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
Feb 24, 2012 • 26min
PREMIUM-Episode 51: Semiotics and Structuralism (Saussure, et al)
On Ferdinand de Saussure's Course in General Linguistics (1916) (Part I and Part II, Ch. 4), Claude Levi-Strauss's "The Structural Study of Myth" (1955), and Jacques Derrida's "Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences" (1966). What is language? What is the relation between language and reality? With guest C. Derick Varn. Get the full discussion at partiallyexaminedlife.com.
Feb 3, 2012 • 32min
PREMIUM-Episode 50: Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"
On Robert M. Pirsig's philosophical, autobiographical novel from 1974. What's the relationship between science and values? Pirsig thinks that modern rationality, by insisting on the fundamental distinction between objects (matter) and subjects (people), labels value judgments as irrational. Society therefore largely ignores aesthetic considerations in the buildings and machines that litter our landscape. With guest David Buchanan. Get the full discussion at partiallyexaminedlife.com.
Jan 11, 2012 • 33min
PREMIUM-Episode 49: Foucault on Power and Punishment
Discussing Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish (1975), parts 1, 2 and section 3 of part 3. With guest Katie McIntyre.
Dec 17, 2011 • 33min
PREMIUM-Episode 48: Merleau-Ponty on Perception and Knowledge
Discussing Maurice Merleau-Ponty's "Primacy of Perception" (1946) and The World of Perception (1948).
Dec 1, 2011 • 31min
PREMIUM-Episode 47: Sartre on Consciousness and the Self
They dig into Sartre's claim that the self is an expression of consciousness rather than a unifying inner thing. They contrast Sartre with Kant, Husserl, and Descartes and unpack phenomenology and intentionality. They debate how past moments of awareness sustain unity without a separate ego. Light banter and pronunciation jokes keep the dense topics lively.
Nov 17, 2011 • 30min
PREMIUM-Episode 46: Plato on Ethics & Religion
Discussing Plato's "Euthyphro." With guest Matt Evans.
Oct 29, 2011 • 33min
PREMIUM-Episode 45: Moral Sense Theory: Hume and Smith
Discussing parts of David Hume's Treatise of Human Nature (1740) and Adam Smith's The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759). With guest Getty Lustila.
Oct 11, 2011 • 32min
PREMIUM-Episode 44: New Atheist Critiques of Religion
Discussing selections from Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel C. Dennett.
Sep 15, 2011 • 33min
PREMIUM-Episode 43: Arguments for the Existence of God
Discussing the arguments by Descartes, St. Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, William Paley, Kant, and others, as analyzed in J.L. Mackie's The Miracle of Theism: Arguments For and Against the Existence of God (1983), chapters 1-3, 5-6, 8, and 11. With guest Robert Scott.
Sep 5, 2011 • 30min
PREMIUM-Episode 42: Feminists on Human Nature and Moral Psychology
Discussing Charlotte Perkins Gilman's utopian novel Herland (1915) and psychologist Carol Gilligan's In a Different Voice (1983). With guest Azzurra Crispino.
