The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

A Philosophy Podcast and Philosophy Blog

Subscribe on Android Spotify patreon

Episode 176: Situationism in Psych: Milgram & Stanford Prison Experiments (Part Two)

by 5 Comments

Continuing with Dave Pizarro on articles by Stanley Milgram, Philip Zimbardo, and John Doris about situationism, which entails that people’s level of morality will vary by situation, as opposed to virtue ethics, which posits that how people will act in a novel situation will be determined by the quality of their character.

Listen to part 1 first or get the ad-free Citizen Edition. Please support PEL!

Visit MUBI.com/PEL for 30 days of free curated movies, and check out Dan Cummins’s awesome podcast at timesuckpodcast.com.

Episode 176: Situationism in Psych: Milgram & Stanford Prison Experiments (Part One)

by 6 Comments

On Stanley Milgram’s “Behavioral Study of Obedience” (1963), Philip Zimbardo’s “Interpersonal Dynamics in a Simulated Prison” (1973), and John Doris’s “Persons, Situations, and Virtue Ethics” (1998).

Do difficult situations make good people act badly? Are there really “good” and “bad” people, or are we all about the same, but put in different situations? With guest Dave Pizarro from Very Bad Wizards.

Don’t wait for part 2! Get the ad-free Citizen Edition now.

Visit MUBI.com/PEL for 30 days of free curated movies, BarkBox.com/PEL for a free month with a plan, hellofresh.com promo code PEL30 for $30 off your first week, TheTrackR.com/PEL for 20% off, and Squarespace.com for a free trial and 10% off with offer code EXAMINED.

Episode 176: Situationism in Psych: Milgram & Stanford Prison Experiments (Citizen Edition)

by 5 Comments

On Stanley Milgram’s “Behavioral Study of Obedience” (1963), Philip Zimbardo’s “Interpersonal Dynamics in a Simulated Prison” (1973), and John Doris’s “Persons, Situations, and Virtue Ethics” (1998).

Do difficult situations make good people act badly? Are there really “good” and “bad” people, or are we all about the same, but put in different situations?

End song: “Doing the Wrong Thing – Live” by Kaki King; listen to her on Nakedly Examined Music #54.

Episode 159: Confucius on Virtuous Conduct (Part One)

by 7 Comments

On the Analects, compiled after 479 BCE.

How should we act? What’s the relation between ethics and politics? Can a bunch of aphorisms written in the distant past for an unapologetically hierarchical culture emphasizing traditional rituals actually give us relevant, welcome advice on these matters? Are we even in a position to determine the meaning of these sayings? With guest Tzuchien Tho.

Episode 159: Confucius on Virtuous Conduct (Citizen Edition)

by 2 Comments

On the Analects, compiled after 479 BCE.

How should we act? What’s the relation between ethics and politics? Can a bunch of aphorisms written in the distant past for an unapologetically hierarchical culture emphasizing traditional rituals actually give us relevant, welcome advice on these matters? Are we even in a position to determine the meaning of these sayings? With guest Tzuchien Tho.

End song: “Please Allow Me to Look at You Again,” from The Edge of Heaven (2013) by Gary Lucas, as interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music ep. 7.

Episode 158: Boethius: The Consolation of Philosophy (Part Two)

by 3 Comments

Continuing on the Consolation, chiefly books 3 and 4, on virtue ethics (we all naturally aim at the good but can be mistaken about it or too weak to follow it), theodicy (even the apparent bad is actually good from God’s perspective), and the weird way in which those interact (fame, pleasure, wealth are really all the same thing, i.e., happiness, i.e., God).

Episode 158: Boethius: The Consolation of Philosophy (Part One)

by 5 Comments

On the Consolation, written as he awaited execution in 524 CE.

Do bad things really happen to good people? Boethius, surprisingly, says no, for Stoic (anything that can be taken away can’t be of central importance; you can’t lose your virtue in this way), Aristotelian (all things tend toward the good, and the best thing for a person is achieving his or her innate potential, which is to be virtuous), and Christian (God’s unknowable plan means that even the stuff that seems bad really isn’t) reasons.

Episode 158: Boethius: The Consolation of Philosophy (Citizen Edition)

by 4 Comments

On the Consolation, written as Boethius awaited execution in 524 CE.

Do bad things really happen to good people? Boethius, surprisingly, says no, for Stoic (anything that can be taken away can’t be of central importance; you can’t lose your virtue in this way), Aristotelian (all things tend toward the good, and the best thing for a person is achieving his or her innate potential, which is to be virtuous), and Christian (God’s unknowable plan means that even the stuff that seems bad really isn’t) reasons.

End song: “Last the Evening” by Carrie Akre, as interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music Ep. 17.

What Epictetus Really Thinks Is in Our Power

by 11 Comments

Stoicism proposes an ongoing discipline of deliberately withdrawing one’s desires and aversions from external matters and applying them to what lies within one’s own person. Getting this distinction right—what is in our power and what is not—turns out to be integral to understanding and practicing Stoic philosophy as a way of life.

Episode 132: Living Stoically with Seneca and Massimo

by 8 Comments

On selected “moral epistles” (from around 65 CE) by Lucius Annaeus Seneca: 4. On the Terrors of Death, 12. On Old Age, 49. On the Shortness of Life, 59. On Pleasure and Joy, 62. On Good Company, 92. On the Happy Life, 96. On Facing Hardship, and 116. On Self Control. We’re joined by Massimo Pigliucci of the How to Be a Stoic blog. How can one most profitably interpret weird-sounding Stoic recommendations about the emotions and about following nature?

End song: “I Lose Control” by The MayTricks from So Chewy! (1993).

Episode 132: Living Stoically with Seneca and Massimo (Citizen Edition)

by 3 Comments

On selected “moral epistles” (from around 65 CE) by Lucius Annaeus Seneca: 4. On the Terrors of Death, 12. On Old Age, 49. On the Shortness of Life, 59. On Pleasure and Joy, 62. On Good Company, 92. On the Happy Life, 96. On Facing Hardship, and 116. On Self Control. We’re joined by Massimo Pigliucci of the How to Be a Stoic blog, who for a long time was on the Rationally Speaking podcast. How can one most profitably interpret weird-sounding Stoic recommendations about the emotions and about following nature?

End song: “I Lose Control” by The MayTricks from So Chewy! (1993).

Episode 124: The Stoic Life with Epictetus

by 19 Comments

On the Manual of Epictetus, aka The Enchiridion (135 CE). What’s a wise strategy for life? Stoicism says that the secret is mastering yourself. Nothing external can break your spirit unless you let it. So, how weird and misguided is that advice? With guest Alex Fossella.

End song: “But I Won’t” by Mark Lint from Spanish Armada: Songs of Love and Related Neuroses (1993).

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

Follow:

Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | Apple Podcasts