The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

On August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, instantly killing up to 80,000 civilians, with another 40,000 dying soon after from burns and radiation poisoning. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to the surrender of the Japanese Army, marking the end of the most destructive war in history.

War has been a constant throughout history. Since the dawn of agriculture, humans have waged war against one another. Some argue that war is ingrained in human nature, from our ancestors battling over resources and empires seeking expansion, to biblical genocides and acts of human sacrifice—Homo sapiens are seemingly insatiable for conflict. Others, however, believe war is not inevitable and that we have the capacity for humility, justice, and kindness without resorting to armed conflict.

We must remember that explaining war is not the same as justifying it. While pacifism, as exemplified by Jesus and Gandhi, is often seen as noble, is non-violence truly effective against regimes intent on ethnic cleansing? If not, how do we determine when war is justified and what defines proportional force? Can the killing of innocent civilians ever be justified? And, if not, how do they differ from innocent combatants? War, huh, good god, what is it good for?

Links

A.C. Grayling, War: An Enquiry (book)

Richard Overy, Why War? (book)

Jeff Mcmahan, Killing in War (book)

Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars (book)

Carl von Clausewitz, On War (book)

War, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

They say money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy power, freedom, and security. The one per cent – who control nearly half of the world’s wealth – understand this better than anyone. In capitalist democracies, corporations spend billions on political donations and lobbying to influence economic policies in line with their own interests. The trillions spent by governments in propping up the banks following the 2008 financial crash – and the bailing out of the largest corporations through the Covid Corporate Financing Facility – speak volumes: the state and the economy are not separate entities. The goal of the state is clear: “Steady the ship and maintain course.”

Corporations don’t just pose a threat to our economic freedoms, but the future of the natural world. Just a handful of firms are responsible for over seventy per cent of carbon emissions, and despite public pressure, corporate action on the climate crisis has been largely ineffective. We shouldn’t be surprised; after all, industry holds the power, and turkeys don’t vote for Christmas.

Links

Grace Blakeley (website)

Grace Blakeley (twitter)

Grace Blakeley, Vulture Capitalism: Corporate Crimes, Backdoor Bailouts and the Death of Freedom

‘The kitchen needs cleaning, but only one of us seems to notice. I mean, he looked straight at the dishes in the sink…and just stacked his dish on top of them. How high does this precarious tower of crockery have to be until he decides to wash the dishes or, more likely, they collapse into an unrepairable heap? I suppose I’ll have to wash them. They won’t get washed otherwise, and I’d rather get them off my mind.’

The unequal distribution of household labour is a familiar concern amongst feminists. Despite the progress in women’s rights and freedoms, women across the world continue to bear the responsibility of domestic chores and childcare. This raises an important question: why do women in monogamous, opposite-sex relationships continue to shoulder a disproportionate amount of housework work despite their political gains?

In this episode, we’ll be exploring this question with two outstanding philosophers of morality and mind: Paulina Sliwa (Professor of Philosophy at the University of Vienna) and Thomas McClelland (Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Cambridge). 

According to Paulina and Tom, our disparities and perception of domestic labour are determined by our feelings, beliefs, and social norms. In other words, the way we perceive the world is radically different. The dishes don’t call out to some – in need of cleaning – in a moment of perception, as they do to others. So what can we do to change this disparity…that is, if it’s in need of changing at all.

Contents

Part I. Affordance Perception

Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion

Links

Thomas McClelland and Paulina Sliwa, Gendered Affordance Perception and Unequal Domestic Labour (paper)

Coverage of Gendered Addordance Perception in the media (website)

Thomas McClelland (website)

Paulina Sliwa (website)

Introduction

I am Ixion, strapped to the burning wheel of fire in the underworld that is my life. A bleak assessment to be sure, but I put it to you that it is the truth. For what is life if not an ever-swinging pendulum of pain and boredom, kept in motion by the insatiable will? I constantly strive for the things that I want, but what I want is never enough; long-term satisfaction is tedium elegantly veiled. This alone is a cruel trick to the individual, but in a world of many, it is the ultimate tragedy.

The wills of the multitude cannot avoid the inevitable conflict, as one will’s ends treats another as its means. The tiger feasts on the wild dog, who feasts on the baby turtle, all to propagate life so that future generations can play out this tragic scene ad infinitum. In human life - save rare moments of true compassion - we are little better. Yet, there is a hint of salvation. 

What if we all realised that, at our core, we are the same will? What if we could make the wheel of Ixion stand still, if only for a moment? Would it be possible to see beauty? Would it be possible to see to fellow sufferers rather than fellow egos? I suspect it might, but I am afraid that I, and many others, are easily fooled. ‘The Will’ will do as it pleases, and not what pleases us.

Contents

Part I. The Life of Arthur Schopenhauer

Part II. The World as Representation

Part III. The World as Will

Part IV. Suffering, Aesthetics, and Ethics

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion

Links

Bernardo Kastrup, Decoding Schopenhauer’s Metaphysics (book)

Christopher Janaway, Schopenhauer: A Very Short Introduction (book)

Bryan Magee, The Philosophy of Schopenhauer (book)

Arthur Schopenhauer, Essay and Aphorisms (book)

Arthur Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Representation — Vol. 1 (book)

Arthur Schopenhauer, The Two Fundamental Problems of Ethics (book)

Arthur Schopenhauer, On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason and Other Writings (book)

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Arthur Schopenhauer (online)

Intern Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Arthur Schopenhauer (online)

Introduction

I am Ixion, strapped to the burning wheel of fire in the underworld that is my life. A bleak assessment to be sure, but I put it to you that it is the truth. For what is life if not an ever-swinging pendulum of pain and boredom, kept in motion by the insatiable will? I constantly strive for the things that I want, but what I want is never enough; long-term satisfaction is tedium elegantly veiled. This alone is a cruel trick to the individual, but in a world of many, it is the ultimate tragedy.

The wills of the multitude cannot avoid the inevitable conflict, as one will’s ends treats another as its means. The tiger feasts on the wild dog, who feasts on the baby turtle, all to propagate life so that future generations can play out this tragic scene ad infinitum. In human life - save rare moments of true compassion - we are little better. Yet, there is a hint of salvation. 

What if we all realised that, at our core, we are the same will? What if we could make the wheel of Ixion stand still, if only for a moment? Would it be possible to see beauty? Would it be possible to see to fellow sufferers rather than fellow egos? I suspect it might, but I am afraid that I, and many others, are easily fooled. ‘The Will’ will do as it pleases, and not what pleases us.

Contents

Part I. The Life of Arthur Schopenhauer

Part II. The World as Representation

Part III. The World as Will

Part IV. Suffering, Aesthetics, and Ethics

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion

Links

Bernardo Kastrup, Decoding Schopenhauer’s Metaphysics (book)

Christopher Janaway, Schopenhauer: A Very Short Introduction (book)

Bryan Magee, The Philosophy of Schopenhauer (book)

Arthur Schopenhauer, Essay and Aphorisms (book)

Arthur Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Representation — Vol. 1 (book)

Arthur Schopenhauer, The Two Fundamental Problems of Ethics (book)

Arthur Schopenhauer, On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason and Other Writings (book)

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Arthur Schopenhauer (online)

Intern Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Arthur Schopenhauer (online)

Introduction

I am Ixion, strapped to the burning wheel of fire in the underworld that is my life. A bleak assessment to be sure, but I put it to you that it is the truth. For what is life if not an ever-swinging pendulum of pain and boredom, kept in motion by the insatiable will? I constantly strive for the things that I want, but what I want is never enough; long-term satisfaction is tedium elegantly veiled. This alone is a cruel trick to the individual, but in a world of many, it is the ultimate tragedy.

The wills of the multitude cannot avoid the inevitable conflict, as one will’s ends treats another as its means. The tiger feasts on the wild dog, who feasts on the baby turtle, all to propagate life so that future generations can play out this tragic scene ad infinitum. In human life - save rare moments of true compassion - we are little better. Yet, there is a hint of salvation. 

What if we all realised that, at our core, we are the same will? What if we could make the wheel of Ixion stand still, if only for a moment? Would it be possible to see beauty? Would it be possible to see to fellow sufferers rather than fellow egos? I suspect it might, but I am afraid that I, and many others, are easily fooled. ‘The Will’ will do as it pleases, and not what pleases us.

Contents

Part I. The Life of Arthur Schopenhauer

Part II. The World as Representation

Part III. The World as Will

Part IV. Suffering, Aesthetics, and Ethics

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion

Links

Bernardo Kastrup, Decoding Schopenhauer’s Metaphysics (book)

Christopher Janaway, Schopenhauer: A Very Short Introduction (book)

Bryan Magee, The Philosophy of Schopenhauer (book)

Arthur Schopenhauer, Essay and Aphorisms (book)

Arthur Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Representation — Vol. 1 (book)

Arthur Schopenhauer, The Two Fundamental Problems of Ethics (book)

Arthur Schopenhauer, On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason and Other Writings (book)

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Arthur Schopenhauer (online)

Intern Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Arthur Schopenhauer (online)

Introduction

I am Ixion, strapped to the burning wheel of fire in the underworld that is my life. A bleak assessment to be sure, but I put it to you that it is the truth. For what is life if not an ever-swinging pendulum of pain and boredom, kept in motion by the insatiable will? I constantly strive for the things that I want, but what I want is never enough; long-term satisfaction is tedium elegantly veiled. This alone is a cruel trick to the individual, but in a world of many, it is the ultimate tragedy.

The wills of the multitude cannot avoid the inevitable conflict, as one will’s ends treats another as its means. The tiger feasts on the wild dog, who feasts on the baby turtle, all to propagate life so that future generations can play out this tragic scene ad infinitum. In human life - save rare moments of true compassion - we are little better. Yet, there is a hint of salvation. 

What if we all realised that, at our core, we are the same will? What if we could make the wheel of Ixion stand still, if only for a moment? Would it be possible to see beauty? Would it be possible to see to fellow sufferers rather than fellow egos? I suspect it might, but I am afraid that I, and many others, are easily fooled. ‘The Will’ will do as it pleases, and not what pleases us.

Contents

Part I. The Life of Arthur Schopenhauer

Part II. The World as Representation

Part III. The World as Will

Part IV. Suffering, Aesthetics, and Ethics

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion

Links

Bernardo Kastrup, Decoding Schopenhauer’s Metaphysics (book)

Christopher Janaway, Schopenhauer: A Very Short Introduction (book)

Bryan Magee, The Philosophy of Schopenhauer (book)

Arthur Schopenhauer, Essay and Aphorisms (book)

Arthur Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Representation — Vol. 1 (book)

Arthur Schopenhauer, The Two Fundamental Problems of Ethics (book)

Arthur Schopenhauer, On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason and Other Writings (book)

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Arthur Schopenhauer (online)

Intern Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Arthur Schopenhauer (online)

Introduction

I write this in secret, hoping that these notes be passed on outside Russia. The author of the diary and the diary itself may, of course, be imaginary. Nevertheless, it is clear that such persons as the Underground Man do exist in our society.

We have tried to expose him to the public but so far there has been no luck. If only people knew of the power of the Underground. He is one of the representatives of a generation still living, a generation waiting patiently for the right moment. His notes were discovered long after his passing, written on tatty paper in cheap ink, covered in cigarette burns and dust….

Don’t listen to the ants who would rather slave over the anthill than accept the truth. These notes are yours now, spread them to every corner of the globe. Long live the Underground!

Contents

Part I. The Life of Fyodor Dostoevsky

Part II. Underground

Part III. Apropos of the Wet Snow

Part IV. Body and Blood

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion

Links

Notes from Underground, Dostoevsky (pdf).

Teaching Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature (book).

Dostoevsky: A Writer in His Time (Joseph Frank).

The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground, James P. Scanlan (paper).

Symbolism of Rats and Mice in Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground, Michael Haltresht (paper).

Notes from Underground, Dostoevsky - Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (book).

Introduction

I write this in secret, hoping that these notes be passed on outside Russia. The author of the diary and the diary itself may, of course, be imaginary. Nevertheless, it is clear that such persons as the Underground Man do exist in our society.

We have tried to expose him to the public but so far there has been no luck. If only people knew of the power of the Underground. He is one of the representatives of a generation still living, a generation waiting patiently for the right moment. His notes were discovered long after his passing, written on tatty paper in cheap ink, covered in cigarette burns and dust….

Don’t listen to the ants who would rather slave over the anthill than accept the truth. These notes are yours now, spread them to every corner of the globe. Long live the Underground!

Contents

Part I. The Life of Fyodor Dostoevsky

Part II. Underground

Part III. Apropos of the Wet Snow

Part IV. Body and Blood

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion

Links

Notes from Underground, Dostoevsky (pdf).

Teaching Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature (book).

Dostoevsky: A Writer in His Time (Joseph Frank).

The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground, James P. Scanlan (paper).

Symbolism of Rats and Mice in Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground, Michael Haltresht (paper).

Notes from Underground, Dostoevsky - Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (book).

Introduction

I write this in secret, hoping that these notes be passed on outside Russia. The author of the diary and the diary itself may, of course, be imaginary. Nevertheless, it is clear that such persons as the Underground Man do exist in our society.

We have tried to expose him to the public but so far there has been no luck. If only people knew of the power of the Underground. He is one of the representatives of a generation still living, a generation waiting patiently for the right moment. His notes were discovered long after his passing, written on tatty paper in cheap ink, covered in cigarette burns and dust….

Don’t listen to the ants who would rather slave over the anthill than accept the truth. These notes are yours now, spread them to every corner of the globe. Long live the Underground!

Contents

Part I. The Life of Fyodor Dostoevsky

Part II. Underground

Part III. Apropos of the Wet Snow

Part IV. Body and Blood

Part V. Further Analysis and Discussion

Links

Notes from Underground, Dostoevsky (pdf).

Teaching Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature (book).

Dostoevsky: A Writer in His Time (Joseph Frank).

The Case against Rational Egoism in Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground, James P. Scanlan (paper).

Symbolism of Rats and Mice in Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground, Michael Haltresht (paper).

Notes from Underground, Dostoevsky - Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (book).