The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

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REISSUE-PEL Ep 37: Locke on Political Power (w/ New Intro)

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A 2011 episode on John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government (1690), with a fresh introduction connecting it to the present.

What makes political power legitimate? Like Hobbes, Locke thought that things are less than ideal without a society to keep people from killing us, so we implicitly sign a social contract giving power to the state. But on Locke’s view, nature’s not as bad, so the state is given less power. But how much less? And what does Locke think about tea partying, kids, women, acorns, foreign travelers, and calling dibs? Featuring guest Sabrina Weiss.

Hear the full, new reconsideration of this episode by Mark, Wes, and Dylan on the latest Nightcap available via partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.

End song: “Lock Them Away,” by Mark Lint (2003).

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Happy Holidays! Have you heard our 2020 Holiday Party yet?

Ep. 256: Kropotkin’s Anarchist Communism (Part One)

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On Peter Kropotkin’s The Conquest of Bread (1892).

If we want an egalitarian society, do we need the state to accomplish this? Kropotkin says no, that in fact the state inevitably serves the interests of the few, and that if we got rid of it, our natural tendencies to cooperate would allow us through voluntary organizations to keep everyone not only fed and clothed, but able to vigorously pursue callings like science and art.

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode, or listen to a preview. Citizens can get the entire second part here.

Sponsors: Visit TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/PEL for a free trial of The Great Courses Plus Video Learning Service. Organize your Inbox: Save $25 sanebox.com/pel. Learn about St. John’s College at SJC.edu.

Ep. 256: Kropotkin’s Anarchist Communism (Part Two for Supporters)

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Continuing on Peter Kropotkin’s The Conquest of Bread (1892).

If Kropotkin is right that mutual aid is a natural tendency and so communism is very much feasible, why hasn’t it happened already? We consider K’s version of the “you didn’t build that” argument, plus guaranteed minimum income, identity and criminal justice in a stateless world, religion, and more.

Ep. 256: Kropotkin’s Anarchist Communism (Part One for Supporters)

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On Peter Kropotkin’s The Conquest of Bread (1892). If we want an egalitarian society, do we need the state to accomplish this? Kropotkin says no, that in fact the state inevitably serves the interests of the few, and that if we got rid of it, our natural tendencies to cooperate would allow us through voluntary organizations to keep everyone not only fed and clothed, but able to vigorously pursue callings like science and art.

Is this naïve? Can we concretely even “imagine no possessions” and “there’s no countries”? Kropotkin has actuarial tables to show you that sure, we can feed everyone, and he presents examples of group action that he think show that we’re perfectly capable of mass organization without the state.

Ep. 254: Michael Sandel Interview: Against Meritocracy (Part One)

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On The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good? (2020).

Do people get the wealth and status they deserve? And if they did, would that be good? Michael critiques the meritocracy: It’s not actually fair, leaves most people feeling humiliated, and makes those on the top arrogant and disconnected. The commitment to meritocracy is shared by both political parties and helps explain our current dysfunction.

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode, or listen to a preview. Citizens can get the entire second part here.

Sponsor: Visit TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/PEL for a free trial of The Great Courses Plus Video Learning Service.

Ep. 254: Michael Sandel Interview: Against Meritocracy (Part One for Supporters)

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On The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good? (2020).

Do people get the wealth and status they deserve? And if they did, would that be good? Michael critiques the meritocracy: It’s not actually fair, leaves most people feeling humiliated, and makes those on the top arrogant and disconnected. The commitment to meritocracy is shared by both political parties and helps explain our current dysfunction.

Ep. 252: Habermas on Communication as Sociality (Part Two for Supporters)

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Continuing from part one on Jürgen Habermas’ “Actions, Speech Acts, Linguistically Mediated Interactions, and the Lifeworld” (1998), with guest John Foster.

We get into the details on the validity claims built into speech, how this provides the foundation for society, and Habermas’ the multi-layered “life-world.”

To listen to this, become a supporter at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support. Listen to a preview.

Ep. 252: Habermas on Communication as Sociality (Part One)

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On Jürgen Habermas’ “Actions, Speech Acts, Linguistically Mediated Interactions, and the Lifeworld” (1998), with guest John Foster.

What’s the relation between individuals and society? Habermas says that language has ethics built right into it: I’m trying to get you to agree with me, to engage in a cooperative enterprise of mutual understanding.

Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode, or listen to a preview. Citizens can get the entire second part here.

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Ep. 251: Simone Weil’s Ideal Society

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On “Theoretical Picture of a Free Society” (1934). What’s the ideal living situation for us all, given the peculiarities of human nature? Weil describes fulfillment as coming from being able to picture goals and plans and knowingly put them into effect, so social groups need to maximize that power by being small and cooperative.

End song: “Libreville” by Bill Bruford, as interviewed for Nakedly Examined Music #25.

Get this episode ad-free with a PEL Citizenship, which also gets you access to our PEL Nightcaps and future Part Two episodes.

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Ep. 251: Simone Weil’s Ideal Society (Citizen Edition)

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On “Theoretical Picture of a Free Society” (1934).

What’s the ideal living situation for us all, given the peculiarities of human nature? Weil describes fulfillment as coming from being able to picture goals and plans and knowingly put them into effect, so social groups need to maximize that power by being small and cooperative.

End song: “Libreville” by Bill Bruford, as interviewed for Nakedly Examined Music #25.

Ep. 250: Simone Weil on Human Needs (Part Three)

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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

End song: “Even Though the Darkest Clouds” by liar, flower. Mark interviewed KatieJane Garside on Nakedly Examined Music #127.

Sponsors: Visit TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/PEL for a free trial of The Great Courses Plus Video Learning Service. Get up to a $100 donation matched at Givewell.org/PEL, selecting “podcast” and “Partially Examined Life” at checkout. Subscribe to the Burn Your Draft podcast Seth helped with!

Ep. 250: Simone Weil on Human Needs (Part Two)

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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. and you’ll also get our Nightcap recordings.

Sponsor: Open a real estate portfolio at fundrise.com/PEL and get your first 90 days of advisory fees waived.

Ep. 250: Simone Weil on Human Needs (Part One)

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On “The Needs of the Soul” from The Need for Roots (1943) and “Meditation on Obedience and Liberty” (1937).

What are our needs that should then 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. And to start off, why do the many obey the few?

Don’t wait for Part Two; get the full, ad-free Citizen Edition now. Please support PEL! Support for this discussion came from listener Charles, who dedicates it to Temple Grandin. 

Sponsors: Get $35 off meal delivery at SunBasket.com/PEL, code PEL. Visit TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/PEL for a free trial of The Great Courses Plus Video Learning Service. Get up to a $100 donation matched at Givewell.org/PEL, selecting “podcast” and “Partially Examined Life” at checkout.

Ep. 250: Simone Weil on Human Needs (Citizen Edition)

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On “The Needs of the Soul” from The Need for Roots (1943) and “Meditation on Obedience and Liberty” (1937).

What are our needs that should then 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. And to start off, why do the many obey the few?

End song: “Even Though the Darkest Clouds” by liar, flower. Mark interviewed singer KatieJane Garside on Nakedly Examined Music #127.

Ep. 241: Political Philosophy and the Pandemic

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How should we think politically about the current global crisis? Do extreme circumstances reveal truths of political philosophy or do they reinforce whatever it is we already believe? Mark, Wes, Seth, and Dylan talk about applying philosophical insights to real-life situations rife with unknowns, John Rawls’s veil of ignorance and Adam Smith on our interconnectedness, utilitarianism, libertarianism, and more. A source we used was “How Coronavirus Is Shaking Up the Moral Universe” by John Authers.

For an ad-free version of this episode, become a PEL Citizen. Please support PEL!

End song: “Date of Grace” by Rob Picott, as discussed on Nakedly Examined Music #80.

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Ep. 241: Political Philosophy and the Pandemic (Citizen Edition)

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How should we think politically about the current global crisis? Do extreme circumstances reveal truths of political philosophy or do they reinforce whatever it is we already believe? Mark, Wes, Seth, and Dylan talk about applying philosophical insights to real-life situations rife with unknowns, John Rawls’s veil of ignorance and Adam Smith on our interconnectedness, utilitarianism, libertarianism, and more. A source we used was “How Coronavirus Is Shaking Up the Moral Universe” by John Authers.

End song: “Date of Grace” by Rob Picott, as discussed on Nakedly Examined Music #80.

About The Partially Examined Life

The Partially Examined Life is a philosophy podcast by some guys who were at one point set on doing philosophy for a living but then thought better of it. Each episode, we pick a text and chat about it with some balance between insight and flippancy. You don’t have to know any philosophy, or even to have read the text we’re talking about to (mostly) follow and (hopefully) enjoy the discussion

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