Ep. 323: Acquiring Language: Tomasello vs. Chomsky (Part Two)
Continuing on Michael Tomasello's "Language Is Not an Instinct" (1995) and Constructing a Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition (2003), as contrasted with Chomsky universal grammar (the flag that Steven Pinker continues to carry). With guest Christopher Heath. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/) . Visit https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/s...
48m Aug 28, 2023
48m
PEL Presents (sub)Text: Home as Identity in "The Odyssey"
He was famously a man of many ways, whether we interpret these as abilities or norms; designs or deceptions; reasons or identities. Yet despite such resources, he was also famously stuck, making a 10-year odyssey of his attempt to return home from a 10-year war. What keeps the man of master plans from homecoming and domestic bliss? In the first of a three part discussion of Homer’s classic, Wes...
1hr 14m Aug 27, 2023
1hr 14m
Ep. 323: Acquiring Language: Tomasello vs. Chomsky (Part One)
On Michael Tomasello's "Language Is Not an Instinct" (1995) and Constructing a Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition (2003). With guest Christopher Heath. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/) . Visit https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsors: Give more effectively via GiveWell...
49m Aug 21, 2023
49m
PEL Presents PMP#156: Black Mirror's Tech Horrors
Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about Charlie Brooker's British anthology TV series that began in 2011 and recently released its 6th season. How has this show evolved from satirical science fiction to something more often just horror studies that study human nature? We talk about our favorite episodes and what does and doesn't work. Does the show have to be so dark to make its point? Doe...
1hr 1m Aug 20, 2023
1hr 1m
PEL Presents NEM#201: Ivan Neville Gets Personal (but Still Funky)
Ivan is the keyboardist/singer/multi-instrumentalist son of Aaron Neville and has played with the Neville Brothers, The Rolling Stones The Spin Doctors, etc. He has released eight albums since 1988, half of these under the band name Dumpstaphunk. We discuss "Pass It Around" and listen to "Hey All Together" from Touch My Soul (2023), "They Don’t Care" by Dumpstaphunk from Dirty Word (2013), "Wh...
1hr 16m Aug 20, 2023
1hr 16m
PEL Closereads: Emerson's Oversoul (New Podcast Premiere)
Are we underlyingly all really a single, unified organism? Or do we just have a lot in common? PEL's most verbose hosts Mark Linsenmayer and Wes Alwan begin unraveling this puzzling claim by reading Ralph Waldo Emerson's 1841 essay "The Over-Soul" and explaining it line-by-line. Watch this episode on video at YouTube (https://youtu.be/QwylkSdmMt0) . We encourage you to read along in the essay w...
55m Aug 14, 2023
55m
PEL Presents PvI#59: Yes, and Technological Dystopia w/ Anthony LeBlanc
How does new technology affect ethics? Anthony (who is on strike, but that doesn't apply to improv) is an improviser (https://www.secondcity.com/people/anthony-leblanc/) with a computer science degree who now coaches kid TV actors (https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-leblanc-b9819123/) . We talk personal identity, transhumanism, genetic engineering, AI, organizational ethics, Black Mirror, Beas...
1hr 3m Aug 13, 2023
1hr 3m
PEL Presents PMP#155: Existentialist Barbie
Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the most discussable movie of the summer made by the unlikely pairing of feminist indie director Greta Gerwig and Barbie's corporate overlords at Mattel. Does the film convey at least a legitimate teen version of feminist existentialism? It is actually enjoyable? What sort of irony is this, and can any film be both a blockbuster children's film yet al...
51m Aug 11, 2023
51m
Ep. 322: Schelling on Art vs. Nature (Part Three)
Mark and Wes conclude with some close reading of Part 6 of System of Transcendental Idealism (1800), section 3: "Relation of Art to Philosophy." Schelling thinks that art enables us to do intuitively what philosophy tries to do with concepts. We're providing this typically supporter-exclusive content for all of you in anticipation of the new Closereads: Philosophy with Mark and Wes project tha...
57m Aug 07, 2023
57m
PEL Presents NEM#200: Mikaela Davis: Singer-Songwriter-Harpist
Mikaela has a degree in harp performance and has been recording since 2011. We discuss "Cinderella" (and listen at the end to "Leave It Alone") from her second label-released album, And Southern Star (2023), "Left Hand Path" (2002, released on the compilation album Spelljams), and "In My Groove" from Delivery (2018). Intro: "When You're Away" (recorded 2015). Hear more at mikaeladavis.com (http...
1hr 20m Aug 05, 2023
1hr 20m
PEL Presents PvI#57: Happier Cancer w/ Monica McCarthy
Monica is an actor (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2286261/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1) and writer who ran a live-on-stage philosophy podcast called The Happier Hour (https://www.thehappierhour.org/) , and so naturally we talk about happiness, or flourishing (eudaimonia). You can watch this episode in its unedited video form (https://youtu.be/_w50yMXwBfg) . Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com (...
1hr Aug 02, 2023
1hr
Ep. 322: Schelling on Art vs. Nature (Part Two)
Continuing on "On the Relation Between the Plastic Arts and Nature" (1807) and Part 6 of System of Transcendental Idealism (1800). We talk sculpture vs. painting and why art is the direct, intuitive way to achieve the insight that philosophy can only approximate using concepts. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/) . Visit https://partiallyexaminedlife.com...
48m Jul 31, 2023
48m
(sub)Text: Competing Affections in "The Lion in Winter" (Peter O'Toole, Katherine Heburn)
Before Henry VIII changed history for lack of a son, Henry II had too many. His eldest, Richard, a fierce soldier who controls the wealthy Aquitaine, is the favorite of his mother, Eleanor. The youngest, John, is immature and dull, but his father’s favorite. And the middle son, scheming Geoffrey, is, quite dangerously, no one’s favorite. In the end, there are no winners; competing affections an...
56m Jul 31, 2023
56m
Ep. 322: Schelling on Art vs. Nature (Part One)
Discussing "On the Relation Between the Plastic Arts and Nature" (1807) and Part 6 of System of Transcendental Idealism (1800). Is the goal of art to imitate nature? Only if that means showing the divine, ideal, dynamic aspect of the subject matter (and the artist)! Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/) . Visit https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to ...
48m Jul 24, 2023
48m
PEL Presents NEM#199: Alan Jenkins' Cornucopia of Experiments
Alan has released 50+ albums, starting in the late '70s with The Deep Freeze Mice, then with several collaborative bands, experimental surf in the '00s with The Thurston Lava Tube, and now typically records as Alan Jenkins and the Kettering Vampires. We discuss "The Multibear" from Be My Enemy £1 (2023), "Hitler’s Knees" by The Deep Freeze Mice from Saw a Ranch House Burning Last Night (1983),...
1hr 6m Jul 24, 2023
1hr 6m
PEL Presents PMP#153: Kids' Films, Adult Messages
Mark, Lawrence, and returning parents/panelists Michelle Parrinello-Cason (https://courses.seahomeschoolers.com/dr-michelle-parrinello-cason/) and Chris Sunami (http://popculturephilosopher.com/) take on animated blockbuster films by Pixar, et al. Why do some adults prefer these? What's the ideology of this kind of media? We touch on Puss in Boots, Turning Red, Soul, Trolls, Enola Holmes, and ...
59m Jul 23, 2023
59m
Pretty Much Pop #154: Indiana Jones and the Various MacGuffins
Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the blockbuster archaeological adventure films created in 1981 by George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg that we grew up with and which have now been revived and apparently concluded twice, currently via James Mangold's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com (http://prettymuchpop.com/) . Hear bonus content at https://www...
1hr 5m Jul 23, 2023
1hr 5m
PREMIUM-PEL Nightcap 7-9-23
Mark, Wes, and Seth talk about how we might cover philosophy of technology, and other areas like medical ethics, business ethics, environmental ethics, etc. Do we remember things that we recorded a few years back? What summer films are we looking forward to? Finally, can we cover David Foster Wallace? If you're not hearing the full version of this discussion (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/...
12m Jul 21, 2023
12m
Ep. 321: August Schlegel on Beauty (Part Two)
We continue on Theory of Art, getting more into sections of the text about the relationship between beauty and purposiveness, genius, unconscious vs. conscious creation, style vs. manner, and art imitating nature. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/) . Visit https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and a supporter-exclusive Nightca...
45m Jul 17, 2023
45m
PEL Presents PvI #56: Interpreting the Monkey Man w/ Chris George
Chris has an act called "I Am the Show" where he improvises to a film that he hasn't seen that's playing silently, making up all the dialogue and sound effects. Mark and Bill talk to Chris about being a spectator or critic of art: To understand a work, is it good or necessary to try to divine the artist's intentions, or is meaning in art something that happens after a work becomes an objective...
56m Jul 13, 2023
56m
Ep. 321: August Schlegel on Beauty (Part One)
Covering the elder Schlegel  brother's Theory of Art (ca. 1800). How does our experience of Beauty relate to the infinite? Schlegel provides a Romantic response to Kant on knowing the divine, inner essences of things through art, how genius works, and the relationship between art and nature. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/) . Visit https://partiallyexa...
49m Jul 10, 2023
49m
PEL Presents NEM#198: Chris Stamey Keeps on Developing
Chris started in the mid 70s in Sneakers, then backed Alex Chilton, started a record label, and then founded the dB's, which he left after two albums in 1983. He then became a producer and has released nine solo albums plus avant garde guitar collaborations with Kirk Ross and four reunion albums with Peter Holsapple and/or the dB's. We discuss "I Will Try" from The Great Escape (2023), the tit...
1hr 21m Jul 10, 2023
1hr 21m
PEL Presents PvI#55: Oversouled Behavior w/ Genevieve Joy
Genevieve is a comedian, podcaster (https://justgenevieve.libsyn.com/) , and she was a philosophy major who's studying for her doctorate in Divinity. We talk about the idea that "we are all one" (and thus we are all God, if you want to call the sum of all things by that name) that's in various traditions. Ralph Waldo Emerson called this the "oversoul." We spend the rest of the discussion unde...
55m Jul 09, 2023
55m
PREMIUM-Ep. 320: Friedrich Schlegel on Romanticism (Part Three)
Mark and Wes conclude our discussion of the younger Schlegel brother by going through more of his critical fragments, largely published in 1797 in the journal Lyceum Tier Schonen Kunste. If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/07/01/ep320-3-friedrich-schlegel-citizen/) , sign up via one of the options described at https://pa...
11m Jul 08, 2023
11m
Ep. 320: Friedrich Schlegel on Romanticism (Part Two)
We continue on Schlegel's "Dialogue on Poesy" (1799) and "Concerning the Essence of Critique" (1804). How can Romantic art always aim at some common source of our humanity yet also require originality? How can having some sort of common mythology help artists be original in this way, and how can we embrace mythology as modern people? Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com (https://partiallyexa...
45m Jul 03, 2023
45m
PEL Presents PMP#152: BELIEVE in Ted Lasso
Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al disagree about the Jason Sudeikis-headed Apple TV+ pandemic hit that's just wrapped up with its third season. Was it actually as good as everyone thought when its first season hit, or was its vibe just something we needed at the time? Should it have stayed slim and comic instead of becoming the stretched out, soapy dramedy that it ended up as? For more, visit p...
53m Jun 30, 2023
53m
Ep. 320: Friedrich Schlegel on Romanticism (Part One)
On selected fragments from 1797-1801, "Dialogue on Poesy" (1799), and "Concerning the Essence of Critique" (1804). What makes art "Romantic"? Schlegel sees good art as uniquely, authentically reaching out to a divine source that underlies and connects each of us. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/) . Visit https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get...
47m Jun 26, 2023
47m
PEL Presents NEM#197: Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah's African Head Charge
Bonjo started in the '70s as a session hand percussionist, played for a few years with Creation Rebel, and became a band leader in 1980, first recording a bit as Noah House of Dread, then creating African Head Charge, which has had more than 20 releases. More at africanheadcharge.bandcamp.com (https://africanheadcharge.bandcamp.com/) . We discuss "Microdosing" and listen to "A Bad Attitude" fr...
1hr 7m Jun 24, 2023
1hr 7m
PREMIUM-Ep. 319: Schiller on Experiencing Beauty (Part Three)
We complete our treatment of On the Aesthetic Education of Man by considering its final letters in more detail. Does Reason really make us more moral? And does the embrace of Beauty really point us to Reason, or does self-consciousness rule out immersion in art? If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/06/16/ep319-3-schiller...
10m Jun 23, 2023
10m
Ep. 319: Schiller on Experiencing Beauty (Part Two)
Starting with letter 20 in On the Aesthetic Education of Man (1795), we tell more of the story of how art is supposed to get us from sensation to thinking. Aesthetic perception ends up being essential to any conceptualization (thinking) whatsoever! Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/) . Visit https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episod...
50m Jun 19, 2023
50m
PEL Presents PvI#54: Do You Want to Be Here? w/ Brain in a Vat
Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff of the Brain in a Vat podcast (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKUo02u1wuajdxxNWq8kH6Q) join Bill and Mark L. (aka Alf) to talk about rationality, broadly construed, while not moving a couch and not giving each other Christmas presents. Does "reason" by itself tell us what to do and what to believe? Is trypophobia really just bigotry (it is not)? What's th...
54m Jun 17, 2023
54m
Ep. 319: Schiller on Experiencing Beauty (Part One)
On the second half of Friedrich Schiller's On the Aesthetic Education of Man (1795), getting into the mechanics of how aesthetic experience work in giving us a midpoint between animality and pure rationality where we can feel free. Also, does art reveal truth? Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/) . Visit https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-...
51m Jun 11, 2023
51m
PEL Presents PMP#151: Everybody's Talkin' 'Bout "Succession"
The regular gang (Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al) address Jesse Armstrong's prestige HBO dramedy that premiered in 2018 and has just wrapped up. Why all the fuss over this show? Is it really worthy of comparison to Shakespeare? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com (http://prettymuchpop.com/) . Hear bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to th...
51m Jun 11, 2023
51m
PEL Presents NEM#196: Michael Gira (Swans) Is Not Done
Swans started in the early '80s with a brutal sound gradually became more subtle and textured. The band broke up in 1995 after ten albums (and three other releases under the name World of Skin), then Michael released a couple of solo albums and six alt-country releases as Angels of Light before starting a new chapter of Swans in 2010 which has now released its sixth album. We discuss "Michael ...
1hr 51m Jun 11, 2023
1hr 51m
PREMIUM-Ep. 318: Friedrich Schiller on the Civilizing Potential of Art (Part Three)
Mark and Wes dive deeper into the text of the first several letters of On the Aesthetic Education of Man (1795). Are verbal descriptions of art destined to fall short?  What is it to put yourself forward as a representative of your species? These and many more of Schiller's puzzling proclamations are debated in detail! If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion (htt...
11m Jun 10, 2023
11m
Ep. 318: Friedrich Schiller on the Civilizing Potential of Art (Part Two)
We continue working through letters 1-15 of On the Aesthetic Education of Man (1795), helped by Markus Reuter (https://www.markusreuter.com/) . We get clearer on what Schiller means by Beauty, and how two contrary drives toward matter and form somehow cancel each other out to combine in a "play drive" that is at the heart of appreciating and creating art. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com...
56m Jun 05, 2023
56m
PEL Presents PMP#150: Dark Shadows w/ Kathryn Leigh Scott
Mark, Lawrence, and Sean Michael Cooney discuss the gothic romance vampire soap opera from 1966-1971 plus the spin-off movies and reboots. We interview one of the stars of the original show, the author Kathryn Leigh Scott (https://www.kathrynleighscott.com/) , to talk about the appeal and enduring legacy of this show that was once massively popular but is now a quintessential cult property that...
1hr 8m Jun 02, 2023
1hr 8m
Ep. 318: Friedrich Schiller on the Civilizing Potential of Art (Part One)
Can art make us better people? Musician Markus Reuter (https://www.markusreuter.com/) joins Mark, Wes, and Seth to discussion the first half of On the Aesthetic Education of Man (1795). Given the failure of the French Revolution, this famous German poet wondered what could make the masses capable of governing themselves? His answer: Beauty! Aesthetic appreciation puts us at a distance from our...
47m May 29, 2023
47m
PEL Presents PvI#53: XTREME BEEF Quicheticles w/ Zach Thompson
Zach is an improvisor who's written for MST3K (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8925515/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_0_nm_8_q_zach%2520thompson) , been a commentator for Resistance Pro Wrestling (https://www.youtube.com/@rockstarofsiam) , and has been a recurring guest on Hello From the Magic Tavern (http://magictavern.wikidot.com/dorian-deville) . He joins Mark and Bill to discuss competitiveness in all ...
52m May 27, 2023
52m
PREMIUM-Ep. 317: Character Philosophies in Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov" (Part Two)
To conclude our discussion of the novel, we turn to the philosophies of Dmitri and Ivan, plus the Biblical book of Job and our takeaways. Do we need some philosophy of transcendence to cope? If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/05/14/ep317-2-doestoevsky-karamazov-citizen/) , sign up via one of the options described at htt...
11m May 22, 2023
11m
PEL Presents NEM#195: Nicholas Tremulis Reads Better Books
Nick has fronted 10+ carefully arranged solo albums since 1985 in various styles from R&B to Latin to alt-country. We discuss "Amanda and the God’s Honest Truth" from Rarified World (2021), "Buffalo Man" from Little Big Songs (2008), and "River of Love" from More Than Truth (1986). End song: "Super Human Love" from For the Baby Doll (2013). Intro: "Heartbeat Getting Stronger" from Nicholas Tre...
1hr 19m May 20, 2023
1hr 19m
Ep. 317: Character Philosophies in Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov" (Part One)
Following up on our live episode (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/05/01/ep316-1-dostoevsky-karmazov/) , we further ponder the 1869 novel, revisiting the "problem of evil" arguments and how the various brothers cope with an imperfect world. Plus, we relate Dostoevsky to other existentialists. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/) . Visit https://parti...
55m May 15, 2023
55m
PEL Presents PMP#149: Rocky and Creed
It's our most successful sports film franchise ever, starting with the Best Picture winning, highest grossing film from 1976, through eight sequels to land us with Creed III. Mark, Al, Sarahlyn, and Lawrence talk about the ups and downs of this journey. How can such an apparently simple formula stay fresh? Is there any rationale for a larger Rocky-verse? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com (htt...
55m May 14, 2023
55m
Ep. 316: Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov": PEL Live in NYC (Part Two)
Continuing on Dostoevsky's 1880 novel, we respond to some objections to the Christian arguments that the characters Alyosha and Zosima put forward to respond to Ivan's "Rebellion" and "Grand Inquisitor" arguments. Most of these objections come from the audience Q&A. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/) . Visit https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to g...
39m May 08, 2023
39m
PEL Presents PvI#52: Elegant Stoicism w/ Tanner Campbell
Tanner runs the popular daily podcast Practical Stoicism (https://stoicismpod.com/) , so of course we brought him on to talk about on-board flight services and attitudes among retail service workers. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/) . Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com (https://chicagoimprovstudio.com/) . Hear more at ...
1hr 18m May 05, 2023
1hr 18m
Ep. 316: Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov": PEL Live in NYC (Part One)
On Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1880 existentialist novel, focusing mostly on the "Rebellion" and "Grand Inquisitor" chapters. How can we reconcile ourselves to the existence of evil and suffering? The character Ivan argues that we can't, that children's suffering can't be justified by any alleged Divine Plan. Dostoevsky's answer to this challenge is practical, concrete love and service to others, but ...
42m May 01, 2023
42m
PEL Presents NEM#194: Vashti Bunyan Is Not a Folk Singer
Vashti was discovered in the mid-60s by the Rolling Stones manager, recorded a seminal acoustic album in 1970, then quit music until her work was rediscovered in 2000, recording two albums and releasing an autobiography since then. We discuss "I Want to Be Alone" (a 1965 single), "Rose Hip November" from Just Another Diamond Day (1970), "Wayward from Lookaftering (2005), and the title track fr...
1hr 11m Apr 29, 2023
1hr 11m
PREMIUM-Ep. 315: Mengzi (Mencius) on Virtuous Leaders (Part Two)
To conclude our treatment of this seminal Confucian text, we consider a particularly puzzling passage about ethics and then move to politics and economics. If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/04/15/ep315-2-mengzi-citizen/) , sign up via one of the options described at https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.
10m Apr 24, 2023
10m
PEL Presents PMP#148: Resource Management Video Games
Mark, Al, our editor Tyler Hislop, and Dr. Jamie Madigan of the Psychology of Video Games podcast (https://www.psychologyofgames.com/podcast/) talk about a wide range crafting and building games from Minecraft to Starcraft to Sim City to Civilization to Rimworld to Subnautica. Given what a time commitment these typically require, what makes some of them worthwhile? For more, visit prettymuchpo...
53m Apr 21, 2023
53m
Ep. 315: Mengzi (Mencius) on Virtuous Leaders (Part One)
Continuing from ep. 314 (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2023/04/03/ep314-1-mengzi/) , we go further into the collected teachings of this early Confucian (aka Ruhist) from the late 4th century BCE. What's the best way to be a virtuous person and hence an effective leader? Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/) . Visit https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/supp...
39m Apr 17, 2023
39m