Send us a textAt one point in history, European countries were ruled by monarchs.  The Catholic Church also exerted a great deal of control. And our physical explanations for why nature is comprised the way it is relied on  metaphysical explanations reliant on God. Then enter the Enlightenment. Thinkers like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau were instrumental in this transition from Medieval conceptions of the divine rights of kings and original sin to that of representative governments, rights, and human nature. Join us as we explore this trifecta of  influential philosophers. We also talk about what is our Roman Empire, build-a-bear, and asparagus. Contact us via email at opendoorphilosophy@gmail.comOpen Door Philosophy on Instagram @opendoorphilosophyOpen Door Philosophy website at opendoorphilosophy.com

Send us a textWelcome to a very spectral, spooky episode of Open Door Philosophy! Since this episode releases on Halloween, we thought how better to celebrate than talk about our spookiest philosophers! You'll have to listen to find out who they are though, because suspense is the name of the game!Contact us via email at opendoorphilosophy@gmail.comOpen Door Philosophy on Instagram @opendoorphilosophyOpen Door Philosophy website at opendoorphilosophy.com

Send us a textWe know war happens all the time, unfortunately.  Caught up in war are states and individuals who wish for others to see their actions as reasonable, for the best, and ultimately just. But it seems war involves many actions which are considered wrong in other circumstances, killing another human being for example.  Most people will agree that self-defense is justifiable, but how far does that defense go before it becomes vengeance? And a particular difficulty for aggressor states is that they must have just cause to be the instigator of warfare.  In this episode we turn to the Greeks and the Peloponnesian War, as well as the Medieval giants of Augustine and Aquinas who develop something quite important: Just War Theory. When should war be waged? How should it be conducted? And in it's conclusion, how should the victor treat the defeated. Join us as we explore Just War TheoryContact us via email at opendoorphilosophy@gmail.comOpen Door Philosophy on Instagram @opendoorphilosophyOpen Door Philosophy website at opendoorphilosophy.com

Send us a textPhilosophy is a notoriously massive subject, and for someone unfamiliar, it might be difficult to figure out where to start. Do you look for a famous name on the bookshelf? Try to choose a subject? Start with self-help? Maybe join a book club? In this episode, we answer a listener question by exploring how to get started in philosophy by recounting our own experiences and plotting a course. Contact us via email at opendoorphilosophy@gmail.comOpen Door Philosophy on Instagram @opendoorphilosophyOpen Door Philosophy website at opendoorphilosophy.com

Send us a textThe Shawnee, a native American tribe, tells a tale of brother crow and brother buffalo which imparts the wisdom of balance: to only hunt the buffalo when it is necessary for food and skins, but to remember that each creature is our brother and sister too. Tales like this one are not uncommon in many indigenous cultures around the world. Through an illustrative story set in nature, they transmit the ethical, epistemological, and metaphysical beliefs of the tribe from one generation to the next on topics such as virtue and vice, creation and purpose, life, death, and what comes after. Yet the collective body of knowledge and beliefs of such tribes are not considered philosophy, but are rather placed in an adjacent and loosely defined category called “wisdom traditions.” And this label is hardly reserved for indigenous knowledge systems. Buddhism, Humanism, Taoism, Transcendentalism, Confucianism and Quakerism have all been called wisdom traditions by some. In what way do wisdom traditions differ from philosophy? Are they considered “lesser than” or are they on equal ground but utilize different ways of knowing? Is the term subversively pejorative? Or does its separate status identify something uniquely different and profoundly important?Contact us via email at opendoorphilosophy@gmail.comOpen Door Philosophy on Instagram @opendoorphilosophyOpen Door Philosophy website at opendoorphilosophy.com

Send us a textOn first listen, you might think this episode is about the Tao Te Ching. We thought it would be too, but it became a meandering conversations about the origin of authority, premises that lead to conclusion, justification, wisdom versus reason, and social media. Contact us via email at opendoorphilosophy@gmail.comOpen Door Philosophy on Instagram @opendoorphilosophyOpen Door Philosophy website at opendoorphilosophy.com

Send us a textIt’s pretty common in the self-help age we live in, with piles of well meaning books and as many podcast as the stars, to pursue happiness. But often the focus is on what we can change or tweak in our life to obtain it rather than what exactly it is. What is happiness? Perhaps if we identify what happiness is, we can create a foundation on which to build.Contact us via email at opendoorphilosophy@gmail.comOpen Door Philosophy on Instagram @opendoorphilosophyOpen Door Philosophy website at opendoorphilosophy.com

Send us a textLove is a driving factor in our decisions. People plan their lives around who they love: they stay close to their parents, take a completely random job to stay with their spouse, and save hundreds of thousands of dollars for their future children’s education. But just as the people we love drive our decisions, so do what activities we love. Famously, Paul Gauguin ran away from his wife and children, culture and country to pursue his love of painting in Tahiti. The composer Piotor Tchaikovsky gave up a potentially lucrative career as a civil servant to study composition. Less dramatically however, we make these decisions all the time in our lives. We sacrifice our time to read, our bodies to play sports, or our sleep to go watch Taylor Swift concerts. We do these activities because we love them. And this love, many philosophers argue, gives our life meaning. But do all activities, even ones that are trivial but that we might enjoy, contribute to meaning? Can humans love any task? If not, what is the criterion and who makes it? And why should we care? Join us today as we unpack the paradox between love and meaning. Contact us via email at opendoorphilosophy@gmail.comOpen Door Philosophy on Instagram @opendoorphilosophyOpen Door Philosophy website at opendoorphilosophy.com

Send us a textAround 2500 years ago in Ancient Greece, Empedocles contemplated the essential questions of the universe, including the role of love and strife. Empedocles is known as a pre-Socratic philosopher, although he was primarily a poet. In his surviving works, On Nature and Purifications, Empedocles posits that the cosmic powers of Love and Strife govern the four indestructible elements of the universe. Love unifies the elements with each other and draws like to like. Since then, philosophers, poets, and thinkers have contemplated what love is and how it impacts human existence and the function of the universe. From the Platonic dialogues to 20th century literature, thinkers have chronicled their thoughts on love.  So why are philosophers so concerned with love? Is love that important that it commands centuries of attention from nearly every philosophical thinker? In many ways, love is what binds us together as humans and gives motivation to our lives. Today, we will explore love and its role in human life. Contact us via email at opendoorphilosophy@gmail.comOpen Door Philosophy on Instagram @opendoorphilosophyOpen Door Philosophy website at opendoorphilosophy.com

Send us a textRoughly 3700 years ago, in the fertile crescent of mesopotamia, the first Western epic was composed. The character Gilgamesh, and his friend Enkidu, have many adventures battling mighty beasts. But when Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh is thrown into, what we would today call, an existential crisis, as Gilgamesh grapples with themes such as friendship and love, mortality, free will and fate, and the search for meaning. Since that time, literature has been consistently used as a vehicle to explore philosophical themes, whether that be the ancient Greeks through the Iliad and the Odyssey, or the modern existentialist.  But why is this? Aren’t philosophical treatises sufficient? There’s something about literature as an alternative avenue to philosophical thought. Rather than a treatise with syllogisms, points and counterpoints, thought experiments and the like, great literature allows us to contemplate some of life’s greatest mysteries with a little life breathed into it through colorful characters, allegorical tales, intricate metaphors, or captivating dialogues. Through this vehicle, philosophical literature challenges readers to ponder the nature of truth, the meaning of happiness, and the complexities of human relationships.But can literature be considered philosophy? Does it do a disservice to the philosophical enterprise? And ultimately, what is its value to human experience? Join us as we explore the connection between philosophy and literature. Episode ResourcesThe Myth of Sisyphus - Albert Camus The Stranger - Albert CamusUtopia - Thomas MooreThe Divine Comedy (Inferno) - DanteSilence - Shusaku EndoHamlet - ShakespeareThe Decameron - Giovanni BoccaccioThe Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. TolkienOn Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean VuongThe Little Life - Donna TartContact us via email at opendoorphilosophy@gmail.comOpen Door Philosophy on Instagram @opendoorphilosophyOpen Door Philosophy website at opendoorphilosophy.com