L.A. Paul on Transformative Experience

Mary Midgley didn't begin publishing until she was 59 years old, but nevertheless made a significant impact and had a distinctive approach. In this episode of Philosophy Bites Ellie Robson discusses some of her key ideas about our relationship with other animals. 

Many people think philosophical discucssion is a luxury in times of conflict, but the Palestinian philosopher Sari Nusseibeh is more optimistic. In this episode of Philosophy Bites, recorded in early 2025, he explains why. 

Democracy is about acting as a group, but, surprisingly, Robert Talisse argues that what it needs to function well is a degree of solitude for citizens. In-group and out-group dynamics mean that individuals become vulnerable to being pushed towards more extreme views than they wo ... Show More

Jacques Derrida was the superstar philosopher of the 1980s and 90s. Often associated with the philosophical movement known as 'poststructualism', he made the enigmatic statement that 'There is nothing outside the text'. Today, one conspiracy theorist has commented that he studied ... Show More

Sam Harris speaks with L.A. Paul about the nature of transformative experiences. They discuss how certain experiences change the self, the nature of regret, changing belief systems, conspiracy thinking, empathy, doing good in the world, our relationship to our future selves, chan ... Show More

How has language informed the evolution of philosophy? And is there a point where the usefulness of words ends? Our experts discuss.Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesOn today’s episode we’re discussing philosophy’s linguistic turn ... Show More

In this episode, I present the third series of lectures from Michel Foucault's time at the Collège de France titled, "The Punitive Society." This episode covers chapters 1, 2, and 3. If you want to support me, you can do that with these links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/the ... Show More

What kind of authority do we appeal to when we invoke lived experience? Isn't all experience "lived"? Why does the *discourse* today so frequently refer to this concept, and what are its philosophical origins? In episode 74 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss the phenomeno ... Show More

On G.W.F. Hegel's 1807 opus: A series of treatments of various theories in epistemology (among other things), seeing how they're internally incoherent, which then moves us to more sophisticated theories. Part two of this episode is only going to be available to you if you sign up ... Show More

In this episode, I introduce you to Agamben's issues with Foucault's notion of biopolitics. If you want to support me, you can do that with these links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theoryandphilosophy paypal.me/theoryphilosophy Twitter: @DavidGuignion TikTok: theoryphilosoph ... Show More