The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast
Mark Linsenmayer, Wes Alwan, Seth Paskin, Dylan Casey
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.
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jul 29, 2019 • 49min
Ep. 222: Debating Functionalism (Block, Chalmers) (Part One)
A spirited clash over functionalism and whether functional duplicates could lack consciousness. They dissect Block's China and homunculi thought experiments and Chalmers' fading and dancing qualia replies. The conversation pits intuitive counterexamples against gradual replacement scenarios and probes where subjective experience would be located.
Jul 23, 2019 • 1h 14min
PEL Presents PMP#3: CONFORM w/ Yakov Smirnoff
Is media trying to brainwash us into being ALL THE SAME? Are the excesses of the mob scaring us into conformity? Mark, Erica, and Brian muse on cultural homogenization and are joined by comedian Dr. Yakov Smirnoff to talk about growing up in a repressive society and the shadow of political correctness over comedy. For more about this podcast, see prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content for this episode, and more episodes in advance, at patreon.com/prettymuchpop. This podcast is curated by openculture.com and The Partially Examined Life Podcast Network.
Jul 22, 2019 • 1h 10min
Ep. 221: Functionalist Theories of Mind (Putnam, Armstrong) (Part Two)
A deep dive into Armstrong's causal-functional account of mental states and how they might map onto brain processes. The conversation probes whether dispositions, purposes, and perceptions can be defined by causal roles alone. They wrestle with secondary qualities like color, the limits of functional description for pain and pleasure, and how philosophy can or cannot prepare the ground for science.
Jul 15, 2019 • 50min
Ep. 221: Functionalist Theories of Mind (Putnam, Armstrong) (Part One)
They tackle what it means to be a mind by explaining functionalism: mental states defined by role, not brain matter. They compare functionalism with identity theory and behaviorism. They explore multiple realizability and the hardware/software analogy for minds. They unpack Putnam and Armstrong’s differing functionalist approaches and use concrete examples like pain and belief to illustrate the ideas.
Jul 9, 2019 • 44min
PEL Presents PMP#1: Pop Culture vs. High Culture
What is pop culture? Does it make sense to distinguish it from high culture, or can something be both? Welcome to this new pop culture podcast hosted by Mark Linsenmayer, Erica Spyres, and Brian Hirt. This episode also features Tyler Hislop, our editor. For more, see prettymuchpop.com. Get involved from the start at patreon.com/prettymuchpop. We'll solicit your input for our episodes, release them early for supporters, and provide bonus content with every episode; there's already some waiting for you now. Presented by openculture.com and the Partially Examined Life podcast network. End song: "High Rollin' Cult" written by Mark just for this release, featuring Erica. Theme music by Mark and Erica. PMP logo by Ken Gerber.
Jul 5, 2019 • 1h 2min
Ep. 220: 10-Year Retrospective of The Partially Examined Life
Mark, Seth, Dylan, and Wes reflect on the changing state of podcasting and public philosophy over the last decade, how our goals and interests have changed since we started we started. Why don't colleges pay their faculty to educate the public through regular, broadcasted conversations like ours? If you think we're snarky, take a look at actual philosophy faculty! Should we continue to do more literature, poetry, and other topics that are not strictly philosophy? Also, the stalled state of the PEL book. Thanks so much to each and every Partially Examined Life listener for making it worth our time to do this! End song: "High Rollin' Cult" by Mark Lint with Erica Spyres, celebrating a new attempt to capture the fun of the beginning of PEL: Pretty Much Pop.
13 snips
Jul 1, 2019 • 1h 23min
Ep. 219: The Harder Problem of Consciousness (Block & Papineau)
Gregory Miller, host of the Panpsycast and consciousness researcher, joins to unpack Ned Block and David Papineau's takes on consciousness. They contrast functionalism and physicalism. They debate whether substrate matters, the limits of behavioral tests, and whether our phenomenal concepts are vague. Quick, sharp conversations about thought experiments, multiple realizability, and what would justify calling non-humans conscious.
11 snips
Jun 24, 2019 • 50min
Ep. 218: The Hard Problem of Consciousness (Chalmers et al) (Part Two)
Gregory Miller, a panpsychism researcher focused on the intrinsic nature of matter and type-F monism, joins to explore panpsychist takes on consciousness. Short, lively dives cover dualist varieties, epiphenomenalism, quantum measurement links, and whether simple proto-experiences can combine into human minds. The conversation weighs why panpsychism remains strange but resilient.
21 snips
Jun 17, 2019 • 55min
Ep. 218: The Hard Problem of Consciousness (Chalmers et al) (Part One)
On "Consciousness and Its Place in Nature" by David Chalmers (2003), with special guest Gregory Miller from the Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast. Can we explain human experience using the terms of brain physiology? Chalmers thinks not, and lays out the arguments against this and the range of positions philosophers have taken in response to these objections. Please support PEL!
16 snips
Jun 8, 2019 • 1h 10min
(sub)Text #1: Shakespeare's "The Tempest": Poesis as Revenge Forsaken
At last, the full, public release of this discussion between Wes Alwan and Bill Youmans covering Shakespeare's 1611 play about revenge, forgiveness, and authorship. Or maybe it's about exploitation, or how we react to changes in status, or perhaps how a liberal education can give you magical powers! Listen and decide for yourself!
