July at PEL took up some basic questions about knowledge, reason, and their limits. C.S. Lewis argued for Christianity on the basis of morality found in human experience, and the Hegel discussions returned to the conflict between faith and Enlightenment reason. From there, Peirce challenged the idea that we have immediate knowledge even of ourselves, while Galen Strawson’s Continue Reading …
Under Examination I
The news moves fast. Most of it passes by before we can get a full view. Pandemics, wars, and the economy demand our attention. Other considerations, like celebrity gossip and political operatives yelling from our screens, just don't. That's the media and social media landscape in pressing and trivial form. But what about the stuff in-between? We encounter arguments. We start Continue Reading …
Partially Examined Recap: June 2026
June at PEL centered on questions of reason and human understanding, at least philosophically speaking. The month continued the extended engagement with Hegel while also branching into AI, Beckett, fantasy literature, and the evolving Star Wars universe. All this plus new conversations in music and improvisation. Below is a full recap of everything published across the network Continue Reading …
Partially Examined Recap: May 2026
May was an especially full month at PEL, featuring discussions in philosophy alongside a mix of music, film, and improvisation. The month featured Habermas’s defense of modernity, Hegel’s reflections on reason, Horkheimer and Adorno’s reading of the Odyssey, and a return to Diderot’s Rameau’s Nephew. All this is available with episodes on folk music, television, cinema, and Continue Reading …
Partially Examined Recap: April 2026
April at PEL carried the Hegel series forward while shifting into some of its more socially relevant territory. Additionally, the month saw a mix of film, music, and improvisation, with episodes on everything from horror franchises and prestige TV to Diderot and songwriting. Below is a full roundup of everything published across the network in April, listed in order of Continue Reading …
Partially Examined Recap: March 2026
March at The Partially Examined Life (PEL) continued the extended run through Hegel and opened into a wider mix across the network. Alongside discussions of ethical life, law, and culture in the Phenomenology of Spirit, the month included episodes on Kierkegaard and Sontag, as well as entries in music, film, and improvisation. Below is a full roundup of everything published Continue Reading …
Partially Examined Recap: February 2026
February at The Partially Examined Life continued several major threads while branching into new territory across the network. The month featured the conclusion of the Graham Harman series and an extended interview with Harman himself, alongside discussions of Hegel, Shakespearean drama, and musical improvisation. Below is a full roundup of everything published here at PEL in Continue Reading …
When a Fallacy Ain’t a Fallacy: The Naturalistic Fallacy
In this series, we've been looking at ideas that are dismissed too quickly. "Fallacy!" is the label applied, as if the accusation alone settles the matter. The word has power, and rightly so. A knowledge of fallacies is critical to blocking attempts at manipulation from others and avoiding argumentative mistakes ourselves. But sometimes the label is a substitute for real Continue Reading …
Partially Examined Recap: January 2026
January opened the year at PEL with a mix of social and political philosophy, close textual interpretation, cultural criticism, and more. The month featured engagements with figures such as Frantz Fanon, Bruno Latour, David Hume, and Graham Harman, and discussions spanning film, television, music, and Shakespeare. Below is a full roundup of everything published across the Continue Reading …
Partially Examined Recap: December 2025
December closed out the year at PEL with a mix of philosophy, psychoanalysis, music, film, and holiday-season reflection. The month featured discussions on Freud, law, music, television, and popular film, alongside seasonal episodes of Philosophy vs. Improv and Pretty Much Pop. Below is a full roundup of everything published across the network last month, listed in order of Continue Reading …
Partially Examined Recap: November 2025
November brought an eclectic mix across PEL. We covered ancient Egyptian literature, perused musical craftsmanship, returned to American pragmatism via Josiah Royce, and did some deep dives into film. Below is a full roundup of everything published across the network last month, listed in order of occurrence. Ep. 378: Aquinas on God and Mind (Part Three) Nov 2, 2025How does Continue Reading …
The Abuse of “Meaning is Use”
Someone, somewhere coined the powerful phrase "meaning is use," but the expression as we know it is from Ludwig Wittgenstein. Among other things, it causes a great deal of headache, which includes figuring out what in the world it means. Regardless of whether it's right or even what it means exactly, we can still say something about what it does not mean. This becomes important Continue Reading …
Partially Examined Recap: October 2025
Content at The Partially Examined Life (PEL) ran the gamut in October: from Emil Cioran’s dark aphorisms to Aquinas’s scholastic proofs, from dub producers to fake bands, and from improv’s joyful absurdity to Halloween’s macabre reflections. Below is a list of October content (in order of occurrence) you can revisit, or in case you missed it, enjoy for the first time. Ep. Continue Reading …
Partially Examined Recap: September 2025
The Partially Examined Life was characteristically active in September, delving into many fascinating topics. In order of occurrence, here’s a list of September content you can revisit, or in case you missed it, enjoy for the first time. Ep. 374: Discussing Liberalism (Lincoln, et al) with Walter Sterling (Part Two)September 1, 2025The second half of a conversation on the Continue Reading …
Partially Examined Recap: August 2025
August was another lively month at The Partially Examined Life (PEL). In order of occurrence, here’s a list of August content you can revisit, or in case you missed it, enjoy for the first time. (sub)TEXT: The Door Slam Heard ‘Round the World: Ibsen’s "A Doll’s House"August 3, 2025Wes & Erin discuss Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House.” Ep. 372: Kant’s Ethics Lectures Continue Reading …
Partially Examined Recap: July 2025
Loads of material was covered in the month of July here at The Partially Examined Life (PEL). With the month's end, a summary look-back is in order. Here's a list of July content you can revisit or, in case you missed it, enjoy for the first time. Closereads: H.A. Prichard on Ethics (Part One)July 2This episode covers H.A. Prichard’s 1912 essay about whether moral philosophy Continue Reading …
What is It Like to be Batfished?
People are falling for their chatbots. That's what they say, at least. They say it's real love. The text-based technology is getting so good; we're well past The Turing Test stage of development. If you didn't know any better, you might think there was a real person on the other end. Maybe even a real friend or a lover. The emergence of large language models (LLMs) has Continue Reading …
Philosophy Has Entered the Chat: Meaning in Large Language Models
If an LLM could talk, would we understand it? This is a rhetorical question making its way into the public discourse on AI and the generative text technology found in large language models (LLMs), specifically in ChatGPT, Claude, and the like. You could have missed it because the questions currently taking the stage revolve around whether LLMs are conscious, or at least whether Continue Reading …
When a Fallacy Ain’t a Fallacy: Tu Quoque
The tu quoque fallacy is a sneaky one. It can come and go before you know it. Strictly speaking, tu quoque means "you too." It's a lot like accusing someone of hypocrisy. The fallacious part comes a step a down the line when, through an accusation of hypocrisy, doubt is cast on the content of the claim. We ought to be able to separate two things: one, an accusation of Continue Reading …
When a Fallacy Ain’t a Fallacy
Understanding logical fallacies is crucial to bringing order and discipline to our arguments. But fallacies are also the stock-in-trade of any keyboard warrior fighting it out in the online trenches. It can get tedious. "Fallacy bro" is a term used to pick out this annoying quality. The accusation of a fallacy often comes too quickly, or comes while missing a larger point. So, Continue Reading …