The Limits of Free Speech (Part Two)
Continuing our free form discussion, trying to make sense of Stanley Fish's “There’s No Such Thing as Free Speech, and It’s a Good Thing, Too” (1994) and other potential rationales for prohibiting hate speech. How might the same sentence or idea be used in different speech acts, some of which might be legitimately censured but others not? Listen to part one first, or get the Citizen Edition, al...
1hr 4m Apr 09, 2018
1hr 4m
NEM#70: Amy Annelle's Natural Environments
Amy has recorded nine albums of emotionally stark but often artistically decorated original folk music, punctuated by cover tunes like the opening music here, Townes Van Zandt's "Buckskin Stallion Blues," which appeared in the film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.  We discuss "Mouth to Mouth" from The Autopilot Knows You Best (2000), "The Nightjar’s Blues" from The Cimarron Banks (201...
1hr 2m Apr 09, 2018
1hr 2m
The Limits of Free Speech (Part One)
Wes, Mark, Dylan, and Seth have a free-form discussion on contemporary issues regarding potential restrictions on speech, drawing on Stanley Fish's “There’s No Such Thing as Free Speech, and It’s a Good Thing, Too” (1994) and Joel Feinberg’s “Limits to the Free Expression of Opinion” (1975), and also on David van Mill's Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article, "Freedom of Speech," John Milt...
59m Mar 29, 2018
59m
NEM#69: Craig Wedren Catch-Up: "Safe Home/Fadeland"
On NEM#15, Craig introduced us to his songwriting style: How a hardcore aesthetic informs even his most syntho creations, and how whimsicality and beauty can coexist harmoniously. Craig has since then released the Adult Desire album, and returns to talk to us about the song "Safe Home/Fadeland" and about the Adult Desire 360 VR application. Intro: "Amnesian Wedding March." Outro: "I Was a Soldi...
37m Mar 28, 2018
37m
J.L. Austin on Doing Things with Words (Part Two)
Continuing on How to Do Things with Words (lectures from 1955), covering lectures 5-9. Austin tries and fails to come up with a way to grammatically distinguish performatives from other utterances, and so turns to his more complicated system of aspects of a single act: locutionary, illocutionary, perlocutionary. In doing so, he perlocutionarily blows our minds. #philosophy #language #truth #s...
1hr 12m Mar 26, 2018
1hr 12m
NEM#68: Billy James (Ant-Bee): Experimenting with Idols
Billy now does press for many of his idols, but began as a drummer in music school and started Ant-Bee in the late '80s, as a Zappa-esque improv live act and as a Beach Boys–psychedelic solo recording effort. He's released four albums, increasingly featuring his clients. We discuss two tracks from Electronic Church Muzik (2011): "Flutter-Bye, Butter-Flye" (feat. Michael Bruce) and "The Language...
1hr 5m Mar 22, 2018
1hr 5m
J.L. Austin on Doing Things with Words (Part One)
On How to Do Things with Words, a lecture series delivered in 1955. What's the relationship between language and the world? According to Austin, philosophers have generally taken language as providing descriptions: A sentence is true if it correctly describes some state of affairs. But what about sentences like "I promise…"? Austin says that when you say that, you're not describing your inner ...
50m Mar 19, 2018
50m
Ethics in Homer's "Odyssey" Feat. Translator Emily Wilson (Part Two)
Continuing with Emily Wilson on her translation of the Greek epic poem. We discuss the value of the oikos, or estate, built on violence, with slaves rewarded for loyalty and killed for preferring a different master. These estates were brought into military alliances through xenia, or hospitality, which you should definitely extend to any gods-disguised-as-beggars that come around, but if actua...
1hr 13m Mar 12, 2018
1hr 13m
NEM#67: RHEMA's Marc Jackson and Jeffrey Casey: Original Gangastas of Techno
RHEMA as a six-piece band produced an album called Voyage of the Rock Aliens that accompanied their appearance in the film of that name. The band then broke up, but songwriters Marc and Jeffrey continued to work together on various projects, and have finally now produced a proper album as RHEMA called Shine, drawing on their '80s roots but incorporating modern electronic music textures. We disc...
1hr 10m Mar 05, 2018
1hr 10m
Ethics in Homer's "Odyssey" Feat. Translator Emily Wilson (Part One)
On the classic Greek epic poem, written ca. 750 BCE and translated by our guest Emily Wilson (of the University of Pennsylvania) in 2018. Does this story of ""heroes"" have anything to teach us about ethics? Emily wrote an 80-page introduction to her new translation laying out the issues, including ""hospitality"" as a political tool, the value for status and identity of one's home (including ...
50m Mar 05, 2018
50m
Pascal on the Human Condition (Part Two)
Continuing on Pascal's Pensées. More on our human desire and how God is supposed to address that, plus Pascal's views on political philosophy, the relation between faith, reason, and custom… and finally, the wager! We get into the obvious objections. Why not just be a skeptic? Is Pascal right that people suck? End song: "44 Days" by Dutch Henry, written and sung by Todd Long, as interviewed o...
1hr 10m Feb 25, 2018
1hr 10m
Pascal on Human Nature (Part One)
On Blaise Pascal's Pensées (1670). Is it rational to have religious faith? You're likely familiar with "Pascal's Wager," one of the most famous arguments for the existence of God, but it's not clear that Pascal bought into the argument as it is usually understood. To see why, you have to get Pascal's picture of human nature, which is surprisingly insightful, and is what Mark, Wes, and Dylan s...
52m Feb 19, 2018
52m
NEM#66: Arrica Rose's Dreamy Dramas
Arrica has released five albums and 3 EPs of floaty, poetic, California rock since 2006. We discuss "Whole Lotta Lows" and "X-Ray Eyes" from Low as the Moon (2017) and "When the Clouds Hang This Low" from Let Alone Sea (2011). We conclude by listening to "On and On" by Deer County from Low Country (2016). Intro music: "Sail Away" from Antebellum (2010). For more, visit arricarose.com. Hear more...
1hr 14m Feb 17, 2018
1hr 14m
Mill on Liberty (Part Two)
Continuing on John Stuart Mill's On Liberty (1859). We discuss "partial truths" and how free speech may allow us to complete them, whether truth will always eventually overcome persecution, whether we can judge some "experiments in living" as failures once and for all, education, "barbarians," how Mill compares to Nietzsche, and more. Has our culture received Mill's message that nonconformity i...
1hr 7m Feb 12, 2018
1hr 7m
Mill on Liberty (Part One)
Discussing John Stewart Mill's On Liberty (1859) If we disapprove of certain behaviors, when is it okay to prohibit them legally? What about just shaming people for engaging in them? How much shaming is too much? Mill's famous "harm principle" says that we should permit anything unless it harms other people. But what constitutes "harm"? If I call you by a racial slur, have I harmed you? If I t...
1hr 1m Feb 04, 2018
1hr 1m
TEASER: Reflections on PEL 2017
The PEL guys get personal and political and tell you in brief about things like Planet of the Apes, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and Vine Deloria Jr. in the second half of our year-in-review discussion. Here you get a taste. You can only hear the meat with the full, ad-free episode, posted for PEL Citizens (see partiallyexaminedlife.com/support!) or at patreon.com/partiallyexaminedlife.
4m Feb 04, 2018
4m
Reflections on PEL 2017 (Part One)
To what extent has our podcast changed in reaction to current politics? Mark, Seth, Wes, and Dylan reflect back on our year, discuss how we select texts, and give some thumbnail sketches of potential topics. Attention: Only the first 45 min of this discussion will be posted for the general public. If you like PEL at all, consider just becoming a PEL Citizen or supporting us via Patreon and get...
53m Jan 29, 2018
53m
NEM#65: Jherek Bischoff Risks Every String
Jherek started off as bassist in the late '90s for the Seattle art rock bands The Dead Science and Parenthetical Girls, and has released about five solo albums (and other things) since 2006, the last two being full-on orchestral works. We discuss the title track from Cistern (2016), "The Nest" featuring Mirah from Composed (2012), and "Blackstar," featuring Anna Calvi, from a David Bowie tribut...
1hr 21m Jan 27, 2018
1hr 21m
Hannah Arendt on the Banality of Evil (Part Two)
Continuing on Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (1963), on how ordinary people can do—or acquiesce to—horrific things. How do people rationalize this? What's required to cut through the environmental haze and have an authentic moral reaction? What can we apply from this story to our present political circumstances? Also, how was genocide a new type of crime, and what's the...
1hr 22m Jan 22, 2018
1hr 22m
Hannah Arendt on the Banality of Evil (Part One)
On Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (1963). Are we still morally culpable if our entire society is corrupt? Arendt definitely thinks so, but has a number of criticisms of the handling of the 1961 trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann. Israel used the spectacle to remind people of the horrors of the Holocaust, but missed the opportunity to explore what would make a re...
48m Jan 15, 2018
48m
NEM#64: Mike Huberty (Sunspot): Rock from the Other Side
Mike fronts a hard-working Madison power trio in the glam rock vein that's put out 7 albums and 7 EPs since 2000. He also runs (and records a new song every week for) a podcast about the occult. We discuss "Sulfur" from The Wilderness of Almost Was and Never Were (2017), "Saturday Night Gospel" from Dangerous Times (2014), and "Prozac Girl" from Loser of the Year (2003). We conclude by listenin...
1hr 3m Jan 14, 2018
1hr 3m
More James's Psychology: Self and Will (Part Two)
Concluding on William James's Psychology, the Briefer Course (1892). We briefly cover emotions and spend the bulk of our time on will. Talking about emotions allows us to refresh on James's overall theory of mind: An organism's activity basically involves various signals coming in through the senses and going out to produce reaction. This chain can reach to a greater or lesser extent into cons...
1hr 17m Jan 08, 2018
1hr 17m
More James's Psychology: Self and Will (Part One)
On Psychology, the Briefer Course (1892), chapters on "The Self," "Will," and "Emotions." Continuing from ep. 179, we talk about the various aspects of self: The "Me" (the part of me that I know) that's divided into physical, social, and spiritual aspects, and the "I" (the part of me that has experiences), which is pretty problematic, but which we need not posit as a "soul," but which should p...
1hr 2m Jan 01, 2018
1hr 2m
NEM#63: Revisiting Bradley Skaught, Jeff Heiskell, Steve Petrinko: 2017 Year-end Extravaganza
To celebrate year #2, previous guests return: Bradley  (see #32) talks "Duet" from Take Out the Poison, Jeff (see #5) presents "Still Life with Broken Heart" from Emotional Terrorism, and Steve (see #6) discusses "Wind of Change" from A Tribute to the Bee Gees '66 to '78. Finally, hear Tyler Hislop (see #24) about his "Wounds and Nihilism (Feat. Mark Lint)." Opening music: "Dawning on Me" by Ma...
1hr 8m Jan 01, 2018
1hr 8m
William James's Psychology (Part Two)
Continuing on Psychology, the Briefer Course (1892), completing "The Stream of Thought" and covering the chapter on "Habit." James thinks that psychologists focus too much on those parts of consciousness that get picked out by substantive words; we neglect those "fringe" parts that are harder to pick out specifically. Do elementary particles have "habits"? James describes habit as part of a ge...
1hr 1m Dec 25, 2017
1hr 1m
NEM#62: Anthony Phillips: Private Pieces, Soundtrack Parts, and Prog Rock
Anthony was the original guitarist and a key songwriter in Genesis from '67–'70, released some prog rock albums in the '70s, then shifted largely to a mix of acoustic guitar pieces and synth soundscapes, often for soundtracks. We discuss "Nocturne" from Seventh Heaven (2012, with Andrew Skeet), "From the Jaws of Death - Touching the Face of God" from Wildlife (recorded 1999) and "Magdalen" from...
1hr 12m Dec 21, 2017
1hr 12m
William James's Introspective Psychology (Part One)
On The Principles of Psychology (1890) chapters 1 & 7, and Psychology, the Briefer Course (1892), the chapters on "The Stream of Thought," "Habit," and some of "The Self." Can we talk about the mind in a way that is both scientific and also does justice to our everyday experiences? James thought that previous philosophers talking about the mind weren't accurately reflecting how things actually...
56m Dec 18, 2017
56m
NEM#61: Richard X. Heyman Is Incognito (Yet a Cornerstone)
Richard garnered early fame as drummer for -60s New Jersey garage band The Doughboys and has put out 11 albums, largely as a one-man band, since 1988. We discuss the title tracks from Incognito (2017) and Cornerstone (1998) and “Agnostic’s Prayer” from Tiers and Other Stories (2011). End song: "And Then" from Incognito. Intro: "Falling Away" from Hey Man! (1990). Learn more at richardxheyman.co...
1hr 17m Dec 11, 2017
1hr 17m
Nietzsche as Social Critic: Twilight of the Idols (Part Two)
Continuing on Nietzsche's 1888 book. Is there any ground from which we could judge life as a whole to be good or bad? Is N. more about saying "yes" to life or saying "no" to all the numerous things that piss him off? We also talk Becoming, whether producing great art is more important than being nice to everyone, and whether Nietzsche is ultimately someone we'd want to hang around. End song: "...
1hr 10m Dec 10, 2017
1hr 10m
Nietzsche as Social Critic: "Twilight of the Idols" (Part One)
On Friedrich Nieztsche's 1888 book summarizing his thought and critiquing the founding myths of his society: traditional morality, free will, Socratic reason, and the idiocy of "Deutschland Uber Alles!" Nietzsche defends instinct as the source of values, but these instincts must be "spiritualized" into frenzied creativity. Nietzsche as artist is an appealing figure to us, but he also praises N...
56m Dec 04, 2017
56m
Guest Russ Roberts on Adam Smith and Emergent Order (Part Two)
Continuing with the Econtalk host on the moral aspects of economics, focused by Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations and Theory of Moral Sentiments. Should we sacrifice ourselves to the machine of the economy? Smith wasn't just all about monetary gain: how does his idea of virtue and talk of the "impartial spectator" line up with economic growth? If growth is the key to long-term happiness for t...
1hr 17m Nov 27, 2017
1hr 17m
NEM#60: Alejandro Escovedo's Hard Road
Alejandro started as a punk guitarist for the The Nuns, moved to Austin in the '80s and became a songwriter with True Believers. He has since put out 14+ solo albums of story-driven, lyrically intense, stylistically varied Texas rock. We discuss "Beauty and the Buzz" from Burn Something Beautiful (2016), "Sally Was a Cop" from Big Station (2012), and "Pissed Off 2AM" from With These Hands (1996...
1hr 1m Nov 27, 2017
1hr 1m
Guest Russ Roberts on Adam Smith and Libertarian Economics (Part One)
The host of Econtalk provides his take on our ep. 174 on The Wealth of Nations, and explores with us the idea of emergent economic order. As preparation, we all listened to a June 2017 episode of Econtalk that featured Russ, Mike Munger, and Don Boudreaux, so you should too! For a graphic introduction to this idea, see wonderfulloaf.org. Is the economy profitably thought of as a machine? Like ...
55m Nov 20, 2017
55m
NEM#59: Annie Haslam's Renaissance: Sing Now, Figure it Out Later
Annie fronted British symphonic rock band Renaissance for nine albums starting in 1971 but only in the late 80s became a lyricist. She's now released eight studio albums and two new Renaissance albums. We discuss "Blessing in Disguise," the title track from her 1994 album; "Grandine il Vento", the title track from Renaissance's 2013 album, and “Precious One” from Annie's The Dawn of Ananda (200...
1hr 9m Nov 20, 2017
1hr 9m
Situationism in Psych: Milgram & Stanford Prison Experiments (Part Two)
Continuing with Dave Pizarro on articles by Stanley Milgram, Philip Zimbardo, and John Doris about situationism, which entails that people's level of morality will vary by situation, as opposed to virtue ethics, which posits that how people will act in a novel situation will be determined by the quality of their character. We get into Doris's article, "Persons, Situations, and Virtue Ethics" (...
1hr 1m Nov 13, 2017
1hr 1m
NEM#58: John Jughead Pierson's Semi-Famous Theatrics
John gained semi-fame playing guitar with pop-punk Chicago-area legends Screeching Weasel starting in 1986 but became a band-leader/songwriter with eclectic-acoustic Even in Blackouts in 2002, featuring singer Liz Eldredge. He's also an author, playwright, and juggler. We discuss "Rapture in the Third Person" and "Motives Misunderstood in the Key of C" from EIB's Thresholds from the Basement (2...
55m Nov 06, 2017
55m
Situationism in Psych: Milgram & Stanford Prison Experiments (Part One)
Psychologist Dave Pizarro of the Very Bad Wizards joins us to discuss Stanley Milgram's "Behavioral Study of Obedience" (1963; read it), Philip Zimbardo’s "Interpersonal Dynamics in a Simulated Prison" (1973; read it), and John Doris’s "Persons, Situations, and Virtue Ethics" (1998). Do difficult situations make good people act badly? Are there really "good" and "bad" people, or are we all abo...
50m Nov 06, 2017
50m
TEASER-Episode 175: Blade Runner (Part Two)
Do you want the WHOLE discussion on the new Blade Runner 2049, the original 1982 film, and the idea packed Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1967) by Philip K. Dick? If you do, show your love to the podcast by signing up to be a supporter at the $1-or-higher level at patreon.com/partiallyexaminedlife, or better yet become a PEL Citizen and get every podcast we've ever recorded plus bonus di...
3m Nov 06, 2017
3m
Blade Runner: Androids and Humanity (Part One)
The value your boss and landlord extract from your labor is more detrimental to you than taxation On Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1967) and the films Blade Runner 2049 (2007) and Blade Runner (1982). What makes us human? Dick's novel about androids emphasized their lack of empathy, while the movie adaptations portrayed the "replicants" as plenty capable of emotion, b...
48m Oct 30, 2017
48m
NEM#57: Richard Amp's Exploratory Atmospheres
Richard F. Walker has released 20+ albums, usually with his London space-rock band Amp. We discuss "Just Get It (Why Don’t You)" and "Les Ombres Sur la Lune" from Q Factors (A Mixtape) (2017) and "Tomorrow" from Stenorette (1988), and listen to "Levil Devil" from US (2005). Opening music is from Transmissions (part 1) (2005), and closing music is from "Mort Irritées" from AMP Studio's Uncertain...
1hr 10m Oct 22, 2017
1hr 10m
Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations" (Part Two)
"Continuing on the foundational text of economics. Is Smith's position the equivalent of "greed is good?" (No.) What's the deal with the "invisible hand?" We talk about Smith's picture of the (sort of) self-regulating economy, and why he thinks we shouldn't have tariffs or guilds or other restrictions on the mobility of goods, workers, or capital. We rant a bit in ways that will hopefully be c...
1hr 8m Oct 22, 2017
1hr 8m
Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations" (Part One)
On Adam Smith's An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. We discuss the foundational text of modern economics, first published in 1776. How does the division of labor and our instinct to exchange lead to the growth of wealth? Is the economy sufficiently machine-like to enable us to manipulate its output, or at least to tell us how not to screw it up? The selections we re...
58m Oct 16, 2017
58m
Relating to American Indian Philosophy (Part Two)
We go further into "Philosophy of Native Science" by Gregory Cajete and "What Coyote and Thales Can Teach Us: An Outline of American Indian Epistemology" by Brian Yazzie Burkhart, plus process philosophy, propositional vs. procedural knowledge, and what we owe to nature. With guest Jim Marunich. End song: “Circle’s Gotta Go” by Kim Rancourt, as interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #52. #phil...
1hr 2m Oct 09, 2017
1hr 2m
NEM Ep 56: "Dr. Frank" Portman Writes His Inner Teenager
Frank has led punk band The Mr. T Experience in the Bay Area since 1985, and has also released three successful music-related books for teens since 2006. We discuss "Down With the Universe" from King Dork Approximately (2016), "Big, Strange, Beautiful Hammer" from Yesterday Rules (2004), and "More Than Toast" from Our Bodies Our Selves (1993). We conclude by listening to "Even Hitler Had a Girl...
1hr 17m Oct 08, 2017
1hr 17m
Relating to American Indian Philosophy (Part One)
Mark, Seth, Wes, and Dylan are joined by PEL fan Jim Marunich, who got his M.A. in this area. As with our Confucius episode, we were faced here with a radically different point of view, unconnected with the founding figures of Western philosophy that may systematically prejudice our thinking, formulated in languages that may even involve different underlying ontological assumptions: While we sa...
53m Oct 02, 2017
53m
Mind, Self, and Affect with Guest Dr. Drew (Part Two)
Continuing with Drew Pinsky on “Attachment and Reflective Function: Their Role in Self-organization” by Peter Fonagy and two articles by Allan Schore. Fonagy claims we gain the ability to emotionally self-regulate as a result of achieving secure attachment with a caregiver as infants. Schore claims that if this fails, we can end up fundamentally disengaged. So what are the philosophical implic...
59m Sep 25, 2017
59m
NEM Ep 55: Don Preston, Mother of Keyboard Invention
Don has composed and played jazz since the 50s, was a Frank Zappa sideman through his classic 60s albums and beyond, and has since released 20+ albums, scored 20 films, and has performed with artists including John Lennon, Lou Rawls, and Nat King Cole. He has also been called "the father of modern synthesis" for his work in electronic music. We discuss "Winds of Change" (3rd movement, 2001), "P...
1hr 1m Sep 20, 2017
1hr 1m
Mind, Self, and Affect with Guest Dr. Drew (Part One)
Radio legend and PEL fan Dr. Drew Pinsky introduces us to some psychology papers on the theory of mind and the establishment of the sense of self: “Attachment and reflective function: their role in self-organization” by Peter Fonagy and Mary Target (1997)“Attachment and the regulation of the right brain” by Allan N. Schore(2000)“Right-Brain Affect Regulation" by Allan N. Schore (2009) "Theory...
45m Sep 18, 2017
45m
Buddhism vs. Evolution with Guest Robert Wright (Part Two)
Continuing on Why Buddhism Is True. We discuss the "no self" doctrine as articulated in Buddha's so-called Second Discourse, the "Anatta-lakkhana Sutta: The Discourse on the Not-Self Characteristic" and the modularity-of-mind psychological theory that Bob claims supports the Buddhist position. What's the ethical implication of the no-self doctrine, and do we really need meditation to instill et...
1hr 12m Sep 11, 2017
1hr 12m
NEM Ep 54: Kaki King's Guitar Progression
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54m Sep 07, 2017
54m