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Richard Rorty and the Origins of Post-Truth

December 30, 2016 by Ana Sandoiu 36 Comments

Some have traced the origins of our “post-truth” era back to post-modernism and relativism. Could a look at Richard Rorty’s philosophy help us understand the “post-truth” phenomenon?

Bojack Horseman and Aristotelian Self-Love

November 1, 2016 by Ana Sandoiu 1 Comment

The popular Netflix show is rife with philosophical questions. “Can Aristotle teach Bojack a thing or two about self-love?” is one of them.

What Is It Like to Be Ourselves? A Debate on Consciousness and the Mind

October 25, 2016 by Ana Sandoiu 22 Comments

Although we spend most of our lives in a state of consciousness, as soon as we subject it to more careful scrutiny we realize that we know very little about it—how does it actually happen? And how does conscious experience fit into our scientific picture of the world?

On Childhood, Motherhood, and Being Ahead of Your Time: Shulamith Firestone and The Dialectic of Sex

October 18, 2016 by Ana Sandoiu 34 Comments

Almost fifty years ago there was an influential woman who called pregnancy “barbaric,” described childhood as “hell,” and said giving birth was “like shitting a pumpkin.” Shulamith Firestone was a radical activist and remarkably prescient thinker who helped define feminism as we know it. Yet today she remains largely—and unfairly—unknown.

Rhythm 0, Marina Abramović, and Freudian Ambivalence

October 4, 2016 by Ana Sandoiu 3 Comments

“If you leave decisions to the public, you can be killed.” A 1974 performance art piece by Marina Abramović explores our deepest human instincts.

Facing the Other: Performance Art and Emmanuel Levinas

September 21, 2016 by Ana Sandoiu 2 Comments

A look at performance artist Marina Abramović might shed some light on the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas.

Humor and Infinite Responsibility: Can Levinas Use a Little Stand-Up Comedy?

September 13, 2016 by Ana Sandoiu 6 Comments

What is infinite responsibility? And can we live with it?

How Moral Is the Moral Machine?

August 31, 2016 by Ana Sandoiu 2 Comments

Researchers at MIT are pooling our moral intuitions, and we need to talk about it.

The Hubris of Transhumanism

August 23, 2016 by Ana Sandoiu 23 Comments

Is transhumanism just dangerous over-confidence in technology?

Martha Nussbaum on Emotions, Ethics, and Literature

August 12, 2016 by Ana Sandoiu 11 Comments

When it comes to ethics and human choice, there is “a serious candidate for truth” that we haven’t considered properly.

Deinotes: Dread, Wonder, and the Art of Persuasion

August 2, 2016 by Ana Sandoiu 5 Comments

How a single Greek word can explain why we don’t like the Sophists, why Socrates was accused of being one of them, and what makes rhetoric successful.

Were the Sophists Really All That Bad?

July 20, 2016 by Ana Sandoiu 20 Comments

Were Sophists really the immoral truth-benders that Plato portrayed them to be? Classical scholars don’t seem to think so.

What Do Existentialists Think about Love?

July 10, 2016 by Ana Sandoiu 12 Comments

Given the existentialist emphasis on concrete personal experience, freedom, authenticity, responsibility, awareness of death, and personal determination of values, it is not surprising that existentialist philosophers should also consider the question of romantic love.

How Plato’s “Phaedrus” Influenced Thomas Mann’s “Death in Venice”

July 3, 2016 by Ana Sandoiu 1 Comment

This beautiful novella draws heavily from Plato’s conception of love, but to what extent?

Two Short Philosophical Videos on the EU Referendum

June 27, 2016 by Ana Sandoiu 2 Comments

In the light of recent EU developments, check out two videos analyzing Brexit from a philosophical perspective.

Virtual Reality: Do We Need an Ethical Code?

June 21, 2016 by Ana Sandoiu 2 Comments

With the launch of Oculus Rift and Steam VR, it seems like virtual reality will soon be an ordinary part of our lives. But are there any ethical concerns around the use of virtual reality? And can philosophy help us make sense of this cutting-edge technology?

Truth and Authenticity in Michael Haneke’s Caché

June 15, 2016 by Ana Sandoiu Leave a Comment

The films of Austrian director Michael Haneke seem to start out “normally” and then slowly descend into an abyss—but what if that abyss is in fact living authentically? Could we see Haneke’s award-winning Caché (2005) as an exemplification of Sartrean existentialism? And what are some other philosophical influences in his work?

Beauvoir, Freedom, and Feminism

June 6, 2016 by Ana Sandoiu Leave a Comment

What’s the connection between existentialism and feminism in Simone de Beauvoir’s work?

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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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