• Log In

The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

A Philosophy Podcast and Philosophy Blog

Subscribe on Android Spotify Google Podcasts audible patreon
  • Home
  • Podcast
    • PEL Network Episodes
    • Publicly Available PEL Episodes
    • Paywalled and Ad-Free Episodes
    • PEL Episodes by Topic
    • Nightcap
    • Philosophy vs. Improv
    • Pretty Much Pop
    • Nakedly Examined Music
    • (sub)Text
    • Phi Fic Podcast
    • Combat & Classics
    • Constellary Tales
  • Blog
  • About
    • PEL FAQ
    • Meet PEL
    • About Pretty Much Pop
    • Philosophy vs. Improv
    • Nakedly Examined Music
    • Meet Phi Fic
    • Listener Feedback
    • Links
  • Join
    • Become a Citizen
    • Join Our Mailing List
    • Log In
  • Donate
  • Store
    • Episodes
    • Swag
    • Everything Else
    • Cart
    • Checkout
    • My Account
  • Contact
  • Mailing List

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

September 7, 2020 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

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 Two)

August 24, 2020 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

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)

August 18, 2020 by Mark Linsenmayer 7 Comments

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)

August 18, 2020 by Mark Linsenmayer 5 Comments

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. 234: Beauvoir on Romance in “The Second Sex” (Part One)

January 20, 2020 by Mark Linsenmayer 1 Comment

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)

January 20, 2020 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

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)

December 29, 2019 by Mark Linsenmayer 4 Comments

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)

December 23, 2019 by Mark Linsenmayer 2 Comments

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)

December 21, 2019 by Mark Linsenmayer 1 Comment

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 …

Authentically Connect: An Author Interview with Dr. Gordon Marino

June 27, 2019 by Natalie Kopp 1 Comment

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. 205: Suicide with Dr. Drew (Durkheim et al) (Part One)

December 17, 2018 by Mark Linsenmayer 2 Comments

We are rejoined by Drew Pinsky to discuss philosophical, psychological, and sociological readings on suicide. Is suicide ever morally permissible? If it's a symptom of mental illness rather than a chosen behavior, is it even appropriate to morally evaluate it? Last time Drew joined us, he helped us add clinical depth to an area that we'd already talked about  Continue Reading …

Bonus: (sub)Text #4: Freud’s “Mourning and Melancholia” (Part One)

October 8, 2018 by Wes Alwan Leave a Comment

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)

October 7, 2018 by Mark Linsenmayer 1 Comment

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 …

On Being a Monster: “Frankenstein” and Creative Ambition, Part V—Artist

January 19, 2018 by Wes Alwan 2 Comments

Subscribe to more of my writing at https://www.wesalwan.com Follow me on Twitter This essay is the fifth in a five-part series, in honor of the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Part four can be found here. Part V: Artist Consider Mary Shelley’s task. In a competition with great poets, one of whom was her future husband, she was asked  Continue Reading …

On Being a Monster: “Frankenstein” and Creative Ambition, Part I—Creature

January 15, 2018 by Wes Alwan Leave a Comment

Subscribe to more of my writing at https://www.wesalwan.com Follow me on Twitter This essay is the first in a five-part series, in honor of the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Part two can be found here. Part I: Creature Growing up is the metamorphosis we all know. Classical literature will tell you of the shape-shifting of  Continue Reading …

Episode 180: More James’s Psychology: Self and Will (Part One)

January 1, 2018 by Mark Linsenmayer 8 Comments

On Psychology, the Briefer Course (1892), chapters on "The Self," "Will," and "Emotions." Continuing from ep. 179, we talk about the various aspects of self: The "Me" (the part of me that I know) that's divided into physical, social, and spiritual aspects, and the "I" (the part of me that has experiences), which is pretty problematic, but which we need not posit as a "soul,"  Continue Reading …

Ep. 180: More James’s Psychology: Self and Will (Citizen Edition)

January 1, 2018 by Mark Linsenmayer 1 Comment

On Psychology, the Briefer Course (1892), chapters on "The Self," "Will," and "Emotions." Continuing from ep. 179, we talk about the various aspects of self: The "Me" (the part of me that I know) that's divided into physical, social, and spiritual aspects, and the "I" (the part of me that has experiences), which is pretty problematic, but which we need not posit as a "soul,"  Continue Reading …

Episode 179: William James’s Introspective Psychology (Part Two)

December 25, 2017 by Mark Linsenmayer 7 Comments

Continuing on Psychology, the Briefer Course (1892), completing "The Stream of Thought" and covering the chapter on "Habit." James thinks that psychologists focus too much on those parts of consciousness that get picked out by substantive words; we neglect those "fringe" parts that are harder to pick out specifically. Do elementary particles have "habits"? James describes  Continue Reading …

Episode 179: William James’s Introspective Psychology (Part One)

December 18, 2017 by Mark Linsenmayer 1 Comment

On The Principles of Psychology (1890) chapters 1 & 7, and Psychology, the Briefer Course (1892), the chapters on "The Stream of Thought," "Habit," and some of "The Self." Can we talk about the mind in a way that is both scientific and also does justice to our everyday experiences? James thought that previous philosophers talking about the mind weren't accurately reflecting  Continue Reading …

Ep. 179: William James’s Introspective Psychology (Citizen Edition)

December 17, 2017 by Mark Linsenmayer 3 Comments

On The Principles of Psychology (1890) chapters 1 & 7, and Psychology, the Briefer Course (1892), the chapters on "The Stream of Thought," "Habit," and some of "The Self." Can we talk about the mind in a way that is both scientific and also does justice to our everyday experiences? James thought that previous philosophers talking about the mind weren't accurately  Continue Reading …

Next Page »

PEL Live Show 2023

Brothers K Live Show

Citizenship has its Benefits

Become a PEL Citizen
Become a PEL Citizen, and get access to all paywalled episodes, early and ad-free, including exclusive Part 2's for episodes starting September 2020; our after-show Nightcap, where the guys respond to listener email and chat more causally; a community of fellow learners, and more.

Rate and Review

Nightcap

Listen to Nightcap
On Nightcap, listen to the guys respond to listener email and chat more casually about their lives, the making of the show, current events and politics, and anything else that happens to come up.

Subscribe to Email Updates

Select list(s):

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Support PEL

Buy stuff through Amazon and send a few shekels our way at no extra cost to you.

Tweets by PartiallyExLife

Recent Comments

  • Theo on Ep. 308: Moore’s Proof of Mind-Independent Reality (Part Two)
  • Seth Paskin on PEL Eulogies Nightcap Late March 2023
  • John Heath on PEL Eulogies Nightcap Late March 2023
  • Randy Strader on Ep. 309: Wittgenstein On Certainty (Part Two)
  • Wes Alwan on PEL Nightcap February 2023

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

Become a PEL Citizen!

As a PEL Citizen, you’ll have access to a private social community of philosophers, thinkers, and other partial examiners where you can join or initiate discussion groups dedicated to particular readings, participate in lively forums, arrange online meet-ups for impromptu seminars, and more. PEL Citizens also have free access to podcast transcripts, guided readings, episode guides, PEL music, and other citizen-exclusive material. Click here to join.

Blog Post Categories

  • (sub)Text
  • Aftershow
  • Announcements
  • Audiobook
  • Book Excerpts
  • Citizen Content
  • Citizen Document
  • Citizen News
  • Close Reading
  • Combat and Classics
  • Constellary Tales
  • Exclude from Newsletter
  • Featured Ad-Free
  • Featured Article
  • General Announcements
  • Interview
  • Letter to the Editor
  • Misc. Philosophical Musings
  • Nakedly Examined Music Podcast
  • Nakedly Self-Examined Music
  • NEM Bonus
  • Not School Recording
  • Not School Report
  • Other (i.e. Lesser) Podcasts
  • PEL Music
  • PEL Nightcap
  • PEL's Notes
  • Personal Philosophies
  • Phi Fic Podcast
  • Philosophy vs. Improv
  • Podcast Episode (Citizen)
  • Podcast Episodes
  • Pretty Much Pop
  • Reviewage
  • Song Self-Exam
  • Supporter Exclusive
  • Things to Watch
  • Vintage Episode (Citizen)
  • Web Detritus

Follow:

Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | Apple Podcasts

Copyright © 2009 - 2023 · The Partially Examined Life, LLC. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Copyright Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in