Can art make us better people? Musician Markus Reuter joins Mark, Wes, and Seth to discussion the first half of On the Aesthetic Education of Man (1795). Given the failure of the French Revolution, this famous German poet wondered what could make the masses capable of governing themselves? His answer: Beauty! Aesthetic appreciation puts us at a distance from our savage desires, enables the abstract thought necessary for Kantian rationalist morality, and yet keeps us in touch with our feelings so that we don't just become cogs in the industrial machine. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.

Ep. 318: Friedrich Schiller on the Civilizing Potential of Art (Part One)

The Partially Examined Life is a podcast by some guys who were at one point set on doing philosophy for a living but then thought better of it. Each episode, we pick a short text and chat about it with some balance between insight and flippancy. You don't have to know any philosophy, or even to have read the text we're talking about to (mostly) follow and (hopefully) enjoy the discussion. For links to the texts we discuss and other info, check out www.partiallyexaminedlife.com.

We also feature episodes from other podcasts by our hosts to round out your partially examined life, including Pretty Much Pop (prettymuchpop.com, covering all media), Nakedly Examined Music (nakedlyexaminedmusic.com, deconstructing songs), Philosophy vs. Improv (philosophyimprov.com, fun with performance skills and philosophical ideas), and (sub)Text (subtextpodcast.com, looking deeply at lit and film). Learn about more network podcasts at partiallyexaminedlife.com.

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On selections from the Enneads (270 C.E.), as presented by Elmer O'Brien as the first four essays in The Essential Plotinus: "Beauty," "The Intelligence, Ideas and Being," "The Descent of the Soul," and "The Good or The One." Featuring Mark, Wes, Dylan, Seth, and guest Chris Sunami. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. If you like our show, check out the Fearvana podcast. Learn about our new book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book (which Chris edited).

Ep. 343: Plotinus the Neo-Platonist (Part One)

Wes & Erin continue their discussion of "Rime of the Ancient Mariner."

PEL Presents SUBTEXT: Psychedelic Regrets in "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (Part 4)

We're concluding our treatment of the Daoist sage, focusing on the relation between metaphysics and ethics. Is a "wu wei" (non-action) philosophy compatible with fighting for justice? Does it even necessitate kindness? Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.   Information on our book is available at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book. Listen to Mark's new band, including the ending song to this episode, "I Insist," at marklint.bandcamp.com.

Ep. 342: Zhuangzi on Knowledge and Virtue (Part Two)

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al discuss the new Amazon TV show based on on the video game series that launched in 1997. How does one best adapt a sandbox game? How dark is too dark for comedy? We talk world-building and exposition dumps, narrative structure and character revelation, and morality in a ruined world. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

PEL Presents PMP#174: Fallout Plays Post-Apocalyptic

More on the Zhuangzi, books 1-6 and 17-19 with guest Theo Brooks. We discuss epistemology (Can we know the mind of someone else? How can virtue make truth more accessible?), metaphysics (Is the world constantly changing such that we can't actually refer to anything? Does each thing somehow contain its opposite in virtue of being defined by its contrast with all that it is not?), and ethics (What constitutes the Utmost Person, i.e. the sage?). Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Learn about our new book at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.

Ep. 318: Friedrich Schiller on the Civilizing Potential of Art (Part One)

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