We 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 application of Metaphysics, Tones says POPPYCOCK! It’s soooo alive!

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Here is a link to BB&T’s philosophy sell sheet that Tones quoted in the show.  Mike thought it was a good, interesting display of philosophy in action. http://itech.fgcu.edu/faculty/bhobbs/BB_T_Philosophy.pdf

Music by BUSKERDROID from the FREE MUSIC ARCHIVE

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Tones 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:https://philosophysurvivalguide.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/republicsequel.mp3

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After 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 philosophy and writing.

Click here to stream the podcast: https://philosophysurvivalguide.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/republic1of2.mp3

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Music by Buskerdroid (free music archive) and Tones dinking around with his new guitar.

Mike 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 concrete level for better understanding. We also discuss if philosophy has a role in writing.

Click here to stream the Episode: ep14thoughtexper

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Tones gives a plug for a great “armchair philosopher” book: The Pig That Wants To Be Eaten by Julian Baggini. You can find it here on AMAZON

Music by Buskerdroid (free music archive) and NIGHTOSAUR (because they said I could).

Thought 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, but the story problems asking how many apples Mary had on a train heading to Vermont clarifies the usage and shows the student his the theory is applicable to real life.

Our next podcast will pick a few of our favorite thought experiments, choosing some from ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology. We’ll describe the scenario, dissect the different angles, and see what light this may show on the abstract theory as well as its applicability to real life.

It should be a fun one!

We need suggestions, though. If you have a favorite scenario: The Inhospitable Hospital, The Pig Who Wanted To Be Eaten, etc. let us know and we’ll consider it for Episode 14.

Email: [email protected] or leave a comment!

Mike 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

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Mike 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 Mike and Tones both give rather strong judgements on Marx and his political theory, which may drift a bit from our Prime Directive/Mission Statement.  As always, we do invite you to read the discussed work for yourself, think critically, and to make your own judgements.  As always, we also invite you to add to the discussion via email or the “comments” portion of this page.

Click here to Stream: ep12marx

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Bumper Music by Tones.

Mike 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 Democracy?

Click here to Stream: ep11socratesII

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Bumper Music by Nightosaur off of their NEW album, SpaceAxers.  Check them out here: NIGHTOSAUR 

Leaving 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 two short stories and wrap up any leftover thoughts on our overview of the (character?) Socrates.

We’re hoping to record soon and have the installment up within a week or so.

Thanks for your continued interest! See you next week!

To 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.

Mike 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 also discusses a rare trip to the movie theater and compares/contrasts The Avengers to Titanic and other disaster films as it ties in well to Episode 9’s Aesthetics discussion.

Click here to Stream: ep10socrates

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Bumper Music by Nightosaur off of their NEW album, SpaceAxers.  Check them out here: NIGHTOSAUR