The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

Jacqui rose to fame with the Australian electronic dance band Single Gun Theory (three albums '87-'94), did some one-off collaborations, and released her first solo album in 2008. After an album as CiiVE and some solo singles, she's now released her second solo album, Desiderium. We discuss "Planet" and listen at the end to "Cycles" from that new album, plus "Myriad" from Auraphonic (2008), and "The Sea of Core Experience" by Single Gun Theory from Flow, River of My Soul (1994). Intro: "Take Me Back" by Single Gun Theory from Millions, Like Stars in My Hands, The Daggers in My Heart Wage War (1991). More at jacquihunt.net. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.

Continuing on Consciousness Explained (Ch. 5, 12). We talk about appearance vs. judgment and whether Dennett's denial of this distinction makes sense or just holds for very short time-scales, as in the phi-phenomenon experiment. Does the rejection of appearances and rejection of the concept of qualia undermine the very thing Dennett is trying to describe? Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Get your free trial at shopify.com/pel.

On "First Person Authority" (1984). What warrants our superior knowledge of our own mental states, as oppose to those of others? Why is this not obvious? Read along with us. You can choose to watch this on video. Subscribe to Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy; follow us there via the free tier to get many other episodes like this one ad free, or pay us to get part 2 and everything else we've recorded. (Alternatively, support both PEL and Closereads at patreon.com/partiallyexaminedlife for a nice combo deal.)

It's been 2019 since our last Spider-Man episode, so what's with the new film (Brand New Day), and the Spider-Verse, and Nicholas Cage being Spider Noir? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al discuss in this, our SEASON FINALE! Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop.

On Daniel C. Dennett's Consciousness Explained (Ch. 1, 5), featuring guest Mark, Seth, Dylan, and guest Chris Heath. What is the mind? Dennett puts forth his "multiple drafts" model against the centralization that he characterizes as the "Cartesian Theater." Dennett claims that there is no central place in the brain, or (more controversally) no central processing center in experience, that receives data from the senses and then initiates action (and memory, and other post-experiential processing). How counter-intutitive is this, exactly? Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Every self-made person started somewhere. Yours starts free at shopify.com/pel.

Chris Sunami, the editor of the PEL book, joins Mark, Wes and Seth as part of the launch of his new book, Free Your Mind, which is a series of PEL-like conversations all coming out of Chris' brain, using the model of Plato's symposium to talk about race, AI, art, religion, and more. Chris then starts us talking about what we all might want to communicate to all the future people, so we get going on empathy (and its limits), loneliness, phone addiction, physical media, used book stores, the first albums we bought, and more. If you're not hearing the full version of this discussion, sign up via one of the options described at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.

lenn was a central figure in the Hoboken punk scene, fronting the band "a" in the late '70s and then The Individuals in the early '80s. His next band, Rage to Live, was the first release from Bar/None records in 1986, and Glenn then joined the label as a partner and signed They Might Be Giants, Yo La Tengo, etc. He started recording his own music again in the early 2010's and has now released three albums as Glenn Morrow's Cry for Help. We discuss "Sweater Weather" (and listen at the end to "That's That") from Our Final Album Vol. 1 (2026), "Our World" by The Individuals from Fields (1982), and "Swimmer" from the self-titled album (1986) by Rage to Live. Intro: "Yellowed Pages" from 2 (2020). More at glenn-morrow.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.

Continuing on Consciousness Explained (Ch. 5, 12). We talk about appearance vs. judgment and whether Dennett's denial of this distinction makes sense or just holds for very short time-scales, as in the phi-phenomenon experiment. Does the rejection of appearances and rejection of the concept of qualia undermine the very thing Dennett is trying to describe? Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.

Future co-host philosophy Jenny joins past co-host improviser Bill along with the usual Mark and Mary for some tag-team mud swimming, hot takes about The Odyssey, and discussion and play about Bill's return to school, Maslow's hierarchy, gamified syllabi, some math stuff, and academic dishonesty. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at patreon.com/philosophyimprov.

How shall we break down the universe into basic types of things? Peirce has an idiosyncratic way of thinking about this problem and coming up with his division, revolving around the steps and presuppositions involved in predicating something. Read along with us. You can choose to watch this on video. Subscribe to Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy; follow us there via the free tier to get many other episodes like this one ad free, or pay us to get part 2 and everything else we've recorded. (Alternatively, support both PEL and Closereads at patreon.com/partiallyexaminedlife for a nice combo deal.)

We discuss the various films Steven Spielberg has released about alien encounters: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982), War of the Worlds (2005), and our inciting film, Disclosure Day. Featuring Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al. How is the new film as "mature Spielberg"? Is it as fun as the older films? Is it too heavy handed? Do the older films hold up? Would YOU go with the aliens? Are we as a society too jaded at this point for the Spielberg magic to fully work? Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop. Sponsor: Get started with Claude AI at claude.ai/pmp.

Continuing on "Questions Concerning Certain Faculties Claimed for Man" and "Some Consequences of Four Incapacities." We talk about inference, the self, introspection, willing, the limits on what kinds of terms can have meaning, and more. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Every self-made person started somewhere. Yours starts free at shopify.com/pel. Learn about Mark's Key Ideas in the Philosophy of Mind fall class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.

On "Realistic Monism: Why Physicalism Entails Panpsychism" (2008). Strawson argues that physicalism should not just be taken as matter in motion. Instead, the physical is a broader category that includes not just chairs and molecules, but also "my experience of red." Yet he's not trying to say that experiences are just brain states; they clearly include qualia (what it's like to experience red). And he's also not just trying to solve the problem by redefining "physical" to include "mental" (though he is doing that). Instead, he's claiming that we have no warrant to claim that the properties of the physical are exhausted by what third-person science can investigate, and that we can't solve the mind-body problem unless we posit that (at least some) physical objects have a mental aspect. Sounds like Spinoza to us! Subscribe to Closereads (and get a link to this text to read along) at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy; follow us there via the free tier to part two and many other episodes like this one ad free, or pay us to get parts 2-5 and everything else we've recorded. (Alternatively, support both PEL and Closereads at patreon.com/partiallyexaminedlife for a nice combo deal.)

On Mere Christianity (1952), where Lewis presents the moral argument for the existence of God and present Christianity as uniquely solving the human conundrum that our moral phenomenology presents, i.e. that the moral law is real in us yet we can never fulfill it. Once you're on board with that reasoning, faith is a matter of sticking to your realization even though Christianity's moral rules are extremely stringent. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Don't miss the PEL Live show in Madison, WI on Saturday afternoon, July 11. See partiallyexaminedlife.com/live for details. Sponsor: Every self-made person started somewhere. Yours starts free at shopify.com/pel.

Your wise and authoritative hosts explore forms of respectful address, what counts as good philosophy, the holodeck full-contact Fantasy Island experience, status in economic transactions, Trek not War, default improv scenarios, fear of playfulness, philosophy or improv as education vs. doing philosophy or improv, and more. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.

Michael is the songwriter and guitarist for the Canadian band Cowboy Junkies (featuring two of his siblings and a childhood friend), with whom he's released 20+ studio albums and several live albums since 1989. We discuss "Throw a Match" from Such Ferocious Beauty (2023), "He Will Call You Baby" from More Acoustic Junk (2025), remade from One Soul Now (2004), and "Rock and Bird" from The Caution Horses (1990). End song: " Unanswered Letter" from The Wilderness-The Nomad Series, Vol. 4 (2012). Intro: "Misguided Angel" from The Trinity Session (1988). More at cowboyjunkies.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.

On Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), sec. 527-73, i.e. "Faith and Pure Insight" and "The Struggle of Enlightenment with Superstition." Picking up where we left off in this book, an intangible part of us ("pure consciousness") escapes the attempts of culture to define us. This spiritual part has two sides: pure insight, which is the destructive critical faculty popularized by The Enlightenment which sees through all hypocricy and unwarranted belief; and faith, which Enlightenment either dismisses as superstition or chases into a little corner isolated from the real, empirical world. Eventually, the tension between these leads to a conception of faith that Hegel finds more congenial: Awareness of God is just a function of self-consciousness itself, though we don't typically recognize this. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Don't miss the PEL Live show in Madison, WI on Saturday afternoon, July 11. See partiallyexaminedlife.com/live for details. Sponsors: Don't get caught running yesterday's security on today's web: visit nordlayer.com/browser. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.

The golden-voiced son on Richard and Linda is more tied to '50s/'60s rock and country than he his to his parents' folk influences, and he's recorded ten albums of tuneful, straightforward but highly idiosyncratic rock and country tunes since 2000. We discuss "Come Back" (and listen at the end to "So This Is Heartache") from Never Be the Same (2026), "Move At Speed" from Heartbreaker Please (2020), and "I Should Get Up" from Separate Ways (2006). Intro: "In My Arms" from A Piece of What You Need (2008). More at teddythompson.net. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.

Continuing on Ch. 2 of Hegel's Faith and Knowledge (1802) , plus some of the material being critiqued from Kant's Critique of Judgment (1790), chiefly sec. 76 and 77. Kant's third critique is not just about beauty but about apprehending nature, and he claims that as humans, we can only understand natural objects by seeing them as purposive (i.e. teleologically): An organism has a healthy state that it is designed to aim at. While Kant can't use the classical Design argument to thus argue that we know that God exists qua designer, he argues that as a practical matter, we must regard such a designer as present. Hegel argues that this is one of many points where Kant should stop dithering and just admit that his project involves Reason actually knowing theological facts. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Learn about PEL Live in Madison July 11 at partiallyexaminedlife.com/live.

Mark and Mary are joined by Andrea, an Italian teacher with a broad performing background who's written a book of philosophical, poetic aphorisms called Think Town: self-help reflections and directives about fear, ego, happiness, etc. There's a long history of aphorisms in philosophy, and philosophy invented the self-help genre, but how does philosophy work given the lack of argumentation? We explore the monster under the bed, AI agents, making philosophy personally applicable, being receptive, DOT ego secretions, and more. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.

We read part of The Dialectic of Enlightenment (1944), specifically the parts about Homer's epic as an allegory for the merely apparent triumph of modernism (capitalism, instrumental reason) over myth (savagery, magical thinking). Subscribe to Closereads (and get a link to this text to read along) at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy; follow us there via the free tier to part two and many other episodes like this one ad free, or pay us to get parts 2-5 and everything else we've recorded. (Alternatively, support both PEL and Closereads at patreon.com/partiallyexaminedlife for a nice combo deal.)

Continuing on Faith and Knowledge (1802), Ch. 1 and 2. We start off by discussing how beauty might give us a window into things-in-themselves according to the Romantics, who were in part following Kant's lead. Also, what version of the ontological argument for the existence of God does Hegel believe? We try to figure out what Hegel is praising in Kant's positing of synthetic a priori claims, and yet how he thinks Kant didn't understand the implications of this view. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsors: Don't get caught running yesterday's security on today's web: visit nordlayer.com/browser. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.

Richard played with art-rock band Japan from 1975 through their five albums, then continued to collaborate with members of that group, releasing several increasingly atmospheric albums as Jansen-Barbieri, Jansen-Barbieri-Karn, Rain Tree Crow, et al. He joined Porcupine Tree in 1995 and has played on their 20+ albums, and began putting out ambient solo releases in 2004 (perhaps seven albums' worth to this point) while continuing to collaborate. We discuss "A New Simulation" from Hauntings (2026), "All Fall Down" from Stranger Inside (2008), and "Sleepers Awake" by Jansen-Barbieri from Stone to Flesh (1995). End song: "Waiting to Be Born" by Steve Hogarth and Richard Barbieri, recorded 2015 and released in 2023. Intro: "The Experience of Swimming" by Japan, from Gentlemen Take Polaroids (1980). More at richardbarbieri.bandcamp.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.

In light of the new, well-acted and well-shot BBC/Netflix adaptation, we discuss William Golding's 1954 novel Lord of the Flies and its previous (1963, 1991) adaptations. Featuring Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al. What do we think of the updates made for this retelling? Its pacing? Its repeated close-up shots of kids' silent faces? Is this per usual obviously inferior to the novel, or does it actually present deeper characters and a more visceral presentation of their degradation? Sponsor: Get started with Claude AI at claude.ai/pmp. Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop.

On Faith and Knowledge (1802), Ch. 1 and 2. Famously, Kant critiqued Reason to effectively forbid theology and metaphysics, and a young G.W.F. Hegel was not happy about that. He argues against the reduction of Reason to merely applying to the realm of experience, which makes religion merely a subjective, insubstantial matter. Hegel thought he could do better. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsors: Don't get caught running yesterday's security on today's web: visit nordlayer.com/browser. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.

Your four hosts review the critiques of modernity, try to figure out where Kant fits in, and then discuss Habermas' characterization of Nietzsche's anti-Enlightenment project. If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion, sign up via one of the options described at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.  

We are REELING from our REDACTED episode, and so we talk about the lessons we learned from that and start thinking about what it is to be out of one's comfort zone: how do fear and ego issues interact? Is playfulness a lack of professionalism? Are both arrogance and humility products of fear? Plus, cutting-edge surgery reality shows, Schrödinger's hostile cat and Dr. Brenda's sentient food samples, Bishop Jim vs. Trudy the Innocent, and more! Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.

Continuing on on The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity, Ch. 1, 2, and 5 with guest John Ganz. We further discuss Habermas' characterizations of Hegel's take on modernity and eventually get to Adorno and Horkheimer, whose dismissals of modernity Habermas thinks go too far. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. including a supporter-only part three to this episode. Sponsors: Don't get caught running yesterday's security on today's web: visit nordlayer.com/browser. Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.

We discuss the career of Meryl Streep in light of The Devil Wears Prada 2, insofar as we (Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al) have a hold of it; she's been in over 65 films! Is she really the best actor on the planet? Did Prada need a sequel? We all brought in our own experiences with her catalog, touching on Sophie's Choice, Kramer vs. Kramer, A Cry in the Dark, Adaptation, The Iron Lady, Death Becomes Her, Postcards From the Edge, Doubt, The Laundromat, Let Them All Talk, Florence Foster Jenkins, et al. Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop.

Tom was an integral member of the Greenwich Village early '60s folk scene (playing originals regularly before Bob Dylan did). His tunes have been covered by Dylan, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Harry Belafonte, and many others. He received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2009. We talk about "Rebel Gal" from Together Again (2026) (a collaborative album with John McCutcheon), "If the Poor Don't Matter" from Redemption Road (2015), "Mr. Blue" from Morning Again (1968), and "The Death of Stephen Biko" (with Anne Hills and Bob Gibson) from Best of Friends (live in 1984, released in 2004; the song was originally recorded for Heroes, 1978). Intro: "I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound" from Rambin' Boy (1964). More at tompaxton.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.

We discuss Steven Knight's six-seasons-and-a-movie historical crime show Peaky Blinders, featuring Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al. Does the show live up to its initial excellence? It's got a great emotional premise (post-WWI PTSD), and there's a ridiculous amount of gravitas among the cast, but do the heists undermine this heft? It's OK if you haven't seen the show; we hold off on spoilers for quite a while and warn you when we reach that point. Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop. Sponsor: Get started with Claude AI at claude.ai/pmp.

Alan released two albums with folk-rock band Knots and Crosses in the early 90s, put out one solo album, then became a recording engineer and earned a PhD in ethnomusicology. He released three albums between 2010-2019 fronting Birdsong at Morning and put out two more solo albums. We discuss "Just Like Water" (and listen at the end to "Somewhere There's a Train") from Floating on the Dreamline (2026), "The Great Escape" by Birdsong at Morning from A Slight Departure (2015), and the title track to Curve of the Earth (1993) by Knots and Crosses. Intro: "Neon Dreaming," originally from Evidence (1994). More at alanwilliamsevidence.com. Sponsor: Get three months free of online payroll and benefits software for small businesses at gusto.com/nem. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.

Continuing our performance of William Shakespeare's play, finishing things up with acts 4 and 5 plus some post-performance discussion with the cast. Start with part one. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. We'll be live-streaming video for our big ep. 300 on Friday, Aug. 19 at 8pm ET. More info at partiallyexaminedlife.com/pel-live. Sponsors: Maximize the impact of your charitable giving via GiveWell.org; choose "podcast" and enter "Partially Examined Life." Download the Zocdoc app free to find a top rated doctor at Zocdoc.com/PEL.

The PEL players do an unrehearsed reading of Shakespeare's least popular play, which is about money and cynicism. This part includes Acts 1-3. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.

Mark and Wes consider more passages from Ficino's Commentary on Plato's Symposium on Love, getting into Ficino's religious psychology and how this relates to Kierkegaard's. If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion (in which we cover more of Ficino, plus PEL Live, our upcoming audioplay, podcast listenership rankings, and more), sign up via one of the options described at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.

Continuing on Commentary on Plato's Symposium on Love with guest Peter Adamson. We consider F's views on beauty and fill out his neo-Platonic epistemology. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.

On Commentary on Plato's Symposium on Love (1475), with guest Peter Adamson. What is the role of love in the universe? Ficino tries to combine Plato's theory of love as reproduction in the presence of beauty with an unorthodox take on Christian theology. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion..

Concluding our close reading of Being and Time, on ch. 3, sec. 15 and 16 on the world as "ready to hand" or equipment. If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion, sign up via one of the options described at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.

We continue on Being and Time, now in ch. 2 on what "the world" is in our Being-in-the-World and so what it is for us to encounter objects and how this is different than, e.g. the interaction of two physical objects. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion including the supporter-exclusive part three to this episode.

We continue on Being and Time (1927), now into ch. 1 (sec. 9) on Existenz and how our way of Being is different than that of the objects of science, and what this means for authenticity and choice. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.

Continuing with our close reading of Being and Time, we talk about why time is the focus of Heidegger's analysis of the human condition, what are phenomena, and so what his phenomenological method looks like and why it must investigate us in our "average everydayness." Hear more PEL at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Get episodes ad-free with tons of bonus content at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.

Continuing from our overview in ep. 32, we do a close reading on selections from the introduction of Martin Heidegger's Being and Time to consider Heidegger's Being in relation to Aristotle's Categories, what questioning means, and some of Heidegger's basic terms. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.

Concluding on Kant's "Perpetual Peace," plus Jurgen Habermas' "Kant's Idea of Perpetual Peace, with the Benefit of Two Hundred Years' Hindsight." If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion, sign up via one of the options described at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.

Continuing on Immanuel Kant's essay "Perpetual Peace," we go further into how Kant's politics relate to his ethics and consider his actual policy proposals: each state must be a republic, they should join in a federation, and we all owe each other hospitality as a cosmopolitan right. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion including the supporter-exclusive part three to this episode.

On Immanuel Kant's essay "Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch" (1795). Do nations have the "right" to go to war? What principles ground just international relations, and are there structures and agreements that we can embrace to prevent prevent future wars? Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.

Concluding on W.V.O. Quine's "Epistemology Naturalized" (1969). We talk more about the attempt to found epistemology on psychology.  If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion, sign up via one of the options described at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.

Continuing on "Epistemology Naturalized" (1969), we work further through the text, getting into what this new psychology-rooted epistemology might look like and how Quine changed empiricism. Plus, more of us trying to figure out his claims about the indeterminacy of translation. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion including the supporter-exclusive part three to this episode.

On W.V.O. Quine's "Epistemology Naturalized" (1969). What justifies scientific theory? Not theory-free observations, as Quine shows us by considering how we figure out foreign languages. Instead of basing science on epistemology, Quine thought we need to make epistemology part of science. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.

Babette teaches at Fordham and recently edited the collection "Reading David Hume's 'On The Standard of Taste,'" which Mark made use of for PEL#289. So, more philosophically beefy than our typical PvI episode, and yet also live and hence unpredictable. Taste it!  Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

Continuing on "Situated Knowledges" and other essays with guest Lynda Olman. We try to get at the practical import of Olman's scheme and get further into her use of metaphors and what those mean for her critical stance. If you're not hearing the full version of this part of the discussion, sign up via one of the options described at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support.