Podcasts · Society & Culture · Education

Philosophize This!

Stephen West

253 episodes

Beginner friendly if listened to in order! For anyone interested in an educational podcast about philosophy where you don't need to be a graduate-level philosopher to understand it. In chronological order, the thinkers and ideas that forged the world we live in are broken down and explained.

Episodes page 1 of 6

  1. Episode #253 ... The Philosophy of Alan Watts - What Am I?

    · 35 min

    Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philosophizethis Social: Instagram:…

  2. Episode #252 ... Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut

    · 35 min

    Today we talk about Kurt Vonnegut’s book Slaughterhouse-Five. How war stories can distort the reality of war, how trauma can fracture our experience of time and identity, and why Billy Pilgrim becomes attracted to the…

  3. Episode #251 ... You Must Change Your Life, Pt. 2 - The Worlds That Make Us

    · 35 min

    Today we talk more about Peter Sloterdijk’s book You Must Change Your Life. We talk about Heidegger, the subject-object view of the world, how environments form us, symbolic immunity, modern cynicism, vertical tension,…

  4. Episode #250 ... You Must Change Your Life. - Peter Sloterdijk

    · 36 min

    Today we talk about half of the book You Must Change Your Life by Peter Sloterdijk. From criticism towards views of change that he thinks are far too centered on belief and moral strength, to a reworking of how to view…

  5. Episode #249 ... The Trap of Modern Cynicism - Peter Sloterdijk

    · 34 min

    Today we talk about the book Critique of Cynical Reason by Peter Sloterdijk. Cynicism as a defense mechanism. Why the cynic isn't crazy. The way it ladders up into institutions and infects things like our language.…

  6. Episode #248 ... What philosophers say about lying.

    · 37 min

    Today we talk about some of the best arguments for and against lying in the history of philosophy. Hope you love it. :) Sponsor: Nord VPN: https://nordvpn.com/philothis Thank you so much for listening! Could never…

  7. Episode #247 ... The Failure of the Modern University - Alasdair MacIntyre

    · 29 min

    Today we talk about some of Macintyre's later work. How he thinks philosophy isn’t optional. It’s already hiding inside everything we do. How he thinks modern universities create experts who know their field but not…

  8. Episode #246 ... The Myth of the Self-Made Person - Alasdair Macintyre

    · 33 min

    Today we talk about Macintyre's book Dependent Rational Animals. Hope you love it. :) Sponsors: Nord VPN: https://nordvpn.com/philothis Saily: https://www.saily.com/philothis Thank you so much for listening! Could…

  9. Episode #245 ... The Rival Moral Approaches of the Modern World - Alasdair Macintyre

    · 33 min

    Today we talk about the book Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry by Alasdair Macintyre. We talk about each of the different sets of assumptions people bring to moral debates that often contain the true location of…

  10. Episode #244 ... After Virtue - Alasdair MacIntyre (why moral conversations feel unsatisfying)

    · 37 min

    Today we talk about the book After Virtue by Alasdair MacIntyre. We talk about his genealogy of moral discourse. The teleologies of Aristotle. The failure of the Enlightenment moral project. Our modern culture of…

  11. Episode #243 ... Hamlet - William Shakespeare

    · 31 min

    Today we talk about the play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare. We compare more traditional takes on the themes of the play to a more modern, philosophical analysis of the play done by Simon Critchley and Jamieson…

  12. Episode #242 ... Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare

    · 31 min

    Today we talk about the philosophy behind the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. We talk about how ineffective violence and honor codes are as ways of maintaining the stability of a society. How catastrophe…

  13. Episode #241 ... The Tragedy of Julius Caesar - William Shakespeare

    · 30 min

    Today we talk about the philosophical themes of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. We talk about the hypocrisy and false nostalgia of political violence. The ironies of living by a moral ideal like…

  14. Episode #240 ... Varieties of Religion Today (Charles Taylor)

    · 29 min

    Today we talk more about the work of Charles Taylor and his book The Varieties of Religion Today. We look at different answers to a classic question around religious belief. The sociological and structural role that…

  15. Episode #239 ... Authenticity and the history of the self. (Charles Taylor)

    · 35 min

    Today we talk about the work of the philosopher Charles Taylor. First, we trace the historical origins of how he views the modern self. From the Greeks to the Reformation. From Descartes to Rousseau. The modern self to…

  16. Episode #238 ... Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

    · 29 min

    Today we talk about the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. We talk about the mix of Romantic and Enlightenment attitudes and how it leads to problems without the proper oversight. We talk about technology and the…

  17. Episode #237 ... The Stoics Are Wrong - Nietzsche, Schopenhauer

    · 29 min

    Today we talk about two famous critiques of Stoicism. One by Friedrich Nietzsche who thought the Stoics weren’t life affirming enough and so rob themselves of some of the best parts of life. The other by Arthur…

  18. Episode #236 ... Meditations - Marcus Aurelius

    · 35 min

    Today we talk about the collection of journals known as Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. We mark the differences between Stoicism, modern Stoic ethics, and the journals of Marcus Aurelius. We talk about the divine…

  19. Episode #235 ... The Philosophy of Zen Buddhism - Byung Chul Han

    · 37 min

    Today we talk about one of Han's earlier books where he offers an alternative to classic western ideas about subjectivity. We talk about Zen as a religion without God. Substance and emptiness. Alternatives to the…

  20. Episode #234 ... The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera

    · 33 min

    Today we try to produce a philosophical guide for the book The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. We talk about Parmenides, Nietzsche's eternal recurrence, kitsch as something more than just an aesthetic…

  21. Episode #233 ... A philosophy of self-destruction. (Dostoevsky, Bataille)

    · 31 min

    Today we talk about two different theories for why we ritualize self-destructive behavior. We check out a lesser-known work from Dostoevsky called The Gambler. We consider how much we can hold people morally…

  22. Episode #232 ... Byung Chul Han - The Crisis of Narration

    · 30 min

    Today we talk about the book The Crisis of Narration by the philosopher Byung Chul Han. We talk about the history of storytelling. Walter Benjamins distinction between a Paris fire and a revolution in Madrid. The…

  23. Episode #231 ... The Late Work of Wittgenstein - Language Games

    · 26 min

    Today we talk about the late work of Wittgenstein in Philosophical Investigations. We talk about the meaning of words. Augustine's theory. Forms of life. Rules and practices. Grammar. Geometry. Family resemblance. And…

  24. Episode #230 ... Hope as an Existentialism (Ernst Bloch)

    · 29 min

    Today we talk about the early work of Ernst Bloch. Hope as anticipatory consciousness. The darkness of the lived moment. Educated hope vs false hope. Music as an experiential metaphysics and gateway to the Not-Yet.…

  25. Episode #229 - Kafka and Totalitarianism (Arendt, Adorno)

    · 29 min

    Today we talk about Kafka's book The Castle and how the symbolism is interpreted by two powerhouse philosophers: Theodore Adorno and Hannah Arendt. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: Incogni:…

  26. Episode #228 ... Albert Camus - Kafka and The Fall

    · 31 min

    Today we talk about Camus' book The Fall and what the main character represents in his larger project. We also talk about someone Camus deeply admired, Franz Kafka, and how to think of the images he created in his…

  27. Episode #227 ... Albert Camus - On Exile

    · 34 min

    Today we talk about the concept of exile from the work of Camus. We focus on a couple stories from his book Exile and The Kingdom. We talk about why Camus insists that true lucidity can only arise from the jarring…

  28. Episode #226 - Albert Camus - The Rebel

    · 32 min

    Today we talk about Camus’ concept of rebellion and how it offers a powerful alternative to abstract ideologies. We talk about solidarity as the foundation for justice without systems. We talk about the death penalty…

  29. Episode #225 ... Albert Camus - The Plague

    · 30 min

    We look at Albert Camus' The Plague. We talk about a common misreading from the Myth of Sisyphus. We talk about different cycles of his work from his earlier individual confrontation with the absurd to a more community…

  30. Episode #224 ... Albert Camus - The Stranger

    · 29 min

    Today we talk about the book The Stranger by Albert Camus. We talk about why Camus saw himself as an artist and not a philosopher. We talk about happiness. The absurd and it's full implications. The Mediterranean…

  31. Episode #223 ... Religion and the duck-rabbit - Kyoto School pt. 3

    · 34 min

    Today we talk about the relationship between philosophy and religion. We talk about the duck-rabbit as a metaphor that may have something useful to teach us about the way we experience reality. We talk about the…

  32. Episode #222 ... Dostoevsky - Love in The Brothers Karamazov

    · 39 min

    Today we talk about the philosophical themes around love in The Brothers Karamazov. We talk about Dostoevsky's existential, tragic form of Christianity. Family as a microcosm of society. Active love as an experiential…

  33. Episode #221 ... Dostoevsky - The Idiot

    · 36 min

    Today we talk about the book The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky. We talk about the curse of sainthood. The connection between beauty and morality via his moral-aesthetic spectrum. Realism vs. Idealism. And how beauty can…

  34. Episode #220 ... Dostoevsky - Demons

    · 38 min

    Today we discuss the philosophical themes of the book Demons by Fyodor Dostoevsky. We talk about western liberalism, the lack of moral leadership, the promises of Nihilism, the Madman and the Saint, and Dostoevsky's…

  35. Episode #219 ... Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment

    · 32 min

    Today we talk about the philosophical themes that Dostoevsky had in mind when writing Crime and Punishment. We talk about Russian Nihilism and its consequences. Rational Utilitarianism and Egoism. A common…

  36. Episode #218 ... Dostoevsky - Notes From Underground

    · 34 min

    Today we talk about the philosophical themes of one of Dostoevsky's most famous books: Notes From Underground. We talk about contemplative inertia, the "stone wall" of rationality, utopian socialism, the tension…

  37. Episode #217 ... Religion and Nothingness - Kyoto School pt. 2 - Nishitani

    · 45 min

    Today we talk about expanding our view of what a religious quest includes. The limits of dualistic thinking. Technological enframing and obsession with utility. Self-emptying. Consciousness, Nihility and Sunyata.…

  38. Episode #216 ... The Self-Overcoming of Nihilism - Kyoto School pt. 1 - Nishitani

    · 34 min

    Today we look at the work of Keiji Nishitani. We examine Nihilism in a deeper way than we've ever covered on the podcast before. We talk about The Great Doubt. Zen Buddhism. Sunyata. The self as similar to structural…

  39. Episode #215 ... How Mysticism is missing in our modern lives. (Critchley, Heidegger)

    · 31 min

    Today we talk about whether it's possible to achieve not just freedom of the will, but freedom from the will. The technological enframing of reality from the perspective of Heidegger. Misconceptions about Mysticism.…

  40. Episode #214 ... Framing our Being in a completely different way. (Heidegger)

    · 38 min

    Today we look at Heidegger's critique of metaphysics and the traditional subject-object framing in philosophy. How multiple framings are necessary for a fuller picture of our being. His challenge to thinkers like…

  41. Episode #213 ... Deleuze Interprets Nietzsche (Difference, Joy, Affirmation)

    · 37 min

    Today we talk about Deleuze's interpretation of Nietzsche's work. We talk about difference taken to radical new levels. The image of thought from the history of philosophy. Nietzsche framed as the enemy to the…

  42. Episode #212 ... Nietzsche and Critchley on the tragic perspective. (Amor Fati pt. 2)

    · 38 min

    Today we begin by talking about Nietzsche's concept of life-affirmation. Contrasting it with the renunciative, rational traditions of Western thought. The episode then delves into Greek tragedy through the lens of…

  43. Episode #211 ... Nietzsche returns with a hammer!

    · 41 min

    Today we talk about Nietzsche's views on the decay of western society. We talk about his problems with Socrates. The genealogy of Egalitarianism that has led to our modern societies, and how to contextualize his…

  44. Episode #210 ... The Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Paulo Freire, Education)

    · 39 min

    We talk about Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. His critique of the banking model of education. The importance of critical consciousness. His Existentialist influence. The dialectic between oppression and…

  45. Episode #209 ... Improving our world through applied ethics. (Peter Singer, Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek)

    · 36 min

    Today we talk about Peter Singer's response to an anticapitalist critique of his work. Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek's thoughts on the wrong ways to be thinking about ethical terminology. Philosophy in schools. Creative…

  46. Episode #208 ... The moral evolution of a philosopher. (Peter Singer)

    · 44 min

    On this episode, we track the changes in Peter Singer's ethical views throughout his career. We talk about Emotivism. R.M. Hare's Prescriptivism. Nozick's Experience Machine. Some thought experiments from Derek Parfit.…

  47. Episode #207 ... Fear is toxic to a democracy. (Martha Nussbaum)

    · 36 min

    Today we talk more about the work of Martha Nussbaum and her book The Monarchy of Fear. We discuss emotions as important appraisals of reality. The comparison of shame and guilt and their social implications. The…

  48. Episode #206 ... Capitalism is dead. This is Technofeudalism. (Yanis Varoufakis)

    · 37 min

    Today we talk about the concept of Technofeudalism as described by Yanis Varoufakis. We talk about the comparisons of our world to the feudal system, the origins in the economic policy of 2008, and a few potential…

  49. Episode #205 ... Why a meritocracy is corrosive to society. (Michael Sandel)

    · 32 min

    Today we talk about the dark side of meritocracy, the effects it has on the way people see each other, the dialectic of pride and humility, education reform, and a rethinking of the way we see government officials.…

  50. Episode #204 ... The importance of philosophy, justice and the common good. (Michael Sandel)

    · 38 min

    Today we talk about some of the benefits of being a practitioner of philosophy. Michael Sandel's view of the three main approaches to justice throughout the history of philosophy. The strengths and weaknesses of all…

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