The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast
A Philosophy Podcast and Philosophy Blog
Mark and Wes discuss Durkheim’s Suicide (1897), getting into more of the details of his account and exploring comparative modes of explanation: Are there really “sociological facts” distinct from mere generalizations about psychological facts?
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More on philosophical and psychological interpretations of and judgments about suicide with guest Drew Pinsky.
Is suicide an epidemic or a choice? Could it be both? Socrates didn’t fear death and inspired Stoics and others to see suicide in some circumstances as brave. Or is it always cowardly? Does meaninglessness motivate suicide?
Listen to part one first or get the Citizen Edition, which will also get you access to the follow-up discussion. Get the 2019 Wall Calendar, Mark’s new album, tutoring, T-shirts, and more at our store.
End song: “Disappear” by Chris Cacavas as heard on Nakedly Examined Music #87. Please support PEL!
Explore Peter Singer’s The Life You Can Save at thelifeyoucansave.org/pel.
We open with an audio production of “Kill Switch,” cover story of Constellary Tales Issue #1, narrated by Mark Linsenmayer.
Then we go behind the scenes in an interview with the story’s author, Henry Szabranski.
Get more Constellary Tales podcasts, and read original sf in the magazine at constellary.com.
Lincoln established the Seattle-based singer/songwriter vehicle Red Jacket Mine in 2003, made three albums and an EP with them, and in 2017 released his first solo album, the jazzy, live-in-studio Trembling Frames.
We examine “Desperate Tormentors” and hear “How To Escape” and a bit of “Memory Up and Die” from that album, and discuss Red Jacket Mine: “Apricot Moon” from Lovers Lookout (2009) and “Jesus’s House” from Hello, Old Cloud (2008). For more, see lincolnbarrmusic.com.
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Randolph Bourne died 100 years ago this December at the age of 32. While his legacy lives on, to properly pay homage to his work we can recover the spirit of his prophetic philosophy, which has too often been overlooked or misapprehended.
We are rejoined by Drew Pinsky to discuss philosophical and psychological readings by Seneca, Arthur Schopenhauer, Sigmund Freud, Emile Durkheim, Albert Camus, plus two 2017 survey papers on predictors of suicide.
Is suicide ever morally permissible? If it’s a symptom of mental illness rather than a chosen behavior, is it even appropriate to morally evaluate it?
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Visit DrDrew.com.
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More on this classic text by (perhaps) Vyasa, with guest Shaan Amin.
Should we acquire good karma or behave “beyond good and evil”? How can everything be Krishna while Krishna is also the an element of virtue we’re supposed to pursue? How does this compare with Stoicism? Plus, behold Krishna unveiled and be freaked out!
Listen to part one first or get the full, unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition. Please support PEL and get the 2019 PEL Wall Calendar!
End song: “Om Hari Om 1” by Tim Jordan Kirtan feat. Michael Manring. Hear Michael on Nakedly Examined Music #31.
Sponsors: Visit thegreatcoursesplus.com/PEL and explore Peter Singer’s http://thelifeyoucansave.org/pel.
Chris rose to fame on keys for Arizona’s country punks Green on Red from ’81–’87, and has since then been fronted 12 albums while doing session keyboard work.
We discuss “Pale Blonde Hell” by Chris Cacavas and Junkyard Love from Pale Blonde Hell (1994), “Do Me No Favors” from Anonymous (1997), and “Don’t Think Twice” from Bumbling Home from the Star (2002). We listen to “I Won’t Feel Well” from Love’s Been Re-Discontinued (2013). Opening music: The title track from Green on Red’s Gravity Talks. For more, see chris-cacavas.com.
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On the classic Hindu text (ca. the third century BCE), part of the Indian Epic poem Mahabharata, attributed to Vyasa, using Keya Maitra’s 2018 translation/commentary.
What is it to live wisely? What grounds duty? Listen as the supreme God Krishna convinces archer hero Arjuna that it’s OK for him to kill his relatives because, you know, reincarnation and determinism and caste-related duties. Lots of metaphysical complications! With guest Shaan Amin.
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Sponsors: Visit thegreatcoursesplus.com/PEL and explore Peter Singer’s http://thelifeyoucansave.org/pel.
“I could not help feeling that they were evil things—mountains of madness whose farther slopes looked out over some accursed ultimate abyss.”
Join Nathan and Laura, with Mark Linsenmayer, Daniel Johnson, and Jennifer Tejada, as we follow H.P. Lovecraft up the Mountain and discover where true madness lies!
Hear more Phi Fic discussions at PhiFicPodcast.com.
Concluding on Julia Kristeva’s Powers of Horror (1980) and focusing on H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu” (1928). Does Lovecraft’s presentation of nameless terror capture (or improve upon) what Kristeva means by “abjection”?
End song: “The Other” by Mark Lint feat. Lucy Lawless. Read about it and support the project.
Listen to part one first, or go back to ep. 202 first. Become a PEL Citizen to get the full, ad-free experience. Please support PEL!
Sponsors: Visit fin.com/pel to try a virtual assistant for free. Explore Peter Singer’s The Life You Can Save at partiallyexaminedlife.com/savealife.
Chaucer’s philosophical exploration of human nature takes a dark turn in “The Pardoner’s Tale,” a greedy man’s proud confession of his own corruption.
A smart house outlasts humanity in Ray Bradbury’s 1950 short story “There Will Come Soft Rains.”
Also: Tex Thompson describes the annual “experience camp” for authors, Writers in the Field.
Get more Constellary Tales podcasts, and read original sf in the magazine (Issue no. 1 is now online) at constellary.com.
What is the relationship between the natural world and the human world?
In this belated Halloween episode, Lise, Jeff, and Brian discuss Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Fall of the House of Usher.”
Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.
More on Julia Kristeva’s Powers of Horror (1980) plus H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu” (1928).
What is the object of fear? Mark, Seth, and Dylan get clearer on Kristeva’s view of the establishment and loss of the integrity of the self, what the “object” of abjection is, and what this all might have to do with feminism.
Most of the Lovecraft goodness is in part 2, so don’t wait! Get the unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition, along with Mark’s Kristeva Close Reading. Please support PEL!
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Hear the new Mark Lint song featuring your favorite PEL guest on lead vocals. …And other witty and pleasurable tunes! Support the effort and earn a full hour chatting directly about philosophy with your practically human PEL host!
Mark takes a very close look at pages 1–4 of the first chapter of On Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (1980) as a supplement to episode 202.
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Seth Swirsky was a highly successful staff songwriter for over 20 years, and has put out three solo albums and three albums as The Red Button since 2004. He’s a huge Beatles fan and has released a Beatles documentary Beatles Stories and has multiple books about psychology and baseball.
We discuss his heavily covered and sound-tracked tune “Love Is a Beautiful Thing”; you’ll hear the version by Al Green from Don’t Look Back (1993), then “Matchbook Cover” from Seth’s album Watercolor Day (2010) and “Picture” by The Red Button from As Far as Yesterday Goes (2011). The end suite is “Shine/Circles and Squares/Go” from his album Circles and Squares (2016). Intro music is from the title track to Instant Pleasure (2004). For more, see seth.com.
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Announcement: There’s a supporter-only interview with Bruce Soord of Pineapple Thief on Patreon. Please support the podcast so that we can continue!
Continuing on Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection, ch. 1 and 2. We try to get clearer on Kristeva’s talk of “object,” the relationship between language and abjection, how Kristeva is advancing on Freud, how to be a mom that allows a kid to separate in a healthy way, and how abjection plays into religion and writing.
Listen to part one first, or get the unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition, and don’t miss Mark’s Close Reading, available to Citizens and $1+ Patreon members. Please support PEL!
End song: “Eyes of Fire” by Jill Freeman, as discussed on Nakedly Examined Music #28.
Help us plan our 10th Anniversary show by taking our planning survey. Watch out for our 2019 Wall Calendar!
Sponsor: Visit thegreatcoursesplus.com/PEL for a one-month free trial of The Great Courses Plus Video Learning Service.
Every life is in many days, day after day. We walk through ourselves, meeting robbers, ghosts, giants, old men, young men, wives, widows, brothers-in-love, but always meeting ourselves. –Ulysses
For our discussion of this historically difficult but wholly worthwhile classic, Nathan, Laura, and Daniel are joined by Phillip Cherny. It was recorded for our original Not School group, long before that group evolved into a podcast.
Hear more Phi Fic discussions at PhiFicPodcast.com.
