The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

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PREMIUM-Ep. 317: Character Philosophies in Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov" (Part Two) May 22, 2023

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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?

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Ep. 317: Character Philosophies in Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov" (Part One) May 15, 2023

Show notes

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.

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Ep. 316: Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov": PEL Live in NYC (Part Two) May 08, 2023

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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.

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Ep. 316: Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov": PEL Live in NYC (Part One) May 01, 2023

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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?

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PREMIUM-Ep. 315: Mengzi (Mencius) on Virtuous Leaders (Part Two) Apr 24, 2023

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To conclude our treatment of this seminal Confucian text, we consider a particularly puzzling passage about ethics and then move to politics and economics.

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Ep. 315: Mengzi (Mencius) on Virtuous Leaders (Part One) Apr 17, 2023

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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?

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PREMIUM-PEL Nightcap April 2023 Apr 14, 2023

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Recorded 4/3/23 as we prepped for our live show, 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.

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Ep. 314: Mengzi (Mencius) on Moral Psychology (Part Two) Apr 10, 2023

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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.

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Ep. 314: Mengzi (Mencius) on Moral Psychology (Part One) Apr 03, 2023

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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.

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PREMIUM-Ep. 313: Mozi's Political Ethics (Part Three) Apr 02, 2023

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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.

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