4. Classical liberalism from Locke to Rawls focuses on rights as primary: a good government is one that protects people from violations of their rights, and that's what social justice amounts to. Sandel thinks that there's a idea about the self behind this picture: we are selves that have interests, but are not itself composed of those interests. In other words, on this view, you are in your essence just a choosing being, not a member of your family or community. Sandel thinks that is bunk. It doesn't allow for real introspection, or even real freedom. Learn more. End song: "Wonderful You," from Mark Lint and the Fake Johnson Trio (1998).
- [Episode 98: Guest Michael Sandel Against Market Society](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/07/26/ep98-sandel-citizen/) - Interviewing him on his book "What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets" and continuing the discussion of his first book, "Liberalism and the Limits of Justice." Free economic transactions are supposed to benefit both the buyer and the seller, so why not allow prostitution, vote buying, pay-to-immigrate, selling ad space on your house or body, and premium versions of everything for those willing to pay more? Sandel thinks that these practices are degrading even if uncoerced, and argues that classical liberalism--by trying to maintain neutrality on philosophical questions like "what is the good?"--doesn't have the resources to prevent rampant and undesirable commodification. Learn more. End song: "The Like Song," from The MayTricks' So Chewy (1993).
- [Episode 99: Looking Back on 100 Discussions and 5+ Years (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/08/11/ep99-looking-back-citizen/) - What have we learned? How has our take on the PEL project changed? On the eve before our big ep. 100 live show, we sat down to reflect on what we've been doing here. With guest Daniel Horne. End song: "I Wanna Go Back," from Mark Linsenmayer's Spanish Armada: Love and Related Neuroses (1993).
- [Episode 100: Plato's Symposium Live Celebration!](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/08/15/episode100-plato-symposium-live-citizen/) - Our big live episode (also on video) about love, sex, self-improvement, and ancient Greek pederasty! Featuring a set by Mark Lint, plus Philosophy Bro on Plato's "Apology." You can also choose to watch this on video. Learn more.
- [Episode 101: Maimonides on God (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/09/01/ep101-maimonides-citizen/) - On Guide for the Perplexed (1168). What is God? Central to Judaism, at least, is the idea that He's a unity: "God is One." Maimonides thinks that this means you can't attribute properties to God at all: God has no definition, and all the statements about God central to religion are strictly speaking false. With guest Danny Lobell. Learn more. End song: "Double Negative Theology" by Mark Lint. Read about it.
- [Episode 102: Emerson on Wisdom and Individuality (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/09/19/ep102-emerson-citizen/) - On Ralph Waldo Emerson's "The American Scholar" lecture (1837) and his essays "Self-Reliance" and "Circles" (1841). How should we live? Emerson thinks that conformity, which includes most of what passes for ethics, jobs, and scholarship, makes us less than truly human. Be true to yourself! But since we're all ever-changing, that's a moving target, right? But Emerson thinks that when you get really truly honest about what you think and feel, it turns out that you've tapped into something universal, something beyond just you, something eternal. But don't expect Emerson to really explain that part; the upshot of these essays is primarily social, not religious, much less metaphysical. Trust yourself, stop bullshitting, stop living according to others' expectations! End song: "Idiot, Listen" by Mark Lint.
- [Episode 103: Thoreau on Living Deliberately (Citizen Editon)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/10/14/ep103-thoreau-citizen/) - On Henry David Thoreau's Walden (1854). What is the appropriate life for a truly thoughtful person? Thoreau warns against getting ensnared by social bullshit like jobs and charity, and instead living simply, in direct contact with nature, relying as much as possible only on your own effort. His time in the woods on Walden pond was meant to be an experiment to see what life lived this way really has to offer. Learn more. End song: "Green Song" by Mark Linsenmayer, originally released on The MayTricks (1992), newly remixed. Read about it.
- [Episode 105: Kant: What Is Beauty? (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/11/15/episode-105-kant-what-is-beauty-citizen-edition/) - On Critique of Judgment (1790), Part I, Book I. What is beauty? Kant thinks that finding something beautiful is different than merely liking it. It's a certain kind of liking, not dependent on your idiosyncratic tastes (like your preference for one color or flavor or tone over another) or on your moral opinions. He wants these judgments to be subjective in the sense that they're not about the object, but about the fact that people receive pleasure from it, yet he also wants them to be universal, so that if I (correctly) find something beautiful, then I expect others to feel the same way, and moreover, if they have taste, they should. Learn more. End song: "Cool Down" from Mark Lint & the Fake Johnson Trio (1998), newly resung/remixed.
- [Episode 104: Robert Nozick's Libertarianism (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/10/27/ep104-nozick-citizen/) - On Anarchy, State & Utopia (1974), ch. 1-3 and 7. What are the moral limits on government power? No redistributive taxation, suckah! With guest Stephen Metcalf. What moral limits should we put on government power? Nozick thinks that the only legitimate functions of government are protection and enforcement of contracts. Contra Rawls, Nozick's "entitlement" version of justice doesn't look at income inequality or any other pattern of holdings, but only at whether holdings were legitimately obtained. Learn more. End song: "Samuel" (newly resung), by The MayTricks, originally from Happy Songs Will Bring You Down (1994). Read about it.
- [Episode 106: Pyrrhonian Skepticism According to Sextus Empiricus (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/12/04/ep106-pyrrhonian-skepticism-citizen/) - On "Outlines of Pyrrhonism" from 200 C.E. Can you live while suspending judgment about all non-everyday matters? WIth guest Jessica Berry. Are our beliefs warranted? Skeptics following in the footsteps of Pyrrho (in ca. 300 BCE, but didn't leave us any writings, so Sextus, centuries later, has to fill us in) thought that for any argument someone puts forward (at least about the nature of reality), you can come up with a plausible counter-argument, and that after you've done this enough, you achieve a relaxed state where you you're satisfied in not being able to decide. Learn more. End song: "Point of Confusion" by Mark Lint.
- [Episode 96: Oppenheimer and the Rhetoric of Science Advisers (Citizen Edition)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/07/01/ep-96-oppenheimer-citizen/) - Discussing Lynda Walsh's book Scientists as Prophets: A Rhetorical Genealogy (2013) with the author, focusing on Robert J. Oppenheimer. We also read a speech from 1950 he gave called "The Encouragement of Science." What is the role of the science adviser? Should scientists just "stick to the facts," or can only someone with technical knowledge make decisions about what to actually do? After leading the atomic bomb project during WWII, Oppenheimer thought that scientists needed to become politicians themselves to make sure that the power of technology wasn't abused. Lynda's thesis is that the social role of preacher-scientists like Oppenheimer is comparable to that of ancient prophets like the Oracle at Delphi: they serve to bring about political certainty by providing knowledge inaccessible to ordinary citizens. Listen to Lynda's introduction and Learn more. End song: "Request Denied," by Mark Lint.
- [Episode 95: Gödel on Math](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/06/16/ep95-godel-citizen/) - On two unpublished essays considering the implications of Godel's incompleteness theorems and asserting mathematical realism. With guest Adi Habbu. Learn more. End song: "Axiomatic" from Mark Lint & the Simulacra. Read about it.
- [Episode 94: Schopenhauer on Reading, Writing, and Thinking](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/05/22/ep94-schopenhauer-citizen/) - On Arthur Schopenhauer's essays, "On Authorship and Style," "On Thinking for Oneself," and "On Genius" (all published 1851). Is the best way to do philosophy (or any art) to self-consciously build on the work of others to advance the genre? Schopenhauer says no! Learn more. End song: "Drake's Song" from The Maytricks (1992)
- [Episode 92: Henri Bergson on How to Do Metaphysics](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/04/11/ep92-bergson-citizen/) - On Bergson's "An Introduction to Metaphysics" (1903). How does metaphysics differ from science? While Kant had dismissed metaphysics as groundless speculation about things beyond human knowledge, Bergson sees it as a matter of grasping things "from the inside" via intuition. With guest Matt Teichman. Learn more. End song: "I Recall" by Mark Lint & the Simulacra
- [Episode 91: Transhumanism (Plus More on Brin)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/03/29/episode-91-transhumanism-plus-more-on-brin-2/) - Continuing discussion of David Brin's novel Existence (without him) and adding Nick Bostrom's essay "Why I Want to Be a Posthuman When I Grow Up" (2006). Are our present human capabilities sufficient for meeting the challenges our civilization will face? Should we devote our technology to artificially enhancing our abilities, or would that be a crime against nature, a God-play that would probably lead to disaster? With guest Brian Casey. End song: "Waygo" from The MayTricks (1992).
- [Episode 90: Sci-Fi and Philosophy with Guest David Brin](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2014/03/26/ep90-sci-fi-citizen/) - Discussing David Brin's novel Existence (2012) with the author. What's the point of thinking? Brin sees the future as a pressing threat, and Existence speculates that the reason we don't see evidence of life on other planets is that no species survives its technological adolescence. The solution? We need to be smarter than our parents and work to give our kids the tools to be smarter than we are. Also with guest Brian Casey. Learn more. End song: "Persevere" by Mark Lint & the Simulacra
- [Episode 86: Thomas Kuhn on Scientific Progress](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2013/12/24/ep86-kuhn-citizen/) - On The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, published mostly in 1962. Does scientific knowledge simply accumulate as we learn more and more, coming closer and closer to a full and truthful picture of the world? Kuhn says no! Instead, each scientific sub-culture has its own "paradigm," or model for what constitutes legitimate science, which includes what problems to study, what to counts as a result, some background assumptions, and other things nebulous enough that you really can't enumerate them. Learn more. End song: "Retrogress" from The Fake Johnson Trio New & Improved EP (1996), newly resung/remixed.
- [Episode 84: Netzsche's "Gay Science" (Citizens Only)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2013/11/11/ep84-netzsche-citizen/) - On Friedrich Nietzsche's The Gay Science (1882, with book 5 added 1887). What is wisdom? Nietzsche gives us an updated take on the Socratic project of challenging your most deeply held beliefs. Challenge not just your belief in God (who's "dead"), but uncover all your habits of thinking in terms of the divine. Realize how little of your life is actually a matter of conscious reflection, and the consequent limits on self-knowledge. The very act of systematization in philosophy overestimates what we can know; instead, we need a "gay" (in the sense of cheerful, carefree, and subversive) science (in the sense of organized knowledge) that chases after fleeting insights and is able to question, i.e. laugh at, the pretensions of its own activity. End song: "Take a Hike," by Mark Lint and Stevie P.
- [Episode 82: Karl Popper on Science (Citizens Only)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2013/09/24/ep82-popper-citizen/) - On Popper's Conjectures and Refutations (1963), the first three essays. What is science, and how is it different than pseudo-science? From philosophy? Is philosophy just pseudo-science, or proto-science, or what? Popper thinks that all legitimate inquiry is about solving real problems, and scientific theories are those that are potentially falsifiable: they make definitely predictions about the world that, if these fail to be true, would show that the theory is false. Learn more. End song: "Falsifiable," by Mark Lint, written and recorded just for this episode. Read about it.
- [Episode 75: Lacan & Derrida Criticize Poe's "The Purloined Letter" (Citizens Only)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2013/04/19/ep75-lacan-derrida-poe-citizen/) - On Jacques Lacan's "Seminar on 'The Purloined Letter'" (1956), Jacques Derrida's "The Purveyor of Truth" (1975), and other essays in the collection The Purloined Poe: Lacan, Derrida, and Psychoanalytic Reading. How should philosophers approach literature? Lacan read Edgar Allen Poe's story about a sleuth who outthinks a devious Minister as an illustration of his model of the psyche, and why we persist in self-destructive patterns. Derrida thought this reading not only imposed a bunch of psychobabble onto the story, but demonstrated that Lacan just didn't know how to read a text.
- [Episode 81: Jung on the Psyche and Dreams (Citizens Only)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2013/08/29/ep81-jung-citizen/) - On Carl Jung's "Approaching the Unconscious" from Man and His Symbols, written in 1961. What's the structure of the mind? Jung followed Freud in positing an unconscious distinct from the conscious ego, but Jung's picture has the unconscious much more stuffed full of all sorts of stuff from who knows where, including instincts (the archetypes) that tend to give rise to behavior and dream imagery that we'd have to call religious. We neglect this part of ourselves at our psychological peril! End song: "Bedlam" by Mark Lint and the Simulacra.

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- [Ep. 62: Voltaire’s Novel “Candide”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-62-voltaires-novel-candide/) - Episode for Purchase: On Candide: or, Optimism, the novel by Voltaire (1759). Is life good? Popular Enlightenment philosopher Leibniz argued that it's good by definition. God is perfectly good and all-powerful, so whatever he created must have been as good as it can be; we live in the best of all possible worlds. Voltaire loads this satirical adventure story up with horrific violence to demonstrate that Leibniz's position is just silly. Life is filled with suffering, and human nature is such that even in peace and prosperity, we're basically miserable. Yet we still love life despite this. Tend your garden! Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 73: Why Do Philosophy? (And What Is It?)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-73-why-do-philosophy-and-what-is-it/) - Episode for Purchase: Mark, Seth, Wes, and Dylan share what drove them into philosophy and keeps them there. How is philosophy different than (or similar to) science? Than religion? Art? The consensus seems that philosophy, to us, is inevitable for the curious. It's just inquiry, unbounded (in principle at least) by any fixed assumptions. We did no formal reading for this discussion, but did tell each other to keep in mind Plato's "Apology." Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 76: Deleuze on What Philosophy Is](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-76-deleuze-on-what-philosophy-is/) - Episode for Purchase: On Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari's What Is Philosophy? (1991). How is philosophy different from science and art? What's the relationship between different philosophies? Is better pursued solo, or in a group? Deleuze described philosophy as the creation of new concepts, whereas science is about functions that map observed regularities and art is about creating percepts and affects. With guest Daniel Coffeen. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 66: Quine on Linguistic Meaning and Science](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-66-quine-on-linguistic-meaning-and-science/) - Episode for Purchase: On W.V.O. Quine's "On What There Is" (1948) and "Two Dogmas of Empiricism" (1951). What kind of metaphysics is compatible with science? Quine sees science and philosophy as one and the same enterprise, and he objects to ontologies that include types of entities that science can't, even in principle, study. Also, troubles with the concept of synonymy, i.e. "same meaning." WIth guest Matt Teichman. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 60: Aristotle: What’s the Best Form of Government?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-60-aristotle-whats-the-best-form-of-government/) - Episode for Purchase: On Aristotle's Politics (350 BCE), books 1 (ch 1-2), 3, 4 (ch 1-3), 5 (ch 1-2), 6 (ch 1-6), and 7 (ch. 1-3, 13-15). Aristotle provides both a taxonomy of the types of government, based on observations of numerous constitutions of the states of his time, and prescriptions on how to best order a state. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 58: What Grounds Ethical Claims? (Moore, Stevenson, MacIntyre)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-58-what-grounds-ethical-claims-moore-stevenson-macintyre/) - Episode for Purchase: On G.E. Moore's Principia Ethica, ch. 1 (1903); Charles Leslie Stevenson's "The Emotive Meaning of Ethical Terms" (1937), and Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue, ch. 1-2. Is there such a thing as moral intuition? Is "good" a simple property that we all recognize but can't explain like yellow? Or are moral terms just tools we use to convince other people to like things that we like? Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 84: Nietzsche’s “Gay Science”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep84-nietzsche/) - On Friedrich Nietzsche's The Gay Science (1882, with book 5 added 1887). What is wisdom? Nietzsche gives us an updated take on the Socratic project of challenging your most deeply held beliefs. Challenge not just your belief in God (who's "dead"), but uncover all your habits of thinking in terms of the divine. Realize how little of your life is actually a matter of conscious reflection, and the consequent limits on self-knowledge. The very act of systematization in philosophy overestimates what we can know; instead, we need a "gay" (in the sense of cheerful, carefree, and subversive) science (in the sense of organized knowledge) that chases after fleeting insights and is able to question, i.e. laugh at, the pretensions of its own activity. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 74: Jacques Lacan’s Psychology](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-74-jacques-lacans-psychology/) - Episode for Purchase: On Bruce Fink's The Lacanian Subject (1996) and Lacan's "The Mirror Stage as Formative of the Function of the I as Revealed in Psychoanalytic Experience" (1949). What is the self? Is that the same as the experiencing subject? Lacan says no: while the self (the ego) is an imaginative creation, cemented by language, the subject is something else, something split (at least initially) between consciousness and the unconscious. Lacan mixes this Freudian picture with semiotics--an emphasis on systems of linguistic symbols--using this to both create his picture of the psyche and explain how psychological disorders arise. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 78: Ayn Rand on Living Rationally](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-78-ayn-rand/) - On Rand's Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology (1967) and "The Objectivist Ethics" (1961). First Rand grounds everyday human knowledge, largely by dismissing the concerns of other philosophers (even those whom she unknowingly parrots) as absurd. Then she uses this certainty to argue for her semi-Nietzschean vision of Great Men who master their emotions and rely only on themselves. Learn more. Looking for the full Citizen version?
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- [Ep. 61: Nietzsche on Truth and Skepticism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-61-nietzsche-on-truth-and-skepticism/) - Episode for Purchase: On Friedrich Nietzsche's "On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense" (1873). What is truth? This essay, written early in Nietzsche's career, is taken by many to make the extreme claim that there is no truth, that all of the "truths" we tell each other are just agreements by social convention. WIth guest Jessica Berry, who argues that that Nietzsche is a skeptic: our "truths" don't correspond with the world beyond our human conceptions; all knowledge is laden with human interests. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [More Seth T-Shirt](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/more-seth-t-shirt/) - Want to hear more from Seth in PEL episodes? Say it loud and clear with this T-Shirt. PEL logo printed on inside label (not available on sizes 2xl & 3xl). Printed on Anvil 980 Lightweight Fashion Short Sleeve T-Shirt 100% ring-spun lightweight cotton Pre-shrunk Tubular construction Shoulder-to-shoulder tape Seamless collar Double-needle sleeve and bottom hem
- [Brain Man Shirt](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/brain-man-shirt/) - Blackjack lover. Kmart hater. Excellent driver. PEL logo printed on inside label (not available on sizes 2xl & 3xl). Printed on Anvil 980 Lightweight Fashion Short Sleeve T-Shirt 100% ring-spun lightweight cotton Pre-shrunk Tubular construction Shoulder-to-shoulder tape Seamless collar Double-needle sleeve and bottom hem
- [Übermensch T-Shirt](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ubermensch-t-shirt/) - PEL logo printed on inside label (not available on sizes 2xl & 3xl). Printed on Anvil 980 Lightweight Fashion Short Sleeve T-Shirt 100% ring-spun lightweight cotton Pre-shrunk Tubular construction Shoulder-to-shoulder tape Seamless collar Double-needle sleeve and bottom hem
- [Mark's Close Reading file for Sartre's Being & Nothingness](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/marks-close-reading-file-for-sartres-being-nothingness/) - Length: 1/2 hour. Read about it. Listen to a sample.
- [Reading of "On Denoting" by Bertrand Russell](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/bertrand-rullell-article-on-denoting-from-1905/) - Here's Mark reading a Bertrand Russell article, "On Denoting" from 1905. It kicks off with a few minutes of summarizing the text, then the rest is a verbatim reading. The suggested price is $2.99, but you can edit the value in the cart to pay as little as 99 cents or as much as you want.
- [Ep. 31: Husserl’s Phenomenology](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-31-husserl/) - Episode for Purchase: Discussing Edmund Husserl's Cartesian Meditations (1931). How can we analyze our experience? Husserl thinks that Descartes was right about the need to ground science from the standpoint of our own experience, but wrong about everything else. Husserl recommends we "bracket" the question of whether the external world exists and just focus on the contents of our consciousness (the "cogito"). He thinks that with good, theory-free observations (meaning very difficult, unnatural language), we can give an account of the essential structures of experience, which will include truth, certainty, and objectivity (intersubjective verifiability): all that science needs. We'll find that we don't need to ground the existence of objects in space and other minds, because our entire experience presupposes them; they're already indubitable. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 32: Heidegger: What is "Being?"](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep32-heidegger/) - Episode for Purchase: Discussing Martin Heidegger's Being and Time (1927), mostly the intro and ch. 1 and 2 of Part 1. When philosophers try to figure out what really exists (God? matter? numbers?), Heidegger thinks they've forgotten a question that really should come first: what is it to exist? He thinks that instead of asking "What is Being?" we ask, as in a scientific context, "what is this thing?" This approach then poisons our ability to understand ourselves or the world that we as human beings actually inhabit, as opposed to the abstraction that science makes out of this. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 33: Montaigne: What Is the Purpose of Philosophy?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-33-montaigne/) - Episode for Purchase: Discussing Michel de Montaigne's Essays: "That to Philosophize is to Learn to Die," "Of Experience," "Of Cannibals," "Of the Education of Children," and "Of Solitude" (all from around 1580) with some discussion of "Apology for Raymond Sebond." Renaissance man Montaigne tells us all how to live, how to die, how to raise our kids, that we don't know anything, and a million Latin quotations. Montaigne put the skeptical fire under Descartes and both draws upon and mocks a great deal of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy. Plus, he's actually fun to read. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 34: Frege on the Logic of Language](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-34-frege/) - Episode for Purchase: On Gottlob Frege's "Sense and Reference," "Concept and Object" (both from 1892) and "The Thought" (1918). With guest Matt Teichman. What is it about sentences that make them true or false? Frege, the father of analytic philosophy who invented modern symbolic logic, attempted to codify language in a way that would make this obvious, which would ground mathematics and science. Applying his symbolic system to natural language forced him to invent strange entities like "thoughts" and "senses" that are neither physical nor psychological, and we pretty much spend this episode kvetching about the metaphysical implications of this and the fact that Frege didn't care about them. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 35: Hegel on Self-Consciousness](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep35-hegel/) - Episode for Purchase: Discussing G.F.W. Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), Part B (aka Ch. 4), "Self-Consciousness," plus recapping the three chapters before that (Part A. "Consciousness"). We discuss Hegel's weird dialectical method and what it says about his metaphysics, in particular about ourselves: not static, pre-formed balls of self-interest, but something that needs to be actively formed through reflection, which in turn is only possible because of our interactions with other people. Featuring guest podcaster Tom McDonald. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 36: More Hegel on Self-Consciousness](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-36-hegel/) - Episode for Purchase: Part 2 of our discussion of G.F.W. Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit, covering sections 178-230 within section B, "Self-Consciousness." First, Hegel's famous "master and slave" parable, whereby we only become fully self-conscious by meeting up with another person, who (at least in primordial times, or maybe this happens to everyone as they grow up, or maybe this is all just happening in one person's head... who the hell knows given the wacky way Hegel talks)? Then the story leads into stoicism, skepticism, and the "unhappy consciousness" (i.e. Christianity). Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 37: Locke on Political Power](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-37-locke-on-political-power/) - Episode for Purchase: Discussing John Locke's Second Treatise on Government (1690). What makes political power legitimate? Like Hobbes, Locke thinks that things are less than ideal without a society to keep people from killing us, so we implicitly sign a social contract giving power to the state. But for Locke, nature's not as bad, so the state is given less power. But how much less? And what does Locke think about tea partying, kids, women, acorns, foreign travelers, and calling dibs? The part of Wes is played by guest podcaster Sabrina Weiss. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 38: Bertrand Russell on Math and Logic](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-38-russell/) - Episode for Purchase: Discussing Russell's Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy (1919), ch. 1-3 and 13-18. How do mathematical concepts like number relate to the real world? Russell wants to derive math from logic, and identifies a number as a set of similar sets of objects, e.g. "3" just IS the set of all trios. Hilarity then ensues. With guest Josh Pelton. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 39: Schleiermacher Defends Religion](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-39-schleiermacher/) - Episode for Purchase: Discussing Friedrich Schleiermacher's "On Religion; Speeches to its Cultured Despisers" (1799, with notes added 1821), first and second speeches. Does religion necessarily conflict with science? Schleiermacher says no: the essence of religion is an emotional response to life; it doesn't give knowledge or even tell us what to do exactly. Moreover, this attitude is a necessary to fully enter into life, to be a whole and fulfilled person. Yes, he's of the "romantic" school, but his approach can still be seen today in liberal Protestant churches. With guest Daniel Horne. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 40: Plato's Republic: What Is Justice?](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-40-plato-republic/) - Episode for Purchase: Discussing The Republic by Plato, primarily books 1 and 2. What is justice? What is the ideal type of government? In the dialogue, Socrates argues that justice is real (not just a fiction the strong make up) and that it's not relative to who you are (in the sense that it would always be just to help your friends and hurt your enemies). Justice ends up being a matter of balancing your soul so the rational part is in control over the rest of you. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 41: Pat Churchland on the Neurobiology of Morality (Plus Hume’s Ethics)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-41-churchland/) - Episode for Purchase: Patricia Churchland on her new book Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us About Morality. We also discussed David Hume's ethics as foundational to her work, reading his Treatise on Human Nature (1739), Book III, Part I and his Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751), Section V, Parts I and II. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 42: Feminists on Human Nature and Moral Psychology](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-42-feminism/) - Episode for Purchase: Discussing Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s utopian novel Herland (1915) and psychologist Carol Gilligan's In a Different Voice (1983). How does human nature, and specifically moral psychology, vary by sex? Charlotte Perkins Gilman claims that when philosophers have described human nature as violent and selfish, they have in mind solely male nature. Females, left to themselves in an isolated society, would be supremely peaceful, rational, and cooperative. With guest Azzurra Crispino. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 43: Arguments for the Existence of God](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-43-god-existence/) - Episode for Purchase: Discussing the arguments by Descartes, St. Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, William Paley, Kant, and others, as analyzed in J.L. Mackie's The Miracle of Theism: Arguments For and Against the Existence of God (1983), chapters 1-3, 5-6, 8, and 11. With guest Robert Scott. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 44: New Atheist Critiques of Religion](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-44-new-atheists/) - Episode for Purchase: Discussing selections from Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel C. Dennett. Should we be religious, or is religion just a bunch of superstitious nonsense that it's past time for us to outgrow? Does faith lead to ceding to authority and potential violence? Can a reasonable person be religious? We say lots of rude things about these authors, and at times about their targets in this listener-requested episode. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 45: Moral Sense Theory: Hume and Smith](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-45-moral-sense-theory-hume-and-smith/) - Episode for Purchase: Discussing parts of David Hume's Treatise of Human Nature (1740) and Adam Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759). Where do we get our moral ideas? Hume and Smith both thought that we get them by reflecting on our own moral judgments and on how we and others (including imaginary, hypothesized others) in turn judge those judgments. We lay out the differences between these two gents and discuss whether their views constitute an actual moral theory or just a descriptive enterprise. With guest Getty Lustila. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 46: Plato on Ethics & Religion](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep46-plato-euthyphro/) - Episode for Purchase: Discussing Plato's Euthyphro. Does morality have to be based on religion? Are good things good just because God says so, or (if there is a God) does God choose to approve of the things He does because he recognizes those things to be already good? Plato thinks the latter: if morality is to be truly non-arbitrary, then, like the laws of logic, it can't just be a contingent matter of what the gods happen to approve of (i.e. what some particular religious text happens to say). With guest Matt Evans. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 47: Sartre on Consciousness and the Self](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-47-sartre/) - Episode for Purchase: Discussing Jean-Paul Sartre's The Transcendence of the Ego (written in 1934). What is consciousness, and does it necessarily involve an "I" who is conscious of things? Sartre says no: typical experience is consciousness of some object and doesn't involve the experience of myself as someone having this consciousness. It's only when we reflect on our own conscious experiences that we posit this "I." The ego is our own creation, or more precisely a social creation. This means that far from being some primordial structure of all experience, this transparent thing inside us that we have more immediate knowledge of than anything else, the ego is an object: it has parts we don't see, and we can be wrong when we make judgments about it. Other people might even know us better than we know ourselves. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 48: Merleau-Ponty on Perception and Knowledge](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-48-merleau-ponty-on-perception-and-knowledge/) - Episode for Purchase: Discussing Maurice Merleau-Ponty's "Primacy of Perception" (1946) and The World of Perception (1948). What is the relation of perception to knowledge? In M-P's phenomenology, perception is primary: even our knowledge of mathematical truths is in some way conditioned by and dependent on the fact that we are creatures with bodies and senses that work the way they do. Science is great, but it doesn't discover the truth of things hiding behind perception: it is an abstraction from certain kinds of perceptions. Other modes of approaching things, e.g. art, can equally well give us knowledge, though of a different kind. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 49: Foucault on Power and Punishment](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-49-foucault/) - Episode for Purchase: Discussing Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish (1975), parts 1, 2 and section 3 of part 3. Are we really free? Kings no longer exert absolute and arbitrary power over us, but Foucault's picture of the evolution from torture and public executions to rehabilitative, medical-style incarceration is not so much a triumph of liberty but a shift to more subtle but more pervasive exertions of power. With guest Katie McIntyre. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 50: Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-50-pirsigs-zen-and-the-art-of-motorcycle-maintenance/) - Episode for Purchase: On Robert M. Pirsig's philosophical, autobiographical novel from 1974. What's the relationship between science and values? Pirsig thinks that modern rationality, by insisting on the fundamental distinction between objects (matter) and subjects (people), labels value judgments as irrational. Society therefore largely ignores aesthetic considerations in the buildings and machines that litter our landscape. With guest David Buchanan. Looking for the Citizen version?
- [Ep. 51: Semiotics and Structuralism (Saussure, et al)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-51-semiotics-and-structuralism-saussure-et-al/) - Episode for Purchase: On Ferdinand de Saussure's Course in General Linguistics (1916) (Part I and Part II, Ch. 4), Claude Levi-Strauss's "The Structural Study of Myth" (1955), and Jacques Derrida's "Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences" (1966). What is language? What is the relation between language and reality? With guest C. Derick Varn. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 52: Philosophy and Race (DuBois, Martin Luther King, Cornel West)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-52-philosophy-and-race-dubois-martin-luther-king-cornel-west/) - Episode for Purchase: On W.E.B. DuBois's "Of Our Spiritual Strivings" (1903), Cornel West's "A Genealogy of Modern Racism" (1982), and Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (1963) and "The Black Power Defined" (1967), plus Malcolm X's "The Black Revolution" (1963). With guest Lawrence Ware. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 53: Buddhism and Naturalism with Guest Owen Flanagan](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-53-buddhism-and-naturalism-with-guest-owen-flanagan/) - Episode for Purchase: Discussing The Bodhisattva's Brain: Buddhism Naturalized (2011) with Owen Flanagan. What philosophical insights can we modern folks with our science and naturalism (i.e. inclination against super-natural explanations) glean from Buddhisim? Flanagan says plenty: We can profitably put Buddhist ethics in dialogue with familiar types of virtue ethics. However, we need to be skeptical of any claims to scientific support the superior happiness of Buddhists. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 55: Wittgenstein on Language](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-55-wittgenstein-on-language/) - Episode for Purchase: On Ludwig Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations, Part I, sections 1-33 and 191-360 (written around 1946). What is linguistic meaning? Wittgenstein argues that it's not some mysterious entity in the mind, but that it is a public matter: you understand a word if you can use it appropriately, and you know the context in which it's appropriate to use it and how to react when you hear it in that context. W. calls such a context a "language game," and sees language as big heap of these games, spanning a wide range of human activity. With guest Philosophy Bro. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 54: More Buddhism and Naturalism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-54-more-buddhism-and-naturalism-2/) - Episode for Purchase: Continuing our discussion of Owen Flanagan's The Bodhisattva's Brain: Buddhism Naturalized (2011). Are the basic tenets of Buddhism compatible with a respect for science? We talk (eventually) about talk about karma, nirvana, emptiness, no-self, and the four noble truths. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 56: More Wittgenstein on Language](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-56-more-wittgenstein-on-language/) - Episode for Purchase: Continuing discussion of Ludwig Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations, Part I, sections 1-33 and 191-360. With guest Philosophy Bro. On "family resemlances" in concepts, dismissing philosophical puzzles as grammatical mistakes, and the private language argument. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 57: Henri Bergson on Humor](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-57-henri-bergson-on-humor/) - Episode for Purchase: On Bergson's Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic (1900). What is humor? Bergson says that, fundamentally, we laugh as a form of social corrective when others are slow to adapt to society's demands. Other types of humor are derivative from this. With guest Jennifer Dziura. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 59: Alasdair MacIntyre on Moral Justifications](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-59-alasdair-macintyre-on-moral-justifications/) - Episode for Purchase: On Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory (1981), mostly ch. 3-7 and 14-17. What justifies ethical claims? MacIntyre claims that no modern attempt to ground ethics has worked, and that's because we've abandoned Aristotle. We see facts and values as fundamentally different: the things science discovers vs. these weird things that have nothing to do with science. In Aristotle's teleological view, everything comes with built-in goals, so just as a plant will aim grow green and healthy, people have a definite kind of virtue towards which we do and should naturally strive. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 63: Existentialist Heroes in Cormac McCarthy’s “No Country for Old Men”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-63-existentialist-heroes-in-cormac-mccarthys-no-country-for-old-men/) - Episode for Purchase: On philosophical issues in McCarthy's 2005 novel about guys running around with drug money and shooting each other, and about fiction as a form for exploring philosophical ideas. What can morality mean for people who have witnessed the "death of God," i.e. a loss in faith in light of the horrors of war? Who knows what McCarthy himself thinks? With guest Eric Petrie. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 64: Celebrity, with guest Lucy Lawless](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-64-celebrity-with-guest-lucy-lawless/) - Episode for Purchase: On Fame: What the Classics Tell Us About Our Cult of Celebrity by Tom Payne (2010). What's the deal with our f'ed up relationship with celebrities? Payne says that celebrities serve a social need that's equal parts religion and and aggression. TV's Lucy Lawless (Xena, Spartacus, Battlestar Galactica) joins us to discuss the accuracy of this thesis. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 65: The Federalist Papers](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-65-the-federalist-papers/) - Episode for Purchase: On Alexander Hamilton/James Madison's Federalist Papers (1, 10-12, 14-17, 39, 47-51), published as newspaper editorials 1787-8, plus Letters III and IV from Brutus, an Anti-Federalist. What constitutes good government? These founding fathers argued that the proposed Constitution, with its newly centralized (yet also separated-by-branch) powers would be a significant improvement on the Articles of Confederation, which had left states as the ultimate sovereigns. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 67: Carnap on Logic and Science](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-67-carnap-on-logic-and-science/) - Episode for Purchase: On Rudolph Carnap's The Logical Structure of the World (1928). What can we know? Carnap thinks that all the various spheres of knowledge are logically interrelated, that you can translate sentences about any of these into sentences about sets of basic, momentary experiences. This book, aka the Aufbau, is his attempt to sketch out how this system of linguistic reduction can work (it doesn't). WIth guest Matt Teichman. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 68: David Chalmers Interview on the Scrutability of the World](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-68-david-chalmers-interview-on-the-scrutability-of-the-world/) - Episode for Purchase: On David Chalmers's book Constructing the World (2012). How are all the various truths about the world related to each other? David Chalmers, famous for advocating a scientifically respectable form of brain-consciousness dualism, advocates a framework of scrutability: if one knew some set of base truths, then the rest would be knowable from them. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 69: Plato on Rhetoric vs. Philosophy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-69-plato-on-rhetoric-vs-philosophy/) - Episode for Purchase: On Plato's Dialogue, "Gorgias" (380 BCE or so). Why philosophize? Isn't it better to know how to persuade people in practical matters, like a successful lawyer or business leader? Plato (via Socrates) thinks that the "art" of rhetoric isn't an art at all, in the sense of requiring an understanding of one's subject matter, but merely a talent for saying what people want to hear. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 70: Marx on the Human Condition](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-70-marx-on-the-human-condition/) - Episode for Purchase: On Karl Marx's The German Ideology, Part I, an early, unpublished work from 1846. What is human nature? What drives history? How can we improve our situation? Marx thought that fundamentally, you are what you do: you are your job, your means of subsistence. All the rest, this culture, this religion, this philosophy, is just a thin layer over our basic situation. Ideas are not primarily what changes the world; it's economics. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 71: Martin Buber’s “I and Thou”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-71-martin-bubers-i-and-thou/) - Episode for Purchase: On Buber's 1923 book about the fundamental human position: As children, and historically, we start fully absorbed in relation with another person (like mom). Before that, we have no self-consciousness, no "self" at all. It's only by having these consuming "encounters" that we gradually distinguish ourselves from other people, and can then engage in what we'd normally consider "experience," which Buber calls "the I-It relation." Buber thinks that unless we can keep connected to this "I-Thou" phenomenon, through mature relationships, art, and nature. With guest Daniel Horne. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 72: Terrorism with Jonathan R. White](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-72-terrorism-with-jonathan-r-white/) - Episode for Purchase: We're joined by an international terrorism expert to discuss how to define terrorism and whether it can ever be ethical. With readings by Donald Black, J. Angelo Corlett, Igor Primoratz, Karl Heinzen, Bhagat Singh, and Carl von Clausewitz. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 75: Lacan & Derrida Criticize Poe’s “The Purloined Letter”](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-75-lacan-derrida-criticize-poes-the-purloined-letter/) - Episode for Purchase: On Jacques Lacan's "Seminar on 'The Purloined Letter'" (1956), Jacques Derrida's "The Purveyor of Truth" (1975), and other essays in the collection The Purloined Poe: Lacan, Derrida, and Psychoanalytic Reading. How should philosophers approach literature? Lacan read Edgar Allen Poe's story about a sleuth who outthinks a devious Minister as an illustration of his model of the psyche, and why we persist in self-destructive patterns. Derrida thought this reading not only imposed a bunch of psychobabble onto the story, but demonstrated that Lacan just didn't know how to read a text. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 77: Santayana on the Appreciation of Beauty](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-77santayana/) - On George Santayana's The Sense of Beauty (1896). What are we saying when we call something "beautiful?" Are we pointing out an objective quality that other people (anyone?) can ferret out, or just essentially saying "yay!" without any logic necessarily behind our exclamation? The poet and philosopher Santayana thought that while aesthetic appreciation is an immediate experience--we don't "infer" the beauty of something by recognizing some natural qualities that it has--we can nonetheless analyze the experience after the fact to uncover a number of grounds on which we might appreciate something. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 79: Heraclitus on Understanding the World (w/ Eva Brann)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-79-heraclitus/) - Eva Brann discusses her book The Logos of Heraclitus (2011). What is the world like, and how can we understand it? Heraclitus thinks that the answer to both questions is found in "the logos." Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 80: Heidegger on our Existential Situation](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-80-heidegger/) - On Martin Heidegger's "Letter on Humanism" (1949). What's our place in the world? What is it, really, to be human? Heidegger thought that being human hinges on having a proper relationship to Being, which is more basic than particular beings like people and tables and such, yet it being so close, Heidegger thinks it's hardest to see, and easy to be distracted from. Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 81: Jung on the Psyche and Dreams](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-81-jung/) - On Carl Jung's "Approaching the Unconscious" from Man and His Symbols, written in 1961. What's the structure of the mind? Jung followed Freud in positing an unconscious distinct from the conscious ego, but Jung's picture has the unconscious much more stuffed full of all sorts of stuff from who knows where, including instincts (the archetypes) that tend to give rise to behavior and dream imagery that we'd have to call religious. We neglect this part of ourselves at our psychological peril! Looking for the full Citizen version?
- [Ep. 82: Karl Popper on Science](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep-82-popper/) - On Popper's Conjectures and Refutations (1963), the first three essays. What is science, and how is it different than pseudo-science? From philosophy? Is philosophy just pseudo-science, or proto-science, or what? Popper thinks that all legitimate inquiry is about solving real problems, and scientific theories are those that are potentially falsifiable: they make definitely predictions about the world that, if these fail to be true, would show that the theory is false. Looking for the full Citizen version?
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- [An Hour of Philosophy Interrogation with Mark Linsenmayer](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/an-hour-of-philosophy-interrogation-with-mark-linsenmayer/) - An hour of tutoring from the host of PEL, on any topic PEL has covered, or we can just get into your philosophical interests... why you listen to the podcast and what you might want to read or do going forward to build on this. Also willing to talk to you about your writing if you'd like.
- [Mark Lint's Dry Folk album (CD)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/mark-lint-dry-folk/) - A new album of 12 acoustic songs from your host Mark Linsenmayer. This is for the CD; get your e-versions at the bandcamp site.
- [Customized "Personal Philosophy" Writeup](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/customized-personal-philosophy-writeup/) - A Mark-penned, 200+ word goofy write-up that you can gift to the PEL lover in your life based on his or her interests, providing non-guidance and personal branding in an otherwise unremarkable world.
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- [PEL Hosts 11oz Mug](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/pel-11oz-mug/) - An 11oz mug with a 'portrait' of the PEL hosts that you will find only in the PEL store. On the back: "Think better of it" (Our motto: "We were once set on doing philosophy for a living, but then thought better of it")
- [Schopenhauer 11oz Mug (Wealth)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/schopenhauer-wealth-11oz-mug/) - An 11oz mug with an original portrait of Schopenhauer that you will find only in the PEL store. On the back: "Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become; and the same is true of coffee." (Original quote: "Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become; and the same is true of fame.").
- [Thoreau 11oz Mug](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/thoreau-11oz-mug/) - An 11oz mug with an original portrait of Thoreau that you will find only in the PEL store. On the back: "To a philosopher all news, as it is called, is gossip, and they who edit and read it are old women over their tea." (Original quote: same)
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- [Songs from the Partially Examined Life by Mark Lint (mp3s)](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/songs-from-the-partially-examined-life-by-mark-lint-mp3s/) - An e-copy of the most beloved songs recorded for the podcast between 2011-2015. Titles: 1) I Insist, 2) Double Negative Theology, 3) We Who Have Escaped, 4) Jesus Noise, 5) Reason Enough, 6) The Past Is Not Real, 7) Things We Should Do, 8) The Default Relation, 9) Sense of Beauty, 10) Antigone, 11) Stoobis in the Sky, 12) Falsifiable, 13) Point of Confusion, 14) Adds Up to Nothing, 15) No Exit, 16) Thing in the World, 17) I Believe. Includes lyrics.
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- [Not School: Anscombe's "Intention"](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/not-school-discussion-anscombes-intention/) - Recorded 3/8/14 by Mark Linsenmayer with Stanley Martin and Shira Coffee as a follow-up to PEL ep. 88. While that episode discussed only one small part of that book, this 80 minute discussion treats the book more globally: what kind of explanation does the book claim to provide? Does it satisfy, and if not, is
- [Precogs: Eps. 80-83, 85-87 on Heidegger, Sartre, Jung, Popper, Kuhn, Rawls, and Bergmann](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/precogs-eps-80-83-85-87/) - Transcribed introductions to Heidegger, Jung, Popper, Bergmann, Rawls, Kuhn, and Sartre written by the PEL crew.
- [Transcription of Episode 61 on Nietzsche](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/transcription-of-episode-61-on-nietzsche/) - Transcription covering Episode 61 on Nietzsche. Length: 47 pages (about 20,000 words).

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- [philosophy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy/)
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- [University of Texas](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/university-of-texas/)
- [Bible](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/bible/)
- [Star Trek](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/star-trek/)
- [Star Wars](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/star-wars/)
- [politics](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/politics/)
- [tyranny](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/tyranny/)
- [equality](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/equality/)
- [existentialism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/existentialism/)
- [Descartes](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/descartes/)
- [Matrix](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/matrix/)
- [reality](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/reality/)
- [illusion](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/illusion/)
- [epistemology](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/epistemology/)
- [Plato](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/plato/)
- [Socrates](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/socrates/)
- [Unexamined Life](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/unexamined-life/)
- [belief](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/belief/)
- [Apology](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/apology/)
- [St. John's University](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/st-johns-university/)
- [Camus](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/camus/)
- [the Absurd](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/the-absurd/)
- [Nietzsche](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/nietzsche/)
- [phenomenology](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/phenomenology/)
- [suicide](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/suicide/)
- [genius](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/genius/)
- [Beatles](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/beatles/)
- [Robert Solomon](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/robert-solomon/)
- [Sisyphus](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/sisyphus/)
- [Madison](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/madison/)
- [Isthmus](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/isthmus/)
- [Cartoonstand](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/cartoonstand/)
- [Ken Gerber](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/ken-gerber/)
- [Aristotle](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/aristotle/)
- [Ethics](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/ethics/)
- [Nichomachean](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/nichomachean/)
- [Michael Jackson](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/michael-jackson/)
- [graduate school](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/graduate-school/)
- [dropping out](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/dropping-out/)
- [drugs](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/drugs/)
- [Leibniz](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/leibniz/)
- [monads](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/monads/)
- [best of all possible worlds](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/best-of-all-possible-worlds/)
- [Dan Dennett](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/dan-dennett/)
- [epiphenomenalism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/epiphenomenalism/)
- [mind](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/mind/)
- [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/ludwig-wittgenstein/)
- [Bertrand Russell](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/bertrand-russell/)
- [Nelson Goodman](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/nelson-goodman/)
- [Rudoph Carnap](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/rudoph-carnap/)
- [scientism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/scientism/)
- [mysticism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/mysticism/)
- [rejection of metaphysics](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/rejection-of-metaphysics/)
- [Immanuel Kant](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/immanuel-kant/)
- [Logical Positivism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/logical-positivism/)
- [Vienna Circle](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/vienna-circle/)
- [logic](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/logic/)
- [Jeremy Bentham](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/jeremy-bentham/)
- [John Stuart Mill](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/john-stuart-mill/)
- [Peter Singer](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/peter-singer/)
- [utilitarianism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/utilitarianism/)
- [categorical imperative](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/categorical-imperative/)
- [animal rights](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/animal-rights/)
- [poverty](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/poverty/)
- [justice](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/justice/)
- [consequentialism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/consequentialism/)
- [asceticism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/asceticism/)
- [pleasure](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/pleasure/)
- [film](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/film/)
- [intelligence](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/intelligence/)
- [documentary](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/documentary/)
- [Stupidity](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/stupidity/)
- [TV](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/tv/)
- [Stephen King](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/stephen-king/)
- [John Rawls](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/john-rawls/)
- [Allen Wood](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/allen-wood/)
- [empiricism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/empiricism/)
- [deontology](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/deontology/)
- [meta-ethics](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/meta-ethics/)
- [relativism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/relativism/)
- [anti-Semitism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/anti-semitism/)
- [Judaism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/judaism/)
- [Christianity](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/christianity/)
- [Frithjof Bergmann](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/frithjof-bergmann/)
- [social contract](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/social-contract/)
- [masters and slaves](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/masters-and-slaves/)
- [Richard Rorty](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/richard-rorty/)
- [Chuang Tzu](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/chuang-tzu/)
- [Lao Tzu](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/lao-tzu/)
- [Jacques Derrida](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/jacques-derrida/)
- [skepticism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/skepticism/)
- [Erik Douglas](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/erik-douglas/)
- [Tao Te Ching](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/tao-te-ching/)
- [Taoism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/taoism/)
- [Confucius](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/confucius/)
- [Martin Heidegger](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/martin-heidegger/)
- [Buddhism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/buddhism/)
- [free will](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/free-will/)
- [determinism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/determinism/)
- [compatibilism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/compatibilism/)
- [podcast](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/podcast/)
- [heidegger](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/heidegger/)
- [love](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/love/)
- [war](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/war/)
- [david brooks](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/david-brooks/)
- [metaphysics](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/metaphysics/)
- [quantum physics](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/quantum-physics/)
- [Werner Heisenberg](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/werner-heisenberg/)
- [relativity](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/relativity/)
- [Einstein](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/einstein/)
- [Pre-Socratics](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/pre-socratics/)
- [Heisenberg's uncertainty principle](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/heisenbergs-uncertainty-principle/)
- [philosophy of science](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-of-science/)
- [Thomas Nagel](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/thomas-nagel/)
- [Intelligent Design](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/intelligent-design/)
- [realism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/realism/)
- [Brian Leiter](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/brian-leiter/)
- [quantum zeno effect](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/quantum-zeno-effect/)
- [Renaissance](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/renaissance/)
- [monarchy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/monarchy/)
- [utopianism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/utopianism/)
- [nationalism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/nationalism/)
- [Niccolò Machiavelli](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/niccolo-machiavelli/)
- [The Prince](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/the-prince/)
- [Discourses on Livy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/discourses-on-livy/)
- [inspirational speech](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/inspirational-speech/)
- [Isaiah Berlin](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/isaiah-berlin/)
- [comedy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/comedy/)
- [ecce homo](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/ecce-homo/)
- [reasons we are great](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/reasons-we-are-great/)
- [three philosophers](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/three-philosophers/)
- [elucidations](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/elucidations/)
- [julian baggini](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/julian-baggini/)
- [bad philosophy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/bad-philosophy/)
- [exploring the mind](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/exploring-the-mind/)
- [marvin levich](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/marvin-levich/)
- [unreasonable](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/unreasonable/)
- [unrealistic](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/unrealistic/)
- [new year's resolution](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/new-years-resolution/)
- [take risks](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/take-risks/)
- [40s](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/40s/)
- [4 hour work week](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/4-hour-work-week/)
- [dialectic](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/dialectic/)
- [Marx](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/marx/)
- [History](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/history/)
- [slavery](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/slavery/)
- [mater-slave dialectic](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/mater-slave-dialectic/)
- [freedom](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/freedom/)
- [liberty](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/liberty/)
- [democracy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/democracy/)
- [God](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/god/)
- [G.W.F. Hegel](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/gwf-hegel/)
- [self-consciousness](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/self-consciousness/)
- [aesthetics](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/aesthetics/)
- [art](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/art/)
- [avant-garde](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/avant-garde/)
- [Arthur Danto](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/arthur-danto/)
- [Jessica Berry](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/jessica-berry/)
- [academia](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/academia/)
- [religion-bashing](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/religion-bashing/)
- [Andy Warhol](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/andy-warhol/)
- [Marcel Duchamp](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/marcel-duchamp/)
- [The Bride & the Bachelors](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/the-bride-the-bachelors/)
- [Picasso](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/picasso/)
- [philosophy of history](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-of-history/)
- [Karl Marx](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/karl-marx/)
- [virtual reality](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/virtual-reality/)
- [sound of own voice](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/sound-of-own-voice/)
- [audio editing](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/audio-editing/)
- [self-criticism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/self-criticism/)
- [self-awareness](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/self-awareness/)
- [pattern of speech](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/pattern-of-speech/)
- [self-recording](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/self-recording/)
- [inspiration](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/inspiration/)
- [self-reflection](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/self-reflection/)
- [over-examined life sucks](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/over-examined-life-sucks/)
- [fail to try and succeed](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/fail-to-try-and-succeed/)
- [become tolerable](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/become-tolerable/)
- [touch of philosophy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/touch-of-philosophy/)
- [partially examined life](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/partially-examined-life/)
- [nazism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/nazism/)
- [Emmanuel Faye](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/emmanuel-faye/)
- [Martin Cohen](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/martin-cohen/)
- [Times Higher Education](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/times-higher-education/)
- [Heidegger: The Introduction of Nazism into Philosophy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/heidegger-the-introduction-of-nazism-into-philosophy/)
- [Friedrich-Wilhelm von Herrmann](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/friedrich-wilhelm-von-herrmann/)
- [schopenhauer](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/schopenhauer/)
- [tiger woods](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/tiger-woods/)
- [Ayn Rand](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/ayn-rand/)
- [biology](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/biology/)
- [evolution](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/evolution/)
- [natural selection](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/natural-selection/)
- [probability](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/probability/)
- [evolutionary theory](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/evolutionary-theory/)
- [dogs](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/dogs/)
- [gorgias](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/gorgias/)
- [Alex Chilton](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/alex-chilton/)
- [Big Star](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/big-star/)
- [moral realism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/moral-realism/)
- [moral relativism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/moral-relativism/)
- [is-ought problem](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/is-ought-problem/)
- [Pearls Before Swine](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/pearls-before-swine/)
- [Steven Pastis](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/steven-pastis/)
- [Moral Fatigue](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/moral-fatigue/)
- [Utilitarian Calculus](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/utilitarian-calculus/)
- [David Hume](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/david-hume/)
- [John Locke](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/john-locke/)
- [knowledge](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/knowledge/)
- [The Fountainhead](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/the-fountainhead/)
- [causality](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/causality/)
- [induction](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/induction/)
- [Karl Popper](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/karl-popper/)
- [experience of simples](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/experience-of-simples/)
- [metaphysical realism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/metaphysical-realism/)
- [Amazon.com](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/amazon-com/)
- [literature](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/literature/)
- [Solon.com](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/solon-com/)
- [reviews](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/reviews/)
- [The Republic](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/the-republic/)
- [Meditations](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/meditations/)
- [Meno](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/meno/)
- [Theaetetus](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/theaetetus/)
- [rationalism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/rationalism/)
- [Sam Harris](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/sam-harris/)
- [Parmenides](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/parmenides/)
- [Heraclitus](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/heraclitus/)
- [theory of forms](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/theory-of-forms/)
- [virtue](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/virtue/)
- [definitions](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/definitions/)
- [memory](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/memory/)
- [Noam Chomsky](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/noam-chomsky/)
- [soul](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/soul/)
- [consciousness](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/consciousness/)
- [philosophy of mind](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-of-mind/)
- [wittgenstein](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/wittgenstein/)
- [kant](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/kant/)
- [Moses Mendelssohn](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/moses-mendelssohn/)
- [Jean Piaget](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/jean-piaget/)
- [subjectivity](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/subjectivity/)
- [faith](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/faith/)
- [time](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/time/)
- [space](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/space/)
- [proofs of God's existence](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/proofs-of-gods-existence/)
- [mathematics](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/mathematics/)
- [perception](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/perception/)
- [lacan](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/lacan/)
- [geometry](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/geometry/)
- [evolutionary psychology](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/evolutionary-psychology/)
- [marriage](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/marriage/)
- [meaning of life](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/meaning-of-life/)
- [psychoanalysis](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/psychoanalysis/)
- [performance art](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/performance-art/)
- [New York Times](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/new-york-times/)
- [The Stone](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/the-stone/)
- [Simon Critchley](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/simon-critchley/)
- [What is a philosopher](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/what-is-a-philosopher/)
- [David Chalmers](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/david-chalmers/)
- [merely verbal](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/merely-verbal/)
- [normativity](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/normativity/)
- [pragmatism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/pragmatism/)
- [William James](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/william-james/)
- [The Nation](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/the-nation/)
- [Alan Turing](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/alan-turing/)
- [computing machinery](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/computing-machinery/)
- [artificial intelligence](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/artificial-intelligence/)
- [John Searle](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/john-searle/)
- [Chinese room argument](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/chinese-room-argument/)
- [Daniel Dennett](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/daniel-dennett/)
- [mind body dualism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/mind-body-dualism/)
- [monism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/monism/)
- [Nigel Warburton](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/nigel-warburton/)
- [Philosophy: The Classics](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-the-classics/)
- [Philosophy Bites](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-bites/)
- [Little Atoms](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/little-atoms/)
- [The Open University](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/the-open-university/)
- [Machiavelli](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/machiavelli/)
- [Hume](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/hume/)
- [Mill](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/mill/)
- [iTunes](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/itunes/)
- [David Edmonds](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/david-edmonds/)
- [A.C. Grayling](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/a-c-grayling/)
- [Quinton Skinner](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/quinton-skinner/)
- [Simon Blackburn](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/simon-blackburn/)
- [Charles Sanders Pierce](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/charles-sanders-pierce/)
- [John Dewey](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/john-dewey/)
- [correspondence theory of truth](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/correspondence-theory-of-truth/)
- [coherence theory of truth](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/coherence-theory-of-truth/)
- [humanism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/humanism/)
- [Dylan Casey](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/dylan-casey/)
- [Frank Jackson](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/frank-jackson/)
- [physicality](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/physicality/)
- [physicalism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/physicalism/)
- [Jerry Fodor](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/jerry-fodor/)
- [dualism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/dualism/)
- [Paul Churchland](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/paul-churchland/)
- [Daniel C. Dennett](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/daniel-c-dennett/)
- [cognitive science](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/cognitive-science/)
- [behaviorism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/behaviorism/)
- [Gilbert Ryle](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/gilbert-ryle/)
- [reductionism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/reductionism/)
- [mind-brain identity theory](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/mind-brain-identity-theory/)
- [philosophy and popular culture](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-and-popular-culture/)
- [Turing test](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/turing-test/)
- [higher order theory of consciousness](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/higher-order-theory-of-consciousness/)
- [W.V.O. Quine](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/w-v-o-quine/)
- [physics](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/physics/)
- [the problem of evil](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/the-problem-of-evil/)
- [Robert Brandom](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/robert-brandom/)
- [philosophy of language](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-of-language/)
- [modal logic](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/modal-logic/)
- [Adam Smith](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/adam-smith/)
- [labor theory of value](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/labor-theory-of-value/)
- [natural rights](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/natural-rights/)
- [nature vs. nurture](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/nature-vs-nurture/)
- [human nature](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/human-nature/)
- [noble savage](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/noble-savage/)
- [empathy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/empathy/)
- [social Darwinism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/social-darwinism/)
- [Sigmund Freud](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/sigmund-freud/)
- [political philosophy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/political-philosophy/)
- [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/jean-jacques-rousseau/)
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- [Thomas Aquinas](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/thomas-aquinas/)
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- [Martin Heidegger Interview](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/martin-heidegger-interview/)
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- [National Socialism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/national-socialism/)
- [BBC's Human All Too Human](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/bbcs-human-all-too-human/)
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- [self-esteem](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/self-esteem/)
- [philosophy of technology](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-of-technology/)
- [borders bookstore bankruptcy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/borders-bookstore-bankruptcy/)
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- [postmodernism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/postmodernism/)
- [infinity](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/infinity/)
- [Lawrence Cahoone](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/lawrence-cahoone/)
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- [analytic vs. continental philosophy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/analytic-vs-continental-philosophy/)
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- [The Matrix](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/the-matrix/)
- [allegory of the Cave](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/allegory-of-the-cave/)
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- [technology transfer](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/technology-transfer/)
- [Eric Racine](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/eric-racine/)
- [Ken Perrot](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/ken-perrot/)
- [Secular News Daily](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/secular-news-daily/)
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- [natural theology](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/natural-theology/)
- [St. Anselm](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/st-anselm/)
- [William Paley](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/william-paley/)
- [McCumber](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/mccumber/)
- [juvenile justice](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/juvenile-justice/)
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- [blind sight](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/blind-sight/)
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- [Daniel Lane Craig](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/daniel-lane-craig/)
- [happiness](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/happiness/)
- [is/ought distinction](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/isought-distinction/)
- [first-person reports](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/first-person-reports/)
- [Christopher Hitchens](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/christopher-hitchens/)
- [moral development](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/moral-development/)
- [Lawrence Kohlberg](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/lawrence-kohlberg/)
- [Germaine Greer](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/germaine-greer/)
- [Helena Cronin](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/helena-cronin/)
- [essentialism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/essentialism/)
- [Richard Swinburne](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/richard-swinburne/)
- [Rene Descartes](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/rene-descartes/)
- [Robert Scott](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/robert-scott/)
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- [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/christina-hoff-sommers/)
- [Moral Sentimentalism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/moral-sentimentalism/)
- [openculture](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/openculture/)
- [Lawrence Krauss](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/lawrence-krauss/)
- [cosmological argument](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/cosmological-argument/)
- [Maimonides](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/maimonides/)
- [Fully Engaged Feminism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/fully-engaged-feminism/)
- [Pale Blue Dot](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/pale-blue-dot/)
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- [Andrei Buckareff](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/andrei-buckareff/)
- [Conversations from the Pale Blue Dot](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/conversations-from-the-pale-blue-dot/)
- [Terrence Malick](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/terrence-malick/)
- [Victor Stenger](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/victor-stenger/)
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- [Getty Lustila](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/getty-lustila/)
- [moral sense theory](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/moral-sense-theory/)
- [Kelly Oliver](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/kelly-oliver/)
- [Robert M. Price](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/robert-m-price/)
- [Mechanism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/mechanism/)
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- [owen flanagan](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/owen-flanagan/)
- [Allen Tate](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/allen-tate/)
- [Billy Collins](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/billy-collins/)
- [Cliff Kaminsky](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/cliff-kaminsky/)
- [Amartya Sen](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/amartya-sen/)
- [globalization](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/globalization/)
- [The Magic of Reality](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/the-magic-of-reality/)
- [New athiests](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/new-athiests/)
- [moral rationalism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/moral-rationalism/)
- [Eddy Nahmias](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/eddy-nahmias/)
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- [George Orwell](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/george-orwell/)
- [reason](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/reason/)
- [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/maurice-merleau-ponty/)
- [Hannah Arendt](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/hannah-arendt/)
- [Transcendence of the Ego](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/transcendence-of-the-ego/)
- [Michel Foucault](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/michel-foucault/)
- [Quassim Cassam](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/quassim-cassam/)
- [Henri Bergson](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/henri-bergson/)
- [Daniel Coffeen](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/daniel-coffeen/)
- [Sebastian Gardner](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/sebastian-gardner/)
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- [Alfred North Whitehead](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/alfred-north-whitehead/)
- [Analytic Philosophy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/analytic-philosophy/)
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- [C-Realm Podcast](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/c-realm-podcast/)
- [charles simic](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/charles-simic/)
- [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/claude-levi-strauss/)
- [Colin Marshall](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/colin-marshall/)
- [corey anton](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/corey-anton/)
- [Cornel West](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/cornel-west/)
- [David Buchanan](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/david-buchanan/)
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- [Diet Soap](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/diet-soap/)
- [Discipline and Punish](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/discipline-and-punish/)
- [Entitled Opinions](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/entitled-opinions/)
- [Ferdinand de Saussure](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/ferdinand-de-saussure/)
- [Foucault](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/foucault/)
- [freinds of heraclitus](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/freinds-of-heraclitus/)
- [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/friedrich-nietzsche/)
- [gary borjesson](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/gary-borjesson/)
- [history of prison](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/history-of-prison/)
- [Liberal Humanism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/liberal-humanism/)
- [Lila](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/lila/)
- [literary theory](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/literary-theory/)
- [Mark Richardson](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/mark-richardson/)
- [Marketplace of Ideas](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/marketplace-of-ideas/)
- [Martin Luther King](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/martin-luther-king/)
- [Merleau-Ponty](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/merleau-ponty/)
- [Morality](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/morality/)
- [Neo-Darwinism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/neo-darwinism/)
- [new year's resolutions](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/new-years-resolutions/)
- [openculture.com](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/openculture-com/)
- [panopticism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/panopticism/)
- [panpsychism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/panpsychism/)
- [Paul Fry](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/paul-fry/)
- [philosophy of friendship](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-of-friendship/)
- [philosophy of music](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-of-music/)
- [prisons](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/prisons/)
- [process philosophy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/process-philosophy/)
- [Race](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/race/)
- [radical empiricism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/radical-empiricism/)
- [reduction](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/reduction/)
- [reviews of PEL](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/reviews-of-pel/)
- [Rick Roderick](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/rick-roderick/)
- [Robert Pirsig](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/robert-pirsig/)
- [Self Uner Siege](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/self-uner-siege/)
- [semiotics](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/semiotics/)
- [Slavoj Žižek Zizek](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/slavoj-zizek-zizek/)
- [Steven Fuller](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/steven-fuller/)
- [structuralism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/structuralism/)
- [theater](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/theater/)
- [Theodore Adorno](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/theodore-adorno/)
- [Thomas Sheehan](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/thomas-sheehan/)
- [W.E.B. DuBois](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/w-e-b-dubois/)
- [zen](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/zen/)
- [Alain Badiou](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/alain-badiou/)
- [alain de botton](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/alain-de-botton/)
- [Alan Wallace](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/alan-wallace/)
- [Alasdair MacIntyre](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/alasdair-macintyre/)
- [Andrew Valls](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/andrew-valls/)
- [arrogance](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/arrogance/)
- [beauty](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/beauty/)
- [busta rhymes](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/busta-rhymes/)
- [Carl Jung](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/carl-jung/)
- [Charles L. Stevenson](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/charles-l-stevenson/)
- [Clayborne Carson](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/clayborne-carson/)
- [Dan Zahavi](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/dan-zahavi/)
- [Dave Barry](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/dave-barry/)
- [Dave Chappelle](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/dave-chappelle/)
- [David Lopez](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/david-lopez/)
- [Derek Parfit](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/derek-parfit/)
- [DharmaRealm](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/dharmarealm/)
- [Edward Said](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/edward-said/)
- [Elizabeth Brake](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/elizabeth-brake/)
- [Emmanuel Levinas](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/emmanuel-levinas/)
- [ethcial pornography](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/ethcial-pornography/)
- [fantasy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/fantasy/)
- [feminist pornography](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/feminist-pornography/)
- [G.E. Moore](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/g-e-moore/)
- [G.H. Hardy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/g-h-hardy/)
- [galen of pergamon](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/galen-of-pergamon/)
- [George R. R. Martin](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/george-r-r-martin/)
- [George Santayana](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/george-santayana/)
- [Giambattista Vico](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/giambattista-vico/)
- [henny youngman](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/henny-youngman/)
- [hip-hop](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/hip-hop/)
- [James Austin](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/james-austin/)
- [Jennifer Dziura](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/jennifer-dziura/)
- [karaoke](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/karaoke/)
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- [listener feedback](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/listener-feedback/)
- [Louie CK](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/louie-ck/)
- [Louis Althusser](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/louis-althusser/)
- [Marilynne Robinson](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/marilynne-robinson/)
- [Michael Brodsky](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/michael-brodsky/)
- [Michael Harris](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/michael-harris/)
- [mythography](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/mythography/)
- [Philosophy Bro](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-bro/)
- [philosophy of humor](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-of-humor/)
- [polygamy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/polygamy/)
- [Post-Colonial Theory](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/post-colonial-theory/)
- [private language](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/private-language/)
- [psychologism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/psychologism/)
- [r.j. hankinson](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/r-j-hankinson/)
- [racism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/racism/)
- [Sacha Baron Cohen](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/sacha-baron-cohen/)
- [Sean Wilson](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/sean-wilson/)
- [self](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/self/)
- [sexism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/sexism/)
- [Simon May](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/simon-may/)
- [Spinoza](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/spinoza/)
- [Stephen Batchelor](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/stephen-batchelor/)
- [Stokely Carmichael](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/stokely-carmichael/)
- [theodicy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/theodicy/)
- [Thupten Jinpa](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/thupten-jinpa/)
- [Tin House](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/tin-house/)
- [Tom Motley](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/tom-motley/)
- [Very Short Introductions](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/very-short-introductions/)
- [what is philosophy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/what-is-philosophy/)
- [social science](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/social-science/)
- [Jonathan Coulton](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/jonathan-coulton/)
- [Drunks and Lampposts](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/drunks-and-lampposts/)
- [Philosophy graph](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-graph/)
- [emotivism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/emotivism/)
- [C.L. Stevenson](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/c-l-stevenson/)
- [Gregory Sadler](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/gregory-sadler/)
- [philosphy blog](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosphy-blog/)
- [Raymond Tallis](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/raymond-tallis/)
- [circumcision](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/circumcision/)
- [german court](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/german-court/)
- [european rabbis](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/european-rabbis/)
- [Capitalism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/capitalism/)
- [wisdom](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/wisdom/)
- [Stephen S. Hall](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/stephen-s-hall/)
- [psychopathy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/psychopathy/)
- [american psycho](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/american-psycho/)
- [pioneer spacecraft](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/pioneer-spacecraft/)
- [Slava Turyshev](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/slava-turyshev/)
- [general relativity](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/general-relativity/)
- [Philosopher's Zone](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophers-zone/)
- [Peter Adamson](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/peter-adamson/)
- [Han Baltussen](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/han-baltussen/)
- [online learning](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/online-learning/)
- [public discussion groups](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/public-discussion-groups/)
- [Paul Cillier](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/paul-cillier/)
- [slow movement](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/slow-movement/)
- [slow science](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/slow-science/)
- [storytelling](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/storytelling/)
- [Umberto Eco](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/umberto-eco/)
- [Meaning and Representation](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/meaning-and-representation/)
- [Computational Theory of the Mind](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/computational-theory-of-the-mind/)
- [phenomenology of spirit](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/phenomenology-of-spirit/)
- [negation](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/negation/)
- [gender gap in philosophy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/gender-gap-in-philosophy/)
- [elizabeth anderson](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/elizabeth-anderson/)
- [mary midgley](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/mary-midgley/)
- [god is dead](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/god-is-dead/)
- [german idealism](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/german-idealism/)
- [on truth and lie in the extra-moral sense](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/on-truth-and-lie-in-the-extra-moral-sense/)
- [on truth and lies in the nonmoral sense](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/on-truth-and-lies-in-the-nonmoral-sense/)
- [will to truth](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/will-to-truth/)
- [sailing](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/sailing/)
- [Values](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/values/)
- [Eric Petrie](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/eric-petrie/)
- [Cormac McCarthy](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/cormac-mccarthy/)
- [Paul F. Tompkins](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/paul-f-tompkins/)
- [Dead Authors Podcast](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/dead-authors-podcast/)
- [H.P. Lovecraft](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/h-p-lovecraft/)
- [philosophy of education](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-of-education/)
- [identity politics](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/identity-politics/)
- [transcriptions](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/transcriptions/)
- [Voltaire](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/voltaire/)
- [George H. Mead](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/george-h-mead/)
- [Andrew Mitchell](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/andrew-mitchell/)
- [Dallas Willard](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/dallas-willard/)
- [David Burrell](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/david-burrell/)
- [John Henry Newman](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/john-henry-newman/)
- [philosophical fiction](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophical-fiction/)
- [daniel mullin](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/daniel-mullin/)
- [unemployed philosopher](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/unemployed-philosopher/)
- [lucy lawless](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/lucy-lawless/)
- [philosophy of fame](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-of-fame/)
- [tom payne](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/tom-payne/)
- [evil](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/evil/)
- [pascal](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/pascal/)
- [augustine](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/augustine/)
- [candide](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/candide/)
- [hell](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/hell/)
- [Martin Evans](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/martin-evans/)
- [No Country for Old Men](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/no-country-for-old-men/)
- [S.J. Gould](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/s-j-gould/)
- [authorial intent](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/authorial-intent/)
- [Haruki Murakami](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/haruki-murakami/)
- [peg tyre](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/peg-tyre/)
- [educational theory](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/educational-theory/)
- [Federalist Papers](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/federalist-papers/)
- [Hamilton](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/hamilton/)
- [Constitution](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/constitution/)
- [election](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/election/)
- [American Founding](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/american-founding/)
- [Philosophy Now](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-now/)
- [Nussbaum](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/nussbaum/)
- [Brian Magee](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/brian-magee/)
- [Iris Murdoch](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/iris-murdoch/)
- [Wallace Stevens](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/wallace-stevens/)
- [philosophy and literature](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-and-literature/)
- [Sophists](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/sophists/)
- [philosophy and race](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-and-race/)
- [Ralph Ellison](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/ralph-ellison/)
- [Jim Holt](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/jim-holt/)
- [Lord Voldemort](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/lord-voldemort/)
- [fear of death](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/fear-of-death/)
- [history of celebrity](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/history-of-celebrity/)
- [Fame](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/fame/)
- [fandom](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/fandom/)
- [Theory of Fame](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/theory-of-fame/)
- [sociology](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/sociology/)
- [scientific explanation](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/scientific-explanation/)
- [philosophy as literature](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/philosophy-as-literature/)
- [Celebrity](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/celebrity/)
- [Robert Redford](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/robert-redford/)
- [Rationally Speaking](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/rationally-speaking/)
- [science fiction](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/tag/science-fiction/)
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