Buddhists are famous for their thesis that selves do not exist. But if they are right, what would that thesis mean for our apparent sense of self and for ordinary practices involving selves—or at least persons? In Selfless Minds: A Contemporary Perspective on Vasubandhu’s Metaphysics (Oxford University Press, 2022), Monima Chadha answers these questions by c ... Show More
Jun 3
Rivka Weinberg, "The Meaning of It All: Ultimate Meaning, Everyday Meaning, Cosmic Meaning, Death, and Time" (Oxford UP, 2026)
You can stock your life with important work, relationships, activities, and art, and yet, you can still ask: what's the point of it all? Almost every thinking person has had that question—many more than once. Granted, you're more likely to worry about the point of life when thing ... Show More
49m 59s
May 24
PJ DiPietro, "Sideways Selves Travesti and Jotería, "Struggles Across the Américas" (U Texas Press, 2025)
How does coloniality shape the sociosomatic possibilities of our bodies? More importantly, how do gender-nonconforming people not only resist the limitations of that coloniality but also make, connect to, and revitalize other possibilities? How do displaced people use old and rad ... Show More
1h 17m
May 10
Alexander Klein, "Consciousness is Motor: William James on Mind and Action" (Oxford UP, 2025)
When it comes to consciousness, William James is well-known for his descriptions of it rather than his theory of it and its relation to the body. In Consciousness is Motor: William James on Mind and Action (Oxford UP, 2025), Alexander Klein elaborates James’ theory of the evoluti ... Show More
1h 6m
Mar 2024
The Wisdom of Zero with Jacob Kyle
In today's episode, Embodied Philosophy Founder Jacob Kyle is interviewed by Kelly Blaser for the 2024 Power of Meditation Summit. They discussed the role of the scholar-practitioner, the philosophical significance of "zero," the important synergy of knowledge and experience, "re ... Show More
1h 1m
Jun 2024
Abū Ḥayyān al-Tawḥīdī and Abū ʿAlī Miskawayh, "The Philosopher Responds: An Intellectual Correspondence from the Tenth Century" (NYU Press, 2019/22)
Today I talked to James Montgomery, one of the translators of The Philosopher Responds: An Intellectual Correspondence from the Tenth Century, two volumes (NYU Press, 2019 and 2022). About the book:
Why is laughter contagious? Why do mountains exist? Why do we long for the past, ... Show More
1h 28m
Nov 2019
Tao of Philosophy - Alan Watts Lecture #3
Alan Watts continues the discussion on the philosophy of the Tao. His calming voice, ability to simplify complex subjects, and his insightful, yet concise style of lecturing about Chinese and Eastern Philosophy is beyond powerful. He fosters and creates an easy, yet extremely eye ... Show More
45m 20s
Jul 2023
Dimitry Shevchenko, "Mirror of Nature, Mirror of Self: Mirror of Self: Models of Consciousness in Sāṃkhya, Yoga, and Advaita Vedānta" (Oxford UP, 2023)
In Indian philosophical traditions, a reflection in a mirror frequently serves as a metaphor, suggesting that just as a face in a mirror appears where it is not, so does consciousness. Mirror of Nature, Mirror of Self: Mirror of Self: Models of Consciousness in Sāṃkhya, Yoga, and ... Show More
35m 31s
Oct 2019
Tao of Philosophy - Alan Watts Lecture #2
Alan Watts continues the discussion on the philosophy of the Tao. His calming voice, ability to simplify complex subjects, and his insightful, yet concise style of lecturing about Chinese and Eastern Philosophy is beyond powerful. He fosters and creates an easy, yet extremely eye ... Show More
26m 42s
Oct 2019
Tao of philosophy - Alan Watts Lecture #1
Alan Watts begins the discussion on the philosophy of the Tao. His calming voice, ability to simplify complex subjects, and his insightful, yet concise style of lecturing about Chinese and Eastern Philosophy is beyond powerful. He fosters and creates an easy, yet extremely eye op ... Show More
26m 8s
Sep 2011
David McMahan, “The Making of Buddhist Modernism” (Oxford UP, 2008)
For many Asian and Western Buddhists today, Buddhism means meditation and an embrace of the world’s interdependence. But that’s not what it meant to Buddhists in the past; most of them never meditated and often saw interdependence (or dependent origination) as something fearful t ... Show More
58 m
<p>Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: <a href="https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes</a></p><p>In Western society, individualism is everywhere – whether it’s being fuelled by capita ... Show More
