Subjects in Process

After several episodes discussing more-or-less one subject, Jonathan and Jeff are moving on to something else! Maybe this really is subjects-in-progress after all!

Using Derek DelGaudio's philosophical magic show, In and Of Itself, as a springboard (and avoiding spoilers), Jonathan and Jeff walk through a very high-level history of philosophy (Heraclitus, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, and a sprinkling of others) and discuss the pursuit and discovery of meaning. The conversation is somewhat wide-ranging, briefly touching on an old band Jeff was in called Imitators of the Third Kind, the differences between "chair-ness" and "chairs," the Heraclitean leanings of Disney's Pocahontas, the Resurrection and "the scandal of particularity," the relation of the universal and the particular and its role in creating meaning, apophasis/cataphasis, and a strong closing recommendation to not be a Sophist (or at least not every day). Lots of stuff in the show notes on this one! 

Stay tuned for Jeff's movie pitch: "In a world where someone's trying to kill Socrates..." 

Show Notes: 

Music: 

Theme Music: "What u Thinkin? (Instrumental)" by Wataboi on Pixabay 

Intermission Music: Dan Henig, "Subway Dreams," YouTube Audio Library

In today’s episode, Jeff and Jonathan discuss if the economic concept of "barriers to entry" might be useful for articulating concerns beyond the market. The conversation considers if upbringing, access to capital, supportive relationships and community, or personal principles could be thought of as "barriers to entry" that should be considered when considering if markets are running fairly and effectively. 

They touch on statistical trends related to the concentration of wealth through history, whether a cow can be an anti-depressant, how the movie Barnyard describes real strength, and whether the musician Moby has Gregor's CDs. Finally, they discuss Herman Melville's short story, "Bartleby, the Scrivener," and consider if participation in the market is something we should even aim for. How should we think about and value people who can't, don't, or just don't want to participate in "economically productive" behaviour -- and what about those who would rather live by themselves in the mountains?

Want to chime in? Email us at: [email protected]

Show Notes:

And... looking ahead to next week's episode, we highly recommend checking out Derek DelGaudio's magnificent philosophical magic show, In & Of Itself: https://store.cineplex.com/Product/derek-delgaudios-in-of-itself

Music:

Theme Music: "What u Thinkin? (Instrumental)" by Wataboi on Pixabay

Intermission Music: "Lazy Morning" by Tim Moor on Pixabay

Jonathan and Jeff continue looking at some of the ground-level issues that relate to the experience of capitalism: this week they look at "barriers to entry". Barriers to entry is a term that economists use to talk about obstacles that new firms can encounter when they attempt to enter the market. The conversation careens between discussions of patents to economies of scale to the benefits of competition to the Housing First initiative to Medicine Hat and Rudyard Kipling to copyright to beer brewing laws to a great Parks and Rec episode -- not necessarily in that order -- and eventually they even explore the questions of what constitutes "bad" barriers to entry and what might "good" ones include? 

Want to chime in? Email us at: [email protected]

Show Notes:

Parks and Recreation, "Bailout" (2013): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2649404/

Music:

Theme Music: "What u Thinkin? (Instrumental)" by Wataboi on Pixabay

Intermission Music: "Uncut Gems" by Mezhdunami on Pixabay on Pixabay

Jeff and Jonathan discuss Marx's idea of alienation, and try to better understand it by sidestepping theory to talk more about Dairy Queen. They explore questions like: What kind of work is meaningful? What deprives us of pride in our work? Does modern work interfere with the best parts of being human?  Is management theory itself evidence alienation or does it aim to alleviate it? Are metrics part of the problem or a cure? Are we more mind or body, and what role does our "creatureliness" play in shaping meaning in our lives? 

Want to chime in? Email us at: [email protected] 

Show Notes: 

"The end of life hacking" (Laura Miller): https://slate.com/culture/2019/06/life-hacking-productivity-tech-silicon-valley-hacking-life-book-review.html 

"Goals Gone Wild" (Ordóñez et al.): https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/09-083.pdf 

"Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey" (Locke & Latham): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11152729_Building_a_practically_useful_theory_of_goal_setting_and_task_motivation_-_A_35-year_odyssey 

Music: 

Theme Music: "What u Thinkin? (Instrumental)" by Wataboi on Pixabay 

Intermission Music: "Future Ambient" by BeachVibes-Music on Pixabay

Jeff and Jonathan continue their long-winded/long-winding discussion on capitalism. They explore a number of questions, including: How do we get from where we are to what's next? Do we have to address all the ills of the past or can we start from where we are at? They touch on Adam Smith, Milton Friedman, the literal definition of capitalism, exploitation and the rules of capitalism, externalities, the Rocky Mountains, the ubiquity of lies, Will Smith, Uber supply and demand, and more. 

Show Notes:  

Milton Friedman, "The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Profits": https://www.nytimes.com/1970/09/13/archives/a-friedman-doctrine-the-social-responsibility-of-business-is-to.html

Music: 

Theme Music: "What u Thinkin? (Instrumental)" by Wataboi on Pixabay 

Intermission Music: "Lazy Morning" by Tim Moor on Pixabay

We discuss Scott Alexander's 2018 post comparing "mistake theorists" and "conflict theorists" in order to try to understand what contributes to polarization (like those surrounding the question of capitalism). Is this typology useful? Maybe we need to add an axis? What about Shane Claiborne? The conversation proceeds to cover William Blake, Walter Wink, some more Adam Smith, Noam Chomsky, and more. The episode culminates with a sweet 2x2 matrix that takes Scott Alexander's binary and propels it into a 3rd dimension!!

Show Notes: 

"Mistake vs Conflict" blog post on Slate Star Codex: https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/01/24/conflict-vs-mistake/

Nathan Robinson podcast on Vox: https://www.vox.com/podcasts/2020/1/7/21055676/nathan-robinson-ezra-klein-socialism-bernie-sanders

Syndicate.Network symposium about Eugene McCarraher's "The Enchantments of Mammon": https://syndicate.network/symposia/theology/the-enchantments-of-mammon/

"Hayek vs Keynes" Rap Battle: https://youtu.be/d0nERTFo-Sk 

Music: 

Theme Music: "What u Thinkin? (Instrumental)" by Wataboi on Pixabay 

Intermission Music: "Uncut Gems" by Mezhdunami on Pixabay and "Journey" by Tim Moor on Pixabay

Continuing our conversation on capitalism, Jonathan kicks off this episode with a discussion of one of the fathers of capitalism, Adam Smith. Both Jon and Jeff reveal their Hegelian leanings. From there, we talk about some of the differences between Smith and Marx. Needle factories also come up much more often than one might typically expect in a podcast (at least these days). We discuss history and the value of widening our "temporal bandwidth" (to borrow Alan Jacobs's / Thomas Pynchon's term). We then start charting some possible directions our discussion can go from here, including an interesting blog post (see link below) all about different ways of approaching complex systems and how this might connect to contemporary politics. 

(A quick note: In this episode, we refer to Scott Alexander's idea of "mistake theorist" as "problem theorist.")

Want to chime in? (It sure beats yelling at a wall). Email us at: [email protected]

Show Notes: 

The Toaster Project: http://www.thetoasterproject.org/

"Conflict vs. Mistake" by Scott Alexander: https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/01/24/conflict-vs-mistake/

Music:

Theme Music: "What u Thinkin? (Instrumental)" by Wataboi on Pixabay

Intermission Music: "Lazy Morning" by Tim Moor on Pixabay

In this episode, Jonathan and Jeff continue their rambling and insufficiently informed discussion of capitalism by talking about language — and also two Jacqueses (Derrida and Lacan), Benoit Mandelbrot, the bullsh*t asymmetry principle, quantum mechanics, Zeno’s paradox, and that’s just in the first fifteen minutes! 

Want to chime in? Email us at: [email protected]

Show Notes: 

"Happiness" (https://youtu.be/e9dZQelULDk)

Music:

Theme Music: "What u Thinkin? (Instrumental)" by Wataboi on Pixabay

Intermission Music: "Lazy Morning" by Tim Moor on Pixabay

In this episode, Jeff talks to Jonathan about what he's gleaned so far from reading the first half of historian Eugene McCarraher’s book, "The Enchantments of Mammon: How Capitalism Became the Religion of Modernity." The book critiques capitalism from a "left romanticism" perspective and provides a way to discuss what matters for living well; the nature, limitations, opportunities, and failures of our modern situation; and how political and economic structures shape the human experience. 

In addition to McCarraher's tome, this episode roves around all sorts of topics, including Max Weber, sacramental ontology, Milton Friedman, management theory, John Ruskin, Adam Smith, worship, Richard Dawkins, the Outside, and more.  This discussion kicks off a series on the many facets of capitalism -- and we'll be continuing in future episodes to even-more-incompletely touch on many other topics including language, the nature of mental models, the limitations of knowledge, and what meaning there is to be found in the world. 

Want to chime in? Email us at: [email protected] 

Show Notes: 

Eugene McCarraher's article about John Ruskin in Plough Quarterly: https://www.plough.com/en/topics/justice/comrade-ruskin

Keynes vs. Hayek rap battle: "Fear the Boom and Bust: Keynes vs. Hayek – The Original Economics Rap Battle": https://youtu.be/d0nERTFo-Sk

Music: 

Theme Music: "What u Thinkin? (Instrumental)" by Wataboi on Pixabay 

Intermission Music: "Lazy Morning" by Tim Moor on Pixabay