On "Theoretical Picture of a Free Society" (1934). What's the ideal living situation for us all, given the peculiarities of human nature? Nine years before Weil laid out her list of human needs, as covered in our last episode, she wrote a work that she hoped to be her magnum opus, Reflections Concerning the Causes of Liberty and Social Oppression. This included the Continue Reading …
Ep. 250: Simone Weil on Human Needs (Part Three)
Concluding on "The Needs of the Soul" from The Need for Roots (1943). This time we cover punishment, security, risk, private property, collective property, freedom of opinion, and truth. Start with part one or get the full, ad-free Citizen Edition. Supporting PEL will also get you access to our PEL Nightcaps. Don't miss out! End song: "Even Though the Darkest Clouds" by Continue Reading …
Ep. 250: Simone Weil on Human Needs (Part Two)
Continuing on "The Needs of the Soul" from The Need for Roots (1943). We got started in part one with our need for order, and in this part we add liberty, obedience, responsibility, equality, hierarchy, and honor. We'll conclude with part 3, covering freedom of speech, punishment and more, but you needn't wait: Get the full, ad-free Citizen Edition now. Supporting us will Continue Reading …
Ep. 250: Simone Weil on Human Needs (Part One)
On "The Needs of the Soul" from The Need for Roots (1943) and "Meditation on Obedience and Liberty" (1937). What are human needs that should drive what kind of society would be best for us? Weil says we need liberty yet obedience, equality yet hierarchy, security yet risk... and none of these words mean quite what you'd think. For one, we need "order," and by this she Continue Reading …
Ep. 250: Simone Weil on Human Needs (Citizen Edition)
On "The Needs of the Soul" from The Need for Roots (1943) and "Meditation on Obedience and Liberty" (1937). What are human needs that should drive what kind of society would be best for us? Weil says we need liberty yet obedience, equality yet hierarchy, security yet risk... and none of these words mean quite what you'd think. For one, we need "order," and by this she Continue Reading …
Ep. 244: Camus on Strategies for Facing Plague (Part Two)
Continuing on Albert Camus's 1947 novel, covering the old functionary Grand, the criminal (or just paranoid?) Cottard, and more of our narrators Dr. Rieux and his doomed friend Tarrou, plus more on the overall message of the book and how it might relate to our current situation. Start with part one or get the unbroken Citizen Edition. Please support PEL! End song: "You Continue Reading …
Ep. 244: Camus on Strategies for Facing Plague (Part One)
On Albert Camus's novel The Plague (1947), which has been selling out lately like N95 COVID-19 face masks. How shall we face adversity? Camus gives us colorful characters that embody various approaches. Should we put faith in God (Paneloux), or refuse to believe that a God would allow such suffering (Rieux)? Should you dwell on the one you love that the plague is keeping you Continue Reading …
Ep. 244: Camus on Strategies for Facing Plague (Citizen Edition)
On Albert Camus's novel The Plague (1947), which has been selling out lately like N95 COVID-19 face masks. How shall we face adversity? Camus gives us colorful characters that embody various approaches. Should we put faith in God (Paneloux), or refuse to believe that a God would allow such suffering (Rieux)? Should you dwell on the one you love that the plague is keeping you Continue Reading …
Ep. 234: Beauvoir on Romance in “The Second Sex” (Part Two)
Concluding Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949): "The Woman in Love" and "Myths" with guest Jennifer Hansen. We continue on the ailments of women under patriarchy as well as the existential problems that we're all subject to. Are we doomed to isolation, or does existentialism allow for intimacy, and what does this look like? Is marriage as life-long commitment in "bad Continue Reading …
Ep. 234: Beauvoir on Romance in “The Second Sex” (Part One)
On Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949): "The Woman in Love" and "Myths" with guest Jennifer Hansen. Our ep. 232 laid out Beauvoir's picture of the Othered Woman, deprived of agency and hence pretty f'ed up. Now we consider the consequences of this situation for romantic love. In "The Woman in Love" (vol. 2, part III, ch. 12), we get a psychological picture of the Continue Reading …
Ep. 234: Beauvoir on Romance in “The Second Sex” (Citizen Edition)
On Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949): "The Woman in Love" and "Myths" with guest Jennifer Hansen. We explore the maladies of love, try a little to figure how B's picture relates to modern romance and what her positive prescription for good love is, and use the recent film A Marriage Story as a case study. Our ep. 232 laid out Beauvoir's picture of the Othered Woman, Continue Reading …
Ep. 232: Simone de Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex” (Part Two)
Continuing Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949) with guest Jennifer Hansen. We explore the Hegelian foundations of the text: How does one become a Subject and how do women traditionally get shut out of this process? What do they do to compensate for or react to being so mutilated? We get into the "Lived Experience" sections of the text where Beauvoir details how this Continue Reading …
Ep. 232: Simone de Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex” (Part One)
On Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949): the intro, conclusion, “Woman’s Situation and Character” and parts of “Lived Experience," with guest Jennifer Hansen. According to Beauvoir, Woman (the "kept" woman of history that was still common in her time and not unheard of now) is conceived of by society (and hence by herself) as "Other." Men created society, own all the Continue Reading …
Ep. 232: Simone de Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex” (Citizen Edition)
On Simone De Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949): the intro, conclusion, “Woman’s Situation and Character,” and parts of “Lived Experience," with guest Jennifer Hansen. According to Beauvoir, Woman (the "kept" woman of history that was still common in her time and not unheard of now) is conceived of by society (and hence by herself) as "Other." Men created society, own all the Continue Reading …
Ep. 224: Kierkegaard Critiques the Present Age (Part Two)
Continuing on "The Present Age" (1846), plus Hubert Dreyfus’s "Nihilism on the Information Highway: Anonymity vs. Commitment in the Present Age" (2004) with guest John Ganz. Does K's critique actually apply to our present age? We address K's view of humor, romance, authenticity, actual community vs. "the public," the leveling that occurs without anyone specific actually Continue Reading …
Ep. 224: Kierkegaard Critiques the Present Age (Part One)
On Soren Kierkegaard's essay "The Present Age" (1846) and Hubert Dreyfus’s "Nihilism on the Information Highway: Anonymity vs. Commitment in the Present Age" (2004). What's wrong with our society? Kierkegaard saw the advent of the press and gossip culture as engendering a systematic passivity and shallowness in his fellows, and Dreyfus thinks this is an even more apt Continue Reading …
Ep. 224: Kierkegaard Critiques the Present Age (Citizen Edition)
On Soren Kierkegaard's essay "The Present Age" (1846) and Hubert Dreyfus’s "Nihilism on the Information Highway: Anonymity vs. Commitment in the Present Age" (2004). What's wrong with our society? Kierkegaard saw the advent of the press and gossip culture as engendering a systematic passivity and shallowness in his fellows, and Dreyfus thinks this is an even more apt Continue Reading …
Authentically Connect: An Author Interview with Dr. Gordon Marino
Kierkegaard instead of Prozac? That is the suggestion of Dr. Gordon Marino—leading Kierkegaard scholar, professional boxing coach, and author of The Existentialist's Survival Guide: How to Live Authentically in an Inauthentic Age (Harper Collins, 2018). Marino is no stranger to the wicked twists and pulls of anxiety and depression, and neither, he argues, were the Continue Reading …
Ep. 212: Sartre on Literature (Part One)
On Jean-Paul Sartre's What is Literature? (1948), ch. 1 and 2. What's the purpose of literature? Why write prose as opposed to poetry? Sartre was fending off criticism that his prose was too overtly political. Kant's view of art was still dominant, according to which good art is "disinterested," i.e., the spectator is supposed to appreciate the pure play of form. So if an Continue Reading …
Episode 212: Sartre on Literature (Citizen Edition)
On Jean-Paul Sartre's What is Literature? (1948), chs. 1 and 2. What's the purpose of literature? Why write prose as opposed to poetry? Sartre was fending off criticism that his prose was too overtly political. Kant's view of art was still dominant, according to which good art is "disinterested," i.e., the spectator is supposed to appreciate the pure play of form. So if an Continue Reading …