The Wes Cecil Podcast

The History of Philosophy in 16 Questions - Q5: Why was the past so great?Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tool use has evolved more slowly and means something different than has generally been understood. Over three million years of practice with tools led, eventually, to a revolution not so much in tools as in the social structure and mental outlook of the primates we are. Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dive into the philosophical realms of Henri Bergson as the discussion explores the clash between scientific and subjective conceptions of time. Discover how our obsession with rigid schedules often overshadows the richness of lived experiences. The talk encourages a shift towards a more qualitative approach to life, highlighting the significance of genuine human connections over mere task completion. This thought-provoking dialogue invites listeners to rethink their relationship with time and daily living.

Explore the evolution of governance from small communities to strongmen rule. Discover Rousseau's social contract and its implications for society. Hear how narratives create nations and sustain political identities. Dive into historical alternatives to rights-based states and ancient Greek political experiments. Unpack the delicate balance of citizenship and what citizens truly desire. Finally, learn about the alignment required for stable governance in a shifting narrative landscape.

An introduction to a new series exploring the profound influence our primate heritage has had over milennia in shaping practically every aspect of our world today. A different approach that I hope will open some of the deep structures that shape our understanding of the world. Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to peer conversation, course materials, reading lists, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The discussion delves into cultural strip mining under capitalism, highlighting how social values like honesty and hard work are exploited by employers. Wes critiques the mission-driven rhetoric of companies that mask poor working conditions and contrasts it with the harsh realities faced by workers. The podcast also examines the moralizing of debt and the predatory nature of lending practices. It warns of the erosion of social norms and the potential for systemic failure to catalyze meaningful change, urging a shift towards less exploitative systems.

The History of Philosophy in 16 Questions - Q3: How should people live?Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A few thoughts to take us out. Most importantly Plato provides a model - as well as a trap - for us as we pursue philosophy and thinking in general. Thanks to everyone who read along with me!Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our society's obsession with Data and Information leads to a series of systematic errors in both our understanding of the world and how we approach all kinds of problems we face. We refuse to accept that DATA and INFORMATION cannot solve what are fundamentally ethical problems. In any case, many of our challenges are not soluble but aspects of the human condition that can only be addressed in different ways depending on circumstances.Image attribution: SketchplanationsSign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to peer conversation, course materials, reading lists, 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 - Q2: What the hell is going on?Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.