The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

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PREMIUM-Ep 189: Authorial Intent (Part Three) May 26, 2018

Show notes

Listen here to a few highlights from a recent discussion between Mark and Wes: We chase down some issues from ep. 189, relating authorial intent to philosophy of language more generally.

Get the full discussions by becoming a PEL Citizen or $5/month Patreon supporter.

Episode 190: Film Analysis: "mother!" May 21, 2018

Show notes

On Darren Aronofsky's philosophical 2017 film about humanity's relationship to nature. We discuss the philosophical content of the film (Gnosticism, anyone?) and explore the relation between meaning and the sensuous aspects of an artwork. Can a work be both allegorical and yet have fully fleshed out characters and the other elements that make a film feel real? This was a very polarizing film; how do the circumstances of viewing affect reception? With guest Tim Nicholas.

End song: "The Day of Wrath, That Day," by Sarah McQuaid, as interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #72.

Please support PEL! Citizens and $5 Patreon supporters will get access to a bonus discussion on identity politics this week.

Episode 189: Authorial Intent (Barthes, Foucault, Beardsley, et al) (Part Two) May 14, 2018

Show notes

Continuing on "The Death of the Author" by Roland Barthes (1967) and "What Is an Author?" by Michel Foucault (1969), and finally getting to "Against Theory" by Steven Knapp and Walter Benn Michaels (1982).

What could it mean to say that a text, once written, speaks itself? We get into Foucault's critique of the cult of the author and the reader-centric types of analysis he proposes in its place. Plus, Knapp and Michaels's poem written by natural forces on a rock. Crazy stuff!

Listen to part 1 first, or get the Citizen Edition plus citizen access to part 3.

End song: "The Auteur" by David J (2018). Listen to Mark's interview with him soon at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com.

Episode 189: Authorial Intent (Barthes, Foucault, Beardsley, et al) (Part One) May 07, 2018

Show notes

On four essays about how to interpret artworks: "The Intentional Fallacy" by W. K. Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley (1946), "The Death of the Author" by Roland Barthes (1967), "What is an Author?" by Michel Foucault (1969), and "Against Theory" by Steven Knapp and Walter Benn Michaels (1982). When you're trying to figure out what, say, a poem means, isn't the best way to do that to just ask the author? Most of these guys say no, and that's supposed to reveal something about the nature of meaning.

Support us for access to the ad-free, unbroken Citizen Edition plus a one-hour follow-up conversation.

Episode 188: Discussing "Lysistrata" and Politics with Lucy and Emily (Part Two) Apr 30, 2018

Show notes

Concluding our discussion of Aristophanes's play with Lucy Lawless and Emily Perkins. We focus on trying to connect its lessons to the here and now: Is Lysistrata's victory properly described as the ascension of some kind of "feminine spirit" over warlike values, and how does that actually relate to women's struggles now to attain positions of power?

Listen to our performance and then part one of the discussion before listening to this (or get the ad-free, unbroken Citizen Edition).

Episode 188: Discussing "Lysistrata" and Politics with Lucy and Emily (Part One) Apr 23, 2018

Show notes

We are rejoined by actresses Lucy Lawless and Emily Perkins to discuss Aristophanes's bawdy play. Listen to us perform it first.

Supplementary readings included Jeffery Henderson's introduction to his 1988 translation of the play; "Sexual Humor and Harmony in Lysistrata" by Jay M. Semel (1981); and "The 'Female Intruder' Reconsidered: Women in Aristophanes' Lysistrata and Ecclesiazusae" by Helene P. Foley (1982).

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"Lysistrata" w/ Lucy Lawless, Emily Perkins, Erica Spyres, Bill Youmans & Aaron Gleason Apr 16, 2018

Show notes

The PEL Players return to perform a "cold read" of Aristophanes's play about using a sex strike to end war, first performed in 411 BCE. Jeffrey Henderson's translation makes this very accessible, and it's still really damn funny. Your hosts are joined by five real actors from TV, film, and Broadway. We will be following this up in ep. 188 with a full discussion of the play and the issues it raises.

We're pleased to bring you this performance without commercial interruptions. Why not respond in loving kind by tipping some pennies into the hat?

PREMIUM-Episode 187: The Limits of Free Speech (Part Three) Apr 14, 2018

Show notes

Three substantial chunks of a follow-up conversation to our free speech episode. Mark and Wes discuss Jordan Peterson on speech, organizations' promoting certain speech (as opposed to restricting), insults vs. arguments, offense vs. harm, "incoherence" arguments like Fish's, fundamental principles in ethics, and more.

Get the full discussion by becoming a PEL Citizen or Patreon supporter.

Episode 187: The Limits of Free Speech (Part Two) Apr 09, 2018

Show notes

Continuing our free form discussion, trying to make sense of Stanley Fish's "There's No Such Thing as Free Speech, and It's a Good Thing, Too" (1994) and other potential rationales for prohibiting hate speech. How might the same sentence or idea be used in different speech acts, some of which might be legitimately censured but others not?

Listen to part one first, or get the Citizen Edition, along with the full-length follow-up discussion by Mark and Wes.

Episode 187: The Limits of Free Speech (Part One) Mar 29, 2018

Show notes

A free-form discussion drawing on Stanley Fish's "There's No Such Thing as Free Speech, and It's a Good Thing, Too" (1994), Joel Feinberg's "Limits to the Free Expression of Opinion" (1975), and other sources.

What are the legitimate limits on free speech? Feinberg delves into the harm and offense principles. Fish argues that every claim to free speech has ideological assumptions actually favoring some types of speech baked into it. A lively back and forth ensues!

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