Philosophy: A Survival Guide
38 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 11 years ago - ★★★★ - 3 ratings2 friends discussing the importance of philosophy in everyday life
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Episodes
17: It Is What It Is! (metaphysics!)
July 25, 2013 05:44 - 20.4 MBWe take the throwaway phrase, “It Is What It Is” and apply it to METAPHYSICS, which then takes us to practical applications in Business, Management, Banking at BB&T with John Allison’s 10 Values, Alcoholic’s Anonymous’s Serenity Prayer, and Stephen Hawking’s declaration that Philosophy is DEAD. It’s amazing how these are all connected! Seeing this practical […]
16: The Republic (2 of 2). The City, Its Influence.
June 01, 2013 05:05 - 19.1 MBTones and Mike continue their discussion on the Republic, focusing on the city that Plato conceptualizes and how it has influenced Western Thought. This is the continuation of the 2-part REPUBLIC episode, partnered with Episode 15. Click here to stream the podcast here: Or here if you prefer iTunes: Music by SMALL WHITE: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Small-White/123935553680
15: The Republic (1of2), Partners, and Writing
April 12, 2013 17:33 - 28 MBAfter a long hiatus, Tones and Mike are finally back with a 2-part episode on Plato’s Republic. In this Part 1 episode, we discuss the Ring of Gyges and The Cave, respectively linking them to conversations on Ethics and Epistemology. Mike and Tones also discuss the importance of working with a partner and revisit the link between […]
14: ThoughtExperiments, Election Day, and Writing
November 16, 2012 04:45 - 20.1 MBMike and Tones focus on a theme of balancing the narrow scope of the concrete vs. the wide scope of fundamentals by talking about the 2012 Presidential election and Thought Experiments. While the election showed the dire need of philosophic thought in political campaigns, Thought Experiments show the value in bringing ideas down to the […]
Upcoming: thought experiments
September 15, 2012 14:27Thought experiments are invaluable tools for philosophers and philosophy students to concretize complex, abstract theories and to take the theory for a test drive. They’re also a good tool for philosophic hopefuls to hone their chops. In math classes we use story problems to drive home the lesson; we can learn long division all day, […]
13: Breaking Bad, Pragmatism, Principles, and Business
September 05, 2012 12:36 - 31.8 MBMike and Tones discuss the philosophic ideas within the Breaking Bad TV series, Mike’s new business classes, and the situations where one must choose one value over another. All of this links our ongoing theme of principles. Plato gets some more love as well as we bring up the Crito again. Click here to stream: 13bbad […]
Ep.12: Marx, Communism, and Political Philosophy
July 25, 2012 06:54 - 28.3 MBMike and Tones discuss Marx’s Communist Manifesto. Are his views “good on paper, bad in practice,” a blueprint for tyranny, or a noble system? Were the events in Cambodia the bastardization of Marxist ideals or the logical path set out by his Manifesto? What role does philosophy have in judging political theory? Please note that […]
Ep11: Socrates II: Apology, Crito, Democracy and Principles.
June 21, 2012 22:20 - 24.7 MBMike and Tones continue their discussion on Socrates in the Apology and the Crito, focusing on what philosophic ideas we can pull from these stories and why they are essential to even those who don’t study philosophy. What does the tragic story of Socrates say about living according to principles? What does it say about […]
Upcoming: Socrates pt. ii
June 07, 2012 14:23Leaving off with Theaetetus in Ep 10, Socrates was on his way to a trial. Mike and I plan on continuing this story by discussing The Apology and Crito in Ep 11. While these early works of Plato are more literary works than philosophical dissertations, we’ll discuss what philosophic ideas can be extracted from these […]
www.philosophysurvivalguide.com
June 02, 2012 17:21To celebrate our 10th episode, we finally purchased the domain: philosophysurvivalguide.com Your old WordPress link will still work, but the shortened, simpler new link is now available.
Ep.10: Socrates in THEAETETUS
June 01, 2012 04:06 - 27.8 MBMike and Tones begin their discussion on Socrates (to be continued) by concentrating on Plato’s Theaetetus. They don’t get in too deep in regards to the epistemological content of the book but rather use it to examine the character of Socrates and to discuss his role as one of the most important philosophers… EVER. Tones […]
Ep9: Aesthetics
May 14, 2012 06:54 - 25.5 MBMike and Tones discuss philosophy’s role in Aesthetics and why anyone should care enough to think about art. We also argue if Aesthetics should cover non-art within its definition. This finally leads us to emphasize the role ideas and values play in artists’ creations and our subsequent appreciation of their works. Click here to Stream: […]
Philosophy in Software Testing? (Mike’s Other Gig)
May 07, 2012 01:09As noted in the “about us” section of this site, Philosophy: A Survival Guide co-host Michael Raveling also hosts a podcast directly related to his career: softwaretestpodcast.com . Every once in a while, Michael sneaks in some philosophic theory into these podcasts, but he and his co-host struck the jackpot in this episode with special […]
Free…ill poll… Da y…u want to.? (Mi
April 27, 2012 20:48I found an old blog post from 2004 when Duchamp’s Fountain was named the most influential piece of modern art. Here’s what I wrote: Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain” (1917) was recently declared the most influential work of modern art according to a Gordon’s Gin survey. Uh… yeah. I can see that. “Fountain” is influential because it […]
Dada… (teaser for our upcoming Aesthetics discussion)
April 27, 2012 20:48I found an old blog post from 2004 when Duchamp’s Fountain was named the most influential piece of modern art. Here’s what I wrote: Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain” (1917) was recently declared the most influential work of modern art according to a Gordon’s Gin survey. Uh… yeah. I can see that. “Fountain” is influential because it […]
Ep8: FreeWill, B.F. Skinner, and Aesthetics
April 22, 2012 03:12 - 24.8 MBA discussion of B.F. Skinner and Tones’s recent findings on Twitter take us deeper into the discussion of Freewill. We also begin our discussion of Aesthetics, but merely as a teaser for Episode 9. Click here to Stream: Episode8 Click here if you prefer iTunes Bumper Music by Nightosaur off of their NEW album, SpaceAxers. Check them out […]
Upcoming: Aesthetics, Skinner, and a little more on Free Will
April 14, 2012 13:00We’re close to recording our next podcast as soon as the stars align and allow Mike and Tones to meet up for a few hours. Our goal will be to have it in the can by mid-week next week. Here’s what is on the docket (subject to change): a brief introduction to Aesthetics (what is […]
Ep7: The Presocratics and “Bull Crap”
March 29, 2012 06:58 - 30.2 MBAre the PreSocratics a bunch of goof balls with crazy ideas or are they worth studying? Also, we discuss an article: “Philosophy: A Bunch of Bull Crap.” Well, Is it? Click here to Stream: Ep7: Presocratics and “Bull Crap” Click here if you prefer iTunes Click here to access the referenced Philosophy: A Bunch Of Bull Crap article […]
Episode VII: IN THE CAN!!
March 27, 2012 04:44FINALLY, Mike and Tones found a way to get this Episode done despite our busy March schedules and the both of us traveling around the country. Thanks to the magic of Skype, we have Episode VII in the can. Tones has some editing to do, but we should see Episode VII: The Pre-Socratics by the […]
Upcoming: The PreSocratics
March 13, 2012 04:13Can a person step in the same river twice? Do asses truly prefer chaff to gold? Will Zeno ever really get anywhere? Mike and Tones are studied up on the PreSocratics and ready to record another riveting episode next week. Why bother with the PreSocratics? Were they loony or brilliant? What on Earth are they […]
Ep6: Nietzsche, Love, and Dichotomies!
February 28, 2012 06:50 - 25.5 MBWe offer our take on Nietzsche, we discuss LOVE (happy Valentines Day), and the importance of recognizing false dichotomies. Click here to Stream: philosurvivalguideep6 Click here if you prefer iTunes Bumper Music by MPLS ‘s own, Small White: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Small-White/123935553680 (thanks, guys!)
Upcoming: More Nietzsche, Love (for Valentine’s Day), and MORE!
February 16, 2012 00:58We have a lot of good ideas for Episode VI, but it’s going to have to wait one more week. Mike and Tones are still studying our Nietzsche and will need an extended break to finish up our prep work. We will always shoot for a podcast every other week, which is certainly doable with […]
Ep5: Egalitarianism, Nietzsche, and SOP’s
February 05, 2012 05:14 - 26.1 MBMoving on to Politics, we discuss Egalitarianism. We also discuss a few reading tips for the philosophy student, Tones gives an analogy that shows the need to avoid Pragmatism and to define your principles, and we close with our initial thoughts on Nietzsche (before discussing him further in Episode VI). Click here to Stream: philosurvivalguideep5 Click here if […]
Bumper Music Update!
February 04, 2012 06:381) Tones figured we’d have about 6 listeners for the first few months with the hope that someday we’d peak at 20. We’ve already surpassed any expectations as far as content downloads go (250 in 2 months?! what!?) and we’ve been hovering around iTunes first 50 podcasts listed under the general search of “philosophy.” While […]
Sketch of Episode IV (Link to Podcast is below):
January 20, 2012 18:07In this Episode, Tony and Mike discuss a USA Today OpEd claiming that we don’t have FreeWill. We then remember that we forgot to talk about REASON in EpIII’s Intro To Epistemology, so we briefly touch upon that. Moving on to ETHICS, Mike and I lay out the FUNDAMENTAL element of our personal views on […]
Ep4: Kierkegaard, Ethics, Reason, and Free Will
January 20, 2012 17:54 - 24.2 MBWe discuss a USA Today OpEd on Free Will, cleanup EpIII’s discussion on Epistemology, set up shop for future discussion on Ethics, and discuss Kierkegaard. Click here to Stream: philosurvivalguideep4 Click here if you prefer iTunes
Episode IV: DO OVER!
January 10, 2012 18:48Mike and Tony had some technical issues with the last podcast and weren’t satisfied with quality of the finished product. We had something wrong with the recording that left distracting pops and crackles throughout the discussion. We hope to re-record Episode IV soon. Since we get the chance of a do-over, we’ve decided to rethink […]
Sketch of Episode III (Link to Podcast is below):
January 01, 2012 05:18In this Episode, Tony discusses his new appreciation for New Years, Mike and Tony continue last episode’s discussion on Metaphysics, and begin their Introduction to Epistemology. Tony shares some listener feedback, starting a brief conversation regarding lying. Rather than taking the usual Ethical approach to this topic, Tony and Mike instead discuss lying with Metaphysics in mind. We […]
Ep3: Epistemology, More Metaphysics, and Merry New Year!
January 01, 2012 04:59 - 20 MBWe discuss New Years, continue our discussion on Metaphysics, and begin our Introduction To Epistemology. Click here to Stream: philosurvivalguideep3 Click here if you prefer iTunes
Resolution: One More Podcast before New Years!
December 27, 2011 18:25Mike and I have our rough sketch for Episode III (which by Star Wars standards, will be the last of the stinkers before it really gets good) and hope to record before 2011 comes to an end. We’ve received some listener feedback (!) and have a plate full of topics. Our plan is to record […]
Sketch of Episode II (link is below):
December 19, 2011 17:46In this Episode, Tony starts things out with a spirited monologue praising Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer while contrasting the story to the children’s book, The Rainbow Fish. He then connects the two themes to Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Next, we begin our series of “Intro To” segments discussing the various branches of philosophy. We discuss […]
Ep2: Metaphysics, Rudolf, and Rainbow Fish
December 19, 2011 07:56 - 14.3 MBRudolf = Jobs, Rainbow Fish = Gates?? Intro to Metaphysics Click here to stream: philosurvivalguideep2 Click here if you prefer iTunes
Episode II is coming to town…
December 16, 2011 17:38HO HO HO! It’s been a BUSY holiday season, but Mike and Tony have finally locked down a date and time and plan to record on Saturday night. Expect to see Episode II popping up sometime during the weekend, depending on how many “uhs” Tony needs to edit out vs. how many last minute gifts […]
Sketch of what to expect in Episode I (link is below)
December 07, 2011 19:01(We’ve learned that we should separate the description from the podcast in two posts to avoid cluttering up the iTunes description. You’ll find the podcast streamable and iTunes-able directly below this post.) In Episode I: Mike and Tony try to set up shop by introducing who we are, what this podcast will accomplish, and […]
EPISODE I: The Introduction
December 05, 2011 04:33 - 21 MBWe set up shop, talk about majoring in philosophy and why anyone would/should want to study it. Click here to stream: philosurvivalguideep1 Click here if you prefer iTunes
Welcome to Philosophy: A Survival Guide!
December 05, 2011 04:05Hello, All! Thanks for checking out Philosophy: A Survival Guide, a podcast and blog (heavier on the podcast) dedicated to promote the study of philosophy through casual conversations and anecdotes that show that, like it or not, philosophy is everywhere. If you decide to study philosophy, we hope to throw you a lifeline to bring you […]