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Every episode
Philosophize This!
30 episodes
Episode #251 ... You Must Change Your Life, Pt. 2 - The Worlds That Make Us
Aug 8, 2026 · 35 min
Today we talk more about Peter Sloterdijk’s book You Must Change Your Life. We talk about Heidegger, the subject-object view of the world, how environments form us, symbolic immunity, modern cynicism, vertical tension, base camps, civilizations as collective immune systems, and why Sloterdijk thinks humanity may need a new form of co-immunity. Hope you love it. :) Sponsor: Nord VPN: https://nordvpn.com/philothis Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. …
Episode #250 ... You Must Change Your Life. - Peter Sloterdijk
Jul 14, 2026 · 36 min
Today we talk about half of the book You Must Change Your Life by Peter Sloterdijk. From criticism towards views of change that he thinks are far too centered on belief and moral strength, to a reworking of how to view human beings at the level of anthropology. We talk about how our view of religion might change under this new perspective... as well as how culture should be seen as a kind of monastic rule. Hope you're having a great week and enjoy the episode. :) Sponsors: Nord VPN: https://nord…
Episode #249 ... The Trap of Modern Cynicism - Peter Sloterdijk
Jun 27, 2026 · 34 min
Today we talk about the book Critique of Cynical Reason by Peter Sloterdijk. Cynicism as a defense mechanism. Why the cynic isn't crazy. The way it ladders up into institutions and infects things like our language. Diogenes as a counter example of a mode of being that rejects pieces of society. Hope you love it. :) Sponsors: Nord VPN: https://nordvpn.com/philothis Exclusive Coveron discount: https://coveron.com/philosophizethis or use the code PHILISOPHIZETHIS at checkout Thank you so much for l…
Episode #248 ... What philosophers say about lying.
May 31, 2026 · 37 min
Today we talk about some of the best arguments for and against lying in the history of philosophy. Hope you love it. :) Sponsor: Nord VPN: https://nordvpn.com/philothis Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philosophizethis Social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philosophizethispodcast X: https://twitter.com/iamstephenwest Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/philosophizethisshow Lea…
Episode #247 ... The Failure of the Modern University - Alasdair MacIntyre
May 10, 2026 · 29 min
Today we talk about some of Macintyre's later work. How he thinks philosophy isn’t optional. It’s already hiding inside everything we do. How he thinks modern universities create experts who know their field but not what their work fully means. How real education should produce judgment, not just technical skill. And how important phronesis (practical wisdom) becomes at holding ourselves and our leaders accountable. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: Nord VPN: https://nordvpn.com/philothis Incogni:…
Episode #246 ... The Myth of the Self-Made Person - Alasdair Macintyre
Apr 26, 2026 · 33 min
Today we talk about Macintyre's book Dependent Rational Animals. Hope you love it. :) Sponsors: Nord VPN: https://nordvpn.com/philothis Saily: https://www.saily.com/philothis Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philosophizethis Social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philosophizethispodcast X: https://twitter.com/iamstephenwest Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/philosophizethissh…
Episode #245 ... The Rival Moral Approaches of the Modern World - Alasdair Macintyre
Apr 12, 2026 · 33 min
Today we talk about the book Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry by Alasdair Macintyre. We talk about each of the different sets of assumptions people bring to moral debates that often contain the true location of the disagreement. Hope you love it. :) Sponsors: Nord VPN: https://nordvpn.com/philothis Incogni: https://www.Incogni.com/philothis Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/phil…
Episode #244 ... After Virtue - Alasdair MacIntyre (why moral conversations feel unsatisfying)
Feb 11, 2026 · 37 min
Today we talk about the book After Virtue by Alasdair MacIntyre. We talk about his genealogy of moral discourse. The teleologies of Aristotle. The failure of the Enlightenment moral project. Our modern culture of Emotivism and the sorts of characters that thrive in it. Shared practices and community as a way to revitalize moral conversation. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: Nord VPN: https://nordvpn.com/philothis Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. Website: http…
Episode #243 ... Hamlet - William Shakespeare
Dec 27, 2025 · 31 min
Today we talk about the play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare. We compare more traditional takes on the themes of the play to a more modern, philosophical analysis of the play done by Simon Critchley and Jamieson Webster. We talk about Hamlet and his inability to take action. Surveillance in 16th century England. Ophelia as the tragic hero of the play. How ultimately Hamlet may best be described as a play about "nothing". Hope you love it. :) Sponsors: Nord VPN: https://nordvpn.com/philoth…
Episode #242 ... Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare
Nov 29, 2025 · 31 min
Today we talk about the philosophy behind the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. We talk about how ineffective violence and honor codes are as ways of maintaining the stability of a society. How catastrophe may be a deterrent to violence. The tension presented by Shakespeare between a Christian view of love, marriage and salvation and an alternative religion of love from his time. How in the kinds of love we most admire there is sometimes an element of irrationality that makes it poss…
Episode #241 ... The Tragedy of Julius Caesar - William Shakespeare
Nov 16, 2025 · 30 min
Today we talk about the philosophical themes of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. We talk about the hypocrisy and false nostalgia of political violence. The ironies of living by a moral ideal like honor. Rhetoric as a site of where political power is won and lost in a republic. And Brutus as a unique kind of tragic hero somewhere between Stoicism and Christianity. Hope you love it. :) Sponsors: The Perfect Jean: https://theperfectjean.nyc Code: PT15 ZocDoc: https://www.ZocDoc.…
Episode #240 ... Varieties of Religion Today (Charles Taylor)
Nov 8, 2025 · 29 min
Today we talk more about the work of Charles Taylor and his book The Varieties of Religion Today. We look at different answers to a classic question around religious belief. The sociological and structural role that religion plays at any given point in history. Paleo, Neo and Post Durkheim versions of religious society. What religion becomes in the age of authenticity we live in. We paint a picture of the very unique spiritual predicament the modern person has to navigate. Hope you love it. :) S…
Episode #239 ... Authenticity and the history of the self. (Charles Taylor)
Oct 17, 2025 · 35 min
Today we talk about the work of the philosopher Charles Taylor. First, we trace the historical origins of how he views the modern self. From the Greeks to the Reformation. From Descartes to Rousseau. The modern self to him is something "irreconcilably multileveled". Then we talk about our modern focus on authenticity as a moral ideal and why Taylor thinks many people misunderstand what it requires. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: The Perfect Jean: https://theperfectjean.nyc Code: PT15 Better Help…
Episode #238 ... Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Oct 8, 2025 · 29 min
Today we talk about the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. We talk about the mix of Romantic and Enlightenment attitudes and how it leads to problems without the proper oversight. We talk about technology and the responsibility that comes with creation. We talk about how ostracized people often learn to resent the world they live in. Hope you love it and have a great week! :) Sponsors: Better Help: https://www.BetterHelp.com/PHILTHIS Nord VPN: https://nordvpn.com/philothis Thank you so much for…
Episode #237 ... The Stoics Are Wrong - Nietzsche, Schopenhauer
Sep 30, 2025 · 29 min
Today we talk about two famous critiques of Stoicism. One by Friedrich Nietzsche who thought the Stoics weren’t life affirming enough and so rob themselves of some of the best parts of life. The other by Arthur Schopenhauer who thought the Stoics were too life-affirming of worldly things to ever reach a deep understanding of things. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: ZocDoc: https://www.ZocDoc.com/PHILO Quince: https://www.QUINCE.com/pt Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without yo…
Episode #236 ... Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
Sep 13, 2025 · 35 min
Today we talk about the collection of journals known as Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. We mark the differences between Stoicism, modern Stoic ethics, and the journals of Marcus Aurelius. We talk about the divine logos, indifferents, and how metaphysical assumptions ladder up into the virtue ethics of the ancient Stoics. We talk about some of the context that Marcus was writing each of these journals in. All of this while trying to relay some of the biggest ideas that he wrote about. Hope you lo…
Episode #235 ... The Philosophy of Zen Buddhism - Byung Chul Han
Sep 4, 2025 · 37 min
Today we talk about one of Han's earlier books where he offers an alternative to classic western ideas about subjectivity. We talk about Zen as a religion without God. Substance and emptiness. Alternatives to the reified self. Dwelling nowhere. Original friendliness. And death as an event we desperately try to control. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: Better Help: https://www.BetterHelp.com/PHILTHIS Nord VPN: https://nordvpn.com/philothis Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this withou…
Episode #234 ... The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
Aug 13, 2025 · 33 min
Today we try to produce a philosophical guide for the book The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. We talk about Parmenides, Nietzsche's eternal recurrence, kitsch as something more than just an aesthetic category, existential codes and his animal test of morality. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: ZocDoc: https://www.ZocDoc.com/PHILO Nord VPN: https://nordvpn.com/philothis Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/…
Episode #233 ... A philosophy of self-destruction. (Dostoevsky, Bataille)
Aug 4, 2025 · 31 min
Today we talk about two different theories for why we ritualize self-destructive behavior. We check out a lesser-known work from Dostoevsky called The Gambler. We consider how much we can hold people morally accountable for this kind of stuff. Then we look at the work of Georges Bataille, his book The Accursed Share, and how a hidden underlying economics may be a way we can understand self-destructive behavior from a new angle. Hope you love it and have a great week. :) Sponsors: Greenlight: htt…
Episode #232 ... Byung Chul Han - The Crisis of Narration
Jul 7, 2025 · 30 min
Today we talk about the book The Crisis of Narration by the philosopher Byung Chul Han. We talk about the history of storytelling. Walter Benjamins distinction between a Paris fire and a revolution in Madrid. The effects of social media on memory. Story telling vs story selling. AI as pure Intelligenz lacking Geist. The ability for stories to give shape to suffering. The importance of boredom for self-discovery. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: Greenlight: https://www.greenlight.com/PT Better Help…
Episode #231 ... The Late Work of Wittgenstein - Language Games
Jun 28, 2025 · 26 min
Today we talk about the late work of Wittgenstein in Philosophical Investigations. We talk about the meaning of words. Augustine's theory. Forms of life. Rules and practices. Grammar. Geometry. Family resemblance. And the role of a philosopher on the other side of accepting this view of language. Hope you love it. :) Sponsors: ZocDoc: https://www.ZocDoc.com/PHILO Quince: https://www.QUINCE.com/pt Better Help: https://www.BetterHelp.com/PHILTHIS Thank you so much for listening! Could never do thi…
Episode #230 ... Hope as an Existentialism (Ernst Bloch)
Jun 14, 2025 · 29 min
Today we talk about the early work of Ernst Bloch. Hope as anticipatory consciousness. The darkness of the lived moment. Educated hope vs false hope. Music as an experiential metaphysics and gateway to the Not-Yet. Hope you love it. :) Sponsors: Better Help: https://www.BetterHelp.com/PHILTHIS Nord VPN: https://nordvpn.com/philothis Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philosophizethis…
Episode #229 - Kafka and Totalitarianism (Arendt, Adorno)
May 25, 2025 · 29 min
Today we talk about Kafka's book The Castle and how the symbolism is interpreted by two powerhouse philosophers: Theodore Adorno and Hannah Arendt. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: Incogni: https://www.Incogni.com/philothis Quince: https://www.QUINCE.com/pt ZocDoc: https://www.ZocDoc.com/PHILO Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philosophizethis Social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.c…
Episode #228 ... Albert Camus - Kafka and The Fall
May 12, 2025 · 31 min
Today we talk about Camus' book The Fall and what the main character represents in his larger project. We also talk about someone Camus deeply admired, Franz Kafka, and how to think of the images he created in his work. We talk about the experience of the modern individual in relation to politics. We also talk about what Camus and Kafka disagreed on. Hope you love it. :) Sponsor: Better Help: https://www.BetterHelp.com/PHILTHIS Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your he…
Episode #227 ... Albert Camus - On Exile
Apr 18, 2025 · 34 min
Today we talk about the concept of exile from the work of Camus. We focus on a couple stories from his book Exile and The Kingdom. We talk about why Camus insists that true lucidity can only arise from the jarring lived experience he calls “exile,” not from armchair reflection. We talk about Janine’s desert epiphany in “The Adulterous Woman.” We talk about school‑teacher Daru in “The Guest,” trapped between France and Algeria, whose double exile shows how history can choose for us. We talk about…
Episode #226 - Albert Camus - The Rebel
Apr 4, 2025 · 32 min
Today we talk about Camus’ concept of rebellion and how it offers a powerful alternative to abstract ideologies. We talk about solidarity as the foundation for justice without systems. We talk about the death penalty as a symbol of premeditated murder disguised as virtue. We talk about rebellion as something closer to art than politics—an act rooted in experience, defined by limits, and carried out with sincerity. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: Nord VPN: https://nordvpn.com/philothis The Perfect…
Episode #225 ... Albert Camus - The Plague
Mar 27, 2025 · 30 min
We look at Albert Camus' The Plague. We talk about a common misreading from the Myth of Sisyphus. We talk about different cycles of his work from his earlier individual confrontation with the absurd to a more community focus. We talk about solidarity. Absurd heroes. Empathy and metaphysical rebellion. Hope you enjoy it, my friends. :) Sponsors: Factor: https://www.FactorMeals.com/pt50off Better Help: https://www.BetterHelp.com/PHILTHIS Quince: https://www.QUINCE.com/pt Thank you so much for list…
Episode #224 ... Albert Camus - The Stranger
Mar 15, 2025 · 29 min
Today we talk about the book The Stranger by Albert Camus. We talk about why Camus saw himself as an artist and not a philosopher. We talk about happiness. The absurd and it's full implications. The Mediterranean lifestyle. The sun as a symbol of immanence. Revolt against the absurd as a descriptive claim-- not a normative one. Sponsors: ZocDoc: https://www.ZocDoc.com/PHILO Better Help: https://www.BetterHelp.com/PHILTHIS Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. We…
Episode #223 ... Religion and the duck-rabbit - Kyoto School pt. 3
Mar 3, 2025 · 34 min
Today we talk about the relationship between philosophy and religion. We talk about the duck-rabbit as a metaphor that may have something useful to teach us about the way we experience reality. We talk about the enormous difficulty of fully addressing the question: what is religion? We talk about Schelling's historical view of revelation and its connection to a possible new era of Christian religious practice. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: Harry’s: https://www.harrys.com/PHILOSOPHIZE Nord VPN:…
Episode #222 ... Dostoevsky - Love in The Brothers Karamazov
Feb 16, 2025 · 39 min
Today we talk about the philosophical themes around love in The Brothers Karamazov. We talk about Dostoevsky's existential, tragic form of Christianity. Family as a microcosm of society. Active love as an experiential framing. The Grand Inquisitor. Hope you love it! :) Sponsors: ZocDoc: https://www.ZocDoc.com/PHILO Rocket Money: http://www.RocketMoney.com/PT Better Help: https://www.BetterHelp.com/PHILTHIS Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. Website: https://w…
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