Amateur Philosophers' Club artwork

Amateur Philosophers' Club

43 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 4 years ago -

"What is the meaning of life?" said one priest to another ... and yet another philosophy podcast was born.

Philosophy Society & Culture philosophy realism aristotle socrates aquinas classical realism metaphysics daniel sullivan catholic
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Episodes

Ep. 30 | Philosophy Forever

October 04, 2020 16:00 - 45 minutes - 31 MB

Though we end where we began, we begin now with all we've ended with.

Ep. 29 | God: Uncreated Being (part 2)

September 27, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 44.9 MB

As we conclude the chapter on the metaphysical question of God we look at the two major objections to God's existence as well as St Anselm's Ontological Argument and other arguments for God's existence. 

Ep. 29 | God, Philosophically (part 2)

September 27, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 44.9 MB

As we conclude the chapter on the metaphysical question of God we look at the two major objections to God's existence as well as St Anselm's Ontological Argument and other arguments for God's existence. 

Ep. 28 | God: Uncreated Being (part 1)

September 20, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 48.5 MB

Continuing our consideration of being as such, we move from being to Being as we explore the source and plenitude of all being, and how we can philosophically respond to the question of God, a question which, like its answer, is ever-ancient, ever-new.

Ep. 28 | God, Philosophically (part 1)

September 20, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 48.5 MB

Continuing our consideration of being as such, we move from being to Being as we explore the source and plenitude of all being, and how we can philosophically respond to the question of God, a question which, like its answer, is ever-ancient, ever-new.

Ep. 28 | God (part 1)

September 20, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 48.5 MB

Continuing our consideration of being as such, we move from being to Being as we explore the source and plenitude of all being, and how we can philosophically respond to the question of God, a question which, like its answer, is ever-ancient, ever-new.

Ep. 27 | The Divisions of Being

September 13, 2020 16:00 - 47 minutes - 32.5 MB

Being as existence and essence, substance and accident, act and potency. 

Ep. 26 | The Transcendentals of Being

September 05, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 50.5 MB

What can we say ... of everything that is?

Ep. 25 | The Quest for Being: An Introduction to Metaphysics

August 30, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 41.7 MB

Beyond the quality and quantity of things lies their very being. And their having being is what they have in common with all things that are. But what can we know and say about being? This is the quest of the science of metaphysics.

Ep. 24 | Nature and its Causes

August 23, 2020 16:00 - 51 minutes - 35.4 MB

This week we take a closer a look at nature, that is, the natural world around us and the natures of things that make it up. We also explore the four causes that account for those things. 

Ep. 24 | Nature and the Four Causes

August 23, 2020 16:00 - 51 minutes - 35.4 MB

This week we take a closer a look at nature, that is, the natural world around us and the natures of things that make it up. We also explore the four causes that account for those things. 

Bonus | Crito: A Socratic Dialogue

August 16, 2020 16:00 - 45 minutes - 31.1 MB

In this episode we read and chat about Crito, a Socratic dialogue by Plato.  In the dialogue, Crito offers his friend Socrates a means of escaping his impending execution. Socrates invites Crito into a conversation about whether this would be a just action or not.  

Ep. 23 | Political Ethics

August 09, 2020 16:00 - 55 minutes - 38.4 MB

What is society? Where does it come from? What's it for? And is there a limit as to what it's laws should be about?

Ep. 22 | Justice

August 02, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 42.3 MB

Today we look at the virtue of justice, which it turns out is not so much about getting what is mine as it is about giving to others what is rightfully theirs. 

Ep. 21 | Prudence, Temperance, Chastity and Courage

July 26, 2020 16:00 - 51 minutes - 35.2 MB

In this episode we look at some of the habits we can develop that help us towards happiness, such as: right judgement in making right choices, harmonious self-control over our lower appetites and the strength of character to stand up for what is right and good in the face of physical and social dangers. 

Ep. 21 | Courage, Chastity, Prudence and Temperance

July 26, 2020 16:00 - 51 minutes - 35.2 MB

In this episode we look at some of the habits we can develop that help us towards happiness, such as: right judgement in making right choices, harmonious self-control over our lower appetites and the strength of character to stand up for what is right and good in the face of physical and social dangers. 

Ep. 21 | Courage, Self-Control and Choosing Well

July 26, 2020 16:00 - 51 minutes - 35.2 MB

In this episode we look at some of the habits we can develop that help us towards happiness, such as: right judgement in making right choices, harmonious self-control over our lower appetites and the strength of character to stand up for what is right and good in the face of physical and social dangers. 

Ep. 20 | Virtue and the Habits of Living Greatly

July 19, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 41.4 MB

This week we take a look at what virtue actually means and why a virtues-based ethic is the most encompassing and satisfying approach to morality.

Ep. 19 | Is Morality Objective?

July 12, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 47.7 MB

This week we take a closer look at moral relativism, the natural moral law and conscience. 

Ep. 18 | What is Happiness?

July 05, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 41.4 MB

What is the purpose of human life and what does a fulfilled and complete human life look like?

Ep. 17 | Is the Soul Immortal?

June 28, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 44.3 MB

This week we look at the metaphysical and practical problems of a merely materialist worldview and the metaphysical and practical arguments for the immortality of the soul. Here is a link to the book mentioned in the episode: https://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Christian-Apologetics-Peter-Kreeft/dp/0830817743 

Ep. 16 | Does the Soul Exist?

June 21, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 42 MB

What is a soul? What has a soul? And what can we know about the soul by the use of reason?

Ep. 15 | True Love and True Friendship

June 14, 2020 18:00 - 59 minutes - 41 MB

This week we look at what the next level of love and friendship looks like.

Ep. 14 | How Free Are You?

June 07, 2020 18:00 - 59 minutes - 40.7 MB

Beyond "freedom from" and more even than "freedom to" the real question is: what is "freedom for"?

Ep. 13 | What Moves Us?

May 31, 2020 18:00 - 1 hour - 44.9 MB

In this episode we work our way from fear to freedom, looking a little deeper into our basic desires and appetites. 

Ep. 13 | Passion and Desire

May 31, 2020 18:00 - 1 hour - 44.9 MB

In this episode we work our way from fear to freedom, looking a little deeper into our basic desires and appetites. 

Ep. 12 | What is Truth?

May 24, 2020 18:00 - 1 hour - 44.1 MB

So we've looked at what knowing is and how we know, now we look at how we know if what we know is what is?

Ep. 11 | How do We Know?

May 17, 2020 18:00 - 1 hour - 41.5 MB

So how do you know what you know? And how do you know you know what you know? Ya know?

Ep. 11 | The Kinds of Knowing

May 17, 2020 18:00 - 1 hour - 41.5 MB

So how do you know what you know? And how do you know you know what you know? Ya know?

Ep. 10 | What Does it Mean to Know?

May 10, 2020 18:00 - 57 minutes - 39.3 MB

So what do we know about knowing? And when we know, is what is known in what is known or in who knows or neither? 

Ep. 10 | The Nature of Knowing

May 10, 2020 18:00 - 57 minutes - 39.3 MB

So what do we know about knowing? And when we know, is what is known in what is known or in who knows or neither? 

Ep. 9 | The Nature of Man

May 03, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 43.6 MB

Between man and beast, is there any difference that makes much of a difference? Or are we pretty much the same kind of thing?

Ep. 9 | What is Man?

May 03, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 43.6 MB

Between man and beast, is there any difference that makes much of a difference? Or are we pretty much the same kind of thing?

Ep. 8 | Who are These Priests, Anyway?

April 26, 2020 18:00 - 1 hour - 47.6 MB

In this episode we take a break from getting to know the professionals and get to know the amateurs a little better.

Ep. 7 | Aristotle

April 19, 2020 19:00 - 1 hour - 45.2 MB

Aristotle brought the ideas of Plato back down to earth and there found solutions to the questions that had landed his forebears in opposing ideas. 

Ep. 6 | Plato

April 12, 2020 19:00 - 51 minutes - 35.6 MB

In the world of ideas, Plato's ideas made a world of difference to the world and ideas (though he was more interested in the latter then the former).

Bonus | Meno: A Socratic Dialogue

April 08, 2020 05:00 - 22 minutes - 15.5 MB

An excerpt from Meno, one of the Socratic Dialogues written by Plato. In this dialogue Socrates tries to get Meno to explain to him what virtue is. 

Ep. 5 | Socrates

April 05, 2020 18:00 - 1 hour - 43.9 MB

If there was one thing that Socrates knew to be true it was that he didn't know everything ... and if there's one philosopher worth knowing (and imitating) it's this humble seeker of truth.

Ep. 4 | The Age of the Sophists

March 29, 2020 18:00 - 55 minutes - 37.9 MB

Seeking the truth is overrated. Rather just persuade people to believe what you want them to believe ... Or so the Sophists thought.

Ep. 3 | Change and Permanence

March 23, 2020 07:00 - 1 hour - 41.8 MB

So change is a pretty apparent reality, and a pretty mysterious one too. And if you think about it for long enough it makes you ask some pretty big questions like: When things change, what changes? And what stays the same? Is anything around us stable? Is everything around us stable?  These are some of the questions that some of those early Greek thinkers asked too, and they came up with some pretty interesting answers.

Ep. 3 | Change and Permanence

March 23, 2020 07:00 - 1 hour - 41.8 MB

So change is a pretty apparent reality, and a pretty mysterious one too. And if you think about it for long enough it makes you ask some pretty big questions like: When things change, what changes? And what stays the same? Is anything around us stable? Is everything around us stable?  These are some of the questions that some of those early Greek thinkers asked too, and they came up with some pretty interesting answers.

Ep. 2 | The Beginnings of Philosophy

March 16, 2020 07:00 - 52 minutes - 36.3 MB

So where do you begin when you're trying to understand everything? Well when philosophy first began, the first philosophers began by looking at the world around them and asking themselves: Is all this stuff made up of the same stuff? And if it is, what's the stuff that makes it all up?

Ep. 1 | What is Philosophy?

March 09, 2020 07:00 - 1 hour - 42 MB

What is philosophy anyway? And is it worth your time?  In this episode we look at what makes philosophy unique and how we're all in fact amateur philosophers.