Philosophy After Hours

In this episode we begin with a short summary of the case of Pervis Payne, a man who has been on death row for 30 years, and transition into a discussion of capital punishment. Is the death penalty defensible? Is this form of retributive 'justice' a practice of equality, or mere revenge? Should the State ever have the ability to sentence a person to life in prison? Main episode begins at 13:04.

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Text: Matt Rowan, Press Release, 3/12/21

In this episode we discuss some comedians' responses to "cancel culture." Does comedic speech have a special ability to soften hostilities around controversial topics? Is it sufficient to say "it's just a joke" in response to critique? Main episode begins at 17:19.

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Text: Emmanuel Levinas, Of God Who Comes to Mind, trans. Bettina Bergo (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1998), 89-90.

In this episode we discuss animism as a strategic form of divinity by which we could develop a renewed sense of care and reverence for the environment. But is 'divinity' still valued? Do we simply need to displace the anthropocentric in order to develop an ecocentric worldview, or is something else required? Hear what we think! Main episode begins at 18:14.

If you want to contact us, hit us up at therilkeanzoo[at]gmail.com. Also, find us on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo.

Text: Walt Whitman, "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry," Leaves of Grass (New York: Signet Classics, 1960), 144.

In this episode we discuss the role of violence in the struggle against capitalism. What constitutes a violent action? What form(s) of violence would productively incapacitate capitalism's own exercises of violence? Main episode beings at 11:27.

If you want to contact us, hit us up at therilkeanzoo[at]gmail.com. Also, find us on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo.

Text: C.P. Cavafy, "The City," The Complete Poems of Cavafy, trans. Rae Dalven (San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace, 1976), 27.

In the fourth installment of "shooting the shit," we are tipsy in celebration of Aaron's prospectus. We are feeling quite good here, and get quite loose in a sauntering discussion of Klimt, the achievement of 'benchmarks,' and the Absolute's relationship to theory and experience. Hear what we think. Main episode begins at 11:54.

If you want to contact us, hit us up at therilkeanzoo[at]gmail.com. Also, find us on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo.

Text: Laura Payne, Essential Klimt (Bath, ENG: Parragon, 2002), 6.

In this episode we discuss the concept of anonymity in the wake of increased police drone surveillance. What value does anonymity possess, and do we have a right over the manner in which we are identified? Has the rise of social media jeopardized our ability to remain anonymous? Hear what we think. Main episode begins at 13:08.

If you want to contact us, hit us up at therilkeanzoo[at]gmail.com. Also, find us on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo.

Text: Walpola Rahula, What the Buddha Taught (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 1974), 14.

In this episode we discuss finitude. We routinely conceive of our existence as finite or limited in relation to what we can know or accomplish in the world. Often, the response to this finitude is frustration or embarrassment, leading us to embrace some notion of the infinite to redeem or sure-up our limitations. But do we need to make this move? Can we embrace finitude in a way that doesn't subordinate it to the infinite? Hear what we think.

Main episode begins at 14:05.

If you want to contact us, hit us up at therilkeanzoo[at]gmail.com. Also, find us on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo.

Text:

Paul Tillich, Dynamics of Faith (New York: HarperOne, 2009), xxi.

In this episode we discuss the concept of home, home-ness, and home-building. What are the qualities of the places we call home, and what is its signification? Is it necessarily singular? And how might covid have transformed our relation to home through a severance with the public? Hear what we think.

Main episode discussion begins at 16:13.

If you want to contact us, hit us up at therilkeanzoo[at]gmail.com. Also, find us on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo.

Text: Hegel, The Science of Logic, trans. di Giovanni (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 684.

In this episode we engage in a wandering discussion about death. What does it mean to die? Is it important for us to face up to our own deaths? Is that even possible or desirable? Does the thought of death (la mort) - especially the death of the Other - better attune us to the importance of love (l'amour)? Hear what we think.

If you want to contact us, hit us up at therilkeanzoo[at]gmail.com. Also, find us on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo.

Text:

Joshua Zeitz, Flapper (New York, NY: Three Rivers Press, 2006), 36.

In this episode we discuss the ideology of the "true gift"--an act of selfless giving. Does this ideology operate in our cultural consciousness? Is it possible? Desirable? Does the selfless gift jeopardize the very subjectivity of the interpersonal relationship it emerges from? Hear what we think.

If you want to contact us, hit us up at therilkeanzoo[at]gmail.com.

Text: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Reveries of the Solitary Walker, trans. Charles Butterworth (Hackett Classics).