The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

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Ep. 226: Francis Bacon Invents Science (Part Two) Sep 30, 2019

Show notes

Continuing on Sir Francis Bacon's New Organon (1620).

We cover more of Bacon's "idols" and how Bacon divides religion from science (and what this means politically). We then move on to book 2, including Bacon's novel update of the term "form," and take a look at Bacon's method of doing science by filling out tables before actually doing experiments.

Start with part one or get the full, unbroken Citizen Edition. Please support PEL, like, get Patreon's feed for a mere $1/month.

End song: "Stuck in a Cave" by Chrome Cranks; hear Mark talk to singer/songwriter Peter Aaron on Nakedly Examined Music #93.

PEL Presents PMP#12: Once Upon a Tarantino Film w/ Wes Alwan Sep 24, 2019

Show notes

Wes joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to discuss Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood in the context of Tarantino's other films. We consider T's strange sense of pacing, his comic violence, his historical revisionism, and casting choices. Is this a brilliant film or a fundamentally misguided idea badly in need of an editor?

For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop.

This podcast is part of the Partially Examined Life podcast network and is curated by openculture.com.

Ep. 226: Francis Bacon Invents Science (Part One) Sep 23, 2019

Show notes

On Sir Francis Bacon's New Organon (1620).

Bacon claims to have developed a new toolset that will open up nature to inquiry in a way that wasn't possible for ancient and modern natural philosophy.

Mark, Wes, and Dylan consider how much what Bacon describes resembles modern scientific method, talk through Bacon's "four idols" that interfere with impartial inquiry, and consider how Bacon's method fits in with his larger political-ethical-religious views.

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Ep. 225: Simone Weil on War and Oppression (Part Two) Sep 16, 2019

Show notes

Continuing on Simone Weil's essays "The Iliad, or the Poem of Force" (1939) and "Analysis of Oppression" (1934) with guest Corey Mohler.

We talk about the self-contradictions of power, why oppression and war are so intractable, and her positive solution (what there is of it here). Weil cuts through our left-right political dichotomy in a way that might interest you. Plus, why the Iliad is so great.

Start with part one or get the full, ad-free Citizen Edition. Please support PEL!

End song: "Throw Down the Sword" from Wishbone Ash; hear Andy Powell on Nakedly Examined Music #51.

Ep. 225: Simone Weil on War and Oppression (Part One) Sep 09, 2019

Show notes

On Simone Weil's essays "The Iliad, or the Poem of Force" (1939) and "Analysis of Oppression" (1934).

How do circumstances oppress and dehumanize us? Weil describes the mechanisms that keep people at war and maintain oppression even through revolutions as inherent to the logic of power. With guest Corey Mohler.

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Ep. 224: Kierkegaard Critiques The Present Age (Part Two) Sep 02, 2019

Show notes

Continuing on "The Present Age" (1846), plus Hubert Dreyfus's "Nihilism on the Information Highway: Anonymity vs. Commitment in the Present Age" (2004) with guest John Ganz.

Does K's critique actually apply to our present age? We address K's view of humor, romance, authenticity, actual community vs. "the public," the leveling that occurs without anyone specific actually doing it, and the virtue of silence.

Start with part one or get the unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition. Please support PEL!

End song: "Wry Observer" by Aaron David Gleason, as discussed on Nakedly Examined Music #71.

PEL Presents PMP#8: Spider-Man: Far From Home (and Elsewhere) Aug 27, 2019

Show notes

Mark, Erica, and Brian discuss the function of super-hero films and how this new one fits in. Do we need "realism" in such stories? When does a premise like this get too old to keep recycling?

For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content for this episode, and more episodes in advance, at patreon.com/prettymuchpop.

This podcast is part of the Partially Examined Life podcast network and is curated by openculture.com.

Ep. 224: Kierkegaard Critiques The Present Age (Part One) Aug 26, 2019

Show notes

On Soren Kierkegaard's essay "The Present Age" (1846) and Hubert Dreyfus's "Nihilism on the Information Highway: Anonymity vs. Commitment in the Present Age" (2004).

What's wrong with our society? Kierkegaard saw the advent of the press and gossip culture as engendering a systematic passivity and shallowness in his fellows, and Dreyfus thinks this is an even more apt description of the Internet Age. With guest John Ganz.

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Ep. 223: Guest Ned Block on Consciousness (Part Two) Aug 19, 2019

Show notes

We talk with Ned about a second Blockheads (2019) article, Michael Tyle's "Homunculi Heads and Silicon Chips: The Importance of History to Phenomenology," which provides a variation off of the David Chalmers fading qualia argument, and then Mark, Seth, Dylan, and Wes continue exploring the details uncovered by our interview after Ned leaves.

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End song: "Your So Dark Sleep/Goodbye" by The Black Watch, as interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #102.

Ep. 223: Guest Ned Block on Consciousness (Part One) Aug 12, 2019

Show notes

The climax and denouement of our summer philosophy of mind series: Ned Block visits to fill in the gaps about functionalism and attributing consciousness to machines and discuss essays from Blockheads (2019), focusing here on Brian McLaughlin's "Could an Android be Sentient?"

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