I Learned Nothing

Pat was feeling complacent so Ben charges in with the perfect remedy: A rousing recitation of Nietzsche’s famous doctrine of the Eternal Recurrence. If you had to live your life again exactly as you’ve lived it so far over and over again for eternity, would you curse God or thank him? And what would you do differently now? Huh? Punk? Ben and Pat also get distracted by news of an upcoming fried chicken festival. All in all, a successful episode.

Pat was feeling absolute about space & time so Ben took him down a peg by explaining the Theory of Relativity. Developed by internationally renowned German-American physicist/sex addict Albert Einstein, the special and general theories of relativity have fundamentally altered our understanding of spacetime, light, gravity, and Big Dick Energy since the beginning of the 20th Century. Pat has to confront the fact that time is indeed a son of a bitch, and he’s not happy about it.

Pat was feeling like half a momo, so Ben introduces him to the very Eye-talian flavor of Marxism developed by Antonio Gramsci. Gramsci started as a pizza chef, then became a master plumber with his brother, Luigi. In order to learn this trade, he became a trade unionist before converting fully to Marxism. He redefined Western Marxism by introducing novel concepts like Cultural Hegemony and the Base v. Superstructure dichotomy. He wrote extensively about Marxist theory while imprisoned by Mussolini for the last 11 years of his life. Mamma Mia!

Pat was feeling Middle Eastern so Ben brings in a foreign correspondent to talk about the Islamic World’s Biggest Intellectual Daddy, Avicenna. Pittsburgh Professor of Near Eastern Studies/infirm veteran Mitch Mekulsia joins the WisdomBoyz in a heated discussion about the man who brought Aristotle to Europe, no matter how much Europeans hate to admit it.

Pat was feeling BDE (Big Dick Energy) so Ben continues his onslaught advocating the very Bauhaus philosophy of his Daddy, Ludwig Wittgenstein. Ben & Pat cover his dramatically high standards, surly personality, and obsession with uncovering the truth about numbers, meaning, language and life! Take a nap Lil’ Luki! You are the limit of your own world. Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muß man schweigen.

Pat was feeling uppity so Ben checks him on our 100th episode. Mein Gott! Ben unlocks the final seal and unleashes his Philosophical Daddy on all listeners with the sack enough to Learn. Ludwig Wittgenstein is in the house and is about to disrupt every preconception philosophy has to offer. Join us as Ben lets the fly out of the fly bottle. Die Welt ist Alles was der Fall ist, Bitch.

Pat was feeling content with his choices so Ben ruins it for everybody by bothering Pat with another thought experiment. This one has no fat on it, which is ironic because huhuhuh…anyway, would you live in the Matrix knowing full well it was all a dream? Or would you risk an authentic life exposed to the arbitrary whims of a cruel reality? What would you do when confronted with the opportunity to live out your life in The Experience Machine? Not so content now, are ya, smart guy? Asshole!

Pat was feeling underdetermined so Ben shoves his face in the revolutionary linguistic theories of America’s Grumpiest Old Man Noam Chomsky. Dude’s been in the news since been pimpin not only because of his sharply critical view of American foreign policy but also for developing the theory of Universal Grammar, which looks to explain how humans acquire language so quickly and effortlessly. He also doesn’t trust the government or the media, not to mention the insidious influence of corporate power, which he refers to as “private tyrannies” holding our country hostage. What a crazy ol’ kook! Join the DSA!

Pat was feeling incommensurable so Ben melts his face off explaining the theory of Paradigm Shift. Identified by American physicist, philosopher, and nerd Thomas Kuhn, Paradigm Shift is a groundbreaking concept in the philosophy of science that itself caused a paradigm shift in our own understanding of how science as a human institution is practiced. Every once in a while, some big swinging dick comes in and fucks science up, only to disrupt our old conceptual scheme and initiate a new one.

Pat was feeling Gallic so Ben comes at him with the guy who started it all. Not just French philosophy, but the Modern Western Tradition as we know it. Rectifying an oversight that has plagued the podcast for decades, Ben & Pat finally talk about the Daddy of Modern Philosophy himself: René "Sit on my face" Descartes. The WisdomBois discuss Descartes' contributions to Western thought, such as his Rationalist approach to knowledge, and developing the first version of the Brain in the Vat thought experiment. The Bois then cap it all off with the phrase that pays: I Think Therefore I Am, Bitch.