The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

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Philosophy
**The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast**

The Partially Examined Life is a podcast by some guys who were at one point set on doing philosophy for a living but then thought better of it. Each episode, we pick a short text and chat about it with some balance between insight and flippancy. You don’t have to know any philosophy, or even to have read the text we’re talking about to (mostly) follow and (hopefully) enjoy the discussion. For links to the texts we discuss and other info, check out www.partiallyexaminedlife.com.

We also feature episodes from other podcasts by our hosts to round out your partially examined life, including Pretty Much Pop (prettymuchpop.com, covering all media), Nakedly Examined Music (nakedlyexaminedmusic.com, deconstructing songs), Philosophy vs. Improv (philosophyimprov.com, fun with performance skills and philosophical ideas), and (sub)Text (subtextpodcast.com, looking deeply at lit and film). Learn about more network podcasts at partiallyexaminedlife.com.

Latest Episodes:

PREMIUM-Ep. 263: Lise Van Boxel's "Warspeak" on Strategies for Valuing (Part Two) Feb 22, 2021

Show notes

Continuing on Warspeak: Nietzsche's Victory Over Nihilism with guests Jeff Black and Michael Grenke.

To hear this second part, you'll need to go sign up at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.

Ep. 263: Lise Van Boxel's "Warspeak" on Strategies for Valuing (Part One) Feb 15, 2021

Show notes

On Warspeak: Nietzsche's Victory Over Nihilism (2020) with Dylan, Seth, and guests Michael Grenke and Jeff Black.

What's a viable counter-ideal to the asceticism that Nietzsche thought is so pervasive? Lise's book works out strategies for re-valuing that emphasize Nietzsche's positive comments about the feminine and the power of words.

Part two of this episode is only going to be available to you if you sign up at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support. Get it now or listen to a preview.

Sponsors: Get 50% off The New Yorker and a free tote bag at NewYorker.com/PEL. Use Uber.com/pel to get $50 credit to buy rides or meal deliveries. Visit TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/PEL for a free 14-day trial of unlimited access to The Great Courses Plus Video Learning Service. Organize your Inbox: Get a free trial and save $25 at sanebox.com/pel. Learn about St. John's College at SJC.edu.

PREMIUM-Ep. 262: Nietzsche on Self-Denial (Part Two) Feb 08, 2021

Show notes

More on essay three of Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morals on the meaning of ascetic ideals. How does asceticism fit into N's overall morality, and how does he use it to critique scientists?

To hear this second part, you'll need to go sign up at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.

Ep. 262: Nietzsche on Self-Denial (Part One) Feb 01, 2021

Show notes

On Friedrich Nietzsche's The Genealogy of Morals (1887), "Third essay: what do ascetic ideals mean?"

Self-regulation, where we tamp down certain aspects of our personality, is necessary for disciplined action, but it can clearly go too far. Nietzsche uses this concept of asceticism to analyze both geniuses and the masses. It is a chief tool of the will to power, highly dangerous to human flourishing but also unleashing many new capabilities beyond our animal nature. Does this picture of motivation and greatness make sense?

Part two of this episode is only going to be available to you if you sign up at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support. Get it now or listen to a preview.

PREMIUM-Ep. 261: Derek Parfit on Personal Identity (Part Two) Jan 25, 2021

Show notes

More on Parfit's Reasons and Persons (1984), ch. 10-13. In this preview, we consider how Parfit deals with Bernard Williams' materialist thought experiment to show that the whole concept of personal identity doesn't make sense. Also, split brains!

To hear this second part, you'll need to go sign up at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.

Ep. 261: Derek Parfit on Personal Identity (Part One) Jan 18, 2021

Show notes

On Reasons and Persons (1984), ch. 10-13. What makes a person persist over time?

After using various sci-fi examples to test the Lockean (personhood=psychological continuity), physicalist (same brain=same person), and Cartesian (same soul=same person) theories, Parfit concludes that the whole notion is incoherent and isn't actually what we care about when wondering "will I die?"

Part two of this episode is only going to be available to you if you sign up at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support. Get it now or listen to a preview.

PREMIUM-Ep. 260: Locke on Moral Psychology Jan 11, 2021

Show notes

One last take on John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689), covering Book II, ch. 21 and 28.

What makes a moral claim true? Do we have free will? What makes us choose the good, or not? In this coda to our long treatment of Locke's opus, we bring together all he has to say about morality, which is strangely modern yet also just strange.

This is but a preview, less than a third of what you'll get in the full discussion by signing up at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.

Ep. 259: Locke Clarifies Misleading Complex Ideas (Part Two) Jan 04, 2021

Show notes

More on Book II (ch. 22-33) of John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding.

On relations, then personal identity, with more on substances (spiritual and material), the various ways in which ideas can go wrong, and how mental association can entrench irrationality that disrupts clear thinking.

Listen to part one first, or get the unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition, which will also get you the end-of-year PEL Nightcap that you'll hear a preview for here. Please support PEL!

Ep. 259: Locke Clarifies Misleading Complex Ideas (Part One) Dec 28, 2020

Show notes

On Book II (ch. 22-33) of John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689).

Simple ideas get complex quickly when you put them into words, and can give rise to various philosophical problems that are either easily cleared up when you figure out how the complex idea is built out of simple ideas, or if they can't be so broken down, then we really don't know what we're talking about and should just shut up.

Don't wait for part two, get the ad-free Citizen Edition now. Please support PEL!

Mark Lint's PEL Network Holiday Party 2020: Merry Chatting and Songs Dec 24, 2020

Show notes

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!

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