The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast
A Philosophy Podcast and Philosophy Blog
Combat and Classics is a series of podcasts and online seminars that explores the nature of man in conflict and cooperation through Socratic dialogue and the great books. Former Marine Corps officer Brian Wilson is joined by Lise van Boxel (St. John's College, Santa Fe) and Jeffrey J.S. Black (St. John's College, Annapolis) and occasional guests.
For more info visit combatandclassics.org.
We’re joined by actor Matt Eitzen for a discussion of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.
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Brian is joined by guest George Eckerle, St. John’s College grad and co-founder (with Brian) of the Plato Project, a series of online seminars for discussion of Plato’s complete works. In this episode they discuss one of William Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies, King Lear.
How does speech move the human soul? How can a leader use speech inspire others to action? Lise, Jeff, and Brian tackle those questions in their discussion of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s address to the graduating class of Harvard’s divinity school in 1838.
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Jeff, Lise, and Brian continue a “close-read” series on Aristotle’s Politics. They continue to tackle Aristotle’s discussion of slavery, which raises questions about nature, law, and virtue.
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Brian sits down with with Jennifer to talk about her informed and fun take on history, as well as her career path from St. John’s College to professional writer.
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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.”
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What is slavery? What does slavery have to do with the household or the state? Brian, Lise, and Jeff dig deeper into the Politics in part 3 of their discussion of this series.
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How do human beings confront a crisis? Anne Kniggendorf and Matt Young join Brian for a conversation about Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants.”
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Lise, Jeff, and Brian continue their conversation about Book I of Aristotle’s Politics.
They address Aristotle’s discussion of how a city comes to be, and his assertion that humans reach their full potential by living in a city.
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Brian interviews Matt Young, Marine Corps veteran, English professor, and author of Eat the Apple, a memoir that has been described as “The Iliad of the Iraq war.”
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Jeff, Lise, and Brian roll up their sleeves and dig in to Aristotle’s Politics.
How are this and other “Great Books” relevant to how we live our lives? What is good political rule? What does it mean to be “just” within a political system? The team tackles those questions and much more in this episode.
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Douglas Lensing joins the show to talk about his path from the Navy to St. John’s College and his paper “Passion and Mind: Homer’s Formula for Victory in the Iliad.”
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Is human life “nada”—nothing? In their discussion of Hemingway’s (very) short story, Brian, Lise, and Jeff examine the contrast between youth and old age and the states of being hurried versus unhurried.
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Can you simultaneously hate and love the same thing? What is the relationship between virtue and love? Lise, Jeff, and Brian tackle those questions and more in this episode on Jean Racine’s play, Phèdre.
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Jeff, Lise, and Brian discuss “On Transience,” in which Freud ruminates on the transitory nature of, and beautiful things in, life. The piece prompts a conversation about a variety of topics Freud raises, from death to libido to war.
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Brian interviews St. John’s College alum and US Navy veteran Anne Kniggendorf. They have an engaging discussion about the relationship between liberal arts and the military.
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Why did Victor Frankenstein create his monster? What role did beauty, love, science, and education play in his endeavor? Join Lise, Brian, and Jeff in a discussion of this classic, widely known novel.
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How should human life be valued? Is death something to suffer, or something that provides relief? Jeff, Lise, and Brian discuss those questions and more in examining this short story by Anton Chekhov.
Should we fear death? Jeff, Lise, and Brian discuss Plato’s Phaedo, in which Socrates is joined by his friends to discuss that and other questions while awaiting the time for Socrates’s execution later the same day.
If you enjoy this, check out The Partially Examined Life’s Crito episode.
What role do lying and deception play in achieving strategic objectives? Jeff, Lise and Brian discuss that and other questions as raised by Sophocles in Philoktetes, in which a soldier (Philoktetes) is recovered from an island where he was left after being wounded. His significance arises from his possession is the famed bow of Heracles, which the characters Odysseus and Continue Reading …
