The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast
Mark Linsenmayer, Wes Alwan, Seth Paskin, Dylan Casey
The Partially Examined Life is a podcast by some guys who were at one point set on doing philosophy for a living but then thought better of it. Each episode, we pick a short text and chat about it with some balance between insight and flippancy. You don't have to know any philosophy, or even to have read the text we're talking about to (mostly) follow and (hopefully) enjoy the discussion. For links to the texts we discuss and other info, check out www.partiallyexaminedlife.com.
We also feature episodes from other podcasts by our hosts to round out your partially examined life, including Pretty Much Pop (prettymuchpop.com, covering all media), Nakedly Examined Music (nakedlyexaminedmusic.com, deconstructing songs), Philosophy vs. Improv (philosophyimprov.com, fun with performance skills and philosophical ideas), and (sub)Text (subtextpodcast.com, looking deeply at lit and film). Learn about more network podcasts at partiallyexaminedlife.com.
We also feature episodes from other podcasts by our hosts to round out your partially examined life, including Pretty Much Pop (prettymuchpop.com, covering all media), Nakedly Examined Music (nakedlyexaminedmusic.com, deconstructing songs), Philosophy vs. Improv (philosophyimprov.com, fun with performance skills and philosophical ideas), and (sub)Text (subtextpodcast.com, looking deeply at lit and film). Learn about more network podcasts at partiallyexaminedlife.com.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 25, 2015 • 1h 28min
Not School Digest: Asimov, Camus, Jaspers, Brecht, Peirce, Historical Jesus
On Isaac Asimov's "The Last Question," Albert Camus's "The Fall," Karl Jaspers's "Truth and Symbol," C.S. Peirce's "The Fixation of Belief," Bertold Brecht's "Theatre for Pleasure or Theatre for Instruction," and Thomas Sheehan's Stanford lectures on the Historical Jesus. These are snippets covering topics we haven't had time to cover on the podcast proper. Brief yourself via these 10–15 minute bursts, or become a PEL Citizen to listen to the full discussions.
Oct 12, 2015 • 2h
Episode 125: Hannah Arendt on the Political & Private
On The Human Condition (1958), Prologue and Sections 1 and 2. How has our distinction between the private and public evolved over time? Arendt uses this history, and chiefly the differences between our time and ancient Athens, to launch a critique of modern society. The fab four conducted this podcast live at the Pittsburgh Continental Philosophy Conference. End song: "Space" by Mark Lint from The Cheese Stands Alone. Read about it. Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.
Oct 5, 2015 • 0sec
Q&A with the Partially Examined Life, Pittsburgh 9-25-15
What is it like to do philosophy in public? As prelude to our ep. 125 appearance at the Pittsburgh Continental Philosophy Network Conference on theory and public space, Mark, Seth, Wes, and Dylan sat down for questions by moderator Erica Freeman, conference host Justin Pearl, and numerous attendees.
Sep 21, 2015 • 2h 8min
Episode 124: The Stoic Life with Epictetus
On the Manual of Epictetus, aka The Enchiridion (135 CE). What's a wise strategy for life? Stoicism says that the secret is mastering yourself. Nothing external can break your spirit unless you let it. So, how weird and misguided is that advice? With guest Alex Fossella. End song: "But I Won't" by Mark Lint from Spanish Armada: Songs of Love and Related Neuroses (1993). Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.
Sep 7, 2015 • 2h 16min
Episode 123: Economics with Hayek and Sen (Intro by Seth Benzell)
On F.A. Hayek's "The Use of Knowledge in Society" (1945) and Amartya Sen's On Ethics and Economics (1987). Is economics a pseudoscience? Are its assumptions by necessity too over-simplifying? Hayek objects to the idea of planning an economy, because the planners aren't in a position to know enough. With guest Seth Benzell, who starts us off with a "precognition" of the material. End song: "People Who Throw Away Love" by Mark Lint from The Cheese Stands Alone. Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.
Sep 7, 2015 • 1h 37min
Ep 121/122 Aftershow on Augustine feat. James Wetzel
Haven't had enough Augustine? Danny Lobell and Wes Alwan welcome Augustine scholar James Wetzel and PEL Citizens Terra Leigh Bell, Amogh Sahu, and Scott Anderson to discuss our Augustine episodes, covering humility, love, desire, grief, sex, misogyny, degrees of reality, and how love of God fits with relating to other people. Minimally edited, recorded the same day it's being posted, we present a full Aftershow on our public feed for the very first time. (The last?) What do you think? Get all the aftershows and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.
Aug 24, 2015 • 2h 15min
Episode 122: Augustine on Mind and Metaphysics
Yet more on The Confessions, now on books 10–13. What is memory and how does it relate to time and being? Augustine thinks that memory is a storehouse, but it contains not just the sensations we put in it, but also (à la Plato's theory of recollection) all legitimate knowledge. It's our route to God, to real Being. Mark, Wes, and Dylan also discuss time, language, knowledge, the existence of evil, and more. This continues our discussion from ep. 121. Listen to the Aftershow featuring James Wetzel! End song: "The Past Is Not Real" by Mark Lint from Songs from the Partially Examined Life. Read about it. Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.
Aug 19, 2015 • 12min
Precognition of Ep. 123: Economics (F.A. Hayek and Amartya Sen)
Guest Seth Benzell outlines Hayek's "The Use of Knowledge in Society" (1945) and Sen's On Ethics and Economics (1987).
Aug 10, 2015 • 2h 6min
Episode 121: Augustine on Being Good
On The Confessions (400 CE), books 1–9. The question is not "What is virtue?" because knowing what virtue is isn't enough. The problem, for Aurelius Augustinus, aka St. Augustine of Hippo, is doing what you know to be right. End song: "I Still Want" by New People, from Impossible Things (2011). Get this and every episode ad-free by becoming a PEL supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.
Aug 7, 2015 • 17min
Ep. 119 Aftershow (PREMIUM) on Nietzsche feat. Greg Sadler
Seth Paskin and Danny Lobell were joined by Dr. Gregory B. Sadler, David Buchanan, Erik Weissengruber, Tom Kirdas, Ken Presting, and Bill Coe. Recorded July 26, 2015. This is the first 15 minutes of a two-hour conversation, available in full to PEL Citizens or free on our YouTube page.
