Episodes
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Oxford philosophy professor Timothy Williamson talks to us about his new book, Overfitting and Heuristics in Philosophy.
How can we best apply the insights of philosophy of science to philosophy itself? Maybe some alleged philosophical counter-examples are just the result of psychological heuristics gone wrong.
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Many people use shows like Last Week Tonight or The Daily Show to not just satirize the news but to provide us with our news. Late night shows, SNL, and many other shows get in on this, and conservative media is catching up via Gutfield! How does the comedy news format relate to panel shows, podcasts, and other light-hearted political talk?
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
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Lorraine teaches at Middlebury college and has recently written The Art of the Interesting: What We Miss in Our Pursuit of the Good Life and How to Cultivate It. How does "the interesting" fit into human flourishing? How do we know when some attractive stimulation is really in our interest and really good?
Can we find something interesting even the most tedious, repetitive tasks? Is it interesting to start an improv scene by declaring that your scene-mates are dealing with alcoholism and divorce? Certainly it is rude. Also, Happiness 12 Step Programs.
Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast at philosophyimprov.com/support. Check out other Evergreen Podcast offerings.
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Concluding our treatment of "Of Seeing" in Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense.
We continue to hammer at this idea of "resemblance" between mental contents and physical objects, consider more carefully Reid's level of support for the primary/secondary quality distinction, how he treats non-signifying feelings like pain and warmth, and his comparison of sense experience to testimony.
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Steve fronted Chicago's Dolly Varden for six albums from the '90s through 2013. He also started releasing albums under his own name 2003 and has just released his seventh.
We discuss "A Mile South of Town" (and listen at the end to "Oh, California") from Ghosts (2024), the title track from The Dumbest Magnets by Dolly Varden (2000), and "Bronko Nagurski," a 1989 recording by the early iteration of Varden, Stump the Host. Intro: "Saskatchewan to Chicago" by Dolly Varden from For a While (2013). More at stevedawsonmusic.com.
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We're continuing our treatment of Thomas Reid's Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense (1764), now discussing ch. 6: "Of Seeing."
Does vision provide the exception to Reid's point that our sensations do not resemble objects in the world? Images surely seem to do so! What does this mean for Reid's epistemology?
Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.
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It's our Halloween episode! Brucker Nourse from the Autopsy of a Horror Movie podcast joins the gang about a wave of 1930's films including Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Invisible Man. Are these actually enjoyable to modern audiences?
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
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Welcome to the beginning of a new round of shenanigans on Philosophy vs. Improv. Let the senior slump begin!
Your hosts Mark Linsenmayer and Bill Arnett here talk a blazin' stream of consciousness and then have a pretty long improv scene. Are we already always philosophizing?
Watch the proceedings unedited on YouTube.
Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast at philosophyimprov.com/support. Check out other Evergreen Podcast offerings.
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Continuing on Inquiry into the Human Mind, getting further into the chapter on smelling as well as the conclusion and Reid's exchange with Hume.
What exactly is our relation with objects in the world according to Reid?
Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and bonus content.
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Wes & Erin continue their discussion of Ancient Greece’s most notorious battle of the sexes, and Euripides’ rumination on the question of whether the Athenian ideals of rationality and moderation sufficiently honor the instinctual side of human nature.
To hear all the previous parts of this, just go check out subtextpodcast.com.
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On Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense (1764): the introduction, conclusion, ch. 2 "Of Smelling" ch. 4 "Of Hearing," and some correspondence between Reid and Hume.
According to Reid, the big mistake of "modern" philosophy is thinking that objects in the world need to resemble the sensations we have of them. Smelling is supposed to give us an obvious counter-example: the scent of a rose in no way resembles a physical rose.
Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and bonus content.
Sponsors: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Check out the Constant Wonder podcast.
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In light of the new Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, we discuss the films of director (and occasional writer) Tim Burton since his career was firmly established by his early work in the '80s including the original 1988 Beetlejuice.
Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al have very mixed reactions to the new film, but we agree that the animation style that characterizes his vision is very rich and has had a massive cultural impact. We discuss his stop-motion work, his Batman films, his Disney commissions, and more.
For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.
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Mark, Seth and Dylan continue talking about philosophy surrounding trans phenomena in light of our interview with Sophie Grace about Trans Figured.
In this supporter-exclusive discussion, we get into sex and gender as cluster concepts, ethical theory in equity discussions, and the practical matters you'd expect: sports participation, pronouns, bathrooms and dress codes.
If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion, sign up via one of the options described at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support. This full episode can also be purchased a la carte at patreon.com/partiallyexaminedlife.
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Mark, Seth, and Dylan interview this British philosophy prof about her new book, Trans Figured, and philosophy's role in discussing the phenomena of transgender (which, yes, can be used as a noun, according to Sophie).
Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Part two of this episode (with just the PEL guys) will only be available to PEL supporters. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get this along with our massive package of ad-free episodes and bonus content.
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Concluding on "Universality and Truth" from Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism. It it coherent to simply not have a theory of truth? Rorty claims that he's not a relativist; he's just avoiding some useless parts of philosophy that just cause problems, including inculcating the respect for a non-human absolute, and this attitude undermines democracy.
Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and bonus content.
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Chicago's iO Theater was graced on August 21 by Mark, Bill, and special guest theater educator James Whittington, who spoke about embodiment (see Maurice Merleau-Ponty), the possible disconnect between meaning and tone, and being in the physical presence of greatness. They acted out scenes (while still sitting!) about an unsuccessful party and Experiences-R-Us.
Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast at philosophyimprov.com/support. You may choose to watch the proceedings live on stage.
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On "Universality and Truth" and "Pan-Relationalism," which are lectures 3-5 in Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism.
How do we justify democracy? Rorty says we don't have to refer to transcendent Truth or Good to do this. He also denies the disinction between essential and accidental properties, and in fact between substance and property: Everything is just described in terms of its relations to other things, and which relations are important are not intrinsic to the thing, but a matter of a speaker's purposes.
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Continuing on Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism, ch. 1, "Pragmatism and Religion" and 2, "Pragmatism as Romantic Polytheism."
Rorty evaluates past pragmatists' approaches to religion, arguing contra James that it can't be "privatized," that democratic social goals involve shared rationality, which means that all of our beliefs are open to the judgment of our peers.
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We begin a long series on Maurice Merleau-Ponty's "Phenomenology of Perception" (1945), focusing on Part I, "The Body": "Experience and Objective Thought."
To get the whole recording, you can become a PEL Citizen, or simply go subscribe to the Closereads: Philosophy with Mark and Wes podcast at closereadsphilosophy.com. You can also watch the proceedings on YouTube. To get future parts of our treatment of this text, you'll need to support Closereads, either at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy, or combine your support for PEL and Closereads at patreon.com/partiallyexaminedlife.
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On Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism (1997), ch. 1-2 about religion. Should democracy be defended on absolutist grounds, e.g. by reference to God-given or natural rights, the nature of Man, or the dictates of Reason?
Rorty says no! Democracy, ethics, and even truth itself are a matter for societies to decide for themselves. Monotheistic religion provides a negative model for ceding authority on these matters no something non-human.
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