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Current PEL Episode

Ep. 326: Guest Michael Tomasello on the Evolution of Agency (Part One)

Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content.

On The Evolution of Agency (2022), with the author, and guest panelist Chris Heath.

What is human agency? How would we determine whether an animal is a legitimate agent, as opposed to just acting automatically? Tomasello investigates this by thinking about what capabilities and behaviors constitute agency and the degree to which near-human animals have these.

Sponsor: Learn about St. John’s College at sjc.edu/pel.

Plus: Ep. 323: Acquiring Language: Tomasello vs. Chomsky (Part One)
Featuring: PREVIEW-Ep. 260: Locke on Moral Psychology

Pretty Much Pop

Pretty Much Pop #158: “Oppenheimer” and Other Christopher Nolan Films

September 24, 2023 By Mark Linsenmayer

Christopher Nolan has directed ten films starting with 1998's The Following and his first major  Continue Reading …

Nakedly Examined Music

NEM#203: Andy White Tells the Truth

October 2, 2023 By Mark Linsenmayer

Andy has released 16 solo albums and a few collaborations since 1986. He tours almost exclusively  Continue Reading …

Philosophy vs. Improv

PvI#62: Cutting Every Edge w/ Jeremy Richards

October 2, 2023 By Mark Linsenmayer

The author of The Accomplished Creative, a sort of anti-self-help book based around Jeremy's improv  Continue Reading …

Closereads

Closereads: Epictetus’ “Discourses” (Part One)

September 11, 2023 By Mark Linsenmayer

Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get part 2 of this reading, as well as  Continue Reading …

(sub)Text

(SUB)TEXT: Home as Identity in “The Odyssey” (Part One of Three)

September 4, 2023 By Mark Linsenmayer

He was famously a man of many ways, whether we interpret these as abilities or norms; designs or  Continue Reading …

Combat & Classics

Combat & Classics Ep. 82 Homer’s “Iliad” Book 24

July 5, 2023 By Jeff Black Leave a Comment

It's here: our last episode on the Iliad! Achilles continues to mourn Patroclus, and to try to  Continue Reading …

PEL Supporter Content

PEL Nightcap

PEL End-of-Summer Nightcap 2023

August 26, 2023 By Mark Linsenmayer

Recorded 8/21/23. Mark, Seth, Dylan, and eventually Wes catch up, getting into people's travels,  Continue Reading …

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Ep. 325: Paul Grice on Meaning and Conversation (Part Two for Supporters)

September 18, 2023 By Mark Linsenmayer

Continuing from part one on "Meaning" (1957), "Utterer’s Meaning and Intentions" (1969), and "Logic and Conversation"  Continue Reading …

Exclusive Content

Ep. 325: Paul Grice on Meaning and Conversation (Part Three for Supporters/Closereads Part One)

September 24, 2023 By Mark Linsenmayer 

Mark and Wes Closeread through the 1975 ordinary language philosophy paper. What are the assumptions behind everyday  Continue Reading …

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On Nightcap, listen to the guys respond to listener email and chat more casually about their lives, the making of the show, current events and politics, and anything else that happens to come up.

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

  • Paul on Ep. 326: Guest Michael Tomasello on the Evolution of Agency (Part One)
  • Mark Linsenmayer on Lacan’s Ontology
  • wayne schroeder on Lacan’s Ontology
  • Fllamber on Why Non-Euclidean Geometry Does Not Invalidate Kant’s Conception of Spatial Intuition
  • Mark Linsenmayer on Ep. 325: Paul Grice on Meaning and Conversation (Part Two for Supporters)

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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