Theory Talk

Theory Talk

By Joe Weissman and Taylor AdkinsSociety & Culture
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Theory Talk episodes

  • Ep. 65: Information and Individuation
    Taylor shares some thoughts about his new translation of Simondon's doctoral thesis ("Individuation in the Light of the Notions of Form and Information".) The individuation of thinking; the aesthetics of subjectivity; the dialectic of society and technology; the political ramifications of artificial intelligence.
    Support Theory Talk on Patreon: https://patreon.com/theorytalk
    Follow @theory_talk on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theory_talk
    1 hr 3 min
  • Ep. 64: Mathematics; Annihilation
    Listen all the way to the second half for a discussion about Laruelle and Levinas with Matt Rosen! But first, Joe and Taylor begin exploring the philosophy of mathematics with Serres and Bachelard: the uncanny power of deduction; grounding formal systems; measurement schemes; the geometry of black holes.
    Recommended Reading
    "Synthetic Philosophy of Contemporary Mathematics", Francisco Zalamea
    "The Birth of Physics", Michel Serres
    Support Theory Talk on Patreon: https://patreon.com/theorytalk
    Follow Theory Talk on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theory_talk
    2 hr 10 min
  • Ep. 63: Languages; Anti-Oedipus
    Joe and Taylor are back to talk philosophy! Laruelle and Simondon; structuralism and relativity; identities and individuations; languages and ideas. In the second part, a pre-hiatus discussion of Anti-Oedipus.
    Support Theory Talk on Patreon: https://patreon.com/theorytalk
    Follow @theory_talk on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theory_talk
    1 hr 51 min
  • Ep. 62: Phaedrus
    Join Joe and Taylor as they study the Phaedrus together. Madness and love; philosophy and psychoanalysis; trees and forests; writing well.
    Recommended Reading:
    "Phaedrus" by Plato
    "The Postcard: From Socrates to Freud and Beyond" by Jacques Derrida
    1 hr 28 min
  • Ep. 61: Beyond the Pleasure Principle
    In this episode, Joe and Taylor dig into psychoanalysis and Freud's "Beyond the Pleasure Principle". A lot of ground is covered: the death drive; repetition; automatism; the performative and speculative merits of psychoanalysis. What is the value that analysis adds to our lives? (Phaedrus looms here in the background as well, and the status of paranoia...)
    Recommended Reading:
    "Beyond the Pleasure Principle", Sigmund Freud
    "Phaedrus" by Plato
    See also Joe's "Phaedrus Beyond": https://fractalontology.wordpress.com/2018/09/22/phaedrus-beyond
    1 hr 35 min
  • Ep. 60: Sophocles
    On the occasion of Joe's new essay on Sophocles and the Theban Plays, come along with us as we explore the ancient drama, with the help of Freud, Nietzsche, Socrates, Derrida, Deleuze and Laruelle.
    Recommended Reading:
    "Oedipus, Narcissus, Odysseus: Notes Towards a Theory of Temporal Structure in Homer and Sophocles" (https://fractalontology.wordpress.com/oedipus-narcissus-odysseus/)
    51 min
  • Ep. 59: The Victim (with Joevenn Neo)
    We are very pleased to present this discussion on Girard and Laruelle with Joevenn Neo, a philosophy Ph.D. student and translator of "Philosophic Scripts" by Anne-Francois Schmid. In our roundtable on the victim, we begin with an exposition of Girard's theory of mimesis and the victimage mechanism, and then weave our way around to Laruelle and Guattari through the lens of the victim. Afterwards, a little discussion between Joe and Taylor on similar themes recorded a week later.
    Recommended Reading:
    "Philosophy and Non-Philosophy" by Francois Laruelle
    "Theory of Identities" by Francois Laruelle
    "Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World" by Rene Girard
    1 hr 36 min
  • Ep. 58: Cynicism
    Joe and Taylor discuss the Stoics and the Cynics, and in particular the role of "cynicism" in modern thought; justice and the law; the interface between Hellenism and Judaism.
    Recommended Reading
    "The Image of Law: Deleuze, Bergson, Spinoza" by Alexandre Lefebvre
    "The Pre-Platonic Philosophers" by Friedrich Nietzsche
    39 min
  • Ep. 57: The Essence of the World
    Joe and Taylor conduct a philosophical thought experiment into the essence of the world, inspired by the thought and literature of new realism (see readings below.) In our second conversation (36:40), we return once again to Ionia and the Odyssey.
    Recommended Reading
    “The World Goes On”, László Krasnahorkai
    “The World Does Not Exist”, Markus Gabriel
    1 hr 23 min
  • Ep. 56: Image of Thought / Odyssey (excerpt)
    Joe and Taylor return to Difference and Repetition for an hour of discussion about the image of thought. Then, return to Ionia in an excerpt from our conversation about Homer's Odyssey -- available in full to our patrons. (Thank you!)
    Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/theorytalk
    Follow @theory_talk on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theory_talk
    Read Fractal Ontology: http://ontology.io
    Recommended Reading:
    - "Image of Thought", ch. 3 of Difference and Repetition (Gilles Deleuze)
    - Isonomia: The Origins of Philosophy (Kojin Karatani)
    1 hr 54 min

About Theory Talk

From the publisher's feed

Theory Talk is a philosophy podcast and critical thinking jam session, featuring in-depth discussions of contemporary thought and thinkers. The show is produced by Joseph Weissman and Taylor Adkins.