Subscribe to get Parts 1 and 2 ad-free, plus a supporter exclusive Part 3, which you can preview. Continuing from part one on The Praise of Folly (1509) with guest Nathan Gilmour. Can foolishness actually make us more prudent, which sounds like its opposite? Well, having the wisdom to avoid all trouble keeps us from getting experience that would be helpful in acting Continue Reading …
Ep. 302: Erasmus Praises Foolishness (Part One)
Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free. On Desiderius Erasmus' The Praise of Folly (1509), featuring Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Nathan Gilmour from the Christian Humanist podcast. Does foolishness enhance life? The Dutch Renaissance Catholic theologian known for his disputes with Martin Luther criticized the church from the inside, using gentle satire that Continue Reading …
Ep. 302: Erasmus Praises Foolishness (Part Two for Supporters)
Continuing from part one on The Praise of Folly (1509) with guest Nathan Gilmour. Can foolishness actually make us more prudent, which sounds like its opposite? Well, having the wisdom to avoid all trouble keeps us from getting experience that would be helpful in acting more wisely in the long run. Erasmus (speaking with the voice of Folly) claims that foolishness in some Continue Reading …
Ep. 302: Erasmus Praises Foolishness (Part One for Supporters)
On Desiderius Erasmus' The Praise of Folly (1509), featuring Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Nathan Gilmour from the Christian Humanist podcast. Does foolishness enhance life? The Dutch Renaissance Catholic theologian known for his disputes with Martin Luther criticized the church from the inside, using gentle satire that targeted everyone, including intellectuals like himself. The Continue Reading …
Ep. 214: More Nietzsche’s Zarathustra (Part Two)
Concluding Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1885). What's the wise way to live? We start in earnest into part three, treating the "spirit of gravity," where socially imposed values cover over your uniqueness; omni-satisfaction vs. being choosy; "Old and New Tablets," where Nietzsche explores various ethical and meta-ethical issues (e.g., is self-overcoming a Continue Reading …
Ep. 214: More Nietzsche’s Zarathustra (Part One)
On the remainder of Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1885). How can we keep our spirits up and avoid nihilism? After all (says Nietzsche), there's no God or other transcendent purpose-giving entity to guarantee that life is worth living. There's just our complex animality, with its cycles of desire, satiation, and more desire, with our in-built character and Continue Reading …
Ep. 214: More Nietzsche’s Zarathustra (Citizen Edition)
On the remainder of Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1885). How can we keep our spirits up and avoid nihilism? After all (says Nietzsche), there's no God or other transcendent purpose-giving entity to guarantee that life is worth living. There's just our complex animality, with its cycles of desire, satiation, and more desire, with our in-built character and Continue Reading …
Episode 213: Nietzsche’s Zarathustra (Part One)
On Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, books 1 and 2 (1883). What is wisdom? In Nietzsche's most famous book, he gives us his own Socrates, his own avatar to engage the foolish populace, though instead of asking them questions, Zarathustra tends to preach, and the whole book has a very Biblical tone, except more cagey. You see, this is a book "for all and none," Continue Reading …
Ep. 213: Nietzsche’s Zarathustra (Citizen Edition)
On Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, books 1 and 2 (1883). What is wisdom? In Nietzsche's most famous book, he gives us his own Socrates, his own avatar to engage the foolish populace, though instead of asking them questions, Zarathustra tends to preach, and the whole book has a very Biblical tone, except more cagey. You see, this is a book "for all and none," Continue Reading …
Books of Wisdom
What good are philosophy books? Can they make us any the wiser? There’s a funny story about reading philosophy books by the Irish writer Robert Wilson Lynd, an essay titled “On Not Being a Philosopher: Epictetus and the Average Man” (1930). Lynd wonders whether you can get wisdom from kicking back with a philosophy book. He gives it a try. He recounts his efforts in a Continue Reading …
Topics for #103 & #104: Thoreau and Nozick
Wisdom Studies
It is oft said (at least when exercising etymology muscles) that philosophy is "love of wisdom." Just like other mind-related topics such as emotion and creativity, wisdom is getting the scientific treatment. One of our listeners pointed us to a book by Stephen S. Hall titled Wisdom: From Philosophy to Neuroscience which surveys a variety of answers to the question of what Continue Reading …