On "The Concept of Enlightenment" (1944), the first essay in this Frankfurt School book of critical theory, The Dialectic of Enlightenment.
Our authors lay out what they take The Enlightenment to consist of, including some quotes from Francis Bacon, and some ultimately fatal tensions within it that make it no longer serve the humanistic purposes it was crea ... Show More
Sep 8
Hegel on Stoicism (Part One)
Discussing the section on Stoicism in Hegel's "Phenomenology of Spirit," which is under "Freedom of Self-Consciousness," "Stoicism, Scepticism, and the Unhappy Consciousness." This comes right after his famous lordship and bondage chapter, and explains how in reaction to being de ... Show More
58m 13s
Jul 22
Peter Railton's "Moral Realism" (Part Four)
What? Part Four? Yes, we're jumping back into a 1984 paper that we began a couple of years ago in light of our recent PEL activity on contemporary ethics. You should be fine just starting here, but all three previous parts have been made public on our Patreon page, which is where ... Show More
1h 2m
Aug 2024
Start paying attention, or else (Meditations 2.2)
In today’s episode, we explore Meditations 2.2 by Marcus Aurelius, diving into the Stoic understanding of our bodies, the concept of the “god” in Stoicism, and the relationship between our physical body, life-sustaining breath, and rational mind. Marcus identifies these three par ... Show More
31m 27s
Feb 2025
Why Stoicism Teaches Us to Be Prepared for Death (Meditations 3.8)
In this episode, I explore Meditations 3.8 and the idea of preparing for death—not as a morbid fascination, but as a necessary step toward living justly and without fear. Marcus Aurelius describes the Stoic sage as someone unshaken by fate, someone who meets the end of life witho ... Show More
20m 18s
Feb 2025
What is Stoicism, really?
Modern interpretations of Stoicism are often wildly inaccurate, reducing the philosophy to a life hack for suppressing emotions, a tool for productivity-obsessed entrepreneurs, or a justification for toxic masculinity. But do any of these portrayals hold up under scrutiny? In thi ... Show More
21m 30s
Sep 2024
Making morally just decisions (Meditations 2.6)
In this episode, I explore Meditation 6 from Book 2 of Meditations, where Marcus Aurelius reflects on how we often fail to honor our own well-being, instead placing it in the hands of others. I dive into the Stoic concept of violence, explaining that true violence, in Stoic terms ... Show More
27m 39s
Feb 2025
The Commitment To A Moral Life (Meditations 3.7)
In this episode, I explore Meditations 3.7, where Marcus Aurelius reminds us that nothing should take priority over Virtue. Many misunderstand Stoicism as a philosophy of detachment, resilience, and isolation, but in truth, it is profoundly prosocial. Being a Stoic means fulfilli ... Show More
18m 24s
Feb 2025
Philosophy Series: Stoicism for Revolutionaries
Breht listens to, reflects on, and critically engages with a public lecture by the late philosopher Michael Sugrue titled Marcus Aurelius' Meditations: The Stoic Ideal. He discusses the philosophy of Stoicism, its insights as well as its limitations, its commodification and basta ... Show More
2h 2m
Oct 2024
Embracing The Logic Of The Cosmos (Meditations 2.9)
In this episode, I reflect on Meditation 9 from Book 2 of Meditations. Marcus Aurelius reminds us to always remember the nature of the Cosmos and our place within it. He emphasizes that the Cosmos is a rational and self-sustaining system, and as part of it, we share in that logic ... Show More
12m 47s