The Living Philosophy

The Analytic Philosophy vs Continental Philosophy divide is a faultline running through modern philosophy. In this episode we explore the origins of this divide and why these two paths diverged when their founders were in close contact. Edmund Husserl and Gottlob Frege were the two men that gave rise to Continental Philosophy and Analytic Philosophy respectively and surprisingly they were in close contact — critiquing each other’s work. But despite this closeness, there is a historical backdrop to their concerns that invites us to reconsider this difference. Much like the Empiricism/Rationalist divide of the two centuries before Frege and Husserl, the Continental/Analytic divide ran along the line of the English Channel and seems to have been as much a divide of temperament as of philosophy. The British empiricists and the Anglo-American Analytic tradition are concerned more with a non-human standpoint — what reality is out there and how we can gain purest access to it. On the other the Rationalists and Continentals are more concerned with the human element — what it’s structure is like and what that tells us about the structure and nature of reality. This difference in focus on the human and non-human element widened into an irreparable chasm by the time of Martin Heidegger and Bertrand Russell. _________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy_________________⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Introduction1:14 A Tale of Two Schools3:28 The Continental Arising7:18 The Analytic Tradition9:12 A Metaphilosophical Problem?

When asking ourselves what is empiricism in philosophy we cannot help but speak of the  Empiricism vs. Rationalism debate that began with Descartes’s cogito ergo sum of and ended with Immanuel Kant. The Empiricism of John Locke, George Berkeley and David Hume — known as the British Empiricists — developed in the 17th and 18th centuries and was a very influential movement. In contrast to the Rationalists (who believed that knowledge was only possible through reason and the mind), the Empiricists maintained that experience was the only origin of knowledge. Their challenge was to show why it was not unreliable in light of Descartes’s investigations in Discourse on the Method.  So in this episode, we explore all this ground as we seek to answer the question: what is empiricism?_________________📚 Sources:Berkeley, G., 1881. A treatise concerning the principles of human knowledge. JB Lippincott & Company.Berkeley, G., 2012. Three dialogues between Hylas and Philonous. Broadview Press.Hume, D., 2016. An enquiry concerning human understanding (pp. 191-284). Routledge.Locke, J., 1847. An essay concerning human understanding. Kay & Troutman. Secondary:Downing, Lisa, "George Berkeley", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2020/entries/berkeley/Markie, Peter, "Rationalism vs. Empiricism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2017/entries/rationalism-empiricism/Morris, William Edward and Charlotte R. Brown, "David Hume", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2021 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2021/entries/hume/Turbayne, C.M., 1985. Hume's Influence on Berkeley. Revue Internationale de Philosophie, pp.259-269.Uzgalis, William, "John Locke", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2020/entries/locke/_________________⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Empiricism vs. Rationalism2:17 John Locke’s Empiricism5:34 George Berkeley’s Subjective Idealism 8:42 Hume’s Sceptical Empiricism

Albert Camus called the philosopher Simone Weil “the only great spirit of our times.” T.S. Eliot said she was the greatest saint of the 20th century. Charles de Gaulle said she was insane. But who is she and what is the Simone Weil philosophy?Despite dying at the age of 34, Simone Weil lived a life that rivalled any philosopher. And it was the authentic life of a philosopher following her inner compass. She did not fall in with the intellectual milieu of her time by becoming a public intellectual (which was far from a matter of intelligence — she finished 1st in her class for philosophy at France’s elite university the École Normale Supérieure beating out Simone de Beauvoir in second place). She was born into a Jewish family and raised agnostic and yet found herself drawn towards religion; she fought in the Spanish Civil War and worked in factories for a year to understand the working class.  _________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy ________________ 🎶 Music Used: 1.  Magnetic — CO.AG Music 2. Juniper — Kevin MacLeod 3. Mesmerise — Kevin MacLeod 4. End of the Era — Kevin MacLeod 5. Americana Aspiring — Kevin MacLeod 6. Memory Lane — Kevin MacLeod Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic Subscribe to CO.AG Music https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcav... _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction1:08 Intellectual Development and Factory Work4:51 The Spanish Civil War and Christian Awakening8:54 The Resistant and Her Death12:05 Conclusion_________________ #simoneweil #thelivingphilosophy #philosophy #existentialism #christianity

The Phenomenology philosophy is a school of philosophy that originated in the 20th century. With Edmund Husserl Phenomenology was born but it was the phenomenology Heidegger innovated that reoriented the course of European philosophy. The Phenomenology of Husserl and Heidegger (whose respective philosophies are called Transcendental Phenomenology and Existential Phenomenology) does not seek after external objective truth—as philosophy and science generally do—phenomenology strives for subjective truth—in Husserl’s case it is an attempt to make a subjective science of consciousness. Husserl developed a method for attaining this truth which involves reducing away the noise so as to isolate the essence of a phenomenon. Heidegger parted from Husserl saying that phenomenology could not be a science with knowledge because the meaning of a phenomenon is context-dependent. Heidegger moves from Husserl’s epistemological project to an ontological program. There is a growing scholarship looking at the connection between phenomenology and eastern philosophy. It is even said that Heidgger was influenced in his conception of Dasein as being-in-the-world through a German commentator on Taoist philosopher Chuang-tzu. _________________⭐ Support the channel (thank you!)▶ Patreon: patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy▶ Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________📚 Sources:Heidegger, M., 2010. Being and time. Suny Press.Husserl, E., 1999. The essential Husserl: Basic writings in transcendental phenomenology. Indiana University Press.Smith, David Woodruff, 2018. "Phenomenology", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2018/entries/phenomenology/._________________⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Intro0:42 History of Phenomenology1:46 What is Phenomenology5:59 Husserl’s Phenomenological Method7:52 Heidegger’s Ontological Twist9:17 Phenomenology and Eastern Philosophy

There are many legends and lies surrounding the question of why Nietzsche went mad. After the German philosopher had a mental breakdown in a Turin square January 1889, the initial diagnosis was paretic syphilis. But as later investigators point this definitely wasn’t the case. In this episode we are going to explore the “circus-like history of controversies over the syphilis diagnosis”. Nietzsche was diagnosed with the disease despite meeting none of the five core symptoms of paretic syphilis. This initial diagnosis and its early backer—the notorious popular science writer Dr Mobius—was scrutinised by two biographers in the late 1920s but they were completely overshadowed by the account of the psychiatrist Lange-Eichbaum—an admirer of Mobius—who started the myth that Nietzsche had been treated for syphilis in 1867 during his student years in Leipzig. Despite the fact this information came from Mobius (who allegedly heard it from two Leipzig doctors that nobody has ever been able to track down and whose letters informing him of the matter had since been destroyed) it became canonical history. It took 70 years beyond Lange-Eichmann’s work before this narrative was questioned. In his pivotal article on the matter Leonard Sax sums up the situation as a case of:“One man's gossip becomes another man's reference, which in turn becomes a scholar's footnote.”But Nietzsche’s madness was not caused by syphilis and we don’t know the real cause. Sax argues for its being a brain tumour; another author Eva Cybulska argues that it was a result of Nietzsche having bipolar disorder and others again argue its origin was purely psychological. Short of exhuming his body there is no way of confirming for sure. _________________⭐ Support the channel (thank you!)▶ Patreon: patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy▶ Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________📚 Sources:Primary Papers:Cybulska, E.M., 2000. The madness of Nietzsche: a misdiagnosis of the millennium?. Hospital Medicine, 61(8), pp.571-575.Sax, L., 2003. What was the cause of Nietzsche's dementia?. Journal of Medical Biography, 11(1), pp.47-54.Further Reading:Breazeale, D., 1991. Ecce Psycho: Remarks on the case of Nietzsche. International studies in philosophy, 23(2), pp.19-33.Hollingdale, R.J., 2001. Nietzsche: The man and his philosophy. Cambridge University Press.Huenemann, C., 2008. Nietzsche's illness. in The Oxford Handbook of Nietzsche. edited by Gemes, K. and Richardson, J.  Oxford University Press.Kaufmann, W.A., 2013. Nietzsche: Philosopher, psychologist, antichrist (Vol. 104). Princeton University Press.Nietzsche, F.W., 1968. Basic writings of Nietzsche. Modern Library Classics.________________🎶 Music Used:1. Magnetic — CO.AG Music2. Juniper — Kevin MacLeod3. End of the Era — Kevin MacLeod4. Mesmerise — Kevin MacLeod5. Evening Fall Harp — Kevin MacLeod 6. Anguish— Kevin MacLeodSubscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusicSubscribe to CO.AG Music https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcav... _________________⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Intro0:36 Nietzsche’s Turin Breakdown1:28 Nietzsche’s Diagnosis and Syphilis’s Symptoms 3:13 Why Nietzsche Didn’t Have Syphilis7:26 How the Myth of Nietzsche’s Syphilis Became History10:45 What Did Nietzsche Really Die of?11:38 Conclusion_________________#nietzsche #thelivingphilosophy #philosophy

Dive into the fascinating clash of Nihilism, Existentialism, and Absurdism—three philosophies tackling the question of life's meaning. Explore how Nihilism emerged in the 19th century with the notion of a world devoid of objective purpose. Discover Sartre’s radical claim that existence precedes essence, granting individuals the power to create their own meaning. Unravel the struggle against life's absurdity, illuminated by Camus's myth of Sisyphus, exploring how we can find affirmation in a seemingly meaningless existence.

A dramatic intellectual friendship that turned into a fierce public rivalry. Their clash centered on whether moral principle or political struggle should guide action. Tensions rose over clemency debates, revolutionary violence, and the Algerian War. The conflict spotlighted competing visions of individual dignity versus collective liberation.

Nietzsche and Emerson don’t seem like they should go together. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a spiritual nature-loving Transcendentalist and Friedrich Nietzsche was a self-proclaimed Antichrist. But the truth is that Nietzsche loved Ralph Waldo Emerson and while he was far from agreement with him on many points, he felt that Emerson was a “twin soul” and only wished that he could go back and give this great nature a proper education. When you cut past the superficial differences the beating heart of both philosophies are deeply related—both throw aside the revelations of other authorities in order to form a personal relationship with truth, both believe in the power of the individual and the importance of genius. At the core of the philosophy of Nietzsche and of Emerson’s philosophy was the conviction that philosophy was something that you lived. Nietzsche first read the philosophy of Emerson as a 17 year old schoolboy and his relationship with Emerson spanned a quarter century all the way to the end of his career in 1889. In this episode we explore this strange but potent connection between Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nietzsche. _________________📚 Further Reading:Nietzsche:Nietzsche, F., 1974. The Gay Science: with a prelude in German rhymes and an appendix of songs (Vol. 985). Vintage.Nietzsche, F., 1977. Thus Spoke Zarathustra  in The Portable Nietzsche. Penguin Routledge.Nietzsche, F., 1968. The Birth of Tragedy  and Ecce Homo in Basic writings of Nietzsche . Modern Library Classics.Secondary:Andler, C., 1920. Nietzsche, sa vie et sa pensée (Vol. 1). Éditions Bossard.Cavell, S. (1991). Aversive Thinking: Emersonian Representations in Heidegger and Nietzsche. New Literary History, 22(1), 129-160. doi:10.2307/469146Hummel, H., 1946. Emerson and Nietzsche. New England Quarterly, pp.63-84.Zavatta, B., 2019. Individuality and Beyond: Nietzsche Reads Emerson. Oxford University Press._________________🎶 Music Used:1. Magnetic — CO.AG Music2. Juniper — Kevin MacLeod3. Mesmerise — Kevin MacLeod4. Evening Fall Harp — Kevin MacLeod5. End of the Era — Kevin MacLeod6. Memory Lane — Kevin MacLeod7. Americana Aspiring — Kevin MacLeod Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusicSubscribe to CO.AG Music https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcav... _________________⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Intro1:56 Nietzsche Long Love for Emerson5:45 Nietzsche Contra Emerson7:15 Emerson’s Influence in Nietzsche’s Work10:40 The Biographical Explanation for Their Affinity_________________#nietzsche #thelivingphilosophy #emerson #philosophy