An introduction to the Partially Examined Life podcast.  Who we are, what we are doing and maybe even a little "Why?"  Listen to the Intro to get the gist and the highlight reel for a taste.  PEL is a long-form discussion of philosophy and philosophical questions for interested folks of all levels of knowledge and experience.

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Discussing The Genealogy of Morals (mostly the first two essays) and Beyond Good and Evil Ch. 1 (The Prejudices of Philosophers), 5 (Natural History of Morals), and 9 (What is Noble?).

We go through Nietzsche’s convoluted and historically improbable stories  about about the transition from master to slave morality and the origin of bad conscience. Why does he diss Christianity? Is he an anti-semite? Was he a lazy, arrogant bastard? What does he actually recommend that we do?

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Nietzsche's Immoralism - Partially Examined Life

Discussing Plato’s “Apology.”

This reading is all about how Socrates is on trial for acting like an ass and proceeds to act like an ass and so is convicted. Big surprise. On this our inaugural discussion, Mark, Seth, and Wes talk about how philosophers are arrogant bastards who neglect their children, how people of all political stripes don’t usually examine their fundamental beliefs (but probably should), why it might be better to know you know nothing than to only think that you know nothing, and how Plato was a super genius all of whose texts you should worship uncritically. Plus: podcaster philosophical origin stories, like when Wes was bitten by a radioactive Anaxagoras.

The Unexamined Life pt 1 - Partially Examined Life

On Rand’s Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology (1967) and “The Objectivist Ethics” (1961).  

First Rand grounds everyday human knowledge, largely by dismissing the concerns of other philosophers (even those whom she unknowingly parrots) as absurd. Then she uses this certainty to argue for her semi-Nietzschean vision of Great Men who master their emotions and rely only on themselves. Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Seth are satisfied with neither effort.

Warning: This attempt to make sense of Rand’s texts will likely offend any Randians out there, and our reading numerous passages from her alleged “texts” may offend the rest of you. When in doubt, curl up in the fetal position and moan “A=A!” over and over again until the bad sounds stop.

Ayn Rand on Living Rationally - Partially Examined Life

Listen to this here episode first. A priori, that is. Before experiencing the world yourself.

Why should you bother to go through the trouble of downloading and listening to one of the full length episodes? Who are we anyway? Why shouldn’t you just go listen to some philosophy lectures posted by university professors instead of this thing? Do you need to listen to the episodes in order? Do you need to already know a lot about philosophy to get anything out of this podcast? Should you listen to it while pleasuring yourself? Most of these questions will be answered here!

Introduction to the Podcast - Partially Examined Life

Thanks to all you listeners who have brought us to the milestone of more than three million downloads. In celebration, we thought we’d share our highlight reel, our clip show, our demo for various business uses, our oeuvre gougé, if you will. Will you? You will not.

This was edited together by Erik Jourgensen, with a some additional bits tracked down and/or inserted by the podcasters. It draws heavily on our Episode 0, but includes clips from guests and other things to reflect where we’re at now.

Highlight Reel - Partially Examined Life

-W.E.B. DuBois’s “Of Our Spiritual Strivings” (1903)
-Cornel West’s “A Genealogy of Modern Racism” (1982)
-Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963) and “The Black Power Defined” (1967)
-Malcolm X’s “The Black Revolution” (1963).

What kind of philosophical lessons come out of the history of black oppression in America? Historian and intellectual DuBois describes the “double consciousness” involved living as a black man in the white world (he was the first black man to graduate from Harvard); he sees the oppression experience as providing some spiritual insight that the rest of us could use. West analyzes the codification of racist aesthetic standards in western philosophical history, leaving us with traces (a white “normative gaze”) that require more than a tolerant attitude to root out. The American civil rights writers discuss the practical ways to combat this legacy, the upshot being that whites will not in themselves become enlightened and fix everything, but that blacks simply needed more economic, political, and cultural power. So where does this leave us some decades later? Read more about the topic and get the texts.

The full foursome is joined by Lawrence Ware of Oklahoma State University, who serves as the token professional in our amateur melting pot. Contemplate our liberal bias! Snicker at my awkward white guilt!

Philosophy and Race - Partially Examined Life

On Robert M. Pirsig’s philosophical, autobiographical novel from 1974.

What’s the relationship between science and values? Pirsig thinks that modern rationality, by insisting on the fundamental distinction between objects (matter) and subjects (people), labels value judgments as irrational. Society therefore largely ignores aesthetic considerations in the buildings and machines that litter our landscape.

People rebel against this ugly commercialism by rejecting technology altogether, and Pirsig thinks this is a mistake. If we realize that value judgments (where we sense “Quality”) are fundamentally a part of experience, that they drive what what we consider “rational” (e.g. a “good” scientific explanation) in the first place, then we can stop with the hippie rebellion and more sensibly and peacefully co-exist with technology. Though the book is not about historical Zen, it is about keeping centered, connected, and in the moment.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Partially Examined Life

On Carl Jung’s “Approaching the Unconscious” from Man and His Symbols, written in 1961.

What’s the structure of the mind? Jung followed Freud in positing an unconscious distinct from the conscious ego, but Jung’s picture has the unconscious much more stuffed full of all sorts of stuff from who knows where, including instincts (the archetypes) that tend to give rise to behavior and dream imagery that we’d have to call religious. We neglect this part of ourselves at our psychological peril, and Jung also attributes the ills of the age (like nihilism and WWII) to being out of touch with our larger, unconscious selves.

Sound like goofy pop psychology? Well, Jung’s book was written specifically for the populace, and many have run with his emphasis on spiritual self-knowledge and his openness to talk of the paranormal to conclusions less well founded than Jung would have liked. Mark, Seth, and Wes keep trying to make the text speak to other philosophical works but eventually get sidetracked and occasionally personal on this very special episode.

Jung on the Psyche and Dreams - Partially Examined Life

On John Rawls’s A Theory of Justice (1971), most of ch. 1-4.

What makes for a just society? Rawls gives us a thought experiment: Imagine you don’t know whether you’re rich or poor or any of the other specifics of your situation (he calls this going behind “the veil of ignorance” into the “original position”). Now what principles would you pick to determine basic social institutions? Would you choose a caste society where you might be born an untouchable and be screwed? Rawls thinks that in this position you would instead support his basic rules of justice, which are (in short) to make sure everyone has basic liberties, and, more controversially, to allow only such inequalities as bring up the fortunes of those least well off. So you can allow super riches so long as doing so means that the poorest will be less poor than with any other arrangement; the default position is everyone getting an equal share of society’s wealth unless you can demonstrate that letting some have more will benefit all.

This theory has been massively influential, and you can easily read it into Obama’s speeches. Even many defenders of free-market capitalism do so on basically Rawlsian grounds. The founding fathers (Mark, Seth and Wes) and an especially energetic Dylan debate whether this original position is really coherent and whether it yields the principles that Rawls wants it to.

John Rawls' on Social Justice - Partially Examined Life

On Kurt Gödel’s essays, “Some Basic Theorems on the Foundations of Mathematics and their Implications” (1951) and “The Modern Development of the Foundations of Mathematics in Light of Philosophy” (1961).

Gödel is famous for some “incompleteness theorems” of direct interest only to those trying to axiomatize mathematics. What are the implications for the rest of philosophy? Gödel thought that, contra people’s claims that incompleteness demonstrates some kind of relativism, he had showed that the world of mathematics even in its most abstract reaches is part of the real (though non-physical) world. Mark, Wes, Dylan, and guest Adi Habbu try to figure out these unpublished and dare I say incomplete essays.

Gödel on Math

On Henry David Thoreau’s Walden (1854).

What is the appropriate life for a truly thoughtful person? Thoreau warns against getting ensnared by social bullshit like jobs and charity, and instead living simply, in direct contact with nature, relying as much as possible only on your own effort. His time in the woods on Walden pond was meant to be an experiment to see what life lived this way really has to offer.

Mark, Wes, and Dylan argue about how to best take Thoreau’s brand of opinionating, and what the ethical upshot of the attempt to live naturally is supposed to be. Read more about the topic and get the book.

End song: “Green Song” by Mark Linsenmayer, originally released on The MayTricks (1992), newly remixed.

Thoreau on Living Deliberately

On three of Karl Marx's Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, "Estranged Labor," "Private Property and Communism," and "The Power of Money on Bourgeois Society." Featuring guest Lawrence Dallman. What is the plight of the working poor? It's that they are in an unnatural situation with regard to their work, which is supposed to gain them a sense of self but doesn't do so when it's a result of selling one's time. Get more at . Visit  to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. If you enjoy our podcast, check out Ghost Town at .

Ep. 355: Marx on Alienation (Part One)

Continuing on The Nature of Sympathy (1913/1922), Part I: "Fellow Feeling," Ch. 1-4. We look more closely at the text, getting further into how fellow feeling relates to ethics, and why the moral sentimentalists (like Hume) were wrong about this. Get more at . Visit  to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.

Ep. 364: Max Scheler on Sympathy (Part Two)

On The Nature of Sympathy (1922), Part II: "Love and Hatred." What is love, and how does it relate to ethics and to sympathy? For Scheler, love is a primitive, spontaneous movement from lower to higher values: We see the best in the love one and thereby help enable them to attain that excellence. So is love foundational for value, or is value foundational for love? The two seem to arise together. Get more at . Visit  to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at

Ep. 365: Scheler on Love (Part One)

Dean has released about 20 albums, starting with three '88-'90 with Galaxie 500, then he started fresh in New York as Luna, releasing seven albums and some EPs through 2005 (plus a later reunion), then continued with his Luna bassist and now spouse Britta Phillips as Dean and Britta for five albums, interspersed with now four albums under his own name and other miscellaneous projects. We discuss "We're Not Finished Yet" (and listen at the end to "The Cloud Is Coming" from That's the Price of Loving Me (2025), "Love Is Colder Than Death" from Emancipated Hearts (2013), and "23 Minutes in Brussels" by Luna from Penthouse (1995). Intro: "Strange" by Galaxie 500 from On Fire (1989). More at . . .

NEM#230: Dean Wareham (Luna, Galaxie 500) Waxes Poetic

We conclude our treatment of Max Scheler's The Nature of Sympathy (1922), getting further into the Part II of the book about love and hatred and grappling with the puzzles about what exactly it is we love about someone (the "personality"). Get more at . Visit  to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. If you enjoy our podcast, check out Working Class History at .

Ep. 365: Scheler on Love (Part Two)

We discuss the HBO dramedy about rich people having existential crises at a luxury resort in light of its third season. What exactly made this latest season less satisfying than the others? Does the show have a sustainable formula? What is the show saying about enlightenment? Travel? Sexuality? For more, visit . Hear this ad-free with bonus content at  or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the .

Pretty Much Pop #195: Mike White's Lotus

On The Problem of Empathy (1917). What is empathy, and what is its significance? Stein pictures empathy as a dynamic process that involves what Scheler called sympathy but goes beyond this. Your don't just take the other person's feeling as our object of contemplation, but in doing so, your enter into it (while still not confusing it with YOUR feeling), this relating to it "non-primordially." So how does this work, exactly? Get more at . Visit  to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.

Ep. 366: Edith Stein in Empathy (Part One)

Continuing on The Problem of Empathy. What does it mean to say that we know other people's mental states "non-primordially"? We talk about Stein's project of explaining how empathy is possible, what it gets us, and how her answers differ from Scheler's. Get more at . Visit  to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at

Ep. 366: Edith Stein on Empathy (Part Two)

Greg teaches philosophy (and is ) at , loves , and runs . We reflect on the dangers of radon and other "natural" things. How might one of our government agencies become more natural, and would we want that? Are fart jokes the most naturally funny kind? Then, Greg the trucker visits Empty Street and embezzles dead mules.  Bill was thrust from the final portion of the call, so Mark and Greg engage in some philosophy podcast shop talk. He returns for the Post-Game after Greg's departure to reflect on the episode and specifically identify the naturalistic fallacy. You can .

Philosophy vs. Improv #92: Postale au Naturale w/ Greg McBrayer

(Philosophy prof. at U of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign) joins Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al to discuss Ryan Coogler's new vampire siege/black studies film starring Michael B. Jordan. We talk about the film's comments on black freedom, black music, the church, why the film needed twins, whether the vampires were even necessary, the film's humor and structure, and more. For more, visit . Hear this ad-free with bonus content at  or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the .

Pretty Much Pop #196: Our "Sinners" Shindig

On David Hume's An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751). What is morality, and how can we know it? Hume claims that we simply find ourselves with sentiments morally approving and disapproving of various things. Characterizing these post hoc, we can say that in general we approve of what brings utility, and this explains the existence of most laws and mores. These may vary by culture because conditions change the utility calculation in different environments. Get more at . Visit  to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at

Ep. 367: Hume on the Foundations of Ethics (Part One)

Shannon the philosopher and Audrey the poet are Seattle improv buddies that form a duo called Closer to Clarity that uses improv to answer audience members' big life questions (BLQs). Hear philosophy and poetry face off and mind meld and do-si-do as we play through two wacky corporate office scenes and return once again to Empty Street™ for an attempted gas station poetry open mic. . .

Philosophy vs. Improv #93: Poetry Stands its Ground w/ Shannon Bass and Audrey Kohler

We conclude our discussion of A Treatise of Human Nature (1739): Book III, "Of Morals," plus a bit more discussion of An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751).&nbsp; How do moral sentiments fit into Hume's overall philosophy of mind? Is Hume a relativist? We talk about sociopaths, animals, incest, consent, ethics vs. beauty, moral luck, and more. Get more at . Visit  to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.

Ep. 368: Hume on Reason in Ethics (Part Two)

Chris has around 20 releases since 1991, mostly under his own name, while moonlighting as a metal guy and otherwise collaborating. We discuss "She Looks Good in Black" from Obsolete Path (2025), "Intransitive Proverb" from Limitations of the Source Tape (2017), and "Angel Be Mine" from Your Own Chosen Speed (2001). End song: "Sisiphus" by Däng from Tartarus: The Darkest Realm (2014). Intro: "Every Time" by Flat Earth from Prefacipice (1991). More at  . .

NEM#232: Chris Church Refines Power Pop

Kolby runs , which curates short stories about philosophy. He's also been a "producer" of improv shows. We talk about what makes a story philosophical, Kolby tells some stories, and we run some scenes about teleporter shenanigans and guidance counseling. . . Sponsor: Go to  or use code IMPROV at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN!

Philosophy vs. Improv #94: Storifying Philosophy w/ Kolby Granville

On the eight-film action series that launched in 1996 (based on the 1966 TV series) in light of its apparently final film. Featuring&nbsp;Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al. Is this a coherent narrative as the last film would have you believe, or just an excuse for a series of Tom Cruise physically challenges? Maybe the latter is enough for us! For more, visit . Hear this ad-free with bonus content at  or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the .

Pretty Much Pop #199: Missioning Impossibly

In immediate reaction to the Apple TV+ Seth Rogan show The Studio, we talk about Hollywood's obsession with itself and how studio dynamics interfere with what exactly we all get to see. Also, what's with the fascination with old Hollywood? What's the appeal of Hollywood gossip? Erica our first-season co-host returns to join Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al. For more, visit . Hear this ad-free with bonus content at  or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the . If you enjoy our show, check out .

Pretty Much Pop #200: Hollywood Studio Antics (feat. The Studio and Erica Spyres)

Not only is John a multi-instrumentalist who's played with Violent Femmes, Allen Ginsberg, Hal Willner, John Prine, et al, but he's released around 24 albums as a solo artist or with groups including the NYC world music outfit TriBeCaStan. We discuss "(Be Careful What You Say to) An Armed Lady" by Folklorkestra from A Strange Day in June (2023), the title track from Forever Ago (with La Societe; del Musici) (2018), "Bed Bugs" by TriBeCaStan from New Deli (2012), and listen to "Back Country" by The Electric Chairmen from Toast (1995). Intro: "Grim Reaper’s Song" from&nbsp;Midnight Snack (1986). More at&nbsp;. . . Sponsor: Visit  to take control of your health through testing and get $100 off your membership.

NEM#234: John Kruth the Multi-Hyphenate

Our second discussion of De Anima or On the Soul (350 BCE), this time on book 3.

What is the intellect? In ep. 130, we talked about Aristotle's idea of the soul as the form of the body and about two of its functions or parts: the nutritive and the sensitive. Here we talk more about how sensation is supposed to work according to Aristotle, and how the sense organs interact with each other. Aristotle doesn't think, like Kant, that the mind synthesizes data from the senses to create objects. Rather, that synthesis already happens just at the level of sense, that we perceive whole objects and not points in space. We talk about how this then relates to the faculty of imagination, and finally, the intellect (nous, in Greek).

Don't forget to get a 2016 PEL Wall Calendar at partiallyexaminedlife.com/store! Enter calendar5 at check-out for $5 off. It features cool art by Sterling Bartlett, like this picture of Aristotle.

Aristotle’s “De Anima”: What Is the Mind? (Part One)

On selected "moral epistles" (from around 65 CE) by Lucius Annaeus Seneca: 4. On the Terrors of Death, 12. On Old Age, 49. On the Shortness of Life, 59. On Pleasure and Joy, 62. On Good Company, 92. On the Happy Life, 96. On Facing Hardship, and 116. On Self Control. We're joined by Massimo Pigliucci of the How to Be a Stoic blog, who for a long time was on the Rationally Speaking podcast.

Back in ep. 124 we considered the Stoic Epictetus, but due to audience demand, we wanted a second and a third opinion: Seneca, unlike Epictetus, explicitly advocated a public life, and seemed to have less problem with deep friendships and other sorts of attachments, so long as these things are kept in perspective. Unfortunately, Seneca is very light on actual justifications for this perspective, and apparently sees knowing the ultimate truths of existence as a fairly simple matter, the trick being to really internalize these truths and let them guide your actions, especially when tragedy strikes. Life is a battle, says Seneca, and it's really better for us that it is, as a life without challenge would be a life without meaning.

Massimo, along with Tad Brennan's The Stoic Life: Emotions, Duties, and Fate (2007), provided a reality check for all of this, helping us to interpret the text charitably and see how ancient Stoic writings are integrated into modern practice. The key is that the only thing ultimately important is your own virtue, which is all you have control over. Other things can and should be "preferred," but aren't granted the status of moral goods. When you work hard toward a goal, it's not the goal that's good, but the working itself.

Massimo and Dylan read from this new translation: Letters on Ethics: To Lucilius (The Complete Works of Lucius Annaeus Seneca), while Mark and Wes read this electronic version: Delphi Complete Works of Seneca the Younger, though during the recording we were reading some of these from Selected Letters (Oxford World's Classics), which you can read on the web.

Don't wait for part 2, get the Citizen Edition now by signing up with a $5 recurring donation. This will also enable you to participate in the Aftershow for eps. 131/132 on Aristotle's De Anima, taking place on Sunday, 1/31 at 6pm Eastern. Sign up here.

If you take the plunge and start a $50/year membership, we'll send you a coupon for $20 off our 2016 wall calendar, meaning that you'll pay only shipping! Everyone can still get a PEL Calendar for $5 off if you use the code "calendar5" at checkout. Get it at partiallyexaminedlife.com/store.

Living Stoically with Seneca and Massimo (Part One)

On The Force of Nonviolence: An Ethico-Political Bind (2020). What is it to be nonviolent in political activity? Most ethics allow for self-defense, but Judith has a problem with defining "self" as well as "violence," and offers a full critique of the individualism that underlies typical Western approaches to both ethics and politics. Mark, Seth, and Wes interview Judith about these issues and the connection to . End song: "Dancing with Death," discussed on  with Marty Willson-Piper. Sponsor: Visit  for a free month of The Great Courses Plus. Get this episode ad-free with a .

Ep. 236: Judith Butler Interview: "The Force of Nonviolence"

How should we think politically about the current global crisis? Do extreme circumstances reveal truths of political philosophy or do they reinforce whatever it is we already believe? Mark, Wes, Seth, and Dylan talk about applying philosophical insights to real-life situations rife with unknowns, John Rawls' veil of ignorance and Adam Smith on our interconnectedness, utilitarianism, libertarianism, and more. A source we used was " by John Authers. For an ad-free version of this episode, .  End song: "Date of Grace" by Rob Picott, as discussed on . Sponsor: Visit  for a free trial of unlimited learning at $10/month w/ a quarterly plan.

Ep. 241: Political Philosophy and the Pandemic

On Albert Camus' existentialist novel The Plague. How shall we face adversity? Camus gives us colorful characters that embody various approaches. Yes, the plague is an extreme situation, but we're all dying all the time anyway, right? Join Mark, Wes, Dylan and Seth to tease out Camus' positions from this bleak yet colorful text. Don't wait for part two; get the unbroken  now.

Ep. 244: Camus on Strategies for Facing Plague (Part One)

The Partially Examined Life is a philosophy 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 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.

Partially Examined Life

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