Episodes
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In this episode I explore the early nationalism of the Republican Party from the New Deal to the Cold War, as described in Michael Miles' Odessey of the American Right, with particular attention paid to US foreign policy at that time.
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In this episode I look at the contrast, ruptures, and uncertainties among three early Pragmatists: Charles Peirce, William James, and John Dewey, as detailed in Louis Menand's bestselling The Metaphysical Club. I also examine Randolph Bourne's use of Pragmatism to justify cosmopolitan immigration and the unaccountable bureaucracy of the American Association of University Professors.
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Missing episodes?
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In this episode I look at the two writers Oswald Garrison Villard and John Flynn, and their associations with the America First Committee as depicted in Ronald Radosh's Prophets on the Right.
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In this episode I look at Jean-Paul Sartre's Existentialism and Human Emotions with a focus on the failure of existentialism to acknowledge human nature.
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In this episode I dive deeper into William James' lecture series Talks to Students with the essays On a 'Certain Blindness in Human Beings' and 'What Makes a Life Significant' as presented in Ralph Barton Perry's collection of James' essays, Essays on Faith and Morals. I look particularly at the practicality of this blindness and the balance between ideals and practicality.
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In this episode I arrive at Richard Weaver's classic statement of post-war Conservatism, Ideas Have Consequences, in particular the the traditionalist, hierarchical, formal aspects of enduring culture.
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In this episode, I discuss William James' consequential essay Philosophical Conceptions and Practical Results and his lecture to students, The Gospel of Relaxation, as collected in The Heart of William James, edited by Robert Richardson.
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In this episode I continue my examination of Darwinism and Human Affairs, this time exploring the connections between cultural evolution and genetic evolution. I focus on ways that cultural evolution both aligns with and betrays our genetic drive to reproduction.
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In this episode I return to evolutionary theory, discussing the controversy surrounding group selection and its relationship with kin selection and inclusive fitness as described by Richard Alexander in his book Darwinism and Human Affairs.
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In this episode I look at William James' further discussions of psychology in Talks to Teachers, in which he draws on prior psychological writings to address the needs of teachers. I pay particular attention to the practical and pragmatic aspect of his discussion of competing drives and ideas, and his limited domain of the activity of the will.
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In this episode I return to John Dewey for a look at his essay The Practical Character of Reality, included in the compilation Pragmatism: The Classic Writings edited by H. S. Thayer. I focus on Dewey's examination of the nature of knowledge and awareness.
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In this episode I look at John Dewey's overview of the early history of pragmatism as described in Pragmatism: The Classic Writings edited by H. S. Thayer. I examine the major themes of pragmatism, including the importance of consequences, human conduct, the vaguery of ends, and the approximateness of knowledge.
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In this episode I look at the classic text of Western philosophy, Plato's Republic, as detailed by Constance Meinwald in her wide-ranging book Plato. I focus on the early portions of The Republic dealing with the quest for a definition of Justice, including the arguments of Glaucon and Thrasymachus.
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In this episode I analyze I. F. Stone's critique of Socrates and his followers, as described in his book The Trial of Socrates. I focus on Socrates' hostility to democracy, the inadequecy of universalist philosophy, and the classical understanding of the gods.
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In this episode I look at the late 19th Century Darwinian Conservatism of Herbert Spencer, William Graham Sumner, and reactions by William James and others as described in Richard Hofstadter's Social Darwinism in American Thought.
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