Thursday, October 25, 2018

Episode 27 - The Empirical Self and the Transcendental Self: Kant and Critique of Pure Reason

In this episode, we wrap up our extended focus on Kant's Critique of Pure Reason by coming full circle and looking at his view on personal identity, the topic of Episode 1 of this podcast. Recall, in that episode, we were introduced to David Hume's thoughts on the topic.

Episode Link

Friday, September 14, 2018

Monday, September 3, 2018

Episode 25 - The Threefold Synthesis: Kant and Critique of Pure Reason

We begin Kant's famous Transcendental Deduction this episode, focusing first on what he called 'the threefold synthesis' of cognition.

Episode Link

Readings from Critique of Pure Reason [first edition], by Immanuel Kant:
  • A96-98 
  • A 99-100: 1. ON THE SYNTHESIS OF APPREHENSION IN INTUITION
  • A101-102: 2. ON THE SYNTHESIS OF REPRODUCTION IN IMAGINATION
  • A103-106: 3. ON THE SYNTHESIS OF RECOGNITION IN THE CONCEPT 

 

Sunday, August 19, 2018

Episode 24: The Elephant in the Room: Kant and Critique of Pure Reason

Is transcendental idealism philosophically inconsistent? Does Kant not fully get the love he should from the philosophy community because he seems to have violated one of his own doctrines?

Episode Link

Friday, August 10, 2018

Episode 23 - The Origin of Cognition: Kant and Critique of Pure Reason

In this episode, hopefully we nail down what it is that Kant means when he uses the term 'transcendental.' Also, the cognitive mechanism Kant calls 'synthesis' is introduced.

Readings from Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant:
(A56/B80) - General logic vs. transcendental logic
(A57/B82) - Brief but clear description of what transcendental logic is
(A58-59/B82-83) - A little about what truth is
(A77-79/B102-105) - Synthesis is introduced

Reading from A Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume:
Book I, Part III, Section VIII - Intensity of belief in terms of probability

Episode link

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Episode 21: Transcendental Logic Introduction

We briefly touch upon the opening section of Transcendental Logic in Kant's Critique of Pure Reason.

Episode Link

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Episode 20: More on Transcendental Idealism

Continuing Kant's Critique of Pure Reason...
What does the mind bring to experience?
A little more on transcendental idealism as touched on in Transcendental Aesthetic.

Episode link

Sunday, June 24, 2018

Episode 19: Transcendental Idealism

A little on how Hume's controversial claim about the nature of cause-and-effect associations led Kant to rethink his approach to metaphysics.

Episode link

Saturday, June 9, 2018

Episode 18 - The Attack on Metaphysics: Hume on Cause and Effect

What was it that Hume said that awoke Kant from his so-called dogmatic slumber? In this episode we look at how susceptible we are to the inferences our minds make.

Link to this episode.

Saturday, May 26, 2018

Episode 17 - Pieces of Infinity Pt 2: Kant on Space

In this episode we contrast Hume's idea of space as a concept derived from experience and Kant's idea of space as an a priori presentation.

Link to this Episode

Friday, May 18, 2018

Episode 16 - Pieces of Infinity: Hume on Space

A brief tangent from our survey of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, here we take a look at one of David Hume's unpopular discussions from A Treatise of Human Nature, namely his ideas on Space and infinite divisibility.

Link to this episode


Sunday, May 6, 2018

Episode 15: More on the Analytic/Synthetic Distinction - Leibniz, Hume, and Kant

We slow things down a little bit and spend a little more time on the analytic/synthetic distinction. A few thoughts from Leibniz and Hume, as well as Kant.
Link to this episode

Friday, May 4, 2018

Sunday, April 29, 2018

Episode 12 - From Perceptions to Knowledge Pt 2: Pure Intuition Pt 1

Continuing Transcendental Aesthetic in Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. We transition from empirical intuition to pure intuition. First up - Space

Link to Episode 12

Friday, April 20, 2018

Monday, April 16, 2018

Episode 10 - From Perceptions to Knowledge Pt 1 - Sensibility and Intuition: Pt 1

A brief introduction to Transcendental Aesthetic from Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. Some basic vocabulary from the Critique is introduced to get started on Kant's theory of perception.

Link to Episode 10

Sunday, April 1, 2018

Episode 9 - Driven to Meaning - Part 2: From Rules to Meaning

What are the basic rules we follow? We guess that they lie deep in the human psyche. How can we get at them?

Episode 9 Link

Monday, March 5, 2018

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Episode 6 - Nietzsche and Morality - Pt 4: We Weak Ones

This episode concludes a four-part series focusing on Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morals. Final commentary is presented as a recording of a talk given by Nietzsche scholar Bernard Reginster at Amherst College in 2017.

Episode 6 Link

Monday, January 22, 2018

Episode 5 - Nietzsche and Morality - Pt 3: Ressentiment

In this episode, sections 9 - 12 of the first essay of On the Genealogy of Morals are covered. Nietzsche's concept of Ressentiment is introduced, and he laments the diminution of the spirit of man.

Link to Episode 5

Monday, January 15, 2018

Episode 4 - Nietzsche and Morality - Part 2: The Slave Revolt

Here we cover sections 5 - 8 of the first essay of On The Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche. These sections cover Nietzsche's explanation of the transition from a culture of hero worship in ancient Greece and Early Rome to one in which people worship a god who demands self denial, one he (Nietzsche) calls a slave morality.

Link to Episode 4