Philosophical

Today we begin our discussion of Plato’s Theaetetus. We start by considering how some of our friends answered the question: What is knowledge? Then, we discuss the difference between knowledge and the kinds of knowledge and we briefly go over Socrates’ famous midwife passage. We end by inquiring in a preliminary way into the relationship between Theaetetus’s claim that knowledge is perception and Protagoras’s that man is the measure of all things.

After another long break, today we finally finish discussing Plato’s dialogue on friendship, the Lysis. In this episode, we cover Socrates’ refutation of last episode’s conclusion, the role of desire in friendship, whether or not evil is the cause of friendship, and the fact that friendship is so hard to give an account of despite the fact that we all seem to know we have friends.

Join us as we have an impromptu episode that's all about your hosts - Amanda and Brandon. We discuss everything from growing up in a small town to disclosing our last google search. As siblings, we thought we knew each other pretty well, but this episode showed us that we still have things to learn about one another and we're more similar than we thought!  Don't forget to email us at [email protected] if you have any feedback. We'd love to hear from you! 

We’re back! After a long break, today we continue to discuss Plato’s dialogue on friendship, the Lysis. In this episode, we follow Socrates’s dissection of the love relation between two friends, determine whether birds of a feather flock together or opposites attract, and contemplate the role that friends play in our endeavors towards being good. Don't forget to email us at [email protected] if you have any requests for a review or any feedback! 

On this week’s episode, we begin discussing Plato’s dialogue on friendship, the Lysis. In particular, we talk about same-sex relationships in ancient Greece, whether parents’ love for their children consists in wanting them to be happy, and how learning often requires acknowledging that we might not know what we think we do. Next week, we’ll finish the Lysis by focusing on the question: What is a friend? Don't forget to email us at [email protected] with any thoughts, feedback or books you want us to discuss in the future! 

On this week's episode, we discuss Foucault's History of Sexuality Volume 1. We dive into how the societal presence of sexuality has changed over time, how that impacts the way we view sexuality as a whole, and how Foucault believes that people should discuss their thoughts and feelings regarding sexuality. We'd love to hear from you! Please email us at [email protected] and let us know if you'd like us to go over a specific book or if you just want to give us your thoughts and feedback! 

In today’s episode we finish discussing Hume’s Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. Brandon outlines and contextualizes some of Hume’s arguments concerning the irrationality of causality and explains Hume’s treatment of belief. We consider Hume’s advice together and talk about some strategies for distinguishing real belief from mere figments of the imagination.

Today we begin talking about Hume’s Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. Join us as we discuss the role of philosophy in society, the difference between sensing and thinking, and the legitimacy of causality.

In this episode we go over the sixth Meditations of Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy. Before we wrap up discussing Descartes, Amanda and Brandon give an update on their own lives - Brandon is applying to graduate programs all across the world and Amanda has a taste of what it's like to go viral on TikTok. In the sixth Meditation, we discuss how Descartes believes that the mind and body are independent of one another and what this might actually look like. 

In this episode we go over the third and fourth Meditations of Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy. Listen as we grapple with the question of the existence of God, contemplate our understanding of infinity, try to comprehend error and its possibility, and wonder about how to make the right decisions.