Prehistory episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 1, 2025 · 59 MIN

Prehistory

from Philosophy on the Fringes · host Frank Cabrera

In this episode, Megan and Frank discuss the philosophical dimensions of prehistory. What and when is the “prehistoric”? How was prehistory "discovered", and what explains our fascination with it? Is ancient archeology safe from our biases? And how did archaic man’s meaning-making differ from our own? Thinkers discussed include: Colin Renfrew, Hegel, Charles Taylor, Mircea Eliade, and Wittgenstein.-----------------------Hosts' Websites:Megan J Fritts (google.com)Frank J. Cabrera (google.com)Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com-----------------------Bibliography:Prehistory: The Making of the Human Mind - Colin RenfrewHegel's Lectures on the Philosophy of HistoryCave of Forgotten Dreams - Official Trailer | HD | IFC FilmsBewitched by an Elf Dart: Fairy Archaeology, Folk Magic and Traditional Medicine in Ireland - DowdA Secular Age — Harvard University PressTheory and Observation in Science (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)From things to thinking: Cognitive archaeology - Currie & KillinCognitive Archaeology and the Minimum Necessary Competence Problem - Killin & Pain An Ape's View of the Oldowan - Wynn & McGrewNeuroscience, evolution and the sapient paradox - Colin RenfrewSapient paradox: Why humans got stuck in prehistory -Gossip Trap- Big ThinkThe Myth of the Eternal Return | Princeton University PressEliade_Mircea_The_Sacred_and_The_profane_1963Wittgenstein - Notebooks, 1914 - 1916, 2nd Edition | Wiley-----------------------Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts-------------------------Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signsLicense code: AAO0Q7IZMGVTLFJH

In this episode, Megan and Frank discuss the philosophical dimensions of prehistory. What and when is the "prehistoric"? How was prehistory "discovered", and what explains our fascination with it? Is ancient archeology safe from our biases? And how did archaic man's meaning-making differ from our own? Thinkers discussed include: Colin Renfrew, Hegel, Charles Taylor, Mircea Eliade, and Wittgenstein. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: [email protected] ----------------------- Bibliography: Prehistory: The Making of the Human Mind - Colin Renfrew [https://books.google.com/books/about/Prehistory.html?id=ckAxZZuYiRMC] Hegel's Lectures on the Philosophy of History [https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/hi/hiconten.htm] Cave of Forgotten Dreams - Official Trailer | HD | IFC Films [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmMUlNeLApU] Bewitched by an Elf Dart: Fairy Archaeology, Folk Magic and Traditional Medicine in Ireland - Dowd [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-archaeological-journal/article/bewitched-by-an-elf-dart-fairy-archaeology-folk-magic-and-traditional-medicine-in-ireland/7EF2D9BD63A34CAA405A42E120C4D421] A Secular Age — Harvard University Press [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674026766] Theory and Observation in Science (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/science-theory-observation/] From things to thinking: Cognitive archaeology - Currie & Killin [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/mila.12230] Cognitive Archaeology and the Minimum Necessary Competence Problem - Killin & Pain  [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13752-021-00378-7#:~:text=Cognitive%20archaeology%20involves%20selecting%20a,different%20minimum%20necessary%20competence%20results.] An Ape's View of the Oldowan - Wynn & McGrew [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2802697] Neuroscience, evolution and the sapient paradox - Colin Renfrew [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18292058/] Sapient paradox: Why humans got stuck in prehistory -Gossip Trap- Big Think [https://bigthink.com/the-past/sapient-paradox-prehistory/#:~:text=The%20sapient%20paradox%3A%20With%20brains,hypothesis%3A%20%E2%80%9Cgossip%20traps.%E2%80%9D&text=If%20modern%20human%20intelligence%20evolved,not%20develop%20until%2010%2C000%20BC%3F] The Myth of the Eternal Return | Princeton University Press [https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691182971/the-myth-of-the-eternal-return?srsltid=AfmBOorJ5DlsvkkTyleC5y11ncXNzVohhv8u1bUch8oSh9YZTCylM70A] Eliade_Mircea_The_Sacred_and_The_profane_1963 [https://monoskop.org/images/b/b1/Eliade_Mircea_The_Sacred_and_The_profane_1963.pdf] Wittgenstein - Notebooks, 1914 - 1916, 2nd Edition | Wiley [https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Notebooks%2C+1914+-+1916%2C+2nd+Edition-p-9780631124993] ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: AAO0Q7IZMGVTLFJH

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Prehistory

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In this episode, Megan and Frank discuss the philosophical dimensions of prehistory. What and when is the “prehistoric”? How was prehistory "discovered", and what explains our fascination with it? Is ancient archeology safe from our biases? And how...

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