Birth of Tragedy #7: 18-21 (Alexandriani...

Part one of three. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe often spoke of a dangerous but invigorating life-force that he christened "the daemonic". In his conversations with Eckermann, and in his autobiography Dichtung und Wahrheit, he describes the daemonic by direct reference to Spinoza, a ... Show More

Today we're considering Ge Ling Shang's book, Liberation as Affirmation, comparing Zhuangzi and Nietzsche. Shang sees both thinkers as putting forward a "religiosity" of life-affirmation. Major points of comparison: use of language (goblet words/zhiyan & Dionysian dithyramb), whe ... Show More

Exploring the indeterminate nature of truth in the Zhuangzi, the usefulness of uselessness, the foolishness of seeking office, and the advantages of xiaoyaoyou. Mixing translations from Watson, Palmer, Giles & informed by readings/commentary from Ziporyn, Ge Ling Shang & Wing Tsi ... Show More

In this episode, we discuss the life and death of Sokrates (ca. 470-399 BC), who is widely considered to be the father of western philosophy, with in-depth overviews of Aristophanes' Clouds and Plato's dialogue Euphyro, Apologia, Krito, and Phaido. Show Notes: http://www.thehisto ... Show More

The Greek thinker Socrates was put to death for encouraging his students to question everything - from their own beliefs to the laws and customs of Athenian society. But his ideas didn't die with him.  Here's a chance to hear two episodes from our archive examining the legacy of ... Show More

Today’s counter-culture and alternative movements question mainstream norms, such as putting too much value on material possessions. The Cynics, practical philosophers of ancient Greece and Rome, also rejected conventional desires to seek wealth, power and fame. They were not you ... Show More

Socrates according to the comic poet Aristophanes and the historian Xenophon 

<p>Aristotle’s works are edited, printed, and translated, leading to new assessments of his thought among both humanists and scholastics.</p> 

<p>An expert on Renaissance alchemy tells us how this art related to philosophy at the time... and how she has tried to reproduce its results!</p> 

<p>We begin to look at philosophy in Renaissance France, beginning with humanists like Budé and the use of classical philosophy by poets du Bellay and Ronsard.</p> 

<p>Slavoj Žižek is a Slovenian-born political philosopher and cultural critic. He was described by British literary theorist, Terry Eagleton, as the “most formidably brilliant” recent theorist to have emerged from Continental Europe. (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) To supp ... Show More

This episode delves into the fine line between cheesiness, kitsch, and high art. From the pastoral scenes of Gainsborough to the consumer culture critiques of Warhol and the polling experiments of Komar and Melamid, we examine how artists challenge and redefine our notions of tas ... Show More

<p>The Present Age was published in 1846 by Søren Kierkegaard. He discusses the philosophical implications of a society dominated by mass media, foreseeing the rise of twenty-four hour news and social media, it examines the philosophical implications of a culture of endless, inco ... Show More