Talks

On Sigmund Freud's On Dreams (1902), a bit of The Interpretation of Dreams (1899), and the lecture, “Revision of the Theory of Dreams” (1933).

Are dreams just a bunch of random crap? Freud says, no, they're actually the first and best way to figure out the structure of the mind, which (surprise) involves the unconscious and how repressed, anti-social desires get (sort of) revealed to us, albeit smashed together through chains of association with what seems like random crap.

How can Freud support such a view? Is it science? What are its implications for our capacity to philosophize? Mark, Wes, Seth, and Dylan are here to sort of hint at telling you, but in a repressed sort of way. Read more about the topic and get the texts. Sign up to attend the Aftershow on Sun., 6/7, 3pm Eastern.

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Freud on Dreams (Part 1)

Continuing our discussion of Sigmund Freud's On Dreams (1902) and related works. Listen to Part One first:

https://soundcloud.com/partially-examined-life/freud-on-dreams

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End song: "Sleep" by Mark Lint. 

Freud on Dreams (Part 2)

In this episode of the Talkhouse Music Podcast, Philip Selway (Radiohead drummer and outstanding solo artist) has a really lovely conversation with one of his favorite new musicians, Ghostpoet, who weds vivid poetry with flowing grooves.  (Offstage, he's Obaro Ejimiwe, and he happens to be a big Radiohead fan.)
    The two had never met before, but you can hear them hit it off, as they get deep into their processes in a really candid and insightful way, and get to places that only two musicians can get.
    Selway has some really great reminiscences about the dawning days of Radiohead, and Ejimiwe has some really great reminiscences about the dawning days of Ghostpoet, and they talk about music theory vs. intuition, collaboration, self-doubt, the dangers and benefits of reading your own press, and much more. Although they make very different kinds of music, by the end, Selway declares, "We've got similarly wired brains."

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Philip Selway with Ghostpoet pt. 1

In this episode of the Talkhouse Music Podcast, Philip Selway (Radiohead drummer and outstanding solo artist) has a really lovely conversation with one of his favorite new musicians, Ghostpoet, who weds vivid poetry with flowing grooves. (Offstage, he's Obaro Ejimiwe, and he happens to be a big Radiohead fan.)
The two had never met before, but you can hear them hit it off, as they get deep into their processes in a really candid and insightful way, and get to places that only two musicians can get.
Selway has some really great reminiscences about the dawning days of Radiohead, and Ejimiwe has some really great reminiscences about the dawning days of Ghostpoet, and they talk about music theory vs. intuition, collaboration, self-doubt, the dangers and benefits of reading your own press, and much more. Although they make very different kinds of music, by the end, Selway declares, "We've got similarly wired brains."

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Philip Selway with Ghostpoet - Part 2

On Friedrich Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy (1872), which was his first book.

What's the connection between art and society? Nietzsche thought that you could tell how vital or decadent a civilization was by its art, and said that ancient Greek tragedy (like Antigone) was so great because it was a perfect synthesis of something highly formal/orderly/beautiful with the intuitive/unconscious/chaotic. He calls these two elements the Apollonian and the Dionysian and gives a whole history of the rise and fall of ancient Greece as seen through their art. They were noble savages, but channeled their savagery in a way that formed what Nietzsche later called master morality. Whereas later, playwrights like Euripides lost touch with the chaotic side, really lost sight of themselves, and this was reflected in Western philosophy and later science from Socrates to the present. Can we stir the pot now to get a re-birth of tragedy in this awesome sense? Nietzsche was ultimately not optimistic.

Read more about it and get the text. If you're interested in that Nietzsche biography mentioned at the beginning of the episode, look here.

This is part one of three. PEL Citizens can get the whole thing right now, ad-free. They can also attend the Aftershow on 7/26 at 3pm Eastern time, and have Citizen audio straight to their mobile devices with our new Citizen feed.

Signing up to be a PEL Citizen, which is a great way to support the podcast. You can also do this with a donation.

End song: ""Some Act"" by Mark Lint and the Fake from ""So Whaddaya Think?"" (2000) Get the whole album free.

Talks

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