Subscribe to get Part 2 of this episode. Listen to a preview. On essays from Lear's Open Minded: Working Out the Logic of the Soul (1988), featuring Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Seth. How does Plato's philosophy hold together, and is it still something we can make use of in the modern age? Our recent explorations of Plato's Timaeus and Phaedo showed us how humanity is supposed to Continue Reading …
Ep. 266: Jonathan Lear’s Plato: Psyche and Society (Part Two for Supporters)
Continuing from part one on essays from Lear's Open Minded: Working Out the Logic of the Soul (1988). We start off with more about the relation between comedy and tragedy and how these might relate to Plato's stories. We then provide more detail on chapter 10: "Inside and Outside the Republic," including Bernard Williams' objections to Plato and Lear's Continue Reading …
Ep. 266: Jonathan Lear’s Plato: Psyche and Society (Part One for Supporters)
On essays from Lear's Open Minded: Working Out the Logic of the Soul (1988), featuring Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Seth. How does Plato's philosophy hold together, and is it still something we can make use of in the modern age? Our recent explorations of Plato's Timaeus and Phaedo showed us how humanity is supposed to fit into the cosmos, but the details seemed hopelessly archaic: Continue Reading …
Ep. 236: Judith Butler Interview: “The Force of Nonviolence”
On The Force of Nonviolence: An Ethico-Political Bind (2020). What is it to be nonviolent in political activity? Is it to eschew violence in all circumstances, or just not to be the aggressor? While Judith is not ruling out all excuses that violence is needed for self-defense, she sees this excuse as perniciously expansive due to the nature of what we might consider part of Continue Reading …
Ep. 236: Judith Butler Interview: “The Force of Nonviolence” (Citizen Edition)
On The Force of Nonviolence: An Ethico-Political Bind (2020). What is it to be nonviolent in political activity? Is it to eschew violence in all circumstances, or just not to be the aggressor? While Judith is not ruling out all excuses that violence is needed for self-defense, she sees this excuse as perniciously expansive due to the nature of what we might consider part of Continue Reading …
Ep. 235: Judith Butler’s “Gender Trouble” (Part Three)
Concluding on Gender Trouble (1990). It's a different day, and we've trimmed down to just Mark, Wes, and Seth to cover the latter portions of our assigned reading, especially part I, section v: "Identity, Set, and the Metaphysics of Substance," and part III, section iv: "Subversive Bodily Acts: Bodily Inscriptions, Performative Subversions." We also added two articles Continue Reading …
(sub)Text: A Discussion of Todd Phillips’ Film ‘Joker’
Todd Phillips’ Joker has broken several box office records, received an eight-minute standing ovation at Cannes, and is inspiring tourists to dance down the steps of a lengthy stairway in Queens. The question is, “why?” Joker is not a typical comic book film. There are no explosions or any other sort of spectacle; no superpowers; and nothing of the forces of good triumphing Continue Reading …
PREVIEW-(sub)Text#6: Melanie Klein’s “Notes on Some Schizoid Mechanisms”
Wes Alwan is joined by Dr. Glenn Mobray of the New Center of Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles to discuss this classic 1946 psychoanalytic text. This is a preview of a 63-minute discussion. You can listen to the whole thing by becoming a PEL Citizen or $5 Patreon supporter. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to learn how. Klein worked with small children and hypothesized Continue Reading …
(sub)Text #6: Melanie Klein’s “Notes on Some Schizoid Mechanisms” (Citizens Only)
Wes Alwan is joined by Dr. Glenn Mobray of the New Center of Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles to discuss this classic 1946 psychoanalytic text. Klein worked with small children and hypothesized that the Oedipal complex happens not at 3–5 years as Freud thought but much earlier, and this innovation also made it possible for psychoanalysis to treat psychotics, and not merely Continue Reading …
Ep. 205 Follow-Up: Durkheim and Explanation Types (Citizens Only)
Following on our discussion with Dr. Drew, Mark and Wes discuss Emile Durkheim's Suicide (1897), getting into more of the details of his account and in particular exploring comparative modes of explanation: Are there really "sociological facts" distinct from mere generalizations about psychological facts? This leads us to more discussion of the legitimacy of psychoanalytic Continue Reading …
Ep. 203: Kristeva vs. Lovecraft on Horror and Abjection (Part One)
More on Julia Kristeva's Powers of Horror (1980) plus H.P. Lovecraft's "The Call of Cthulhu" (1928). What is the object of fear? In our last episode, we outlined Kristeva's view that it's ultimately the disintegration of self. Our purpose in this further episode (featuring Mark, Seth, and Dylan, who couldn't attend last time) was to clarify her account of how self-integrity Continue Reading …
Ep. 203: Kristeva vs. Lovecraft on Horror and Abjection (Citizen Edition)
More on Julia Kristeva's Powers of Horror (1980) plus H.P. Lovecraft's "The Call of Cthulhu" (1928). What is the object of fear? In our last episode, we outlined Kristeva's view that it's ultimately the disintegration of self. Our purpose in this further episode (featuring Mark, Seth, and Dylan, who couldn't attend last time) was to clarify her account of how self-integrity Continue Reading …
PREVIEW-Ep 202 Follow-Up: Close Reading of Kristeva’s “Approaching Abjection”
Mark takes a very close look at pages 1–4 of the first chapter of On Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (1980) as a supplement to episode 202. This was a hard reading, and we disagreed in the discussion about some of what it meant. So hear her words for yourself and decide! Get the full, 55-minute experience here by becoming a PEL Citizen. This has also been made Continue Reading …
Ep. 202: Julia Kristeva on Disgust, Fear, and the Self (Part Two)
Continuing on Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection, ch. 1 and 2. We try to get clearer on Kristeva's talk of "object," the relationship between language and abjection, how Kristeva is advancing on Freud, how to be a mom that allows a kid to separate in a healthy way, and how abjection plays into religion and writing. Listen to part one first, or get the unbroken, Continue Reading …
Ep. 202 Follow-Up: Close Reading of Kristeva’s “Approaching Abjection” (Citizens Only)
Mark takes a very close look at pages 1–4 of the first chapter of On Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (1980). This close reading assumes that you've listened to our episode 202. Read along: Buy the book or try this online version. You may also want to consult this wiki page on object relations theory. Note that there's nothing in there to indicate that "object" Continue Reading …
Ep. 202: Julia Kristeva on Disgust, Fear and the Self (Part One)
On Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (1980), chapters 1 and 2. What is horror? Kristeva's book is about a process she calls "abjection," where we violently reject things like corpses, bodily wastes and other fluids, and the Lovecraftian unnameable that lurks at the edge of our awareness, hideously inhuman and indifferent to our suffering. The book is also all about Continue Reading …
Ep. 202: Julia Kristeva on Disgust, Fear and the Self (Citizen Edition)
On Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (1980), chapters 1 and 2. What is horror? Kristeva's book is about a process she calls "abjection," where we violently reject things like corpses, bodily wastes and other fluids, and the Lovecraftian unnameable that lurks at the edge of our awareness, hideously inhuman and indifferent to our suffering. The book is also all about Continue Reading …
Bonus: (sub)Text #4: Freud’s “Mourning and Melancholia” (Part One)
Wes Alwan is joined by psychoanalyst Tracy Morgan and therapist Louis Scuderi to discuss Freud's classic essay, Mourning and Melancholia. Read it online. Note: Part two will NOT be appearing on this feed. Become a PEL Citizen to get the full discussion. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to learn how. Listen to more (sub)Text. Continue Reading …
(sub)Text #4: Freud’s “Mourning and Melancholia” (Citizens Only)
Wes Alwan is joined by Tracy Morgan and Louis Scuderi to discuss Freud's classic 1917 essay. Read it online. Listen to more (sub)Text. Continue Reading …
Episode 172: Mind, Self, and Affect with Guest Dr. Drew (Part Two)
Continuing with Drew Pinsky on “Attachment and Reflective Function: Their Role in Self-organization” by Peter Fonagy and two articles by Allan Schore. Fonagy claims we gain the ability to emotionally self-regulate as a result of achieving secure attachment with a caregiver as infants. Schore claims that if this fails, we can end up fundamentally disengaged. So what are the Continue Reading …