Untitled Playlist

Primarily discussing “Reasoning: The Sixty Stanzas” and “Emptiness: The Seventy Stanzas,” by the 2nd century Indian Buddhist Nagarjuna.

Is the world of our experience ultimately real? If not, does it have something metaphysically basic underlying it? For Nagarjuna, the answers are “no” and “no… well… not that we can talk about.”

This is a 32-minute preview of our vintage 1 hr, 44-minute episode which you can buy at partiallyexaminedlife.com/store or get for free with PEL Citizenship (see partiallyexaminedlife.com/membership). You can also purchase the full episode in the iTunes Store: Search for “Partially Nagarjuna” and look under “Albums.”

Mark and Seth (Wes was sick) are joined by guest Erik Douglas to discuss metaphysics, causality, the possibility of remaking your perceptual habits, why someone who believes that all is empty might still want to act ethically, and how to deny a claim without affirming its equally dubious opposite.

Buy the full episode

PREVIEW Nagarjuna on Buddhist Emptiness - Partially Examined Life

Daily Life in Medieval Japan written by Mark Cartwright and narrated by Jennifer Sabir: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1424/daily-life-in-medieval-japan/

Daily life in medieval Japan (1185-1606 CE) was, for most people, the age-old struggle to put food on the table, build a family, stay healthy, and try to enjoy the finer things in life whenever possible. The upper classes had better and more colourful clothes, used expensive foreign porcelain, were entertained by Noh theatre and could afford to travel to other parts of Japan while the lower classes had to make do with plain cotton, ate rice and fish, and were mostly preoccupied with surviving the occasional famine, outbreaks of disease, and the civil wars that blighted the country. 

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Music used: 
Oriental Evening, World Music Melting Pot, Audio Hero
Filename: 71-Oriental-Evening-FULL-SM415

Daily Life in Medieval Japan

Ancient Greek Theatre written by Mark Cartwright and narrated by Kelly Macquire: https://www.worldhistory.org/Greek_Theatre/

Greek theatre began in the 6th century BCE in Athens with the performance of tragedy plays at religious festivals. These, in turn, inspired the genre of Greek comedy plays. The two types of Greek drama would be hugely popular and performances spread around the Mediterranean and influenced Hellenistic and Roman theatre. Thus the works of such great playwrights as Sophocles and Aristophanes formed the foundation upon which all modern theatre is based.
 
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The music used in this recording is the intellectual copyright of Michael Levy, a prolific composer for the recreated lyres of antiquity, and used with the creator's permission. Michael Levy's music is available to stream at all the major digital music platforms. Find out more on:

www.ancientlyre.com
open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8…IH9CRieFNGXRUyJ9
www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ1X6F7lGMEadnNETSzTv8A

Ancient Greek Theatre

On Bruce Fink’s The Lacanian Subject (1996) and Lacan’s “The Mirror Stage as Formative of the Function of the I as Revealed in Psychoanalytic Experience” (1949).

What is the self? Is that the same as the experiencing subject? Lacan says no: while the self (the ego) is an imaginative creation, cemented by language, the subject is something else, something split (at least initially) between consciousness and the unconscious. Lacan mixes this Freudian picture with semiotics–an emphasis on systems of linguistic symbols–using this to both create his picture of the psyche and explain how psychological disorders arise.

The regular PEL foursome (with Wes acting much like a guest due to his formal study of psychoanalysis) try to make sense of this complex picture as presented by American psychoanalyst Fink and complain about Lacan’s language as they wade into the nearly impenetrable writing of the Frenchman himself. Featuring the alienation of language! Eruptions into consciousness! Undifferentiated needs! “The Real” opposing “reality!” A baby preening in front of a mirror! Castration! And introducing the mysterious “object a!”

Go to blog

Lacan on the Self and Subjectivity - Partially Examined Life

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/nonduality-and-oneness-being.

Some branches of Hindu philosophy propose that reality is nondual in nature. Such schools of thought—called advaita schools, from a Sanskrit word meaning “not two”—see the material world either as an aspect of ultimate reality (“Brahman”) or as a mere illusion. So how do we make sense of the appearance of variety in a metaphysics of oneness? Is there room for individual selves within advaita philosophy? What can be known? And what possible sources of knowledge are there in a nondual epistemology? Josh and Ray become one with Elisa Freschi from the University of Toronto, author of "Duty, Language and Exegesis in Prābhākara Mīmāṃsā."

Nonduality and the Oneness of Being

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/nonduality-and-oneness-being.

Aryan written by Joshua J. Mark and narrated by DW Draffin: www.worldhistory.org/Aryan/

Aryan is a designation originally meaning “civilized”, “noble”, or “free” without reference to any ethnicity. It was first applied as a self-identifying term by a migratory group of people from Central Asia later known as Indo-Iranians (who settled on the Iranian Plateau) and, later, applied to Indo-Aryans (who traveled south to settle northern India).

Find it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2Y-LSo-Tws

If you like our audio articles, please support us by becoming a member or donating to our non-profit company:

- www.worldhistory.org/membership/
- www.worldhistory.org/donate/
- www.worldhistory.org/patreon/
- www.worldhistory.store/

The music used in this recording is the intellectual copyright of Michael Levy, a prolific composer for the recreated lyres of antiquity, and used with the creator's permission. Michael Levy's music is available to stream at all the major digital music platforms. Find out more on:

www.ancientlyre.com
open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8…IH9CRieFNGXRUyJ9
www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ1X6F7lGMEadnNETSzTv8A

Aryan

On “An Introduction to Metaphysics” (1903)

How does metaphysics differ from science? While Kant had dismissed metaphysics as groundless speculation about things beyond human knowledge, Bergson sees it as a matter of grasping things “from the inside.” He calls this “intuition”: the kind of understanding we have of our own inner lives. If you try to describe this with concepts or images, you falsify it, you freeze it into position. That’s necessarily what science does, and is very useful, but doesn’t get at what’s metaphysically fundamental for Bergson, which is the unbroken flow of duration.

The regular foursome are joined by Matt Teichman to try to figure out how this proto-phenomenology is supposed to actually amount to metaphysics, like how you can sympathetically have an intuition about anything besides your own experience.

Bergson on Metaphysics - Partially Exmained Life

On Arthur Schopenhauer’s essays, “On Authorship and Style,” “On Thinking for Oneself,” and “On Genius” (all published 1851).

Is the best way to do philosophy (or any art) to self-consciously build on the work of others to advance the genre? Schopenhauer says no! Geniuses are solitary, original, authentic, naive thinkers. They write because they have something to say, not because they’re being paid. They don’t read too much for fear of being overwhelmed by their influences, and certainly don’t try to remember what they read too well like a scholar would. They think before writing, and get at perennial truths from their own, uniquely grown perspective. So don’t burden them with responsibilities like jobs and families, okay?

Mark, Wes, and Dylan try to figure out whether these harsh commandments hold water or whether S. is just giving excuses for his own unpopularity.

Schopenhauer on Reading, Writing and Thinking - Partially Examined Life

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/dualism.

What is the relationship between the mind and the brain?  Monists believe that there is only one substance or property in the Universe, be it physical (Materialists) or mental (Idealists).  But Dualists, like the 17th Century French philosopher Rene Descartes, hold that mental stuff exists side by side with physical stuff.  Can this view be defended, in light of modern science?  John and Ken probe the mind-body with David Rosenthal from City University of New York, author of "Consciousness and Mind."

Dualism

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/why-something.

The old metaphysical question – why anything exists at all – has perplexed and intrigued humankind for ages. It has long been a question reserved for philosophers, but now some physicists claim to have answered it. Yet these attempts have raised questions of their own: is this even a meaningful question in the first place? Can it be answered by science alone, or is philosophy necessary? And what will answering the question mean for us? John and Ken find something to talk about with Jim Holt, author of "Why Does The World Exist: An Existential Detective Story."

Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?

More at https://philosophytalk.org/shows/space-time-continuum.

Strange things are said about time: that it's illusory, that it has no direction. But what about space, or the space-time continuum? What exactly is space-time? Are space and time fundamental features of the world? How do Einstein’s special and general theories of relativity change our understanding of space-time? Is there a distinction to be made between space and time, or must the two concepts be united into a single interwoven continuum? John and Ken fill time and space with Tim Maudlin from NYU, author of "Philosophy of Physics: Space and Time."

The Space-Time Continuum

This week: A new study from the University of Bristol showing the way plants accumulate sugar helps them tell what time it is; scientists have successfully transplanted lab-grown lungs into pigs; and Caucher Birkar was awarded the Fields Medal—and then it was immediately stolen. 

Links:
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-08/uob-pct073118.php
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/scientists-transplant-lab-grown-bioengineered-lungs-pigs
https://www.npr.org/2018/08/02/634889308/prestigious-mathematics-medal-stolen-minutes-after-it-was-awarded

Inquiring Minds

Up To Date | How Plants Tell Time, Lab-Grown Pig Lungs, Stolen Fields Medal

Viking Warfare, written by Emma Groeneveld and narrated by Richard de Man: https://www.worldhistory.org/Viking_Warfare/

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Viking warfare, along with its key component of raiding, is inextricably connected with the expansion of Scandinavian influence along the North Atlantic and into the Mediterranean in the Viking Age (c. 790-1100 CE), where the Vikings’ heavy use of ships, good strategic mobility and strong grasp on logistics ensured they could cause havoc abroad for years at a time. It was these factors that distinguish Viking warfare from that of their contemporaries; despite public imagination (and television) often picturing savage berserk-warriors frothing at the mouth and committing unspeakable brutalities to their unlucky targets, Viking warriors were probably no more brutal than their peers.

Ancient.eu

Viking Warfare

In this audio article, DW Draffin takes you through the history of Ancient Egypt, from the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms and the Intermediate Periods in between. This introduction to Ancient Egypt will take you through the most prominent Kings and Pharaohs of Egypt, and discuss its strongest periods, and its gradual decline. 

If you like our audio articles, please support us by becoming a member or donating to our non-profit company:

- www.ancient.eu/membership/
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Invocation (Ancient Egyptian Melody) by ÆUR
Listen: https://artist.landr.com/music/628810853472
Reviews: https://www.reverbnation.com/ÆUR/press

An Introduction to Ancient Egypt

Dogs in the Ancient World written by Joshua J Mark and narrated by DW Draffin: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/184/dogs-in-the-ancient-world/

Find it on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/TheStudyofAntiq…ddleAges/featured

If you like our audio articles, please support us by becoming a member or donating to our non-profit company:

- www.ancient.eu/membership/
- www.ancient.eu/donate/
- www.patreon.com/ahe

The music used in this recording is the intellectual copyright of Michael Levy, a prolific composer for the recreated lyres of antiquity, and used with the creator's permission. Michael Levy's music is available to stream at all the major digital music platforms. Find out more on:

www.ancientlyre.com
open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8…IH9CRieFNGXRUyJ9
www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ1X6F7lGMEadnNETSzTv8A

Dogs have been a part of the history of human beings since before the written word. The ancient temple of Gobekli-Tepe in Turkey, dated to at least 12,000 years BCE, has provided archaeologists with evidence of domesticated dogs in the Middle East corresponding to the earliest evidence of domestication, the Natufian Grave, (c. 12,000 BCE) discovered in Ein Mallaha, Israel, in which an old man was buried with a puppy.

Dogs in the Ancient World

Yin and Yang written by Mark Cartwright and narrated by Sarah Annalise Hack: https://www.worldhistory.org/Yin_and_Yang/

If you like our audio articles, please support us by becoming a member or donating to our non-profit company:

- www.ancient.eu/membership/
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The principle of Yin and Yang is that all things exist as inseparable and contradictory opposites, for example, female-male, dark-light and old-young. The principle, dating from the 3rd century BCE or even earlier, is a fundamental concept in Chinese philosophy and culture in general. The two opposites of Yin and Yang attract and complement each other and, as their symbol illustrates, each side has at its core an element of the other (represented by the small dots). Neither pole is superior to the other and, as an increase in one brings a corresponding decrease in the other, a correct balance between the two poles must be reached in order to achieve harmony.

Yin and Yang

Nine Realms of Norse Cosmology written by Joshua J. Mark and narrated by DW Draffin: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1305/nine-realms-of-norse-cosmology/

Find it on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/TheStudyofAntiq…ddleAges/featured

If you like our audio articles, please support us by becoming a member or donating to our non-profit company:

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Norse cosmology divided the universe into nine realms. The center of the universe was the great world-tree Yggdrasil and the nine realms either spread out from the tree or existed in levels stretching from the roots down and, marginally, side-to-side. Earlier Norse works (known as Eddic and Skaldic poetry) assume a knowledge of the cosmology and do not bother much with descriptions of locations or, in some cases, even specifics of what the realms were like and, because of this – and the fact that Norse religion had no written scripture – some of the realms are less clear than others.

Nine Realms of Norse Cosmology

Ten Ancient Mesopotamia Facts You Need to Know written by Joshua J. Mark and narrated by DW Draffin: https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1600/ten-ancient-mesopotamia-facts-you-need-to-know/

Find it on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/TheStudyofAntiquityandtheMiddleAges/featured

If you like our audio articles, please support us by becoming a member or donating to our non-profit company:

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Mesopotamia is the ancient Greek name (meaning “the land between two rivers”, the Tigris and Euphrates) for the region corresponding to modern-day Iraq and parts of Iran, Syria, and Turkey. It is considered the “cradle of civilization” for the many inventions and innovations which first appeared there c. 10,000 BCE through the 7th century CE. In the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Age, people gradually shifted from a hunter-gatherer paradigm to agrarianism, creating seasonal communities which became permanent during the Pottery Neolithic Age (c. 7000 BCE) and served as a basis for the development of cities during the Copper Age (5900-3200 BCE). This last era includes the Ubaid Period (c. 5000-4100 BCE) which saw the rise of the first temples (stepped towers known as ziggurats with a shrine at the top) and the creation of intricate art, ceramic work, and copper toolmaking.

Ten Ancient Mesopotamia Facts You Need to Know

Gilgamesh written by Joshua J. Mark and narrated by DW Draffin: https://www.worldhistory.org/gilgamesh/

Find it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheStudyofAntiquityandtheMiddleAges/featured

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Interested in the ANTIQVVS magazine? Find out more here → https://www.antiqvvs-magazine.com/

Gilgamesh is the semi-mythic King of Uruk in Mesopotamia best known from The Epic of Gilgamesh (written c. 2150 - 1400 BCE) the great Sumerian/Babylonian poetic work which pre-dates Homer’s writing by 1500 years and, therefore, stands as the oldest piece of epic world literature.

The motif of the quest for the meaning of life is first fully explored in Gilgamesh as the hero-king leaves his kingdom following the death of his best friend, Enkidu, to find the mystical figure Utnapishtim and gain eternal life. Gilgamesh's fear of death is actually a fear of meaninglessness and, although he fails to win immortality, the quest itself gives his life meaning. This theme has been explored by writers and philosophers from antiquity up to the present day.

Gilgamesh

Don't let them play you for a fool unless you're one.

Untitled Playlist

olaf the nord