The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

We discuss the career of Meryl Streep in light of The Devil Wears Prada 2, insofar as we (Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al) have a hold of it; she's been in over 65 films! Is she really the best actor on the planet? Did Prada need a sequel?

We all brought in our own experiences with her catalog, touching on Sophie's Choice, Kramer vs. Kramer, A Cry in the Dark, Adaptation, The Iron Lady, Death Becomes Her, Postcards From the Edge, Doubt, The Laundromat, Let Them All Talk, Florence Foster Jenkins, et al.

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On Jürgen Habermas' The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity (1985), featuring guest John Ganz.

 Habermas defines modernity as Enlightenment ideals, discusses what's wrong with them (subjectivity), how Hegel argues constructively that a social element needs to be added this this, and how many other critics (e.g. Adorno, Nietzsche, and Foucault) instead argue more destructively against Enlightenment values like Truth, liberty, and justice.

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Tom was an integral member of the Greenwich Village early '60s folk scene (playing originals regularly before Bob Dylan did). His tunes have been covered by Dylan, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Harry Belafonte, and many others. He received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2009.

We talk about "Rebel Gal" from Together Again (2026) (a collaborative album with John McCutcheon), "If the Poor Don't Matter" from Redemption Road (2015), "Mr. Blue" from Morning Again (1968), and "The Death of Stephen Biko" (with Anne Hills and Bob Gibson) from Best of Friends (live in 1984, released in 2004; the song was originally recorded for Heroes, 1978). Intro: "I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound" from Rambin' Boy (1964). More at tompaxton.com.

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Continuing on Rameau's Nephew, getting further into Rameau's philosophy and practices and trying to figure out what this anti-hero can tell us about ethics, given that he displays the virtue of being candid about his own vices.

We talk about "trade idioms" (unethical practices that we consider normal), education, and music. How does this reading relate to Hegel (who quotes it directly)?

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On Denis Diderot's Rameau's Nephew, a dialogue written in the 1760s. Is virtue necessary for happiness, or in the real world, is vice necessary to get by? Diderot's character Rameau argues the latter: that philosophical morality is problematic, and our imperative is prudence, which in Rameau's case involves a lot of clownish deception and (ironically) truth-telling.

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