
Why Theory
Why Theory brings continental philosophy and psychoanalytic theory together to examine cultural phenomena.
Latest episodes

35 snips
Apr 4, 2020 • 1h 10min
Penis Envy
In this episode, Ryan and Todd discuss the implications of Mari Ruti's book Penis Envy and Other Bad Feelings. Following Ruti, they explore the notion of penis envy from a feminist perspective. Then, they trace the book's other theoretical movements, including Ruti's take on pornography.

5 snips
Mar 21, 2020 • 1h 18min
Coronavirus and Its Discontents
In this episode, Ryan and Todd discuss the political implications of the coronavirus pandemic. They lay out the differences between a natural disaster and an emergency that has a clear enemy. They explore the implications that the response to virus has for the concept of biopower and the idea that we have been reduced to bare life today.
From listener and clinician Conor McCormack:
Structures are key to Lacanian practice and the parameters of differential diagnoses and can currently be nicely discerned in reactions to Coronavirus.
Melancholia: It doesn't matter, I'm already dead
Schizophrenia: I hadn't noticed
Paranoia: I knew this was going to happen
Obsessional Neurosis: We'll all be ok if we follow the rules
Hysteria: Who's in charge here anyway?

7 snips
Mar 11, 2020 • 1h 14min
Unconscious (Aphorism 5)
In this episode, Ryan and Todd explore Lacan's aphorism, "the unconscious is structured like a language." They discuss the misunderstandings that this aphorism has produced and debate whether or not it represents a good point of entry into Lacan's thought. They also consider various examples the illustrate the idea expressed in the aphorism.

17 snips
Feb 23, 2020 • 1h 20min
Kant and Freedom
In this episode, Ryan and Todd explore the radicality of Immanuel Kant's notion of freedom, which he ties to our ability to give the moral law to ourselves. This paradox that the law is the source of our freedom serves as the basis for a discussion that touches both Kant's place in the history of philosophy and his relationship to psychoanalysis.

23 snips
Feb 8, 2020 • 1h 26min
Mirror Stage
In this episode, Ryan and Todd explore Lacan's famous concept of the mirror stage. They discuss the role that this concept has in the popular understanding of Lacan's thought in contrast with the part that it plays in the theory itself, while also working through a detailed reading of Lacan's essay on this topic.

29 snips
Jan 23, 2020 • 1h 14min
New Materialisms
In this episode, Ryan and Todd discuss new materialisms, exploring their rejection of epistemology and their embrace of a flat ontology. After laying out the basic position of new materialism and its rejection of the priority of the subject, they attempt to prove that this is ultimately an untenable theoretical position to champion.
They make reference to Todd's essay that critiques this position in light of Hegel: https://www.academia.edu/9832109/On_the_Necessity_of_Contradiction_Hegel_with_the_Speculative_Realists
And to Joan Copjec's excellent essay on sexual difference for a similar line of thought: https://www.politicalconcepts.org/sexual-difference-joan-copjec/

26 snips
Jan 8, 2020 • 1h 20min
Psychoanalysis and Aesthetics
In this episode, Ryan and Todd work through the possibilities for a psychoanalytic theory of aesthetics. Starting with the concept of sublimation, they discuss how psychoanalytic ideas might give us the tools for understanding and judging aesthetic value.

17 snips
Dec 24, 2019 • 1h 38min
objet a
In this episode, Ryan and Todd try to pin down Jacques Lacan's elusive and crucial concept of the objet a. They offer different ways of thinking about and give various examples before identifying the point at which it emerges in Lacan's trajectory.

6 snips
Dec 7, 2019 • 1h 17min
Psychoanalysis and Existentialism
In this episode, Ryan and Todd discuss the possibilities for the marriage of psychoanalysis and existentialism, including the ideas that might render this marriage ultimately untenable. They explore how psychoanalysis and existentialism each provides a critique of the other, touching on Jacques Lacan's critique of Jean-Paul Sartre and Sartre's version of existential psychoanalysis.

6 snips
Nov 18, 2019 • 1h 12min
Hegel and Race
In this episode, Ryan and Todd examine Hegel's critique of racism and analyze the charge of racism leveled against him. They discuss his championing of the revolting slaves in Haiti, as well as his comments about Africa in the Philosophy of History.