The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast Partially Examined Life

Mark, Dylan, Seth, and Theo Brooks discuss the Zhuangzi (ca. 325 BCE) UNSW Sydney prof. Karyn, co-author of the History of Philosophy Podcast Chinese series.
We talk through Daoist advice about virtue, political action, perspectivism, and more.
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Concluding on The Philosophy of Nature: A Guide to the New Essentialism (2002) with guest Chris Heath.
Are we OK with the metaphysical necessity of natural laws? How do Ellis' mind-independent fundamental objects in the world relate to higher level things, whether biological species or human nature or even things like colors?
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Singer-songwriter Lynn has released 10 albums since 2001. We discuss the title track (and listen at the end to "I Waited Too Long") from High Tide (2024), "11:11" from Rise of the Fall (2017), and "Drugstore" from Crossing Frequencies (2001). Intro: "City Life" from Sugar on the Floor (2011). Hear more at lynndrury.com.
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Continuing on The Philosophy of Nature: A Guide to the New Essentialism.
Ellis' essentialism about physics and chemistry says that, for example, atoms of various elements are truly and unambiguously different and behave in ways that make them what they are. What does this entail?
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Learn about our new book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.

The incredible post-Seinfeld improvised sit-com Curb Your Enthusiasm has had its finale, and so Mark, Lawrence, Sarah and Al reflect on its format, its characters, its way of exploring puzzles of modern manners, its treatment of race and gender, and more. Was it too repetitive? Did it get too contrived?
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We're reading a 1984 essay by Mark's U. of Michigan undergrad advisor, included among the most cited philosophy papers in some list that Wes found. Railton's goal is to give a naturalistic account of ethics that both connects tightly to observed empirical facts about humanity and also makes moral facts real parts of our world, not merely reducible to non-moral facts about pleasure or expressed preferences or the like. In this first part, Railton lays out what naturalism in ethics amounts to and begins to explain why past empiricists like Hume don't provide a realist picture of morality.

Read along with us: https://www.filosoficas.unam.mx/docs/1110/files/Railton%20Moral%20realism.pdf

This is the first of at least three Closereads episodes going through this text. You can hear them all by signing up to support Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy.