Episode #012 - The Hellenistic Age Pt. 3 - Hallmarks of Stoic Ethics
The Hellenistic Age Pt. 3 - Hallmarks of Stoic Ethics
On this episode of the podcast, we continue our discussion of Stoicism, this time focusing on ethics. We learn about the three most noteworthy contributors to Stoic ethics--a crippled slave, a statesman, and the emperor of Rome--and find out how much they actually had in common. We discuss what angry sports fans and Stephen's English bulldog could learn from Stoic ethics, as well as why you should start each day expecting the worst. All this and more on the latest episode of Philosophize This!
See the full transcript here.
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Episode #011 - The Hellenistic Age Pt. 2 - The Early Stoa and the Cynics
The Hellenistic Age Pt. 2 - The Early Stoa and the Cynics
This is the first of two episodes on Stoicism; in this episode, we learn about stoic physics and logic. We learn how the Stoics would likely react if faced with a zombie apocalypse and how a shipwreck caused a guy named Zeno to start dabbling in philosophy. We also learn about Diogenes, a man who lived in a tub, urinated in public, barked at passersby, and somehow managed to be envied by Alexander the Great. Finally, we find out what John Locke, Charlie Pace and a wild boar from LOST have to do with Stoic philosophy. All this and more on the latest episode of Philosophize This!
See the full transcript here.
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Episode #010 - The Hellenistic Age Pt. 1 - Epicurus
The Hellenistic Age Pt. 1 - Epicurus
This week on the podcast, we shift our focus back to Western philosophy. On this episode, we learn about Epicureanism—one of four schools of thought that were prevalent during the Hellenistic Age, which will be our focus for the next few episodes. We find out why Diogenes liked Epicurus’ ideas so much that he permanently graffitied them onto the walls of an ancient greek community center. We also learn why Epicurus thought that the most satisfying part of eating a half gallon of ice cream was the moment after the last spoonful, and why a jacket from Nordstrom really isn’t that much better than a jacket from Target. All this and more on the latest episode of Philosophize This!
See the full transcript here.
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I could never do this without your support! :)
Episode #009 - The Buddha
The Buddha
On this episode of the podcast, we learn about the life of Siddhartha Gautama and his Heisenberg-esque transformation into Buddha. We learn how Buddha left a lifestyle of being fed grapes and being fanned with palm leaves to pursue a life of celibacy, starvation, and sleep deprivation. We also learn about how Buddha reached enlightenment while sitting beneath a fruit tree à la Isaac Newton, and about the four noble truths which he believed were the key to ending human suffering once and for all. All this and more on the latest episode of Philosophize This!
See the full transcript here.
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I could never do this without your support! :)
Episode #008 - Confucianism
Confucianism
On this episode of the podcast, we learn about Confucius, a man whose ideas impacted China and eastern philosophy for thousands of years after his death. We find out how Confucius went from being the poor, friendless son of an ancient Chinese 'Teen Mom' to becoming one of the most quoted people in history, as well as how he was reduced to selling his philosophy door-to-door after a brief career as a politician which ended in conspiracy and bribery. All this and more on the latest episode of Philosophize This!
See the full transcript here.
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I could never do this without your support! :)
Episode #007 - Daoism
Daoism
On this episode of the podcast, we learn about Daoism, the first of several Eastern philosophies we’ll be studying.
See the full transcript here.
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Episode #006 - Aristotle Part 2
Aristotle Part 2
On this episode of the podcast, we continue learning about Aristotle, a man who created the first system of biological classification, the first system of logic, and the first formal scientific method. We find out why Aristotle was anti-women and pro-slavery, and learn how Plato and Aristotle differed when it came to their definitions of "tree-e-ness." We also learn why Aristotle would have been the world champion of Guess Who? and how to determine whether or not a carnivorous reptile with legs could possibly be a snake.
See the full transcript here.
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I could never do this without your support! :)
Episode #005 - Aristotle Part 1
Aristotle Part 1
This week we talk about various different applications of Aristotle's ethics in modern life. We discuss making a "plan" for your life, the underlying similarities between all human desires and the best way to live life.
See the full transcript here.
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I could never do this without your support! :)
Episode #004 - Plato
Plato
In this week's episode, we learn about Plato's "Symposium", which you might think of as philosophy's version of fan fiction. We also learn about Plato's "Theory of Forms" and ask ourselves what makes a tree, well, a tree. This leads to discussion of Plato's famous "Allegory of the Cave" and calls into question whether or not everything we see is merely a shadow of its true self. Finally, we learn about Plato's views on society and government and why he thought democracy was one of the worst forms of government, second only to tyranny.
See the full transcript here.
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I could never do this without your support! :)
Episode #003 - Socrates and the Sophists
Socrates and the Sophists
This week we talk about the prosperity of athens and how it led to the rise and ideas of a group of philosopher teachers called the Sophists, we tied up some loose ends and helped put all that we've learned in the last two episodes into context with a graph of the presocratics, and we ended by talking about a man named Socrates.
See the full transcript here.
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Episode #002 - Italian Pre-Socratic Philosophy
Italian Pre-Socratic Philosophy
Today we talk about why philosophy is taken for granted, the crazed cult leader of ancient Greek philosophy, Pythagoras, the annoying dark cloud of deductive reasoning, Parmenides and the super hero Empedocles.
See the full transcript here.
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Episode #001 - Ionian Pre-Socratic Philosophy
Ionian Pre-Socratic Philosophy
Today we discussed the "Out of Africa" theory, the adversity of early humans, the term "Pre-Socratic", the first philosopher Thales, the meanest philosopher Heraclitus and Democritus, the godfather of the theory of atomism.
See the full transcript here.
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I could never do this without your support! :)