The Living Philosophy

In his masterpiece Sex Ecology and Spirituality, Ken Wilber applies the work of Ferdinand de Saussure in Semiotics to the question of spiritual experiences’ validity. By looking at the Signifier and Signified of Saussure’s linguistic Sign as well as the referent in the context of spiritual experience Integral philosopher Ken Wilber arrives at an interesting hypothesis in Sex Ecology and Spirituality: that spiritual experiences are at a higher level of development than the general public; the difficulties in studying spiritual experience are comparable to the difficulties of a blind community studying colour. This brings in Wilber’s pre/trans fallacy — the distinction between prerational development and postrational development. _________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy________________🎶 Music Used:1. Lost Frontier — Kevin MacLeod2. 1812 Overture • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky https://youtu.be/LAUuXfSeoqY3. Mozart's String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, MOVEMENT II, K. 421 https://youtu.be/-DFKPtvT1p84. Juniper — Kevin MacLeodSubscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic_________________⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Introduction0:38 Summary of Semiotics5:32 The Referent of Great Price10:22 Spiritual Evolution13:55 Conclusion_________________#Semiotics #thelivingphilosophy #spirituality #kenwilber #integral

“The European philosophical tradition consists of a series of footnotes to Plato” — A.N. Whitehead. Plato is the greatest philosopher that ever lived and yet the life of Plato is shrouded in myth and mystery. The challenge with Plato’s biography is knowing where the legend ends and history begins. In this episode we explore the various accounts of Plato’s life and try to reassemble the arc of his historical life. _________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy________________🎶 Music Used:1. Lost Frontier — Kevin MacLeod2. 1812 Overture • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky https://youtu.be/LAUuXfSeoqY3. Mozart's String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, MOVEMENT II, K. 421 https://youtu.be/-DFKPtvT1p84. Juniper — Kevin MacLeod5. End of the Era — Kevin MacLeod6. Mesmerise — Kevin MacLeodSubscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic_________________⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Introduction1:25 The Backdrop4:37 The Family of Plato8:13 Socrates and the Travels of Plato12:37 The Sicily Debacle15:12 The Death of Plato_________________#Plato #thelivingphilosophy #philosophy #history #biography #Socrates #Athens #ancientgreekhistory #ancientgreece #greece

Ferdinand de Saussure, a pioneer in Semiotics, leads the discussion alongside influential figures like Sartre and Derrida. They delve into the intricacies of language, exploring Saussure's critical distinctions between langue and parole. The conversation highlights the relationship between signifiers and signifieds, illustrating the arbitrary nature of language through cultural examples. They also compare synchronic and diachronic approaches, emphasizing the relational aspects of meaning in linguistics. This rich insight into Semiotics reveals its profound impact on modern thought.

The Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein told his lover David Pinsent that Russell’s words of encouragement at the start of his dabbling with philosophy had been his salvation and put an end to nine years of loneliness and suffering in the constant shadow of suicide. Russell described him as “perhaps the most perfect example I have ever known of genius as traditionally conceived, passionate, profound, intense, and dominating” and said that “he has more passion about philosophy than I have; his avalanches make mine seem mere snowballs”But before all this became clear, Wittgenstein was tortured by the fear that he was destined for failure. He feared he was a dilettante and was a waste of space. Russell’s validation of him allowed him to set aside ‘a hint that he was de trop in this world’. Had he arrived years earlier or later, he may have found a Russell that was less sentimental and more protective of his role in technical philosophy. But due to a number of events in Russell’s life he arrived at the perfect time for Russell to embrace him with open arms (eventually)_________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) 💸 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy________________🎶 Music Used:1. Magnetic — CO.AG Music2. Mesmerise — Kevin MacLeod3. Juniper — Kevin MacLeod4. Evening Fall Harp — Kevin MacLeod5. End of the Era — Kevin MacLeodSubscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusicSubscribe to CO.AG Music https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcav... _________________⌛ Timestamps:00:00 Introduction1:40 The Preparation of Russell5:38 The Austrian Aristocrat8:35 When Bertrand met Ludwig12:37 The Student Becomes Master15:26 The Fragile Genius_________________#Wittgenstein #thelivingphilosophy #Russell #analyticphilosophy

The Analytic Philosophy vs Continental Philosophy divide is a faultline running through modern philosophy. In this episode we explore the origins of this divide and why these two paths diverged when their founders were in close contact. Edmund Husserl and Gottlob Frege were the two men that gave rise to Continental Philosophy and Analytic Philosophy respectively and surprisingly they were in close contact — critiquing each other’s work. But despite this closeness, there is a historical backdrop to their concerns that invites us to reconsider this difference. Much like the Empiricism/Rationalist divide of the two centuries before Frege and Husserl, the Continental/Analytic divide ran along the line of the English Channel and seems to have been as much a divide of temperament as of philosophy. The British empiricists and the Anglo-American Analytic tradition are concerned more with a non-human standpoint — what reality is out there and how we can gain purest access to it. On the other the Rationalists and Continentals are more concerned with the human element — what it’s structure is like and what that tells us about the structure and nature of reality. This difference in focus on the human and non-human element widened into an irreparable chasm by the time of Martin Heidegger and Bertrand Russell. _________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy_________________⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Introduction1:14 A Tale of Two Schools3:28 The Continental Arising7:18 The Analytic Tradition9:12 A Metaphilosophical Problem?

When asking ourselves what is empiricism in philosophy we cannot help but speak of the  Empiricism vs. Rationalism debate that began with Descartes’s cogito ergo sum of and ended with Immanuel Kant. The Empiricism of John Locke, George Berkeley and David Hume — known as the British Empiricists — developed in the 17th and 18th centuries and was a very influential movement. In contrast to the Rationalists (who believed that knowledge was only possible through reason and the mind), the Empiricists maintained that experience was the only origin of knowledge. Their challenge was to show why it was not unreliable in light of Descartes’s investigations in Discourse on the Method.  So in this episode, we explore all this ground as we seek to answer the question: what is empiricism?_________________📚 Sources:Berkeley, G., 1881. A treatise concerning the principles of human knowledge. JB Lippincott & Company.Berkeley, G., 2012. Three dialogues between Hylas and Philonous. Broadview Press.Hume, D., 2016. An enquiry concerning human understanding (pp. 191-284). Routledge.Locke, J., 1847. An essay concerning human understanding. Kay & Troutman. Secondary:Downing, Lisa, "George Berkeley", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2020/entries/berkeley/Markie, Peter, "Rationalism vs. Empiricism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2017/entries/rationalism-empiricism/Morris, William Edward and Charlotte R. Brown, "David Hume", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2021 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2021/entries/hume/Turbayne, C.M., 1985. Hume's Influence on Berkeley. Revue Internationale de Philosophie, pp.259-269.Uzgalis, William, "John Locke", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2020/entries/locke/_________________⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Empiricism vs. Rationalism2:17 John Locke’s Empiricism5:34 George Berkeley’s Subjective Idealism 8:42 Hume’s Sceptical Empiricism

Albert Camus called the philosopher Simone Weil “the only great spirit of our times.” T.S. Eliot said she was the greatest saint of the 20th century. Charles de Gaulle said she was insane. But who is she and what is the Simone Weil philosophy?Despite dying at the age of 34, Simone Weil lived a life that rivalled any philosopher. And it was the authentic life of a philosopher following her inner compass. She did not fall in with the intellectual milieu of her time by becoming a public intellectual (which was far from a matter of intelligence — she finished 1st in her class for philosophy at France’s elite university the École Normale Supérieure beating out Simone de Beauvoir in second place). She was born into a Jewish family and raised agnostic and yet found herself drawn towards religion; she fought in the Spanish Civil War and worked in factories for a year to understand the working class.  _________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy ________________ 🎶 Music Used: 1.  Magnetic — CO.AG Music 2. Juniper — Kevin MacLeod 3. Mesmerise — Kevin MacLeod 4. End of the Era — Kevin MacLeod 5. Americana Aspiring — Kevin MacLeod 6. Memory Lane — Kevin MacLeod Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic Subscribe to CO.AG Music https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcav... _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction1:08 Intellectual Development and Factory Work4:51 The Spanish Civil War and Christian Awakening8:54 The Resistant and Her Death12:05 Conclusion_________________ #simoneweil #thelivingphilosophy #philosophy #existentialism #christianity

The Phenomenology philosophy is a school of philosophy that originated in the 20th century. With Edmund Husserl Phenomenology was born but it was the phenomenology Heidegger innovated that reoriented the course of European philosophy. The Phenomenology of Husserl and Heidegger (whose respective philosophies are called Transcendental Phenomenology and Existential Phenomenology) does not seek after external objective truth—as philosophy and science generally do—phenomenology strives for subjective truth—in Husserl’s case it is an attempt to make a subjective science of consciousness. Husserl developed a method for attaining this truth which involves reducing away the noise so as to isolate the essence of a phenomenon. Heidegger parted from Husserl saying that phenomenology could not be a science with knowledge because the meaning of a phenomenon is context-dependent. Heidegger moves from Husserl’s epistemological project to an ontological program. There is a growing scholarship looking at the connection between phenomenology and eastern philosophy. It is even said that Heidgger was influenced in his conception of Dasein as being-in-the-world through a German commentator on Taoist philosopher Chuang-tzu. _________________⭐ Support the channel (thank you!)▶ Patreon: patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy▶ Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________📚 Sources:Heidegger, M., 2010. Being and time. Suny Press.Husserl, E., 1999. The essential Husserl: Basic writings in transcendental phenomenology. Indiana University Press.Smith, David Woodruff, 2018. "Phenomenology", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2018/entries/phenomenology/._________________⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Intro0:42 History of Phenomenology1:46 What is Phenomenology5:59 Husserl’s Phenomenological Method7:52 Heidegger’s Ontological Twist9:17 Phenomenology and Eastern Philosophy

There are many legends and lies surrounding the question of why Nietzsche went mad. After the German philosopher had a mental breakdown in a Turin square January 1889, the initial diagnosis was paretic syphilis. But as later investigators point this definitely wasn’t the case. In this episode we are going to explore the “circus-like history of controversies over the syphilis diagnosis”. Nietzsche was diagnosed with the disease despite meeting none of the five core symptoms of paretic syphilis. This initial diagnosis and its early backer—the notorious popular science writer Dr Mobius—was scrutinised by two biographers in the late 1920s but they were completely overshadowed by the account of the psychiatrist Lange-Eichbaum—an admirer of Mobius—who started the myth that Nietzsche had been treated for syphilis in 1867 during his student years in Leipzig. Despite the fact this information came from Mobius (who allegedly heard it from two Leipzig doctors that nobody has ever been able to track down and whose letters informing him of the matter had since been destroyed) it became canonical history. It took 70 years beyond Lange-Eichmann’s work before this narrative was questioned. In his pivotal article on the matter Leonard Sax sums up the situation as a case of:“One man's gossip becomes another man's reference, which in turn becomes a scholar's footnote.”But Nietzsche’s madness was not caused by syphilis and we don’t know the real cause. Sax argues for its being a brain tumour; another author Eva Cybulska argues that it was a result of Nietzsche having bipolar disorder and others again argue its origin was purely psychological. Short of exhuming his body there is no way of confirming for sure. _________________⭐ Support the channel (thank you!)▶ Patreon: patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy▶ Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________📚 Sources:Primary Papers:Cybulska, E.M., 2000. The madness of Nietzsche: a misdiagnosis of the millennium?. Hospital Medicine, 61(8), pp.571-575.Sax, L., 2003. What was the cause of Nietzsche's dementia?. Journal of Medical Biography, 11(1), pp.47-54.Further Reading:Breazeale, D., 1991. Ecce Psycho: Remarks on the case of Nietzsche. International studies in philosophy, 23(2), pp.19-33.Hollingdale, R.J., 2001. Nietzsche: The man and his philosophy. Cambridge University Press.Huenemann, C., 2008. Nietzsche's illness. in The Oxford Handbook of Nietzsche. edited by Gemes, K. and Richardson, J.  Oxford University Press.Kaufmann, W.A., 2013. Nietzsche: Philosopher, psychologist, antichrist (Vol. 104). Princeton University Press.Nietzsche, F.W., 1968. Basic writings of Nietzsche. Modern Library Classics.________________🎶 Music Used:1. Magnetic — CO.AG Music2. Juniper — Kevin MacLeod3. End of the Era — Kevin MacLeod4. Mesmerise — Kevin MacLeod5. Evening Fall Harp — Kevin MacLeod 6. Anguish— Kevin MacLeodSubscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusicSubscribe to CO.AG Music https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcav... _________________⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Intro0:36 Nietzsche’s Turin Breakdown1:28 Nietzsche’s Diagnosis and Syphilis’s Symptoms 3:13 Why Nietzsche Didn’t Have Syphilis7:26 How the Myth of Nietzsche’s Syphilis Became History10:45 What Did Nietzsche Really Die of?11:38 Conclusion_________________#nietzsche #thelivingphilosophy #philosophy

Dive into the fascinating clash of Nihilism, Existentialism, and Absurdism—three philosophies tackling the question of life's meaning. Explore how Nihilism emerged in the 19th century with the notion of a world devoid of objective purpose. Discover Sartre’s radical claim that existence precedes essence, granting individuals the power to create their own meaning. Unravel the struggle against life's absurdity, illuminated by Camus's myth of Sisyphus, exploring how we can find affirmation in a seemingly meaningless existence.