#308 - Jean Gebser, Structures of Consciousness

A very special episode of Drunken Philosophy.

In addition to being the patron saint of cynicism, the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes is basically the patron saint of Drunken Philosophy. He was famous for living in an overturned wine barrel on the streets of Athens and generally thumbing his nose at the educated citizens of that old world metropolis. This week, Connor and Dan investigate Diogenes' whole deal and see if he had anything worth while to say.

This week, Connor and Dan break quarantine in order to venture into the land of make believe. It's thought experiment time! Should people be free to do harmless actions? What if they're really gross? What if I'm just trying to get to work and they're being really gross? These are the pressing questions answered on this week's episode (sort of).

Are we approaching end times or just a monumentally shift in the way we understand the world? If you were to ask European poet, philosopher, and student of culture Jean Gebser he would emphatically say it was the latter. This week, Connor and Dan discuss Gebser's various structures of consciousness to see where we've been, where we are, and where we're going.

This episode is going to require some imagination, some creativity, and some intuition on the part of the listener. Connor and Dan aren't quite sure they understand what Henri Bergson is talking about, but they like the cut of his jib and they like the way he makes them feel. Sometimes that's good enough.

The time has come to finally get analytical on this podcast and, in order to do so, Connor and Dan head straight to the source: The father of analytic philosophy, Bertrand Russell. We're talking logic, we're talking math, and we're talking paradoxes. But we're also talking about an anti-war atheist who managed to hang around on this Earth for a century. Pretty neat guy!

Where my science-heads at? This week, Connor and Dan do their best to wade through the murky waters of quantum theory and modern physics to see what kind of philosophical conundrums they can kick up. What will they find? An excuse to talk about the '90s TV show 'Sliders' of course!

All things must come to an end, including the brief saga of Leon Trotsky. The once central figure of a global revolution finds himself far from home and with very few friends. But Connor and Dan learn that, much like the other socialists of his ilk, Trotsky wasn't going down without a fight.

Continuing their series on Mr. Trotsky, the boys get into the nitty gritty of his particular brand of revolutionary socialism, i.e. Trotskyism. They also discuss Trotsky's military career and the first grumblings of discontent between him and a certain Joseph Stalin.

That "Part 1" in the title can only mean one thing. Connor and Dan are diving back into another miniseries, this time on the fiery Russian revolutionary who found himself on the wrong side of the border. This first episode covers Leon Trotsky's early life, his exposure to orthodox Marxism, and hopefully provides a little historical context for listeners not familiar with Russian revolutionary history.

Inspired by a recent re-watch of Seven Samurai, Dan descends into the dusty tomes of Japan's most notorious swordsman, who, when he wasn't beating guys down with a wooden stick, was scribbling out his unique philosophy and outlook on life. Connor's training begins today. Does he have what it takes to be the best? (Spoiler: he does not)

Happy 300th Episode! In celebration of this truly insane feat they never thought they would accomplish (and maybe shouldn't have), Connor and Dan decide to quit screwing around and finally decide once and for all who the Greatest Philosopher Of All Time is. Make your picks and play along at home!

These days, Zizek is a little difficult to ignore. He's a philosophical superstar, he's got manic energy, and he loves talking about movies. It seems only fitting that Connor and Dan dedicate an entire episode to discussing his background and thoughts on ideology and politics.

In a slight break from format, Connor and Dan spend a little time with a literary great who wasn't afraid of voicing his political and philosophical opinions. George Orwell's legacy stretches from 9th grade English classrooms all the way to the halls of Congress, but do people have the right idea about him? We'll find out! Also, spoilers for Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty Four. You should have read them by now.

To kick off the new year, Connor and Dan decide to restructure their personal education. And they do so by looking back at the revolutionary pedagogy of Brazilian philosophy Paulo Freire. The first thing Dan should probably learn is how to pronounce his last name!

Ho, ho, ho! Etc, etc. On this special (decidedly Christian) holiday, Connor and Dan decide to spend some time with one of the Four Horsemen of New Atheism. But they pick the one who happens to look like Santa Claus so it's all good. Regardless, it's time to talk science and religion all at once! Happy Holidays!

Italian philosopher and politician Gianni Vattimo thinks history is over with. Moreover, he thinks modernity is going out the window with it. This week, Connor and Dan contend with this idea and find themselves strangely comfortable with the uncomfortable nature of postmodernism.

Attention contrarians, here's an episode for you. This week, Connor and Dan discuss American philosopher Carl Cohen who isn't afraid to piss people off with his thoughts on controversial issues, including animal rights. This is an episode for all you devil's advocates out there or for any vegetarians looking to hone their debate skills.

In honor of the recent passing of contemporary philosopher Jaegwon Kim, Connor and Dan discuss the Brown University professor's thoughts on physicalism, the mind-body problem, and the difficult problems of philosophy. It's good stuff! But, as usual, they spend the opening ten minutes alienating everyone and everything.

During the Islamic Golden Age, a learned judge that we know as Averroes flipped the world on its head with his commentaries on Aristotle. Why don't we know more about him? The normal stuff: banishment, book burning, and probably some racism.