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
Oct 24, 2016 • 2h 7min
Episode 150: Guest Peter Singer on Famine, Affluence, and Morality
Mark and Wes interview perhaps the world's most influential living philosopher, then the full foursome discusses. We discuss his ongoing work rooted in his 1971 essay "Famine, Affluence, and Morality," about the warped priorities of our consumerist society: We spend money on luxuries while innocent children overseas die from inexpensively preventable causes. For more about Peter, see www.petersinger.info. End song: "Ann the Word" by Beauty Pill (2015), explored in Nakedly Examined Music #19. Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.
Oct 17, 2016 • 1h 21min
Episode 149: Plato's "Crito": A Performance and Discussion
Broadway stars Walter Bobbie and Bill Youmans perform Plato's dialogue in which Socrates awaits his execution. Should Socrates defy the verdict and try to escape the city? Socrates says no; that would be ungrateful to the city whose benefits he's enjoyed. Bill joins the full PEL foursome for a lively discussion. End song: "Fall Away" by Mark Lint and the Fake from the album So Whaddaya Think? (2000). Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.
Oct 3, 2016 • 2h
Episode 148: Aristotle on Friendship and Happiness
On the final books 8–10 of Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics. What does friendship have to do with ethics? With guest Ana Sandoiu. Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.
Sep 19, 2016 • 1h 59min
Episode 147: Aristotle on Wisdom and Incontinence
On the Nichomachean Ethics (ca. 350 BCE), books 6–7. Is intelligence just one thing? Aristotle picks out a number of distinct faculties, some of which are relevant to ethics, and he uses these to explain Plato's puzzle of how someone can clearly see what the good for him is, and yet fail to pursue it due to weakness of the will. This episode continues our discussion from way back in ep. 5. End song: "I Die Desire" from The MayTricks (1992). Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.
6 snips
Sep 5, 2016 • 2h 20min
Episode 146: Emmanuel Levinas on Overcoming Solitude
More Levinas, working this time through Time and the Other (1948). What is it for a person to exist? What individuates one person from another, making us into selves instead of just part of the causal net of events? Why would someone possibly think that these are real, non-obvious questions that need to be addressed? End song: "Call on You" by Mark Lint from from the 1993 Mark Lint album Spanish Armada: Songs of Love and Related Neuroses. Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.
Aug 22, 2016 • 2h 2min
Episode 145: Emmanuel Levinas: Why Be Ethical?
On "Ethics as First Philosophy" (1984). More existentialist ethics, with a Jewish twist this time! Seth returns to join Mark and Wes in figuring out how to best leave off all this aggressive "knowing" and other forms of individual self-assertion to grasp the more primordial appearance of the Other in all his or her vulnerability, which Levinas thinks makes us wholly responsible for others right off the bat. End song: "To Valerie" from The MayTricks' So Chewy (1993). Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.
Aug 1, 2016 • 2h 25min
Episode 144: Guest Martha Nussbaum on Anger
On Anger and Forgiveness: Resentment, Generosity, Justice (2016). What role should we allow anger to play in our public life? Should systems of punishment be utilitarian, or should they be retributive? Nussbaum thinks that anger necessarily involves the desire for payback, which is unhelpful. We should instead use anger to prevent future harm. Mark, Wes, and Dylan interview Martha and then discuss issues raised in the interview and the book. End song: "Forgive the Disco," a Nussbaum-inspired Mark vocal on an instrumental by Sean Beeson, interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #23. Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.
Jul 25, 2016 • 1h 56min
Phi Fic #3 Frankenstein (PEL Crossover Special)
Guest Wes Alwan joins regulars Nathan Hanks, Mary Claire, Daniel St. Pierre, Laura Davis, and Cezary Baraniecki to discuss Mary Shelley's classic novel in this special cross-post from the newest member of the Partially Examined Life podcast network. More Phi Fic.
Jul 11, 2016 • 1h 46min
Episode 143: Plato's "Sophist" on Lies, Categorization, and Non-Being
On the later Platonic dialogue. What is a sophist? These were guys in Ancient Greece who taught young people the tools of philosophy and rhetoric. They claimed to teach virtue. In Sophist, "the Eleatic Stranger" (i.e., not Socrates) tries to figure out what a sophist really is, using a new "method of division." This Plato era provides a nice transition to the category man Aristotle, and the whole concern with sophistry is certainly still relevant today! End song: "Dumb," by Mark Lint and the Fake from the album So Whaddaya Think? (2000). Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.
Jun 27, 2016 • 2h 10min
Episode 142: Plato's "Phaedrus" on Love and Speechmaking
Socrates hangs out in the country flirting with his buddy Phaedrus. And what is this "Platonic" love? Using the enticement of desire not to rush toward fulfillment, but to get you all excited about talking philosophy. Socrates critiques a speech by renowned orator Lysias, who claimed that love is bad because it's a form of madness, where people do things they then regret after love fades. Socrates instead delivers a myth that shows the spiritual benefits of loving and being loved. With guest Adam Rose. End song: "Summertime" by New People, from Might Get It Right (2013). Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.
