The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast
A Philosophy Podcast and Philosophy Blog
Mark and Wes go into more textual detail re. Lucretius’s take on atomism and the metaphysical and epistemological problems it entails. Start with Part one.
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Mark and Wes go into more textual detail re. Lucretius’s take on atomism and the metaphysical and epistemological problems it entails. Listen to the full episode discussion first.
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More on Lucretius’s poem about Epicurean science: On the Nature of Things from the first century BCE.
We talk more about how macroscopic phenomena are supposed to come out of the interaction of atoms, including mind and its processes of knowledge and illusion, including the illusion of love. One conclusion: life after death is not possible. Can the properties of the atoms themselves be explained?
Listen to part one first or get the unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition; this will also get you the follow-up discussion (coming soon). Please support PEL, and don’t forget your 2019 PEL Wall Calendar!
End song: “Came Round” by Mark Lint. Read about it and get the new album.
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On Lucretius’s poem about Epicurean science: On the Nature of Things aka De Rerum Natura from the first century BCE.
How does the world work? Lucretius presents a system that is surprisingly modern, and raises philosophical issues that are still on point today: What are the basic building blocks of the universe? How could these give rise to minds? What ethical views does a mechanistic worldview imply?
End song: “Came Round” by Mark Lint. Read about it and get the new album.
Keep an eye out for the follow-up discussion where Mark and Wes go into more details from the text.
An Epicurean examination of the war on drugs.
Lucian of Samosata (c. 125–180 CE) was a Greek-speaking Assyrian satirist, who falls within the tradition of the laughing philosophers. He was the George Carlin or perhaps the Bill Maher of his day, eloquently mocking both the credulous masses and the charlatans who made a living off of them.
The parallels between Taoism and Epicurean philosophy which become evident when we study Taoism and read the Tao Te Ching. Sometimes the insights we get from both traditions mirror, complete and complement each other.
Come start a new discussion group during June, or explore Epicurean philosophy with the Fiction Group.
The resolution to follow Epicurus is a resolution to protect one’s mind. We live in a dysfunctional consumerist society filled with anxiety and neuroses, where few people analyse their lives, most have a short attention span and are uninterested in disciplining their minds and curbing mindless desires. If philosophy is understood as the Epicureans understand it, then it becomes evident that people desperately need philosophy today.
