In the eleventh episode of First Philosophy, Awee Prins continues with Sartre by confronting one of his most unsettling ideas: the gaze. Sartre’s claim is radical and uncomfortable — our relations to others are not grounded in empathy or harmony, but in conflict, reduction, and exposure.
We move through Sartre’s famous examples — the look, shame, love, pity — and slowly arrive at a strange moment of clarity halfway through the episode: an almost awe-filled realization of just how much of our everyday life is structured by being seen, judged, and fixed by others.

Along the way, Sonia and Kas (inevitably) interrupt — not to derail the argument, but to test it, resist it, and occasionally push it somewhere unexpected. Their interruptions become part of the episode’s rhythm: philosophy as something that refuses to stay neat.

This episode also sets the stage for what comes next, as Sartre’s bleak account of intersubjectivity opens toward later thinkers who try — and perhaps fail — to escape the violence of the gaze.

Let's begin, finally!

#existentialism  #JeanPaulSartre #BeingAndNothingness #ExistencePrecedesEssence #HumanCondition #TheGaze

Begin with philosophy here!

In the 10th episode of First Philosophy, we move from Martin Heidegger to Jean-Paul Sartre, tracing how existential philosophy shifts from structural analysis to lived drama.

Where Heidegger describes the structures of existence, Sartre insists on filling them in with freedom, responsibility, conflict, and anguish. If we are thrown projects, what does that actually mean in everyday life? What does it mean to act, to choose, to flee, or to take responsibility?

Sonia and Kas as always, pause, interrupt, and reflect —  we move from cafés and prison camps to novels, short stories, and philosophy lectures packed with thousands of listeners. Freedom, Sartre argues, comes with no excuses, no alibis, and no guarantees. The question is not whether we are free—but whether we dare to acknowledge it.

Let's begin, finally! 

#existentialism  #JeanPaulSartre #BeingAndNothingness #ExistencePrecedesEssence #FreedomAndResponsibility #BadFaith
#HumanCondition

Begin philosophy here!

In the ninth episode of First Philosophy, Awee Prins is moving deeper into the existential analytic of Dasein. After introducing Heidegger’s project in earlier episodes, we now explore how being-in-the-world shows itself in everyday life: through tools, moods, language, and our relations to others.

The episode also examines fallenness, the “they” (das Man), idle talk, curiosity, and ambiguity, before turning to anxiety, nothingness, being-towards-death, conscience, guilt, and resoluteness. Rather than offering advice or moral prescriptions, Heidegger’s philosophy is presented as a descriptive account of what it means to exist at all — to be a thrown project that must take up its own being.

As always, Sonia and Kas pause, interrupt, and reflect — not to simplify Heidegger, but to stay with the difficulty of what he is trying to think.

Let's begin, finally!

#Heidegger #BeingAndTime #Philosophy #Existentialism #Moods #Anxiety #Boredom #Authenticity #BeingInTheWorld#FirstPhilosophy #ContinentalPhilosophy#ExistentialPhilosophy

Dasein – Jemeinigkeit - “The essence of Dasein lies in its Existence”  

In this episode, Awee embarks on a slow and thoughtful exploration of Martin Heidegger's Being and Time [Sein und Seit], one of the most complex and influential works in Western philosophy. Awee addresses the importance and complexity of what Heidegger endeavours in this project; showing the structures of everyday existence, which he terms Dasein.  

Kas and Sonia assist the listeners in grappling with the contents of the book, as it requires an entirely new vocabulary. They also discuss two ways of interpreting one of Heidegger's most influential concepts; authenticity. 

Let’s begin, finally! 

The question of Being - Being as a noun - Being as an event - “You can't bracket a bullit”

In this episode, Awee introduces us to Martin Heidegger, one of the most influential—and controversial—philosophers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Breaking sharply from his mentor, Edmund Husserl, Heidegger challenges over 2000 years of Western philosophy.  After the ancient Greeks before him, Heidegger turned to the question of being. According to Heidegger, philosophy should not be a 'rigorous science' but should instead wrestle with the fundamental questions of existence; what it means to be human. 

Kas and Sonia guide you through this challenging episode, as Kas modestly fanboys about his first philosophical love: Heidegger. We also find out that in philosophy and life, language is kind of a big deal. 

Let’s begin, finally! 

Intentionality – Bracketing – Dingbewusstsein – Rain or urine? 

 Awee delves into reading the works of Edmund Husserl, guiding the listener through the first steps into transcendental phenomenology. Through key fragments, as well as contextualizing Husserl through his early influences and the thinkers he influenced, this episode will give you a firm starting ground to understanding the father of phenomenology. 

Sonia and Kas disagree whether Husserl is thinking warmly or falls to his math-envy, and remind themselves as well as the listener that we still limit ourselves to the canon of western philosophy. 

Let’s begin, finally! 

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Edmund Husserl - Crisis of the Sciences - First Philosophy

In order to understand Edmund Husserl's famous dictum to go "zu dem sachen selbst" we need to first understand the reasons for which it makes sense to do so.
Awee expertly guides us through the crises of sciences, which brings us to Husserl's doorstep. 

Kas and Sonia discuss whether anything Jean — Paul Sartre ever wrote is worth wile, or if he should have at least written something better than the sources he used? And, without missing a beat, they hit their favourite target: the Dostoevsky anvil, lest we forget. 

Let's begin finally!

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Kierkegaard · DOSTOEVSKY · Pseudonymous production · Boredom and Dread

In this episode, Awee discusses Kierkegaard's most important works and concepts.

Meanwhile, Kas and Sonia give a mandatory Dostoevsky PSA and help us understand the work of Kierkegaard through the song Is That All There Is by Peggy Lee.

Let's begin finally!

PS As everyone knows, Philosophy is the friends you make along the way, so in the spirit of friendship, could you press the follow button and or/and give the podcast five stars?

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Kierkegaard · Slandering Descartes· First-person perspective· The Birth of Phenomenology · Irony

In this episode “Towards Kierkegaard” Awee introduces the key concepts needed to begin understanding Kierkegaard's profound ideas.

Meanwhile, Kas and Sonia shed nuanced light on the often-misunderstood Descartes, while Dostoevsky makes a welcome return.
 
Let's begin finally!

PS As everyone knows, Philosophy is the friends you make along the way, so in the spirit of friendship, could you press the follow button and or/and give the podcast five stars?

Read more on StilleGeluiden.nl

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First philosophy invites you to begin philosophy with us anew.

Edmund Husserl says philosophers must be eternal beginners, so in in this podcast we return to our beginnings: great lectures!

Our first season centers around Dr. Awee Prins and the lecture series Human Conditions.

Each episode is a dive into various philosophical themes, blending insights form great thinkers with contemporary issues and encouraging contemplative conversations on what it means to be human in an ever-changing world.

Sonia Shvets and Kas Molenaar - as fellow travellers and hosts of First Philosophy - will provide brief interludes, insights, and introductions to the various topics and lectures. Let's begin, finally!

Listen and read more on Stillegeluiden.nl

Please let us know what you think?