On the “Chuang Tzu,” Chapters 2, 3, 6, 18, and 19. With guest Erik Douglas.
Episode 12: Chuang Tzu’s Taoism: What Is Wisdom?
Book Review: “Small Gods” by Terry Pratchett
This is the 12th in the “Discworld” series, a British humor/fantasy bunch of books comparable in style to “Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy,” but it’s only the setting (a flat world resting on the back of four elephants resting on the back of a turtle) that’s consistent, not so much the characters, so it’s not necessary to read the previous Continue Reading …
Episode 11: Nietzsche’s Immoralism: What Is Ethics, Anyway?
Discussing The Genealogy of Morals (mostly the first two essays) and Beyond Good and Evil Ch. 1 (The Prejudices of Philosophers), 5 (Natural History of Morals), and 9 (What is Noble?).
Film ‘Review’: District 9
Seth writes about the movie ‘District 9’, which was not at all what he expected.
Episode 10: Kantian Ethics: What Should We Do?
Discussing Fundamental Principles (aka Groundwork) of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785).
PEL Merch
The Partially Examined Life now offers a fine selection of overpriced T-shirts and a mug. Who will be cooler than you when you are sporting one or all of these on your person? Who? Tell me, please, as I’m honestly curious as to your no doubt mistaken apprehension on this topic. You having failed to give a satisfactory answer, I Continue Reading …
Partially Examined Film Review: “Stupidity”
We are exuberant fellows and have long discussed using this blog as a BLOG and not just as a podcast accompaniment, so I’m going to initiate an idea I’ve been wanting to try out, sort of… You see, I’ve wanted to go beyond the bounds of the podcast and tell folks about the philosophy books I’ve stumbled over of late, Continue Reading …
Episode 9: Utilitarian Ethics: What Should We Do?
Discussing Jeremy Bentham’s An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation chapters 1-5, John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism, and Peter Singer’s “Famine, Affluence, and Morality.”
Episode 8: Wittgenstein’s Tractatus (and Carnap): What Can We Legitimately Talk About?
Continuing last ep’s discussion of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus with some Rudolph Carnap from his 1935 book Philosophy and Logical Syntax.
Episode 7: Wittgenstein’s Tractatus: What Is There and Can We Talk About It?
Discussing the beginning (through around 3.1) of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus.
Episode 6: Leibniz’s Monadology: What Is There?
Discussing Liebniz’s Monadology.
Episode 5: Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics
Discussing Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Books I and II.
PEL written up in Madison’s Isthmus magazine
The big weekly entertainment magazine in Madison, WI included a writeup of the podcast in this article: http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=26356&sid=f8b220e5953615e25217a596b717e6fd We’re mentioned at the end of the first section, then have a couple of paragraphs under “Talk Talk” near the end, plus the “Gallery” includes the excellent caricature that Ken Gerber did for us. (Incidentally, you should check out Ken’s blog at Continue Reading …
A new place for discussion: urbanphilosophy.net
In addition to our Facebook page, we now have dedicated forum/discussion space on UrbanPhilosophy.net: http://urbanphilosophy.net/pel/. Participating there requires registering for an account, but it’s a simple and quick procedure that doesn’t cost anything or require to enter any more personal information than your e-mail. Also, Seth has posted an article there on Judaism, if you’re interested in that.
Updated FAQ/bio pages
If you’re new to the podcast/blog or just wanted to know a bit more about who we are and why we’re doing this, check out the expanded “about the podcast” and the new “about the podcasters” pages. (Wes took a while to get his biography text to me, so I had exerpts from Hitler’s biography up there as a placeholder Continue Reading …
Episode 4: Camus and the Absurd
Discussing Camus’s “An Absurd Reasoning” and “The Myth of Sisyphus” (1942).
Episode 3: Hobbes’s Leviathan: The Social Contract
Discussing Hobbes’s Leviathan, Chapters 13-15.
Now on iTunes!
You can now find us in the podcast section of iTunes. Go subscribe!
Episode 2: Descartes’s Meditations: What Can We Know?
On Descartes’s Meditations 1 and 2.
Part 2 of Episode 1: “The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living.”
More discussion of Plato’s “Apology.”