ents and phil .selfhelp

kerplunkk // cunning linguism

ghosh river of smoke

Robert Lowell, "Poetry reading," taped at Portland State College, May 28, 1965.

Transferred to digital format from original ¼ inch reel to reel audio recording.

Transferred and preserved by Portland State University Library’s Special Collections with the generous support of the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the Oregon State Library.

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Robert Lowell, "Poetry reading," May 28, 1965.

On Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Gay Science (1882, with book 5 added 1887).

What is wisdom? Nietzsche gives us an updated take on the Socratic project of challenging your most deeply held beliefs. Challenge not just your belief in God (“God is dead!”) but uncover all your habits of thinking in terms of the divine. Question the motives behind relentless inquiry: the “will to truth.” Realize how little of your life is actually a matter of conscious reflection, and the consequent limits on self-knowledge. The very act of systematization in philosophy overestimates what we can know; instead, we need a “gay” (in the sense of cheerful, carefree, and subversive) science (in the sense of organized knowledge; this is not about modern experimental science) that chases after fleeting insights and is able to question, i.e. laugh at, the pretensions of its own activity. This is the position from which one can then artistically create one’s own character and one’s values, and this “creation” is not whimsical in the sense of arbitrary, but is a matter of rigorous and careful discernment, an exercise of one’s “intellectual conscience.” Hear Mark, Wes, and Dylan frolic through this field of aphorisms and short essays.

Go to blog

Nietzsche's Gay Science - Partially Examined Life

"Bonjour tristesse" de Françoise Sagan lu par Sara Giraudeau.
Editions Audiolib.
http://www.audiolib.fr/livre-audio/bonjour-tristesse-de-francoise-sagan-lu-par-sara-giraudeau

« Sur ce sentiment inconnu dont l’ennui, la douceur m’obsèdent, j’hésite à apposer le nom, le beau nom grave de tristesse. Aujourd’hui, quelque chose se replie sur moi comme une soie, énervante et douce, et me sépare des autres.»

L'interprétation toute en fraîcheur et en émotion de Sara Giraudeau, lauréate du Molière de la Révélation Féminine Théâtrale 2007, donne une voix nouvelle à ce roman toujours moderne.

"Bonjour tristesse" de Françoise Sagan, lu par Sara Giraudeau

Continuing discussion of David Brin’s novel Existence (without him) and adding Nick Bostrom’s essay “Why I Want to Be a Posthuman When I Grow Up” (2006).

Are our present human capabilities sufficient for meeting the challenges our civilization will face? Should we devote our technology to artificially enhancing our abilities, or would that be a crime against nature, a God-play that would probably lead to disaster? Is thinking about this issue a juvenile waste of time?

Mark, Seth, Dylan, and Brian Casey are rejoined by Wes to reflect on ep. 90′s discussion with David Brin and figure out how his project is related to transhumanism. While you’ll get a more thorough introduction to transhumanism from Rationally Speaking or many other web sources, we did confront Bostrom’s argument that extending our lives and enhancing our IQ and emotional range would be good, and human-all-too-human fun was had.

Transhumanism and Response to Brin - Partially Examined Life

Background and poem text: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/07/02/patti-smith-jack-kerouac-last-hotel/

DETAILS / POEM TEXT

Patti Smith reads Jack Kerouac's "The Last Hotel"

Man Booker shortlisted author Amitav Ghosh discusses his keenly awaited River of Smoke with Orange Prize-winning novelist Linda Grant. Chaired by Colin Thubron.

Amitav Ghosh in conversation with Linda Grant

Founded in 1820, the RSL acts as a voice for the value of literature, honouring and supporting emerging and established writers whilst creating a bridge between authors and audiences of all backgrounds and experiences to engage as many people as possible with the wealth of literature in the UK.

Amitav Ghosh in conversation with Linda Grant

Royal Society Literature