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Ep. 294: Quine on Science vs. Epistemology (Part One)

May 23, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus next week's supporter-only part 3. On W.V.O. Quine's "Epistemology Naturalized" (1969), featuring Mark, Wes, and Seth. Sponsors and Plugs: Maximize the impact of your charitable giving via GiveWell.org; choose "podcast" and enter "Partially Examined Life."Get a free T-shirt with your first order at  Continue Reading …

Ep. 294: Quine on Science vs. Epistemology (Part Two for Supporters)

May 22, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

Continuing from part one on "Epistemology Naturalized" (1969), we work further through the text, getting into what this new psychology-rooted epistemology might look like. Quine remains an empiricist in that he agrees that whatever evidence there is for science must be sensory, and that we learn language through the medium of our senses (i.e. no innate knowledge). However, this  Continue Reading …

Ep. 294: Quine on Science vs. Epistemology (Part One for Supporters)

May 22, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

On W.V.O. Quine's "Epistemology Naturalized" (1969), featuring Mark, Wes, and Seth. What justifies scientific theory? The classical epistemological project found in figures like Descartes and Locke seeks to find basic, indubitable premises that serve to ground the rest of our theorizing. Quine begins by considering Hume's attempt to do this by claiming that all we ever  Continue Reading …

Pretty Much Pop #123: We Are All Jackass

May 20, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

Mark is joined by comedian Matty Goldberg; filmmaker/podcaster Rolando Nieves; and comedy juggler Josh Casey to discuss the Jackass franchise that began in 2000 in light of the new (final?) film Jackass Forever. This is perhaps our sole remaining form of popular entertainment that relies on sheer physicality, without the gamesmanship of sports. What's the appeal of this  Continue Reading …

Ep. 293: Donna Haraway on Feminist Science (Tiny Part Three for Supporters)

May 13, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

What? More Haraway? Yes! More Lynda? No, this is Mark, Seth, and Dylan on a later day, returning to the Haraway's "Situated Knowledges" with some second thoughts... at least for 20 minutes until Dylan's network crapped out, so we wrapped up. We try our best to make her actual argument clear and give you a better sense of her language. How does an "agenda" in Haraway's sense  Continue Reading …

(sub)Text: Work as Madness in “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957)

May 11, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

In the beginning, Colonel Nicholson seems to be a stickler for principle, willing to die rather than have his officers do menial labor in a Japanese prison camp. In the end, his principles seem to be a cover for personal vanity. He is willing to put his officers to work building a bridge for his enemies, as long as it leaves him with a legacy. “The Bridge on the River Kwai” is  Continue Reading …

PREVIEW-Ep. 293: Donna Haraway on Feminist Science (Part Two)

May 9, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode in its entirety. Citizens can get it here. Continuing from part one on "Situated Knowledges" and other essays with guest Lynda Olman. We try to get at the practical import of Olman's scheme and get further into her use of metaphors and what those mean for her critical stance. We also touch on how metaphors relate to myths,  Continue Reading …

Ep. 293: Donna Haraway on Feminist Science (Part One)

May 9, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer 1 Comment

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode. Listen to a preview. Hear this part ad-free. On "Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective" (1988), "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century" (1985), "A Game of Cat’s Cradle: Science Studies, Feminist Theory, Cultural Studies"  Continue Reading …

Ep. 293: Donna Haraway on Feminist Science (Part Two for Supporters)

May 6, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

Continuing from part one on "Situated Knowledges" and other essays with guest Lynda Olman. We try to get at the practical import of Olman's scheme and get further into her use of metaphors and what those mean for her critical stance. We also touch on how metaphors relate to myths, feminist sci-fi, how causal and networking language fits into all this, and more. There's  Continue Reading …

Ep. 293: Donna Haraway on Feminist Science (Part One for Supporters)

May 6, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

On "Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective" (1988), "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century" (1985), "A Game of Cat’s Cradle: Science Studies, Feminist Theory, Cultural Studies" (1994), and "Anthropocene, Capitalocene, Plantationocene, Chthulucene: Making Kin" (2015).  Continue Reading …

Pretty Much Pop #122: Maus Shows the Tragic Via Comics

May 5, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

In light of its being recently banned in some settings, we discuss Art Spiegelman's Maus (1980-91), which conveys his father's account of living through the Holocaust. We also consider other war-related graphic novels like Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis (2000) and George Takei’s They Called Us Enemy (2019). Mark is joined by comics scholar Vi Burlew, comics blerd/acting coach  Continue Reading …

Philosophy vs. Improv #31: Signs, Signs, Ubiquitous Signs w/ Brooke Breit

May 5, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

Contemplate the difference between signs, symbols, and symptoms. Did our improv scene get Zoom-bombed, or is that just real life intruding? THINK OF THE CHILDREN (eating Doritos)! What flavor of chip is Bill trying to teach today? Why is Brooke sad? BBrooke is of course an improviser and has also been on TV and works for Jackbox Games. Follow her @brookebreit, For more  Continue Reading …

PREVIEW-Ep. 292: Langer on Symbolic Music (Part Two)

May 4, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode in its entirety. Citizens can get it here. Concluding from part one on Susanne Langer's Philosophy in a New Key (ch. 8-10). We continue discussion whether and how music is symbolic, contrasting Langer's take with Scruton's on Eduard Hanslick: you can't just consider music as "intransitively referential" or referring only to itself,  Continue Reading …

PEL Nightcap May 2022

May 2, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

Recorded 4-15-22. We are old, and we talk about Seth's back, Wes' e-bike, and Dylan's kettle bells. Dylan talks Station Eleven (the book). He has posted this comic to Slack about liberal arts education. We then re-visit how to understand meaning in music given our completion of Langer. Does the blues as played on a certain occasion have to "mean" something? After a  Continue Reading …

NEM#171: Ben Vaughn’s Primitive Fever Dreams

April 30, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

Ben started releasing sardonic retro rock records with the Ben Vaughn Combo in the early '80s, and has now released over 20 of them exploring various genres, while also working on TV soundtracks like Third Rock from the Sun and That '70s Show, hosting a radio show, and producing for several artists including Ween. We discuss "Wayne Fontana Was Wrong" from The World of Ben  Continue Reading …

Ep. 292: Langer on Symbolic Music (Part One)

April 24, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer 2 Comments

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode. Listen to a preview. Hear this part ad-free. On Susanne Langer's Philosophy in a New Key (1942), ch. 8-10 ("On Significance in Music," "The Genesis of Artistic Import," and "The Fabric of Meaning" respectively), plus ch. 7, "The Image of Time," from her Form and Feeling (1953). Is music a language? If it's "expressive," what exactly  Continue Reading …

Ep. 292: Langer on Symbolic Music (Part Two for Supporters)

April 23, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer 2 Comments

Concluding from part one on Susanne Langer's Philosophy in a New Key (ch. 8-10). We continue discussion whether and how music is symbolic, contrasting Langer's take with Scruton's on Eduard Hanslick: you can't just consider music as "intransitively referential" or referring only to itself, because that's not reference at all.. Wes brings up Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs.  Continue Reading …

Ep. 292: Langer on Symbolic Music (Part One for Supporters)

April 23, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

On Susanne Langer's Philosophy in a New Key (1942), ch. 8-10 ("On Significance in Music," "The Genesis of Artistic Import," and "The Fabric of Meaning), plus ch. 7, "The Image of Time," from her Form and Feeling (1953). Is music a language? If it's "expressive," what exactly does it express? Langer focuses on music to get at the sorts of symbolism associated specifically  Continue Reading …

Philosophy vs. Improv #30: In Historica Res

April 22, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

...which, as I was saying, is right in the middle of a sentence or scene! Sheesh! How should our personal and family histories shape our behavior, both in real life and in improv scenes? Do these histories, these stories we tell ourselves, nail us down as people? Are we all old before our time? Are those your real parents? Hang on to your poser wallet! Image by Julia as  Continue Reading …

Pretty Much Pop #121: Protesting Protest Songs

April 20, 2022 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

Are protest songs effective, either as protest or songs? Four songwriters including your host Mark Linsenmayer, Lilli Lewis, Rod Picott, and PMP's audio engineer Tyler Hislop discuss how protest works in various musical genres, who it's aimed at, and when it goes wrong. Has the day of the protest song passed, or is it alive and well? Rod mentions how Bruce Springsteen  Continue Reading …

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  • PvI#31: Signs, Signs, Ubiquitous Signs w/ Brooke Breit on Ep. 290: Susanne Langer on Our Symbol-Making Nature (Part One)
  • Seth Paskin on Ep. 278: Derrick Bell on the Dynamics of Racism (Part One for Supporters)
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