Concluding on Schelling’s System of Transcendental Idealism (1800), Parts 1 and 2.
What sort of self is created in the act of self-consciousness that according to Schelling grounds all knowledge? We further consider this primordial act.
Ep. 274: Schelling on Self-Consciousness (Part One for Supporters)
On Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling’s System of Transcendental Idealism (1800), Parts 1 and 2.
What is self-consciousness, and how did Schelling think that it grounds all of knowledge?
Ep. 258: Locke on Acquiring Simple Ideas (Citizen Edition)
On the first half of Book II of John Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689).
How do we get our ideas? Simple ideas must come in through perception, but this doesn’t just mean the senses; also reflection on our own minds, and this added layer of complexity allows us to bring in memory, concepts, time, and more.
Ep. 248: Racism and Policing (Al-Saji, Merleau-Ponty, et al) (Part Two)
Continuing on Alia Al-Saji’s “A Phenomenology of Hesitation” (2014) and other things with guest Phil Hopkins.
Can we restructure our (and the police’s) reactions and live with each other? We further explore the psychology of habit and Al-Saji’s notion of hesitation. How does it compare to other types of heistation recommended by philosophies and religions?
Start with part one, or get the full, ad-free Citizen Edition. Includes a preview of our Citizen Hang.
End song: “Every Man’s Burden” by Dusty Wright, as interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #89.
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Ep. 248: Racism and Policing (Al-Saji, Merleau-Ponty, et al) (Part One)
On Alia Al-Saji’s “A Phenomenology of Hesitation” (2014), bits of Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception (1945) and Linda Martín Alcoff’s Visible Identities (2006), plus Alex Vitale’s The End of Policing (2017).
Is there subconscious racism, and how might we root it out and fix our policing problems? Ex-cop Phil Hopkins joins to look at how phenomenology can help.
Don’t wait for part two, get the full, ad-free Citizen Edition now. Please support PEL!
Sponsor: Visit thegreatcoursesplus.com/PEL for a free trial of The Great Courses Plus Video Learning Service.
Ep. 248: Racism and Policing (Al-Saji, Merleau-Ponty, et al) (Citizen Edition)
On Alia Al-Saji’s “A Phenomenology of Hesitation” (2014) bits of Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception (1945) and Linda Martín Alcoff’s Visible Identities (2006), plus Alex Vitale’s The End of Policing (2017).
Is there subconscious racism, and how might we root it out and fix our policing problems? Ex-cop Phil Hopkins joins to look at how phenomenology can help.
End song: “Every Man’s Burden” by Dusty Wright, who appears on Nakedly Examined Music #89.
Ep. 245: Fashion (Derrida, Foucault, Sontag) w/ Shahidha Bari (Part Two)
We conclude with Foucault’s “The Ethics of the Concern of the Self as a Practice of Freedom” (1984) and add Susan Sontag’s “On Style” (1965). After our guest’s departure, we give some concluding remarks about her book Dressed: A Philosophy of Clothes (2020) and Derrida’s “The Animal That Therefore I Am” (1999).
Start with part one or get the ad-free, unbroken Citizen Edition. Support PEL and be entered in a drawing to win a copy of Dressed.
End song: “Clothe Me in Ashes” by K.C. Clifford, interviewed for Nakedly Examined Music #121.
If you enjoy PEL, learn about the Hi-Phi Nation podcast at hiphination.org.
Ep. 245: Fashion (Derrida, Foucault) w/ Shahidha Bari (Part One)
On Jacques Derrida’s “The Animal That Therefore I Am” (1999), Michel Foucault’s “The Ethics of the Concern of the Self As A Practice of Freedom” (1984), and our guest’s Dressed: A Philosophy of Clothes (2020).
Philosophy devalues appearances, but our changing dominant metaphysics (there is no “underneath” but rather a complex built out of appearance itself) should have changed this. Our guest provided us with readings that elaborate this change, arguing for our continuity with animal nature (Derrida) and the ethical importance of self-care (Foucault).
Don’t wait for part two; get the full, ad-free Citizen Edition now. Signing up will enter you in to our 6/22 drawing to win a copy of Shahidha’s book. Please support PEL!
Sponsor: Visit thegreatcoursesplus.com/PEL for a free trial of The Great Courses Plus Video Learning Service.
Ep. 245: Fashion (Derrida, Foucault, Sontag) w/ Shahidha Bari (Citizen Edition)
On Jacques Derrida’s “The Animal That Therefore I Am” (1999), Michel Foucault’s “The Ethics of the Concern of the Self As A Practice of Freedom” (1984), Susan Sontag’s “On Style” (1965), and our guest Shahidha’s book Dressed: A Philosophy of Clothes (2020).
Philosophy devalues appearance in favor of depth and soul, but our changing dominant metaphysics (there is no “underneath” but rather a complex built out of appearance itself) should have changed this. Our guest Shahidha Bari provided us with readings that elaborate this change, arguing for our continuity with animal nature (Derrida), the ethical importance of care of the self including appearance (Foucault), and the illegitimacy of the distinction between style and content (Sontag).
End song: “Clothe Me in Ashes” by K.C. Clifford, interviewed for Nakedly Examined Music #121.
Episode 146: Emmanuel Levinas on Overcoming Solitude
More Levinas, working this time through Time and the Other (1948).
What is it for a person to exist? What individuates one person from another, making us into selves instead of just part of the causal net of events? Why would someone possibly think that these are real, non-obvious questions that need to be addressed?
End song: “Call on You” by Mark Lint from from the 1993 Mark Lint album Spanish Armada: Songs of Love and Related Neuroses.
Ep. 146: Emmanuel Levinas on Overcoming Solitude (Citizen Edition)
More Levinas, working this time through Time and the Other (1948).
What is it for a person to exist? What individuates one person from another, making us into selves instead of just part of the causal net of events? Why would someone possibly think that these are real, non-obvious questions that need to be addressed? Levinas gives us a phenomenological progression from the “there is,” terrifyingly undifferentiated Being, to becoming an individual through “hypostasis,” which is becoming an existent through a voyage out to the world and back to oneself. But this existing makes us solitary, not only in this weird ontological sense of being a distinct thing, but in a concrete, emotional sense. Overcoming this requires grasping the Other as a real Other, not as an object to fulfill our desires or get in our way. Really understanding this at our core takes some doing, and in the process, we gain a mature sense of time and of death, so, good for us!
End song: “Call on You” by Mark Lint from from the 1993 Mark Lint album Spanish Armada: Songs of Love and Related Neuroses.
Episode 145: Emmanuel Levinas: Why Be Ethical?
On “Ethics as First Philosophy” (1984). More existentialist ethics, with a Jewish twist this time! Seth returns to join Mark and Wes in figuring out how to best leave off all this aggressive “knowing” and other forms of individual self-assertion to grasp the more primordial appearance of the Other in all his or her vulnerability, which Levinas thinks makes us wholly responsible for others right off the bat.
End song: “To Valerie” from The MayTricks’ So Chewy (1993).
Merleau-Ponty Used to Explain “Deadpool”
Mike Rugnetta of the Reasonably Sound podcast explains Deadpools apparent self-awareness by laying down some body phenomenology courtesy of our main man Maurice.
Soul Dust: A Well Supported Stab At The “Why” Of Consciousness.
Consciousness, Nicholas Humphrey claims, does not add or enhance some survival ability (as, say, wings allow birds to fly). Consciousness improves the chance of survival because it makes life worth living. Being phenomenally conscious grants import, meaning, and ego, essentially fooling us into striving towards fulfillment.
Phenomenology is Wrong
There are two traditions within phenomenology: realist phenomenology and idealist phenomenology. The distinguishing feature is how they treat their ‘pre-bracketed’ and ‘post-bracketed’ states. In the realist case when we interpret (describe) the world we can bracket the truth of the claims epistemologically; in the idealist case we can metaphysically bracket claims.
Not School Discussion of Being and Time
Everyone (not just Citizens) can watch video of the first discussions of the ongoing Not School Heidegger reading group. Join up!
Not School: Heidegger’s “Being and Time” Discussion Series
Five discussions which are only the beginning of a series that can be found on Stevie LeValley’s YouTube channel, largely recorded with him and Nathan Goldman. This first was recorded July 6, 2014 and covered the Introduction, Part I.
The Existential Weirdness of Fandom
In one of Woody Allen’s films (Annie Hall?), one of the characters remarks that existentialism is a matter of projecting one’s neuroses onto the world. Instead of me being depressed, I am in an ontological state of despair. Instead of being a person who is considering what to do with my evening, it is the world that is pulsing with Continue Reading …
More Voices on Buddhism and Science
If the dialogue between Buddhism and American intellectuals like Owen Flanagan is part of a fashionable trend, then it has to be one of the longest lasting fads in history. Henry David Thoreau published the Lotus Sutra in the first issue of The Dial in 1844. William James was absorbing Transcendentalist ideas at the family dinner table, where his godfather Continue Reading …
Naturalized Phenomenology?
Here’s a conference-lecture by Dan Zahavi (of the “Center for Subjectivity Research” at the University of Copenhagen/Danish National Research Foundation) that asks whether it’s a good idea to try to “naturalize” phenomenology. Watch on YouTube. He distinguishes early on what Flanagan means by phenomenology (referring to Owen by name), i.e. reports on what things seem like to us, and what Continue Reading …