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Current PEL Episode

Plato

Ep. 264: Plato’s “Timaeus” on Cosmology (Part One)

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode. Listen to a preview. Hear this part ad-free.

On the later Platonic dialogue from around 360 BCE.

How is nature put together? Plato speaks through the fictional Timaeus (not Socrates) to give a “likely story” about the universe, physics, and biology involving a Craftsman (Demi-Urge) who created everything based on a pre-existing perfect model (the Forms!).

Timaeus derives his whole story from the principle that the world is good, and so the Craftsman must necessarily optimize creation, with any imperfections being introduced only by the necessity involved when a perfect blueprint gets embodied to create ever-shifting, impermanent matter.

Sponsors: Get $200 off a mattress and two free pillows at HelixSleep.com/PEL. Get 50% off The New Yorker and a free tote bag at NewYorker.com/PEL. Get $35 off meal delivery at SunBasket.com/PEL, code PEL. Visit TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/PEL for a free 14-day trial of unlimited access to The Great Courses Plus Video Learning Service. Learn about St. John’s College at SJC.edu.

Plus: Ep. 253: Leibniz on the Problem of Evil (Part One)
Featuring: Episode 197: Parmenides on What There Is (Part One)

Pretty Much Pop

Pretty Much Pop #83: Disabled and Other-Abled Representation w/ Kayla Dryesse

March 5, 2021 By Mark Linsenmayer

At least 20% of us have some sort of disability, yet such conditions are reflected by only tiny  Continue Reading …

(sub)Text

(sub)Text: Business Gets Personal in “The Godfather”

March 4, 2021 By Wes Alwan

Out of the darkness of the opening frames comes a supplicant— Buonasera the undertaker. He pleads  Continue Reading …

Nakedly Examined Music

NEM#142: Rebecca Rego: This Is Your Life!

February 26, 2021 By Mark Linsenmayer

Folky, soul-singing Rebecca has had six releases since 2007. We discuss "Mama" from her solo EP,  Continue Reading …

Phi Fic

Phi Fic #38 Howard’s End by EM Forster

January 27, 2021 By Laura Davis

SO SORRY FOR BEING AWAY TOO LONG! GUESS WHY? BEGINS WITH "P" AND ENDS WITH "C". In this episode  Continue Reading …

Combat and Classics

Combat & Classics Episode 50. “Warspeak” by Lise van Boxel

December 18, 2020 By Brian Wilson

Brian and Jeff are joined by Michael Grenke, St. John's College - Santa Fe, to discuss Lise van  Continue Reading …

Featured Post

PEL Nightcap Early March 2021

March 7, 2021 By Mark Linsenmayer

Recorded on Feb. 21 after our Timaeus discussion, we start with Seth's tales of Austin with no  Continue Reading …

MORE FROM THE PARTIALLY EXAMINED LIFE

Plato

PREVIEW-Ep. 264: Plato’s “Timaeus” on Cosmology (Part Two)

March 8, 2021 By Mark Linsenmayer

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode in its entirety. Citizens can get the second part here. Continuing from part one on the Timaeus. In this preview, we return to look closely at the beginning of the dialogue where Plato argues for differences between the perceived, created, impermanent  Continue Reading …

Pretty Much Pop #82: Cobra Kai and the Karate Kids

February 26, 2021 By Mark Linsenmayer

Did anyone suspect that the beloved 1984 “Kid Rocky” karate film (and its decreasingly beloved sequels) would now be not just remade but revived as the YouTube-Red-turned-Netflix hit Cobra Kai? Is this new show actually good, or just living unhealthily on nostalgia and the fascination of watching  Continue Reading …

PREVIEW-Ep. 263: Lise Van Boxel’s “Warspeak” on Strategies for Valuing (Part Two)

February 22, 2021 By Mark Linsenmayer

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode in its entirety. Citizens can get the second part here. Continuing on Warspeak: Nietzsche's Victory Over Nihilism with guests Jeff Black and Michael Grenke. In this preview, we get more into how Lise describes the relationship of the feminine principle of  Continue Reading …

(sub)Text: Love and Nostalgia in Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall”

February 18, 2021 By Wes Alwan

Alvy Singer is not, he tells us, a depressive character. It’s just that as a child he always worried that the expanding universe would one day break apart; and as an adult that romantic relationships must always fall apart. With Annie Hall, he thought he had finally found something that would last,  Continue Reading …

Pretty Much Pop #81: Radio vs. Podcasting w/ Jason Bentley

February 17, 2021 By Mark Linsenmayer

Jason was music director at KRCW, the LA NPR station, is also a DJ with a lot of experienced interviewing musicians, and now hosts a new podcast, The Backstory. He joins Mark and Erica to discuss the creative and business possibilities of podcasting in comparison to radio, what their futures may  Continue Reading …

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Why Are We Here?

The Partially Examined Life is a philosophy 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 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.

Recent Comments

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  • Book: Automation and the Future of Work, Aaron Benanav 2020 – Sketch Book on Episode 83: New Work with Guest Frithjof Bergmann
  • The Humanist Dilemma - Good Society Press on Computer Games and the Solipsistic Fantasy
  • George M Shirley on Phi Fic #5 “Pale Fire” by Vladimir Nabokov
  • Matt on Mark’s Inspirational Speech

About The Partially Examined Life

The Partially Examined Life is a philosophy 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 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

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As a PEL Citizen, you’ll have access to a private social community of philosophers, thinkers, and other partial examiners where you can join or initiate discussion groups dedicated to particular readings, participate in lively forums, arrange online meet-ups for impromptu seminars, and more. PEL Citizens also have free access to podcast transcripts, guided readings, episode guides, PEL music, and other citizen-exclusive material. Click here to join.

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