The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

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Episode 167: Hume on Intelligent Design (Philosophize This! Crossover) (Part One) Jul 03, 2017

Show notes

On David Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779). How would a scientifically minded person argue for the existence of God?

In Hume's dialogue, a character named Cleanthes argues from this point of view for God's existence based on the complexity and order apparent in nature: It looks designed. But how good is that argument, and is it enough to prove an infinite God of the traditional sort? With guest Stephen West.

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Episode 166: Spinoza on Politics and Religion (Part Two) Jun 26, 2017

Show notes

Concluding on the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (1670) and Tractatus Politicus (1677). What's the relationship between ethics, reason, and revelation? What could "faith" possibly mean to a hard-core rationalist like Spinoza? Is it possible to buy into the non-denominational "true religion" without believing any of the dogmas of traditional religion at all? And what kinds of limits on free speech is Spinoza committed to?

Continued from part one or get the ad-free Citizen Edition. Please support PEL!

End song: "Shittalkers" by Ken Stringfellow, as interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music ep. 39.

Episode 166: Spinoza on Politics and Religion (Part One) Jun 19, 2017

Show notes

On Benedict de Spinoza's Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (1670), ch. 12-20 and the Tractatus Politicus (1677).

What's the relationship between ethics and political power? Given that religious factions tend to create strife, what's the optimal role of the government in mitigating that damage? Is theocracy in any way a good idea?

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Episode 165: Spinoza on Biblical Criticism (Part Two) Jun 12, 2017

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Continuing on the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (1670), ch. 1–11. We go more into natural laws vs. ordinances; does it make sense to say that God makes rules for people? Also, how does Spinoza deal with alleged miracles given that natural laws are absolute regularities?

Continued from part 1, or get the ad-free Citizen Edition now. Please support PEL!

End song: "Spinoza's Dream" by Dave Nachmanoff, as discussed on Nakedly Examined Music #20.

Episode 165: Spinoza on Biblical Criticism (Part One) Jun 05, 2017

Show notes

On Benedict de Spinoza's Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (1670), ch. 1–11. For Spinoza, the Bible was a political issue, and he was interested in a way to read it that didn't lead to people fighting wars and persecuting each other. Spinoza argues that a respectful reading is one that looks for the central message and doesn't paper over many places where the text was tailored to its original audience's prejudices, or where for historical reasons we can't now really know what it meant to them.

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Nakedly Examined Music: Steve Hackett, Nik Kershaw, Ken Stringfellow, Robbie Fulks May 26, 2017

Show notes

PEL Network crossover magic, featuring clips (a full song plus explanation) from four recent episodes of Mark's other podcast. Hear the full episodes and many more at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Steve was the guitarist for Genesis in the 70s, Nik wrote 80s hits like "Wouldn't It Be Good," Ken played with The Posies, Big Star, and R.E.M., and Robbie will change the way you think about country music. Read the NEM FAQ.

Episode 164: Dostoyevsky's "The Idiot" on Perfection (Part Two) May 22, 2017

Show notes

More on the novel with guest Corey Mohler, considering Dostoyevsky qua existentialist in terms of his analysis of the crisis of meaning and his consequent views on religion.

Listen to part 1 first, or get the unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition. Get a Dostoyevsky T-shirt!

End song: "Don Quixote" by Nik Kershaw, as interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #37.

Episode 164: Dostoyevsky's "The Idiot" on Perfection (Part One) May 15, 2017

Show notes

On Fyodor Dostoyevsky's philosophical novel from 1869. Could a morally perfect person survive in the modern world? Is all this "modernity," which so efficiently computes our desires and provides mechanisms to fulfill them, actually suited to achieve human flourishing? Dostoyevsky's Russian existentialism says no!

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Episode 163: Guest Stewart Umphrey on Natural Kinds (Part Two) May 08, 2017

Show notes

Continuing our interview about Natural Kinds and Genesis: The Classification of Material Entities. Buy Stewart's book at www.rowman.com and use the code LEX30AUTH17 to get 30% off.

Listen to part 1 first or get the ad-free Citizen Edition.

End song: "Destroy the Box" by Wertico, Cain and Gray from Organic Architecture (2014). Hear Paul Wertico and David Cain interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #30.

Episode 163: Guest Stewart Umphrey on Natural Kinds (Part One) May 01, 2017

Show notes

On Natural Kinds and Genesis: The Classification of Material Entities (2016). Are general terms like "water" or "dog" just things that we made up to order the world? Aristotle thought that some universals constitute natural kinds, with a nature that explains their behavior. "Kinds" were replaced with "laws," but Stewart wants us to reconsider, and bring back "natural philosophy" in the process.

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