The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

Ep. 261: Derek Parfit on Personal Identity (Part One)

On Reasons and Persons (1984), ch. 10-13. What makes a person persist over time?

After using various sci-fi examples to test the Lockean (personhood=psychological continuity), physicalist (same brain=same person), and Cartesian (same soul=same person) theories, Parfit concludes that the whole notion is incoherent and isn’t actually what we care about when wondering “will I die?”

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PREVIEW-Ep. 260: Locke on Moral Psychology

January 11, 2021 By Mark Linsenmayer

Subscribe to get the full episode. We made one last swipe at mopping up some outstanding issues in John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689), covering Book II, ch. 21 and 28, featuring Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Seth. This preview includes only about a third of the discussion, but I'm Continue Reading …

Pretty Much Pop #75: Our Great British Baking Show w/ Stephen Carlile

January 6, 2021 By Mark Linsenmayer

What explains the immense quarantine-time popularity in America of this quaint British reality cooking show? What do we get out of watching talented amateurs bake things? Stephen, who is famous for playing Scar in The Lion King on Broadway (and is VERY British himself), joins Erica, Brian, and Mark Continue Reading …

Ep. 259: Locke Clarifies Misleading Complex Ideas (Part Two)

January 4, 2021 By Mark Linsenmayer

More on Book II (ch. 22-33) of John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689), discussed by Mark, Wes, and Dylan. On relations, then personal identity, with more on substances (spiritual and material), the various ways in which ideas can go wrong, and how mental association can entrench Continue Reading …

NEM-Pretty Much Pop Crossover: Story Songs w/ Rod Picott

January 1, 2021 By Mark Linsenmayer

Plenty of songs purport to tell stories, and the narrative ballad of course has a long enough history that the two forms certainly aren’t alien. But how do our listening practices conditioned by pop music jibe with recognizing and understanding narrative? Singer/songwriter and short story Continue Reading …

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MORE FROM THE PARTIALLY EXAMINED LIFE

PREVIEW-Ep. 260: Locke on Moral Psychology

Pretty Much Pop #75: Our Great British Baking Show w/ Stephen Carlile

Ep. 259: Locke Clarifies Misleading Complex Ideas (Part Two)

NEM-Pretty Much Pop Crossover: Story Songs w/ Rod Picott

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