The Wes Cecil Podcast

Following a question from a Patreon member, here is a reflection on Baudrillard and his theory of the Simulacra and how it relates to us and our condition today. Spoiler alert, I’m pretty sure he was really accurate in his analysis of the problem. Seemingly much less helpful, however, in what we can do about the position we find ourselves today.Image Attribution: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Ayaleila, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia CommonsSign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, peer discussions, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Explore the Islamic Golden Age's profound impact on the European Renaissance. Discover how Baghdad became a hub of enlightenment under the Abbasids, fostering literacy through the Quran. Uncover the Translation Movement that enriched knowledge, thanks to scholars like Al-Kindi and Avicenna. Delve into Ibn al-Haytham's groundbreaking work in optics and how algebra evolved through figures like al-Khwarizmi. Finally, consider why these advances faded post-Crusades, yet continue to shape modern thought and culture.

Wow, Iron is a huge, huge deal. Both the impact of the Iron itself and the cultural infrastructure necessary to harness the potential of Iron contributed to a revolution in civilization and a noticeable increase in both the global population and the rate of population increase. In some ways, Iron is likely as significant a contributor to civilization's growth as agriculture. Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, peer discussions, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A reflection on some of the differences I have experienced between France and the US. I start with some, at least to me, startling statistics about French working lives and economic situation and then expand to a more subjective sense of what I have ‘felt’ living in France that is quite distinct from the US. Delivered in lieu of my cancelled lecture.Image Attribution: Lionel Allorge, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia CommonsSign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, peer discussions, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The History of Philosophy in 16 Questions - Q10: So, About God?Timeline of Catholicism313 Legalization of Christianity under Constantine325-800 Beginning with the Council of Nicaea a series of councils attempt to deal with various controversies and Heresies.900-1200 Catholic Church consolidates Papal primacy and civil power and begins to systematize church hierarchy.1200-1520 Beginning of the Inquisition and rise of the power of the Franciscans and Dominicans as enforcers of Church authority ending in the Reformation. Gnosticism 100: The word is the manifestation of a lesser being that deceives us about our own divinity and the true nature of the universal spirit. Arianism 300: Long running debate about the nature of Christ and the Trinity. Arianism denies that Christ was equal to God but rather subordinate and created by God. Essentially a type of Monotheism in debate with the concept of the Trinity.Pelagianism 400: Man is not born with original sin, men's will is sufficient to live a perfect life, grace of god is helpful but no necessary to good works.Catharism 1130-1300: Two gods - Old Testament god is evil, New Testament God is good and they are at war. Christ is an Angel so no actual resurrection.Henricians 1130-1180: Rejects authority of the central church, the Gospels openly read as the sole foundation of truth, most all organized forms of worship.Fraticelli 1270-1440: Strict adherence to a vow of poverty. All wealth and property were seen as falling from the true teaching of Christ. American Liberalism 1176-today: Pope Leo XIII (1895 and 1899) Condemned many aspects of American liberalism - particularly separation of church and state, freedom of speech, divorce laws,  and reliance on reason. Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, peer discussions, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Anthropological and Archaeological records strongly suggest we love, love, love creating gods. Whether via animism or anthropomorphic super-beings, humans seem to love placing ourselves within the context of a world filled with supernatural beings different from, yet fundamentally similar to humans. Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, peer discussions, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two well regarded authors to the impact of AI robots and their impacts on humans as their subjects for novels. The results are a fascinating contrast in tone, style, and emphasis that highlights the many different reasons, and ways, we read.Image credit: https://easy-peasy.aiSign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, peer discussions, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Explore the fascinating world of Mesoamerican philosophy in this insightful discussion. Learn about the timeline of the Mayan civilization and Tenochtitlan's rise. Delve into the dynamic concept of teotl as ever-changing energy in Nahua metaphysics. Discover Aztec pragmatism and the notion of a 'slippery world.' Uncover the role of art and representation in these cultures and how humans are seen as active participants in shaping the universe. With fresh perspectives on recent discoveries, the podcast highlights the urgent need for deeper engagement with Mesoamerican thought.

Perhaps THE breakthrough that makes the major components of civilization possible, writing transformed our capacity to understand both the world and ourselves. Nonetheless, literacy was historically exceedingly rare and even today is not universally considered an important capacity. Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, peer discussions, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our powerful belief in the economic narrative of investment and growth blinds us to the actual nature of the world we experience and the problems we face. Much like Luther’s critique of the Catholic church, re-thinking this concept would be so disruptive as to cause a complete rethink of our approach to economic challenges - something we are so far unwilling to do.Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, peer discussions, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.