Philosophy? WTF??

This week we take off the stabilisers and go absolute! Ooo and aaah as Mike lies through his teeth to Danny assuring him that he is still holding on tight and that all Danny has to do is peddle. Listen in with a proud tear in your eyes and a shake in your voice as Danny steers the Hegalian dialectic in a wobbly but increasingly confident straight line towards it’s ultimate destination. As Danny veers off into the bins turn your attention to Dr Mike as he kickstarts his Hegelian Electra Glide (in blue) and powers his way down the synthetic highway towards absolute spirit. It’s all good fun guys but safety first, wear a helmet this week.

This week Mike and Danny help Fichte to pack his bags after a very pleasant visit. Fichte tells us not to fuss as he'd far rather do his own packing because activity helps develop his consciousness and also expands the universal ego. Mike and Danny remind him that the last time he said that he left two pairs of socks and some underwear under our spare bed and nobody wants that. Fichte insists that these undergarments are the not-ego and by engaging with them we are also growing as egos and that we are welcome. Also in this cast we explore the caverns under WTF mansions and come across something very unsavoury. Tune in and bring a torch.

This week Mike and Danny witness the ego walk into Fichte's bar and tell everyone that they are unconscious. Listen in total astonishment as the not-ego stands up and accuses the ego of spilling it's pint. In the ensuing chaos, as the inevitable fight breaks out, listen for the Absolute Ego as it decides it's had quite enough of all this squabbling, gets out of bed and throws everyone out. Are you in the bar or are you bared? Listen in to this cast and guarantee that you are on the guest list.

This week Mike and Danny abandon the world of sense experience for the inner recesses of human consciousness. While the material world was rather more robust the ideal world of the ego seemed to have a lot of extra space and let in plenty of light. If we take down that wall over there, the one separating the ego from the not-ego, Fichte assures us that we can really open the whole space up, perhaps creating a combined living room study area, maybe even fit in some patio doors. Listen in as we look around the absolute ego trying to decide whether the small box room really does count as “a guest bedroom” and whether Fichte looks a bit like Kant in a certain light. Expand your mind and cast off the shackles of the real for the infinite possibilities of the ideal (terms and conditions apply).

This week Mike and Danny are still at the Kant party but the snacks are running out and the slow music is on the turntable. Was it a good party? Would we come again? Danny didn’t much care for it but tells Kant he had a lovely time anyway, Mike decides honesty is the best policy and tells Kant right out that his party sucked and gets punched in the nose by the disgruntled critical philosopher. Listen on in mute disbelief as chaos breaks out and Danny starts to steal the silver to help pay his rent. All this and the WTF chopper takes to the skies. Only miss this one if you would will for everyone to miss it!

This week Danny and Mike launch themselves head first into the whirling maelstrom of Kantian ethics. Is Danny “a good man”? How do we know? Is simply being “good” enough for Kant - spoiler alert, it isn’t. As we cling to the categorical imperative in a desperate hope that it will save us from being smashed against the rocks of a godless universe without any hope of a moral compass to guide our way Kant launches the lifeboat and can you guess who is at the helm? Well it ain’t Nietzsche or Wittgenstein, I can tell you that for nothing. Keep your feet dry folks!

This week we allow the manifold of sense experience to influence your perceptions while your mind does its magic and turns it into a podcast with pattern, meaning and duration - well done you. Consider the advisability of becoming a librarian, ruminate on the supernatural realms - do they provide us with any concrete knowledge or is it all smoke and mirrors? How much would you pay to listen to Kant when you can listen to Danny and Mike for free? Should we charge an admission fee? All of this played out against the private cinema of your mind. Make sure to bring popcorn.

This week we introduce the man with the plan, the man who can … the man called Kant. Immanuel brings the pain when he gets into the ring with “The Sceptic Tank” the Scotsman who is not afraid to stare into the face of empiricism and say “meh, I don’t know”. Yes, this episode has it all - well some of it at least, where would you put it “all” even if you had it? All of this and the soul stylings of “The Three Critiques” crooning their way into your hearts with such classic tracks as - 'Swedenborg broke my heart', 'Where has the metaphysics gone?' and 'Phenomena and Noumena' (living in harmony). Believe me you wouldn’t forgive yourselves if you missed this one. Well, perhaps you would, you’re far too soft on yourselves you know, you’ll only spoil yourself, don’t say we didn’t warn you.

In this weeks cast ... as with the previous 55 but by no means establishing it in any way as some sort of natural law. I mean, yes these podcasts have been coming out every Wednesday for over a year now so I guess you could be excused for thinking that number 56 was inevitable, that it was a universal law that it had to come out today. But you’d be wrong, we could just as easily have stopped at 55 and opened a small corner shop selling artisan baked goods instead. We haven’t, what you see before you is indeed episode 56 just as expected but the point is it didn’t HAVE to be here just because 55 of them have been previously, a repeating pattern is no guarantee that there is a law being enacted ... we talk about David Hume.

This week join us as Locke teaches us how to make a unicorn in the comfort of our own heads. How certain are we of our certainties? Listen, or don’t, your choice, as Mike and Danny wave a stick at Cartesian certainty and tell it to get off their land or they’ll set the dogs on it. Was the Enlightenment really the paradigm shift we needed or was it really just god in a false moustache and putting on a funny voice? Who’s calling who nasty, brutish and short? If Danny wants my share of the pie who can I call upon to stop him taking it by force - the monarchy or the social contract? Are we decent sorts who occasionally mess up or are we a mess that occasionally falls backwards into decency? All of this and the state telling us that it didn’t ask to be born but now it’s here it wants all of the pie. We do it to ourselves guys