Best Mark Linsenmayer Podcasts (2025)

1
Ep. 368: Hume on Reason in Ethics (Part One) 44:56

2d ago44:56

44:56

We talk a bit more about David Hume's An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751), and add some parts of A Treatise of Human Nature (1739): sec. 3 "Of the Influencing Motives of the Will" within the third part of Book II, "Of the Passions," and the first two sections of Book III, "Of Morals." Can reason by itself motivate moral action? Hu…

1
PMP#197: Medically Dramatic 54:21

6d ago54:21

54:21

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss The Pitt and other medical dramas like ER, Gray's Anatomy, ad nauseam. Doctors and patients grappling with life and death stakes seems a strong premise for drama, but how many of these shows do we need? We talk about the gore, the pacing, the characters, the politics, and the other considerations that make T…

1
PEL Presents PMP#197: Medically Dramatic 54:32

6d ago54:32

54:32

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss The Pitt and other medical dramas like ER, Gray's Anatomy, ad nauseam. Doctors and patients grappling with life and death stakes seems a strong premise for drama, but how many of these shows do we need? We talk about the gore, the pacing, the characters, the politics, and the other considerations that make T…

1
NEM#231: Bill Champlin (ex-Chicago) Sings of Love Just to Find It 1:15:49

8d ago1:15:49

1:15:49

Bill started in the mid-60s with Sons of Champlin and released 8 albums with them between 1969-1977, moved to LA to become a session singer, wrote some Grammy-winning tunes, and released two solo albums before joining Chicago in 1981 as their growling soul singer through their most famous period, releasing six more solo albums during and after his …

1
Ep. 367: Hume on the Foundations of Ethics (Part Two) 46:19

9d ago46:19

46:19

Continuing on An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751), talking about justice (i.e. property laws), why utility is pleasing and what all it includes, sympathy, utility vs. beauty, and more. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.…

1
PEL Presents NEM#231: Bill Champlin (ex-Chicago) Sings of Love Just to Find It 1:15:49

11d ago1:15:49

1:15:49

Bill released 8 albums from 1969-1977 with Sons of Champlin then moved to LA to become a solo artist and session musician, co-writing two Grammy-winning tunes. He was the designated soul singer in Chicago from 1981-2009 and released several solo albums starting in 1990 while continuing to collaborate widely. We discuss "Alone" from Livin' for Love …

1
Ep. 367: Hume on the Foundations of Ethics (Part One) 49:54

16d ago49:54

49:54

On David Hume's An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751). What is morality, and how can we know it? Hume claims that we simply find ourselves with sentiments morally approving and disapproving of various things. Characterizing these post hoc, we can say that in general we approve of what brings utility, and this explains the existence …

1
PEL Presents PMP#196: Our "Sinners" Shindig 49:25

19d ago49:25

49:25

Luvell Anderson (Philosophy prof. at U of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign) joins Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al to discuss Ryan Coogler's new vampire siege/black studies film starring Michael B. Jordan. We talk about the film's comments on black freedom, black music, the church, why the film needed twins, whether the vampires were even necessary, th…

1
PMP#196: Our “Sinners” Shindig 49:25

21d ago49:25

49:25

Luvell Anderson (Philosophy prof. at U of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign) joins Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al to discuss Ryan Coogler's new vampire siege/black studies film starring Michael B. Jordan. We talk about the film's comments on black freedom, black music, the church, why the film needed twins, whether the vampires were even necessary, th…

1
PvI#92: Postale au Naturale w/ Greg McBrayer 1:07:57

23d ago1:07:57

1:07:57

Greg teaches philosophy (and is Interim Provost) at Ashland, loves Xenophon, and runs a podcast. We reflect on the dangers of radon and other "natural" things. How might one of our government agencies become more natural, and would we want that? Are fart jokes the most naturally funny kind? Then, Greg the trucker visits Empty Street and embezzles d…

1
Ep. 366: Edith Stein on Empathy (Part Two) 50:11

23d ago50:11

50:11

Continuing on The Problem of Empathy. What does it mean to say that we know other people's mental states "non-primordially"? We talk about Stein's project of explaining how empathy is possible, what it gets us, and how her answers differ from Scheler's. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free ep…

1
PEL Presents PvI#92: Postale au Naturale w/ Greg McBrayer 1:02:28

24d ago1:02:28

1:02:28

Greg teaches philosophy (and is Interim Provost at Ashland, loves Xenophon, and runs a podcast. We reflect on the dangers of radon and other "natural" things. How might one of our government agencies become more natural, and would we want that? Are fart jokes the most naturally funny kind? Then, Greg the trucker visits Empty Street and embezzles de…

1
PREMIUM-PEL Sentimentalism Nightcap 2025 10:39

26d ago10:39

10:39

We put our recent episodes on moral phenomenology into perspective, anticipating our upcoming Hume discussion and going through some other options to enrich this study of sentiment vs. rational intuition. Plus, more potential author-guests and recent philosophy book coverage. If you're not hearing the full version of this discussion, sign up via on…

1
Ep. 366: Edith Stein on Empathy (Part One) 44:27

1M ago44:27

44:27

On The Problem of Empathy (1917). What is empathy, and what is its significance? Stein pictures empathy as a dynamic process that involves what Scheler called sympathy but goes beyond this. Your don't just take the other person's feeling as our object of contemplation, but in doing so, your enter into it (while still not confusing it with YOUR feel…

1
Episode 151: Witold Więcek discusses statistics and academic research 46:14

1M ago46:14

46:14

Note: this episode was recorded in August of 2022. In the latest Elucidation, Matt talks to Witold Więcek about the difficulties that come up for researchers who would like to draw upon statistics. Lots of academic fields need to draw heavily on statistics, whether it’s economics, psychology, sociologym, linguistics, computer science, or data scien…

1
PEL Presents PMP#195: Mike White's Lotus 50:31

1M ago50:31

50:31

We discuss the HBO dramedy about rich people having existential crises at a luxury resort in light of its third season. What exactly made this latest season less satisfying than the others? Does the show have a sustainable formula? What is the show saying about enlightenment? Travel? Sexuality? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free w…

1
PMP#195: Mike White’s Lotus 50:30

1M ago50:30

50:30

We discuss the HBO dramedy about rich people having existential crises at a luxury resort in light of its third season. What exactly made this latest season less satisfying than the others? Does the show have a sustainable formula? What is the show saying about enlightenment? Travel? Sexuality? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free w…

1
Ep. 365: Scheler on Love (Part Two) 52:55

1M ago52:55

52:55

We conclude our treatment of Max Scheler's The Nature of Sympathy (1922), getting further into the Part II of the book about love and hatred and grappling with the puzzles about what exactly it is we love about someone (the "personality"). Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and ton…

1
PEL Presents NEM#230: Dean Wareham (Luna, Galaxie 500) Waxes Poetic 1:04:58

1M ago1:04:58

1:04:58

Dean has released about 20 albums, starting with three '88-'90 with Galaxie 500, then he started fresh in New York as Luna, releasing seven albums and some EPs through 2005 (plus a later reunion), then continued with his Luna bassist and now spouse Britta Phillips as Dean and Britta for five albums, interspersed with now four albums under his own n…

1
NEM#230: Dean Wareham (Luna, Galaxie 500) Waxes Poetic 1:04:57

1M ago1:04:57

1:04:57

Dean has released about 20 albums, starting with three ’88-’90 with his Harvard classmates as Galaxie 500, then started fresh in New York as Luna, releasing 7 albums and some EPs through 2005 (plus a later reunion), then continued with his Luna bassist and now spouse Britta Phillips as Dean and Britta for 5 albums, interspersed with now four albums…

1
Ep. 365: Scheler on Love (Part One) 46:12

1M ago46:12

46:12

On The Nature of Sympathy (1922), Part II: "Love and Hatred." What is love, and how does it relate to ethics and to sympathy? For Scheler, love is a primitive, spontaneous movement from lower to higher values: We see the best in the love one and thereby help enable them to attain that excellence. So is love foundational for value, or is value found…

1
PEL Presents PMP#194: Adolescence Wrecks Us 52:38

2M ago52:38

52:38

We watched the 4-part British crime series that's become #1 in 80 countries, breaking Netflix's records for an original series. And man, was it a bummer. But important! We reflect on the purpose of the show, its one-take-per-episode format, the choice of whose perspectives to show, the crazy good acting by such a young person, and we get a little e…

1
PMP#194: Adolescence Wrecks Us 56:07

2M ago56:07

56:07

We watched the 4-part British crime series that's become #1 in 80 countries, breaking Netflix's records for an original series. And man, was it a bummer. But important! We reflect on the purpose of the show, its one-take-per-episode format, the choice of whose perspectives to show, the crazy good acting by such a young person, and we get a little e…

1
Ep. 364: Max Scheler on Sympathy (Part Three) 50:23

2M ago50:23

50:23

Mark, Wes, and Dylan reconvened for one more hour on Part I, "Fellow Feeling" (ch. 3-4) in The Nature of Sympathy (1913/1922). We continue to try to figure out the razor's edge of "fellow feeling proper" that does not rely on the sympathizer identifying in any way and look into psychological and metaphysical ways that people can identify with other…

1
PEL Presents PvI#91: Community Breakdown (or Breakdance?) w/ Nick Armstrong 1:01:03

2M ago1:01:03

1:01:03

Mark and Bill are joined by the actor/improviser who directs Camp Improv Utopia and is involved in managing improv spaces such as Denver's Rise Comedy. We talk about the notion of community, with a scene about the neighborhood watch and a return to Empty Street to deal seriously in a public-service-announcement/after-school special sort of way with…

1
PvI#91: Community Breakdown (or Breakdance?) w/ Nick Armstrong 1:06:32

2M ago1:06:32

1:06:32

Mark and Bill are joined by the actor/improviser who directs Camp Improv Utopia and is involved in managing improv spaces such as Denver's Rise Comedy. We talk about the notion of community, with a scene about the neighborhood watch and a return to Empty Street to deal seriously in a public-service-announcement/after-school special sort of way with…

1
Ep. 364: Max Scheler on Sympathy (Part Two) 52:11

2M ago52:11

52:11

Continuing on The Nature of Sympathy (1913/1922), Part I: "Fellow Feeling," Ch. 1-4. We look more closely at the text, getting further into how fellow feeling relates to ethics, and why the moral sentimentalists (like Hume) were wrong about this. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes …

1
PMP#193: Severance: Mystery Box in Progress 59:08

2M ago59:08

59:08

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al here discuss the sci-fi/office dramedy in light of its second season. We might normally wait until the end of the show, but given that season 1 was 2022, and it took three years to get us season 2, who knows it it'll actually finish? And who knows if it will not be massively disappointing at that point? We strike whi…

1
NEM#229: Peter Holsapple (dB’s, Continental Drifters) Pays Tribute to His Adolescence 1:18:30

2M ago1:18:30

1:18:30

Peter recorded with Chris Stamey as early as 1972, and they reconvened as The dB’s in the ’80s. Peter has released six albums as the dB’s, three more as a duo with Chris, four co-fronting the Continental Drifters, and three solo albums. He has also been a supporting/touring member in several bands including REM (e.g. on the Out of Time album), Hoot…

1
Ep. 364: Max Scheler on Sympathy (Part One) 46:57

2M ago46:57

46:57

On The Nature of Sympathy (1913, expanded 1922), Part I: "Fellow Feeling," Ch. 1-4. What is it to feel sympathy (aka "fellow feeling") for another person? It is NOT to "identify" with that person; ethics requires that the person be irreducibly Other, not part of my (extended) ego. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.c…

1
PEL Presents Closereads: Husserl on Perceiving Minds 1:02:21

2M ago1:02:21

1:02:21

On Edmund Husserl's Ideas, Vol. 2 (1928), Section 3, "The Constitution of the Spiritual World," Ch. 1, "Opposition Between the Naturalistic and Personalistic Worlds." Given Husserl's method of "reduction" whereby he sets aside the metaphysical status of objects in the natural world (are they mind-independent or merely ideas?), we wanted to see how …

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