The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

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Ep. 249: Dewey on Education and Thought (Part One) Aug 02, 2020

Show notes

On John Dewey's How We Think (1910) ch. 1 and Democracy and Education (1916) ch. 1, 2, 4, and 24.

What model of human nature should serve as the basis for education policy? Dewey sees learning as growth, and the point of education as to enable indefinite growth. With guest Jonathan Haber.

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Ep. 248: Racism and Policing (Al-Saji, Merleau-Ponty, et al) (Part Two) Jul 27, 2020

Show notes

Continuing on Alia Al-Saji's "A Phenomenology of Hesitation" (2014) and other things with guest Phil Hopkins.

Can we restructure our (and the police's) reactions and live with each other? We further explore the psychology of habit and Al-Saji's notion of hesitation. How does it compare to other types of heistation recommended by philosophies and religions?

Start with part one, or get the full, ad-free Citizen Edition. Includes a preview of our Citizen Hang.

End song: "Every Man's Burden" by Dusty Wright, as interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #89.

Ep. 248: Racism and Policing (Al-Saji, Merleau-Ponty, et al) (Part One) Jul 20, 2020

Show notes

On Alia Al-Saji's "A Phenomenology of Hesitation" (2014), bits of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Perception (1945), and Linda Martín Alcoff's Visible Identities (2006), plus Alex Vitale's The End of Policing (2017).

Is there sub-conscious racism, and how might we root it out and fix our policing problems? Ex-cop Phil Hopkins joins to look at how phenomenology can help.

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

Ep. 247: Aristotle on Rhetoric and Emotions (Part Two) Jul 13, 2020

Show notes

Continuing on the Rhetoric (ca. 335 BCE) book 1, ch. 1–6 and book 2, ch. 1–5, 18–24.

We finish up with enthymemes (rhetorical arguments), maxims, and signs. We then move to emotions, where we chiefly talk about anger: Is it always a matter of status injury, or is frustration equally (or more) foundational?

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End song: "Reason with the Beast" by Shriekback, whose leader Barry Andrews was interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #107.

Ep. 247: Aristotle on Rhetoric and Emotions (Part One) Jul 06, 2020

Show notes

On the Rhetoric (ca. 335 BCE) book 1, ch. 1-6 and book 2, ch. 1-5, 18-24.

What role does persuasion play in philosophy? Aristotle (contra Plato) argues it can and should be used for good: in law courts, political debates, public speeches. He describes the arguments forms used in rhetoric ("enthymemes") and analyzes the emotions that an audience might have so that speakers know what points are worth dwelling on and how to best argue them.

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Ep. 246: Susan Sontag on Interpreting Art (Part Two) Jun 29, 2020

Show notes

Continuing on Sontag's essays "On Style" (1965) and "The Death of Tragedy" (1963).

Mark, Wes, Seth and Dylan keep talking about the appropriate distance to retain (or not) to a work of art, which is supposed to be relevant to moral action in the world. We also spell out how this is relevant to our recent episodes on tragedy.

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End song: "Mela" by Julie Slick, as interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #115.

Ep. 246: Susan Sontag on Interpreting Art (Part One) Jun 22, 2020

Show notes

On Sontag's essays "Against Interpretation" (1964), "On Style" (1965), and "The Death of Tragedy" (1963).

What is it to understand a work of art? Sontag objects to critics' need to decode art into its "meaning" or "content," divorcing it from how this content is embodied. She argues that the content vs. form distinction isn't tenable; that the style of a work is an essential part of experiencing it. Sontag thinks we're too analytical, too divorced from our instincts, and a direct encounter with art is essential to enliven us.

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Ep. 245: Fashion (Derrida, Foucault, Sontag) w/ Shahidha Bari (Part Two) Jun 15, 2020

Show notes

We conclude with Foucault's "The Ethics of the Concern of the Self As A Practice of Freedom" (1984) and add Susan Sontag's "On Style" (1965). After our guest's departure, we give some concluding remarks about her book Dressed: A Philosophy of Clothes (2020) and Derrida's "The Animal That Therefore I Am" (1999).

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End song: "Clothe Me in Ashes" by K.C. Clifford, interviewed for Nakedly Examined Music #121.

Ep. 245: Fashion (Derrida, Foucault) w/ Shahidha Bari (Part One) Jun 08, 2020

Show notes

On Jacques Derrida's "The Animal That Therefore I Am" (1999), Michel Foucault's "The Ethics of the Concern of the Self As A Practice of Freedom" (1984), and our guest's Dressed: A Philosophy of Clothes (2020).

Philosophy devalues appearances, but our changing dominant metaphysics (there is no "underneath" but rather a complex built out of appearance itself) should have changed this. Our guest provided us with readings that elaborate this change, arguing for our continuity with animal nature (Derrida) and the ethical importance of self-care (Foucault).

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Ep. 244: Camus on Strategies for Facing Plague (Part Two) Jun 01, 2020

Show notes

Continuing on Albert Camus's 1947 novel, covering the old functionary Grand, the criminal (or just paranoid?) Cottard, and more of our narrators Dr. Rieux and his doomed friend Tarrou, plus more on the overall message of the book and how it might relate to our current situation.

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End song: "You Will Kill the One You Love" by Jack Hues, as interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #122.

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