Continuing on the Categories, considering artifacts, social construction in cutting up the world, different kinds of properties, and more.
Ep. 247: Aristotle on Rhetoric and Emotions (Part Two)
Continuing on the Rhetoric (ca. 335 BCE) book 1, ch. 1-6 and book 2, ch. 1-5, 18-24.
We finish up with enthymemes (rhetorical arguments), maxims, and signs. We then move to emotions, where we chiefly talk about anger: Is it always a matter of status injury, or is frustration equally (or more) foundational?
Begin with part one, or get the unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition now. Please support PEL!
End song: “Reason with the Beast” by Shriekback, whose leader Barry Andrews was interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #107.
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Ep. 247: Aristotle on Rhetoric and Emotions (Part One)
On the Rhetoric (ca. 335 BCE) book 1, ch. 1–6 and book 2, ch. 1–5, 18–24.
What role does persuasion play in philosophy? Aristotle (contra Plato) argues it can and should be used for good: in law courts, political debates, public speeches. He describes the arguments forms used in rhetoric (“enthymemes”) and analyzes the emotions that an audience might have so that speakers know what points are worth dwelling on and how to best argue them.
Don’t wait for part two! Get the unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition now. Please support PEL!
Get 15% off great wireless earbuds at BuyRaycon.com/pel.
Ep. 247: Aristotle on Rhetoric and Emotions (Citizen Edition)
On the Rhetoric (ca. 335 BCE) book 1, ch. 1–6 and book 2, ch. 1–5, 18–24.
What role does persuasion play in philosophy? Aristotle (contra Plato) argues it can and should be used for good: in law courts, political debates, public speeches. He describes the arguments forms used in rhetoric (“enthymemes”) and analyzes the emotions that an audience might have so that speakers know what points are worth dwelling on and how to best argue them.
End song: “Reason with the Beast” by Shriekback, whose leader Barry Andrews was interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #107.
Ep. 243: Aristotle’s “Poetics” on Art and Tragedy (Part Two)
Continuing on the Poetics from around 335 BCE, on the structure of plot (every element must be essential!), the moral status of the heroes, Homeric poetry, the difference between tragedy and history, and how Aristotle’s formula may or may not apply to modern media.
Begin with part one or get the full, ad-free Citizen Edition. Please support PEL!
End song: “Structure of a Tragedy” by Mark Lint. Read about it.
Sponsor: Visit thegreatcoursesplus.com/PEL for a free trial of The Great Courses Plus Video Learning Service.
Ep. 243: Aristotle’s “Poetics” on Art and Tragedy (Part One)
These notes from 335 BCE are still used in screenwriting classes. Aristotle presents a formula for what will move us, derived from Sophocles’s tragedies.
What is art? The text describes it as memesis (imitation), and tragedy imitates human action in a way that shows us what it is to be human. Aristotle has lots of advice about how to structure a plot optimized to our sensibilities. Join Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Seth to see if you think he’s right.
Don’t wait for part two; get the full, ad-free Citizen Edition now. Please support PEL!
Sponsor: For 20% off and free shipping on Ettitude’s CleanBamboo Charcoal sheets, text PEL to 64-000.
Ep. 243: Aristotle’s “Poetics” on Art and Tragedy (Citizen Edition)
These notes from 335 BCE are still used in screenwriting classes. Aristotle presents a formula for what will move us, derived from Sophocles’s tragedies.
What is art? A. describes it as memesis (imitation), and tragedy imitates human action in a way that shows us what it is to be human. A. has lots of advice about how to structure a plot optimized to our sensibilities. Join Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Seth to see if you think he’s right.
End song: “Structure of a Tragedy” by Mark Lint (2020).
Combat & Classics #28: Aristotle’s “Politics” Bk. I, Part 4
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.
Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.
Combat & Classics #25: Aristotle’s Politics, Part 3
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.
Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.
Combat & Classics #23: Aristotle Politics Bk. I, part 2
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.
Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.
Combat & Classics #21: Aristotle’s Politics Bk. I
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.
Get more C&C on the PEL site or at combatandclassics.org.
Science, Religion, and Secularism Part XII: Michael Allen Gillespie, Theological Origins of Modernity
How an important element of both modern philosophy and science emerged from an obscure dispute within the medieval Franciscan order involving Plato, Aristotle, the Roman Catholic Church, and William of Ockham, among others.
Science, Religion, and Secularism Part VIII: Arthur O. Lovejoy, the Great Chain of Being
In the previous article, we saw how geometry set the standard for knowledge in the world of ancient Greek philosophy, and how Christian theology emerged out of an effort to harmonize the very different traditions of Greek and Hebraic thought. Plato’s theory of the forms is perhaps his most famous contribution to philosophy, and requires no extensive discussion. But, as Continue Reading …
Nothing So Absurd?
In the first installment of a two-part series, Nicholas Joll tries to convince us that, for one thing, fire is not hot and, for another, that sincerity is impossible.
Bojack Horseman and Aristotelian Self-Love
The popular Netflix show is rife with philosophical questions. “Can Aristotle teach Bojack a thing or two about self-love?” is one of them.
Episode 148: Aristotle on Friendship and Happiness
On the final books 8–10 of Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics. What does friendship have to do with ethics? With guest Ana Sandoiu.
End song: “A Few Gone Down” from The MayTricks’ Happy Songs Will Bring You Down (1994).
Ep. 148: Aristotle on Friendship and Happiness (Citizen Edition)
On the final books 8–10 of Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics. What does friendship have to do with ethics? Aristotle thinks that friends are necessary for the good life and that the only true friend is a virtuous one. But the number one virtue is reason, and the chief activity for the good life for Aristotle is contemplation, so how does this connect with being a good friend? With guest Ana Sandoiu.
End song: “A Few Gone Down” from The MayTricks’ Happy Songs Will Bring You Down (1994).
Episode 147: Aristotle on Wisdom and Incontinence
On the Nichomachean Ethics (ca. 350 BCE), books 6–7. Is intelligence just one thing? Aristotle picks out a number of distinct faculties, some of which are relevant to ethics, and he uses these to explain Plato’s puzzle of how someone can clearly see what the good for him is, and yet fail to pursue it due to weakness of the will.
This episode continues our discussion from way back in ep. 5.
End song: “I Die Desire” from The MayTricks (1992).
Ep. 147: Aristotle on Wisdom and Incontinence (Citizen Edition)
On the Nichomachean Ethics (ca. 350 BCE), books 6–7. Is intelligence just one thing? Aristotle picks out a number of distinct faculties, some of which are relevant to ethics, and he uses these to explain Plato’s puzzle of how someone can clearly see what the good for him is, and yet fail to pursue it due to weakness of the will.
This episode continues our discussion from way back in ep. 5.
End song: “I Die Desire” from The MayTricks (1992).
Martha Nussbaum on Emotions, Ethics, and Literature
When it comes to ethics and human choice, there is “a serious candidate for truth” that we haven’t considered properly.