The Living Philosophy

The Living Philosophy

By The Living PhilosophySociety & CulturePhilosophy
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The Living Philosophy episodes

  • Do We Live in a Simulation? Baudrillard's Simulation and Simulacra

    In his 1981 book Simulation and Simulacra, Jean Baudrillard makes the claim that we are all living in a simulation. Baudrillard’s conception of simulation is extremely complex, going beyond The Matrix’s conception of the simulation (a movie that was inspired by Baudrillard’s Simulation and Simulacra) as a virtual reality world in which we all live.
    Baudrillard says that with the emergence of the postmodern age, we have entered the simulation, a hyperreality in which all access to the real has debarred. The real is decaying away while we ourselves are locked into the hyperreal space without referents. 
    In this episode we will be looking at Jean Baudrillard’s conception of hyperreality and the hyperreal postmodern landscape we now inhabit. In Baudrillard postmodernism meets futurism and sci-fi to paint the terrifying picture of the dystopic landscape we find ourselves in. As we’ve gone deeper into the 21st century this work of Baudrillard has been shown to be more and more prescient, a topic we will dive deeper into in future episode of the Living Philosophy. 
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    ⌛ Timestamps:
    0:00 Introduction
    1:35 Simulation and Simulacra
    5:53 The Difficulties of Defining Simulation
    8:26 What is Simulation
    10:32 The Hypermarket Simulation
    13:12 The Tasaday Simulation
    15:24 Summary and Conclusion

    18 min
  • What is Structuralism? Levi-Strauss, Barthes and Lacan

    What is Structuralism? In this episode, we are going to break down the Structuralist theory pioneered by Claude Lévi Strauss and explored by the likes of Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, Jacques Lacan and Jean Piaget. We will be looking at the meaning of Structuralism and what the main criticisms of it were from Jean Piaget and from the Poststructuralism angle of Jacques Derrida. 
    The simple answer to what is Structuralism would look at the structural linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure. His work especially the idea of langue and parole as we explore in this video was a pivotal inspiration for the structural anthropology of Claude Levi Strauss and for structural sociology as seen in the work of Barthes and Foucault and in structuralism psychology as seen in the works of Jacques Lacan. There are influential ways of looking at structuralism in literature as we shall see with the works of Joseph Campbell who while not a structuralist was influenced by Claude Lévi Strauss and whose work is the epitome of Structuralism.
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    ⌛ Timestamps:
    0:00 Intro: What is Structuralism 
    0:34 Ferdinand de Saussure and Structural Linguistics
    2:08 The Structuralists
    4:34 Piaget and the Failures of Structuralism as Science
    7:22 The Poststructuralism Critique by Derrida
    9:06 Summary and Conclusion

    14 min
  • The Structure of Scientific Revolutions - Thomas Kuhn

    Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions was one of the most controversial books of the 20th century as well as being one of the most referenced academic works in history. 
    In this episode we look at what Thomas Kuhn said about the Structure of Scientific Revolutions and how every science falls into three phases. The first stage of Kuhn’s theory is the Pre-Paradigm phase. This is where the field has yet to achieve any consensus and is divided into a number of competing schools. 
    With the second phase in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Kuhn tells us that the field has achieved a certain level of consensus around one paradigmatic theory as has happened for the field of Optics with the work of Newton or of electricity with the work of Franklin. This paradigm sets the research program for the field which sets about the work of normal science.
    In the course of this normal science, anomalies in the data appear and Kuhn tells us that these anomalies, if not resolved, precipitate a crisis in the field and lead the practitioners to doubt their paradigm. 
    It is this type of crisis that triggers the emergence of the revolutionary science or extraordinary science. In this period a scientist comes up with a solution to this crisis that reorients the field around this new paradigm — setting a new research program and acting as an exemplar for future paradigmatic solutions. 
    Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions changed how scientific development has been perceived forever. In the next episode on Kuhn’s work we will look at the legacy and criticisms of Kuhn’s work.  
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    Media Used:
    1. Juniper — Kevin MacLeod
    2. Drums of the Deep — Kevin MacLeod
    3. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod
    4. Mesmerize — Kevin MacLeod
    5. Allégro — Emmit Fenn

    Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic
    Subscribe to Emmit Fenn https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC81hioFupMsG2MWMQy78oCw 
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    ⌛ Timestamps:
    0:00 The Structure of Scientific Revolutions - Intro
    0:45 Pre-Paradigm
    3:04 Paradigm – Normal Science
    5:31 Revolutionary / Extraordinary Science
    10:03 Summary and Conclusion
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    #Kuhn #thelivingphilosophy #philosophy #philosophyofscience #paradigm

    12 min
  • Carl Jung: What is the Collective Unconscious?

    Carl Jung's Collective Unconscious is his biggest and most commonly misunderstood concept. The Collective Unconscious Jung tells us goes deeper than the Personal Unconscious in which we find our own personal experiences. The Collective Unconscious is the common layer of the mind in which the instincts of humanity exist and at certain times in our life bubble up into consciousness. This is the realm of the archetypes and the layer of the mind where myths gods and religions draw their source from. In this episode we explore the Carl Jung Collective Unconscious and what it means in the scope of the psyche. We will also be looking at the difference between the personal and collective unconscious and at the contents of the collective unconscious. 

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    ⌛ Timestamps:

    0:00 The Misunderstood Collective Unconscious

    3:56 The Structure of the Psyche

    5:37 What is the Collective Unconscious

    10:14 Contents of the Collective Unconscious

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    🎶 Music Used:

    1. There’s Probably No Time — Chris Zabriskie

    2. Drums of the Deep — Kevin MacLeod

    3. Allégro — Emmit Fenn

    4. Despair and Triumph — Kevin MacLeod

    5. Mesmerize — Kevin MacLeod

    Subscribe to Chris Zabriskie youtube.com/c/chriszabriskie 

    Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic

    Subscribe to Emmit Fenn https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC81hioFupMsG2MWMQy78oCw 

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    Referenced Clips:

    Turtle clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYF_vUBFSsA&ab_channel=BBC

    Reddit thread #1: https://www.reddit.com/r/IsItBullshit/comments/8l3mdt/isitbullshit_collective_unconscious/ 

    Reddit thread #2: https://www.reddit.com/r/askphilosophy/comments/9eh1ap/is_carl_jungs_theory_of_the_collective/ 

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    #jung #thelivingphilosophy #collectiveunconscious #unsconsious #archetypes #archetypalpsychology #psychology #archetype


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    13 min
  • Why French Postmodernists were Pro-Paedophilia in the 1970s

    In the wake of the Paris 1968 student protests, Le Monde published a petition from a group of French intellectuals including Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Gilles Deleuze and a number of future French ministers that argued for the rights of “12- and 13-year olds” “to have relations with whomever they choose”. 

    In this episode I want to explore why these French intellectuals were on the side of Paedophilia, why the pro-paedophilia lobby was so strong at the time and what philosophical justification they had for this view. This will involve an exploration of what happened with the Paris 1968 student protests. 

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    📚 Further Reading:

    • The original petition (in French): https://web.archive.org/web/20200125093636/http://www.dolto.fr/fd-code-penal-crp.html

    • The Atlantic’s article on the age of consent in France from which many quotes and context about 1968 in this video is derived: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/03/frances-existential-crisis-over-sexual-harassment-laws/550700/

    • The Guardian’s article on this strange time in French intellectual history: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/feb/24/jonhenley#:~:text=The%20petitions%20were%20issued%20after,Kouchner%20and%20Mr%20Lang%2C%20said.

    • Wikipedia Article on the petition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_petition_against_age_of_consent_laws

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    ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy 

    ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy

    ________________

    🎶 Music Used:

    1. Magnetic — CO.AG Music

    2. Mesmerize — Kevin MacLeod

    3. End of the Era — Kevin MacLeod

    4. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod

    Subscribe to CO.AG Music https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcav... 

    Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic

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    ⌛ Timestamps:

    0:00 Introduction

    1:08 1968

    3:19 The Birth of Active Politics

    5:30 Analysis

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    #postmodernism #thelivingphilosophy #1968 #philosophy


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    10 min
  • Freud's Id, Ego and Superego Explained

    In the work of the great psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, Id Ego Superego form the tripartite structure of the mind. This three-part structure is illustrated by the metaphor of an iceberg by Freud in his 1915 work The Unconscious.

    This Id Ego Superego structure can be divided between the realms of the conscious and the unconscious. The Id is entirely unconscious, the Ego entirely conscious while the Superego is partly conscious and partly unconscious.

    In this episode we take the Sigmund Freud id ego superego tripartite iceberg model and map it out looking at the nuances of translation found in Freud’s work.

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    ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!)

    ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy

    ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy

    ________________

    🎶 Music Used:

    1. Magnetic — CO.AG Music

    2. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod

    3. Mesmerize — Kevin MacLeod

    4. End of the Era — Kevin MacLeod

    Subscribe to CO.AG Music https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcav...

    Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic

    _________________

    ⌛ Timestamps:

    0:00 Introduction

    0:51 The Id

    4:21 The Superego

    6:06 The Ego

    _________________


    #Freud #thelivingphilosophy #psychology #philosophy #id #ego #superego


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    9 min
  • Thomas Kuhn — What is a Paradigm?

    Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions was one of the most controversial books of the 20th century as well as being one of the most referenced academic works in history. Paradigm was a specialised term before Kuhn but since The Structure of Scientific Revolutions has been in circulation, Kuhn’s paradigm rears its head in every nook and cranny of our society. From Fortune 500 board meetings to hippy sharing circles, the term paradigm has penetrated every layer of the culture.

    In this episode we explore what Kuhn meant by the term paradigm and we explore the connected ideas of incommensurability and Kuhn Loss. In the postscript to the second edition of the Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Kuhn distinguishes two definitions of the term paradigm: paradigm as disciplinary matrix and paradigm as exemplar. By disciplinary matrix he means something like the worldview of the scientific community — the collection of beliefs, values, techniques and instruments that they use. By exemplar he means the exemplary solution of a paradigmatic puzzle that we find in the work of the paradigm setting scientist.

    The idea of incommensurability comes from the inability to compare two different paradigms while Kuhn Loss refers to the loss of knowledge that occurs when paradigms move on.

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    ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy

    ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy

    ________________

    Media Used:

    1. Juniper — Kevin MacLeod

    2. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod

    3. Mesmerize — Kevin MacLeod

    4. End of the Era — Kevin MacLeod

    5. Magnetic — CO.AG Music


    Subscribe to CO.AG Music https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcav...

    Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic

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    ⌛ Timestamps:

    0:00 Introduction

    1:19 The Traditional vs. Kuhnian History of Science

    4:42 Paradigm as Disciplinary Matrix

    6:08 Paradigm as Exemplar

    7:45 Incommensurability and Kuhn Loss

    9:25 Different Worlds

    10:29 Summary and Conclusion


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    12 min
  • Why the Masterpiece of Medieval Philosophy was Never Finished

    Thomas Aquinas was the shining light of medieval philosophy. He worked on his masterpiece the Summa Theologica from 1265 until the year of his death in 1274. This book — most famous today for its 5 arguments for the existence of God — was the reason for his canonisation as a saint and doctor of the Catholic church fifty years after his death.

    But the work was unfinished because a few months before Aquinas’s death something happened that caused him to abandon his masterpiece. When his socius (a sort of assistant) Reginald of Piperno begged him to continue his work Aquinas replied:

    “I can do no more; such things have been revealed to me that all that I have written seems to me as so much straw.”

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    ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy

    ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy

    ________________

    Media Used:

    1. Magnetic — CO.AG Music

    2. Mesmerize — Kevin MacLeod

    3. End of the Era — Kevin MacLeod

    4. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod

    5. Mozart's String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, MOVEMENT II, K. 421 https://youtu.be/-DFKPtvT1p8

    6. 1812 Overture • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky https://youtu.be/LAUuXfSeoqY


    Subscribe to CO.AG Music https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcav...

    Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic

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    ⌛ Timestamps:

    0:00 Introduction

    0:45 The Summa Theologica

    1:52 Aquinas the Mystic

    3:05 The Tao That Can’t Be Told

    5:24 The Mystical Trope

    8:24 The Way of Catharsis

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    #aquinas #thelivingphilosophy #philosophy


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    10 min
  • The Moth and the Flame: Can Reason Compete with Instinct?

    21st-century humanity is threatened by numerous self-generated existential threats to its continued survival. These include socio-political disintegration, ecological collapse and the potential ramifications of AI.

    The nature of this challenge is comparable to the most prominent scientific hypothesis as to why moths fly into flames — an accidental hijacking of an evolutionary adaptation that leads to the death of individuals.

    What this hypothesis is and how it relates to the decline of humanity is what we are going to be exploring on this episode of The Living Philosophy.

    ________________

    ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!)

    ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy

    ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy

    ________________

    Media Used:

    1. Mesmerize — Kevin MacLeod

    2. End of the Era — Kevin MacLeod

    3. Lost Frontier — Kevin MacLeod

    4. Juniper — Kevin MacLeod

    5. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod

    6. 1812 Overture • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky https://youtu.be/LAUuXfSeoqY

    Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic

    a. Walt Disney’s Moth Production: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YouBj4K7104

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    ⌛ Timestamps:

    0:00 Introduction

    0:49 The Flight of the Moth

    2:30 Disrupted Evolution

    3:36 Moth-Man

    6:02 Mothbook

    ________________


    #thelivingphilosophy #philosophy


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    9 min
  • Ekstasis vs. Catharsis

    The etymology of philosophy leads to the love of wisdom. The paths to wisdom can be divided into two: ekstasis and catharsis. Jamie Wheal is a thinker who utilises this distinction in his book Recapture the Rapture and on podcasts (where he includes a third aspect: Communitas — community/sangha).

    The distinction between ekstasis and catharsis is a powerful one. Ekstasis is the higher perspective; it is being on the mountain and surveying the entire landscape. Catharsis on the other hand is the way under — it is Dante going through Hell and emerging into Heaven.

    Ultimately both ekstasis and catharsis lead us to the same place: wisdom but the journey is very different. We can see philosophers throughout history leaning more towards one direction or another: Plato, Plotinus, Parmenides and Spinoza lead us towards the high insights of ekstasis; Heraclitus, Nietzsche and Kierkegaard lead us towards the deep wisdom of catharsis.

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    Learning Resources:

    • Recapture the Rapture by Jamie Wheal https://www.recapturetherapture.com/

    • The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries by Gordon Wasson https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/186043/the-road-to-eleusis-by-r-gordon-wasson/

    • The Gay Science by Friedrich Nietzsche https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/94578.The_Gay_Science


    _________________

    ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!)

    ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy

    ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy

    ________________

    🎶 Music Used:

    1. Magnetic — CO.AG Music

    2. Mesmerize — Kevin MacLeod

    3. End of the Era — Kevin MacLeod

    4. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod

    Subscribe to CO.AG Music https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcav...

    Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic

    _________________

    ⌛ Timestamps:

    0:00 Introduction

    0:38 Ekstasis

    4:40 Catharsis

    7:57 Conclusion

    _________________


    Youtube link:

    https://youtu.be/fL7onbMkfMc


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    9 min

About The Living Philosophy

From the publisher's feed

The Living Philosophy is all about the exploration of philosophy's big ideas and big characters from the Ancients to the Postmoderns with a side of Psychology and seasoned with a dash of Integral.

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