Pat was feeling less than confident in the state of our society, so Ben teaches him the ways of Confucius, or as he will henceforth be known: Master Kong. Pat and Ben discuss Master Kong's theories on what makes for a harmonious society, what makes for a chill bro, and how to attain the most coveted virtue in Confucius' ethical system: Ren, or human-heartedness. They also cover the difference between Eastern and Western conceptions of society, and Pat has a meltdown about thought experiments. Al...
Dec 09, 2017•1 hr•Ep. 20
Pat was feeling dumber than a robot so Ben invites him to check out The Chinese Room. Developed by philosopher John Searle, The Chinese Room is a thought experiment that challenges the notion of Strong AI -- Strong Allen Iverson. Ben and Pat explore the nature of machine intelligence, The Turing Test, and what it means to understand a language. Can machines think like us? What's it like when a robot beats off? Not a game, not a game, not a game...Practice.
Dec 02, 2017•1 hr•Ep. 19
Pat was wondering if he was really in control of his choices, so Ben explains the concept of Free Will. Do we really decide the course of our own lives? Do choosy moms really "choose" JIF? What justifies our system of criminal justice if all of our actions are determined by physics? Pat and Ben explore the implications of choice, will, and what makes our behavior truly a part of our selves. Also, don't suck your friend's blood on the bus. It's weird.
Nov 25, 2017•52 min•Ep. 18
Pat was feeling seductive so he asked Ben about 1969 Playmate of the Year/Frankfurt School philosopher Herbert Marcuse. Pat & Ben wear velvet smoking jackets as they discuss Marcuse's ideas, like how Marxism needs a Freudian pick-me-up, and how capitalism has conditioned us into a one-dimensional society where we're forced to either consume or die.
Nov 19, 2017•43 min•Ep. 17
Pat was getting nostalgic about his Catholic school days (where he first met Ben) so he and Ben get into some Catholic shit. They cover the medieval philosophy of SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS, Ockham's Razor, and Peter Abelard's junkless crotch, among other things. Ironically, these philosophies, which currently underpin all of Catholic theology, wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for Muslims, whom the Church handsomely rewarded with a bunch of crusades. Ad Majorem Gloriam Dei, bitch....
Nov 11, 2017•59 min•Ep. 16
Pat could barely sit still as he and Ben wrap up their award-winning Greek Triple Stack series with main Logic Daddy himself - Aristotle. Ben explains the 4 Causes, the Syllogism and Aristotle's virtue ethics. Pat learns that Aristotle was the only person who could yell at Alexander the Great in public without getting murdered. Pat liked Aristotle better because he's a more down to earth bro and doesn't imprison children in caves to grow up blind and stupid like Plato did. As a result, Pat doesn...
Nov 07, 2017•52 min•Ep. 15
Pat was wondering what the Big Idea was, so Ben introduces him to the Idea Man himself: Plato. Long considered Socrates' successor and consigliere, Plato has a lot to say about Justice, Truth, and how to hang during an epic Greek smoke sesh. Pat & Ben talk about the Republic and Plato's Theory of Forms. Everything is peaches & cream until they get to the Allegory of the Cave. Pat hates the metaphor and yells at Ben about it, noting that it's a contrived device to make a fairly obvious po...
Oct 28, 2017•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 14
Pat was curious about how this whole philosophy thing got started in the first place, so Ben sits him down and tells him about Socrates, the toga-wearing, hemlock-chugging maniac who kicked off this non-stop wisdom party. In the first installment of a 3-part series, "The Greek Triple Stack," Ben and Pat talk about a man from Athens who asked so many questions, the state executed him just for being annoying. But that couldn't stop what he already started: the Western philosophical tradition as we...
Oct 21, 2017•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 13
Pat was wondering why God allows bad things to happen to good people, so Ben explains The Problem of Evil. Long used by atheists to challenge the existence of God, this issue has been irritating religious people for millennia. Ben and Pat discuss how annoying atheists are, how little God gives a shit whether you believe in him or not, and the different responses theists (folks who believe in God) have developed to solve this problem. This includes the sheisty, lawyerific response Ben came up wit...
Oct 14, 2017•58 min•Ep. 12
Pat was feeling oppressed (again) so Ben explains the groundbreaking political philosophy of Hannah Arendt, who is way smarter and better at philosophy than that charlatan Ayn Rand. Pat learns about Arendt's theory of the rise of totalitarianism in the 20th Century, why modernity fucked everything up, and how average people become wicked through the Banality of Evil. Fun fact: her book The Origins of Totalitarianism saw a dramatic spike in sales on Amazon the day of Trump's inauguration because ...
Oct 07, 2017•59 min•Ep. 11
Pat lost his identity and panicked. In an attempt to get Pat's sense of self back, Ben explains The Ship of Theseus paradox. If you replace all the planks of wood from the ship one at a time over the years, is it the same ship in the end? If the old planks are used to build another ship with the exact same design, is that the original ship? If you go into a teleporter that disassembles you atom-by-atom at one end and reassembles you with new atoms at the other end, did you die? Do you step out a...
Sep 30, 2017•58 min•Ep. 10
Pat was freaking out because he couldn't tell if we live in a simulation or not. After Pat forces Ben to watch the entire Matrix trilogy, he makes Ben explain the 'Brain in a Vat' scenario. Is any of this real? Can we wake up from this nightmare? And what does all this have to do with 17th Century French pervert Rene Descartes? Pat learns that Cipher kind of had a point, Morpheus is an asshole, and that the most famous quote in the history of philosophy, "I think therefore I am," was Descartes, ...
Sep 23, 2017•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 9
Pat wanted to expand his mind so Ben brought in Christina Parrish to explain the psychedelic philosophies of Terence McKenna & Alan Watts. Christina and Ben send Pat on a trip where he learns how to dismantle the Ego and shatter his preconceptions with the help of some groovy learning aids: Psilocybin, LSD & DMT. Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out. Bitch.
Sep 16, 2017•58 min•Ep. 8
Pat was being a whiny, entitled bitch, so he made Ben explain the "philosophy" of famous novelist/cult leader Ayn Rand. Pat learns how she used her turgid, hackneyed, pedantic novels as a platform for her ideology, Objectivism. Objectivism is a half-baked philosophy for petulant toddlers emphasizing selfishness as a virtue and rapacious capitalism as the best economic system. Her followers are insufferable. Don't ever talk to them.
Sep 09, 2017•45 min•Ep. 7
Pat sensed something was amiss. Turns out, he was right: God is dead! Pat takes on the case and brings in his partner Ben to find God's killer. Pat suspects syphilitic weirdo Friedrich Nietzsche, but as Ben explains the mercurial philosopher's life and work, the case gets more complicated. In the biggest spoiler in Western intellectual history, we learn that we were the killers the whole time and poor Freddy got framed for the murder, along with another historical catastrophe of the 20th century...
Sep 02, 2017•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 6
Pat was seeking enlightenment so Ben brought in an expert. John Rabon joins Ben as our first guest to explain Zen, living in the moment and resisting the lures of pleasure. Ben and John enlighten Pat by explaining the history of Buddhism, its ultimate goal of eliminating all desire, and how an unhealthy obsession with immediate gratification and the pursuit of pleasure leads to unhappiness and lack of fulfillment. Buddha would know because Buddha smashed.
Aug 26, 2017•1 hr•Ep. 5
Pat was feeling ambitious so he wanted to tackle one of the greats: German philosopher & weird virgin Immanuel Kant. Ben explains Kant's whole mission to Pat, which was basically to lay out a comprehensive, scientific theory of how we know things. He did this by reconciling the two competing theories of knowledge at the time: Rationalism vs. Empiricism. This was an insane thing to attempt, even for a huge nerd like Kant, which may explain why he never left his hometown and never, ever got la...
Aug 19, 2017•57 min•Ep. 1
Pat was feeling oppressed so he recruits his revolutionary friend Ben to teach him about class struggle, revolution, and the man behind it all: Big Bad Karl Marx. Pat learns about the dialectical march of history, alienation, and why you shouldn't get your leftist rhetoric from teenagers screaming on the Internet. In this episode, we also get a brief cameo from Pat's roommate, Jay, but you probably won't hear him because he wasn't mic'd. Join the DSA! We have nothing to lose but our chains!...
Aug 11, 2017•59 min•Ep. 3
Pat is obsessed with trains & trolleys. So, to keep Pat engaged, Ben explains The Trolley Problem, a famous ethical dilemma, while teaching Pat the difference between right and wrong. In this very special episode, Pat and Ben discuss deep ideas like actions, culpability and consequences. They also uncover a sinister cabal of philosophers, led by Judith Jarvis Thompson, whose only goal is to murder the nation's obese people using a vast network of trains.
Aug 04, 2017•46 min•Ep. 2
Pat was curious about Schrodinger's Cat, the famous thought experiment developed by Nobel Prize winning pervert Erwin Schrödinger. Schrödinger's Cat explores the insane metaphysical implications of quantum theory, so Ben had to start off by teaching Pat advanced theoretical physics before explaining how this cat has been fucking with our understanding of reality for years. We also discuss why this involves the ritual torture of household pets and beating off. Tim the Cat listens in horror....
Jul 26, 2017•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 1
