The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast
von Mark Linsenmayer, Wes Alwan, Seth Paskin, Dylan Casey
- mehrmals pro WocheErscheinungsrhythmus
- 55 mintypische Länge
- vor 3 Tagenletzte Folge
The Partially Examined Life is a 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 short 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. For links to the texts we discuss and other info, check out www.partiallyexaminedlife.com.
We also feature episodes from other podcasts by our hosts to round out your partially examined life, including Pretty Much Pop (prettymuchpop.com, covering all media), Nakedly Examined Music (nakedlyexaminedmusic.com, deconstructing songs), Philosophy vs. Improv (philosophyimprov.com, fun with performance skills and philosophical ideas), and (sub)Text (subtextpodcast.com, looking deeply at lit and film). Learn about more network podcasts at partiallyexaminedlife.com.
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Ep. 403: Are LLMs Actually Intelligent? (Part Two)
Continuing on Raphaël Millière and Cameron Buckner's "A Philosophical Introduction to Language Models, Part I: Continuity With Classic Debates." We go through the various arguably important features for intelligence, including particular wa
PEL Presents Closereads: David Lewis on Mind-Brain Identity (Part One)
On "An Argument for the Identity Theory" (1966), which unlike U.T. Place who merely argued that minds could be brains, argues that minds must be brains, in all possible worlds. The argument appears functionalist: mental states are defined b
PEL Presents NEM#263: Dan Cuddy (Hypnolovewheel, The Special Pillow)
Dan played bass for and co-fronted NYC band Hypnolovewheel, with six releases 1987-1993. Since 1994, he has fronted Hoboken's The Special Pillow, with nine releases to date. We discuss "Fond and Foggy" from The Special Pillow Meets the Spac
Ep. 403: Are LLMs Actually Intelligent? (Part One)
On Raphaël Millière and Cameron Buckner's "A Philosophical Introduction to Language Models, Part I: Continuity With Classic Debates" (2023). Is the Large Language Model type of architecture currently in use by AIs a legitimate basis for int
PEL Presents PMP#233: Not-Scary Carrie
We discuss the new Mike Flanagan series adaptation of Stephen King's 1974 novel in comparison to the 1976 Brian De Palma film and the other adaptations (the 2013 film, the 2002 TV movie, and 1998's The Rage: Carrie 2). Featuring Mark, Lawre
PEL Presents PvI#126: Waiting for Cluckman w/ Anthony LeBlanc
Mark, Mary, and Jenny are joined by improviser Anthony to restore us to a 2 X 2 Team Play balance, again reading part of Martha Nussbaum's The Therapy of Desire as a way of exploring ancient traditions by which one might use philosophy for
Ep. 402: Plato Talks Homer: Hippias Minor and Ion (Part Two)
Finishing up on Hippias Minor and moving on to the Ion, where Socrates convinces a rhapsode (someone who does public, dramatic readings of Homer and is a Homer scholar) that his talent is a matter of inspiration and not knowledge. So how do
PEL Presents NEM#262: Bruce Cockburn Expands Political/Spiritual Folk
Bruce has released 34 solo albums between 1970 and the present. He's a very accomplished finger-picker and often plays entirely solo but has also written rock, jazz, Christian, and 80s syntho songs. We discuss "Louis Collins" from The Blood
PEL Presents PMP#232: Obsession (for Men?)
On the 2024 low-budget horror blockbuster film by Curry Barker. Mark, Lawrence, and Sarahlyn are joined by feminist philosopher Jenny Hansen to talk about this peculiar film. Is it a feminist tract exposing "nice guys" for their underlying
Ep. 402: Plato Talks Homer: Hippias Minor and Ion (Part One)
On two short Platonic dialogues, written perhaps around a decade after Socrates' death in 399 BCE. Hippias Minor, where Hippias is (like many of Socrates' interlocutors) a Sophist. In this case, this means that Hippias presents himself as a
PEL Presents Closereads: Gilbert Ryle on Self-Knowledge (Part One)
On The Concept of Mind (1949), Ch. 6, "Self-Knowledge." Ryle is arguing against a Cartesian take on mind that he sees as over-intellectualizing. In this case, it is not the case that every conscious act is itself an object of an act of cons
PEL Presents PvI#125: Mrs. Nussbaum's Credit Card
The new official crew of Mark Linsenmayer, Mary Hynes, and "Jus' Jenny" Hansen kicks off our new endeavor to explore ancient self-help/psychologically therapeutic philosophical traditions via Martha Nussbaum's book "The Therapy of Desire,"
Ep. 401: Mind/Brain Identity Theory (U.T. Place, J.J.C. Smart) (Part Two)
Finishing up U.T. Place's "Is Consciousness a Brain Process?" (1956) and starting on J.J.C. Smart's "Sensations and Brain Processes" (1959). Place argues against the "phenomenological fallacy," i.e. the reality of the contents of one's inne
PEL Presents NEM#261: Joan as Policewoman's Living Growth
Joan Wasser started as violinist/support member in the 90s for The Dambuilders and then for Mind Science of the Mind and Antony and the Johnsons. In the mid-90s, she co-led a band called Black Beetle that released nothing, but taught her so
PEL Presents PMP#231: Euphoric Teens
We discuss high school drama TV shows and films in light of the genre-breaking, star-birthing teen drama Euphoria. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al touch on Riverdale, Skins, Degrassi, John Hughes films, Buffy, Saved By the Bell, 90210, and
Ep. 401: Mind/Brain Identity Theory (U.T. Place, J.J.C. Smart) (Part One)
On U.T. Place's "Is Consciousness a Brain Process?" (1956) and J.J.C. Smart's "Sensations and Brain Processes" (1959), w/ guest Chris Heath. Is there some a priori reason for denying that the mind can actually be the brain? Obviously those
PREMIUM-Ep. 400: Dennett Rejects Qualia (Part Three)
Mark and Seth rejoin to complete our treatment of Consciousness Explained, focusing on Dennett's responses to Frank Jackson's Mary the Color Scientist thought experiment, Searle's Chinese Room, inverted qualia, and more. If you're not heari
PEL Presents Philosophy vs. Theater w/ David Epstein
As an interlude between our Philosophy vs. Improv seasons, here's an interview left over from July with Mark's former classmate, actor/director/writer David, who runs Actor Class on Times Square. We talk about his career and his insights ab
Ep. 400: Dennett Rejects Qualia (Part Two)
Continuing on Consciousness Explained, ch. 12-14, especially responding to Dennett's discussion of Nagel's "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?" which which gets us in a whole conversation about animal consciousness. What is it like to be any lang
PEL Presents Closereads: Late Dennett on Consciousness (Part One)
On "Are We Explaining Consciousness Yet" (2001), an article published with and commenting on papers by psychologists, neurologists, etc. on the state of consciousness studies at the time, featuring his newer metaphor for consciousness, "fam
PEL Presents PMP#230: Gettin' Furious
To begin our new season, we're up to the moment covering the first season of Elizabeth Meriwether's Hulu crime drama Furious, about an abused detective pursuing, and ultimately relating to, an abused revenge killer. The first half is spoile
Ep. 400: Dennett Rejects Qualia (Part One)
We focus on the final chapters of Dan Dennett's Consciousness Explained, where he confronts various views, figures, and thought experiments that contend that he's failed to explain the essence of consciousness: the "what it's like" element
PEL Presents NEM#260: Jacqui Hunt (Single Gun Theory) Now Master of Her Synth Domain
Jacqui rose to fame with the Australian electronic dance band Single Gun Theory (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Gun_Theory) (three albums '87-'94), did some one-off collaborations, and released her first solo album in 2008. After an a
PEL Presents PvI#124: Navel Evaluation (Our Season 5 Finale)
We wrap up Mary's first year with the podcast, and changes are afoot for our upcoming season, but why? Let's explore to the point of physical discomfort! We act out an odd annual employee review, a dramatic pitch for a new play, and the nav
Ep. 399: Dan Dennett's Model of Mind (Part Two)
Continuing on Consciousness Explained (Ch. 5, 12). We talk about appearance vs. judgment and whether Dennett's denial of this distinction makes sense or just holds for very short time-scales, as in the phi-phenomenon experiment. Does the re
PEL Presents Closereads: Donald Davidson on Self-Knowledge (Part One)
On "First Person Authority" (1984). What warrants our superior knowledge of our own mental states, as oppose to those of others? Why is this not obvious? Read along with us. You can choose to watch this on video. Subscribe to Closereads at
Ep. 399: Dan Dennett's Model of Mind (Part One)
On Daniel C. Dennett's Consciousness Explained (Ch. 1, 5), featuring guest Mark, Seth, Dylan, and guest Chris Heath. What is the mind? Dennett puts forth his "multiple drafts" model against the centralization that he characterizes as the "C
PREMIUM-PEL Sunami Nightcap August 2026
Chris Sunami, the editor of the PEL book, joins Mark, Wes and Seth as part of the launch of his new book, Free Your Mind (https://kitoba.com/), which is a series of PEL-like conversations all coming out of Chris' brain, using the model of P
Ep. 398: Donald Davidson on Mind vs. Body (Part Two)
Continuing on Consciousness Explained (Ch. 5, 12). We talk about appearance vs. judgment and whether Dennett's denial of this distinction makes sense or just holds for very short time-scales, as in the phi-phenomenon experiment. Does the re
PEL Presents Closereads: Peirce's New Categories (Part One)
How shall we break down the universe into basic types of things? Peirce has an idiosyncratic way of thinking about this problem and coming up with his division, revolving around the steps and presuppositions involved in predicating somethin
