Machiavelli's most disturbing idea isn't cruelty — it's that the order which makes morality possible was itself founded on something amoral. Romulus killed Remus, and we're told to judge him gently.

The Partially Examined Life · Episode 14: Machiavelli on Politics

The brain is all syntax too. So where does meaning come from?

The Partially Examined Life · Ep. 403: Are LLMs Actually Intelligent? (Part Two)

Lucy Lawless on why we buy the tabloids and pretend our hands are clean — the Britney Spears years as a human sacrifice. From the Partially Examined Life episode on Tom Payne's book on fame and the classics.

The Partially Examined Life · PREVIEW-Episode 64: Celebrity, with…

Mark asks whether there was ever a time before he was woke. Dan Cuddy's answer is the most honest thing you'll hear today.

Nakedly Examined Music · Dan Cuddy (Hypnolovewheel, The Special Pillow) on Nakedly Examined Music

Can you talk meaningfully about something you've never experienced? Mark has never seen a black hole either.

The Partially Examined Life · Ep. 403: Are LLMs Actually Intelligent? (Part Two)

Hannah Arendt says every ideologue is a potential tyrant. The guy with an axe to grind at the end of the bar is, statistically, harmless. Statistically.

The Partially Examined Life · Ep. 269: Arendt on Totalitarianism (Part Two)

Wes on whether LLMs need meaning, interrupted by a failure of his own language model.

The Partially Examined Life · Ep. 403: Are LLMs Actually Intelligent? (Part Two)

Orwell's O'Brien explains why obedience alone is never enough. "Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing." On 1984, and the bleakest sentence anyone has ever put on paper.

The Partially Examined Life · Ep…

Name a noun you can't turn into a verb. Mark tries.

The Partially Examined Life · Ep. 403: Are LLMs Actually Intelligent? (Part Two)

A philosopher who teaches the abortion essays every semester explains the moment the question stopped being theoretical for her: an OB-GYN who forgot to schedule a test, a family history of Tay-Sachs, and a legal window that had already closed. Jenny Hansen-Strain on Casey…

Seth asked ChatGPT to read him a philosophy paper on a long drive. Ten minutes in, he got suspicious.

The Partially Examined Life · Ep. 403: Are LLMs Actually Intelligent? (Part Two)

New from Nakedly Examined Music — Dan Cuddy (Hypnolovewheel, The Special Pillow) on Nakedly Examined Music

He found a blurry photo on the sidewalk. Then he found a My Bloody Valentine CD, no case, just lying there. That's how a song gets written.

Everybody in the 1976 Carrie slaps everybody. Was that just the 70s? We asked the people who were there.

Pretty Much Pop · Pretty Much Pop #233: Not-Scary Carrie

More Nakedly Examined Music:

Is Deleuze a hippie? The Partially Examined Life draws the line between being open-minded and just saying yes to everything — with help from Nietzsche and a bag of Funyuns.

The Partially Examined Life · PREVIEW-Episode 76: Deleuze on What Philosophy Is

"I wrote this poem using Claude as a tool." Did you, though?

The Partially Examined Life · Ep. 403: Are LLMs Actually Intelligent? (Part Two)

Lucretius explains dreams. Then he explains wet dreams. Then, seamlessly, he explains love — and his advice to the lovesick has not aged well. The PEL guys read the passage out loud.

The Partially Examined Life · Ep. 206: Lucretius’s Epicurean Physics

Ryle says some questions about the mind are 'improper.' Wes isn't buying it, so Mark asks him a question.

Closereads · Ryle on Self-Knowledge (Part Three)

Lawrence Ware's uncle refused to play pool. His reasoning was elaborate. The Partially Examined Life on James Baldwin, race, and where paranoia actually comes from.

The Partially Examined Life · Ep. 162: James Baldwin on Race in America

Turing never said passing his test meant a machine was conscious. Here's what he did say.

The Partially Examined Life · Ep. 403: Are LLMs Actually Intelligent? (Part One)