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PODCAST

The Wes Cecil Podcast

My lectures are dedicated to making Philosophy in particular and the world of ideas in general available to everyone. My exploration of topics and thinkers is designed to provide a foundation for listeners to engage in further reading and thought and develop their own conceptions of the topics I introduce. I have PhD in Literature and Philosophy and was a college professor for over 20 years. I am working to remove the barriers that prevent many from experiencing and understanding the lives and

education philosophy

All Episodes

43:07

Capitalism: How did we get here? And where are we...

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/03/17

CAPITALISM: EP. 1 We are surrounded by the idea of capitalism but shockingly little thought is commonly given to what it is, where it has come from and where we are likely going. An attempt to rectify this in a new series. The standard definition of Capitalism:Private ownership of the means of production and distribution.Market-based exchange, where goods and services are produced for profit.Competition, which drives efficiency and innovation.Minimal government intervention, though the degree varies

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22:02

Philosophical Fireside Chats 🔥 🪵: Plutarch's Life of...

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/03/15

It seems so simple, and yet this story from Ancient Greece captures many of the problems with time, identity, and meaning - a kind of one paragraph version of Heidegger’s Being and Time. It also brings into focus, at least for me, how thinking slowly about simple things can really reveal how tenuous our grasp on the world really is. Sign-up for Wes's PATREON for class discussions, course materials, weekly diaries from France and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1:20:44

Major Thinkers - Ludwig Wittgenstein- Ep. 7

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/03/14

Perhaps the most influential philosopher of the 20th century, he defeated Russel’s attempt to provide a perfect foundation for mathematics and elaborated a linguistic approach to philosophy that dominated English language philosophy for decades. His gnomic writing style and the existence of most of his work as lecture notes compiled from his students make his published legacy quite problematic. Nonetheless, a crucial thinker in the history of philosophy. Sign-up for Wes's PATREON for class

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43:33

Reading Kant's "Prolegomena" - Ep. 3

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/03/12

READ ALONG SERIES - KANT'S "PROLEGOMENA" In these sections Kant lists out the requirements that must be met, according to him, to make any meaningful metaphysical claims. In doing so, he limits our access to the world by removing the opportunity to know things as they are and giving us only the possibility of understanding our world through our perceptual limitations. This fundamental insight, which seems quite obvious when clearly articulated, is a major limitation in the human capacity to

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37:15

House of the Intellect (Conclusion) - Ep. 11

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/03/10

THE ISOLATED GENIUS:In the concluding chapter I explore the poisonous idea of the isolated genius. By emphasizing the individual and the product rather than the community and the process, our society consistently tells us that it is wrong and limiting for us to cooperate with others in spaces or projects that don’t reward directly as individuals. The historical record is clear, however, that much more great work has grown from communities than from isolated individuals and that sustainable, life

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14:41

Philosophical Fireside Chats 🔥 🪵: Parable of the...

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/03/07

"PARABLE OF THE TALENTS" FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT - EP. 3 I like this parable from the New Testament because it highlights one of the great tricks of philosophical ‘reasoning’ - the assumed frame. Allow me to frame an argument and I will win it. This common homily is so completely misread and the assumptions so horrifying it makes a fun example. Sign-up for Wes's PATREON for class discussions, course materials, weekly diaries from France and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more

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48:51

Reading Kant's "Prolegomena" - Ep. 2

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/03/05

READ ALONG SERIES - KANT'S "PROLEGOMENA" Kant’s introduction seems so humble and straightforward but this masks a project of breathtaking scope. Whether or not Kant ultimately achieves his aims is mostly beside the point. Here, he really does make a radical break with the past and tries to reorient not just our thinking about metaphysical questions but how we understand thinking in its entirety. Rarely has a thinker attempted such a sweeping revaluation and re-grounding of knowledge. Kant’s

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21:45

Philosophical Fireside Chats 🔥 🪵: Socrates and...

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/03/04

SOCRATES AND DIOTIMA IN THE SYMPOSIUM - EP. 2The Symposium is oft quoted and seemingly rarely read. This crazy scene explaining - well something - based on this completely fabricated myth captures much of the power of Plato’s capacity for storytelling and how he leads the reader along the most preposterous paths to often quite amazing conclusions. Aristophanes ridicules Socrates in the Symposium for using these kinds of arguments. Sign-up for Wes's PATREON for class discussions, course materials,

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46:05

House of the Intellect - Ep. 10

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/03/03

VALUES ARBITRAGE:I argue that we have developed a deep seated sense of cynicism from continuous exposure to an environment where our values are systematically used against. Consciously or unconsciously aware of being exploited, we become cynical about the very ideals we need to cultivate in order to inhabit the house of the intellect. I review these core values and how we can defend them despite our environment. Sign-up for Wes's PATREON for class discussions, course materials, weekly diaries from

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13:34

Philosophical Fireside Chats 🔥 🪵: Zarathustra and the...

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/02/28

PHILOSOPHICAL FIRESIDE CHATS 🔥 🪵 - EP. 1This scene from Book II of Thus Spake Zarathustra - the Riddle and the Vision - is one of my favorites and captures some of Nietzsche’s ability to create a visceral sense of the challenge of addressing our most deeply held habits and beliefs. Sign-up for Wes's PATREON for class discussions, course materials, weekly diaries from France and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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31:53

Reading Kant's "Prolegomena" - Ep. 1

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/02/26

READ ALONG SERIES - KANT'S "PROLEGOMENA" Kant’s influence on philosophy and thinking in general has been immense but also difficult to pin down because he is so challenging to read. His influence has come almost entirely second and third hand as we encounter versions of his thoughts and approaches through other thinkers who are using, attacking, or expanding on Kant’s insights. Here we launch a read-a-long series featuring one of his shortest and most accessible works - the Prolegomena to Any Future

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1:17:10

Q & A 2: House of the Intellect - Ep. 9

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/02/25

Q & A #2 - HOUSE OF THE INTELLECT Wes and Jeremy take questions from Patreon Members on House of the Intellect. Sign-up for Wes's PATREON for class discussions, course materials, weekly diaries from France and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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43:44

House of the Intellect - Ep. 8

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/02/24

BUREAUCRACY:As our societies have grown larger, more complex and more digitally integrated we have become enmeshed in ever larger and more centralized bureaucracies. These systems are, perhaps, inherently, the enemy of intellectual community. It is possible they could be organized differently, but for now they have a strong tendency to strip us of our individuality and personal integrity in the name of ‘efficiency’. Widely experienced but little commented upon, this powerful cultural force has

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1:25:34

Major Thinkers - Simone Weil- Ep. 6

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/02/21

Largely forgotten today, she was an influential thinker and, perhaps, mystic who lived a life of ethical commitment in an extraordinarily difficult period in history. She provided an inspirational example to many of her contemporaries and the tone of her works as much as the power of her arguments brought her wide acclaim. Sign-up for Wes's PATREON for class discussions, course materials, weekly diaries from France and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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28:56

Reading Jung's Redbook - Ep. 7 (Conclusion)

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/02/19

CONCLUSION:I conclude the series with the end of the first book of the Red Book. In the last section we see Jung sliding back and forth between various ideas of the role he is supposed to fulfill - kill god, be god, ignore god - and how we should respond to this. I also reflect on the difference between inspiration and discovery, what Jung is trying to do, and Philosophy, which generally requires a much more rigorous implementation of vocabulary, logic and consistency. Nonetheless I think Jung

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48:12

House of the Intellect - Ep. 7

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/02/17

TECHNOLOGY AND DATA:Neither Barzun nor myself are opposed to technology or data per se - it is the way our culture tries to isolate technology from the cultural environment and, hence, de-value most everything the house of the intellect values. The notion that the quality of the people who control technology and the experiences of people who interact with it simply do not matter is one of the recurrent and obviously deeply flawed cultural concepts that has attached itself to our modern conception

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1:20:47

Major Thinkers - Jacques Derrida- Ep. 5

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/02/14

One of the most influential and controversial philosophers of the late 20th century, Derrida specialized in trying to unmoor our sense of certainty and truth. Working across 50 books, he was an intellectual gad-fly in the tradition of Socrates who always wanted us to be suspicious of clarity. He almost single-handedly brought continental philosophy back to the English speaking world.You can find the original Lecture Notes Here Sign-up for Wes's PATREON for class discussions, course materials, weekly

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1:19:50

A Cultural History of The United States - Ep. 20

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/02/13

Q & A #9 - CONCLUSIONWes and Jeremy take questions from listeners on Lectures IX and X: Conclusion Parts 1 and 2 Sign-up for Wes's PATREON for class discussions, course materials, weekly diaries from France and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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41:02

Reading Jung's The Red Book - Ep. 6

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/02/12

BEYOND RIGHT AND WRONGHere Jung moves beyond simply rejecting the Right and Wrong and tries to create an ethos of ambiguity. Focusing on a dream involving Elijah and Salome, he experiences the intertwined relationship of lust and purity, truth and lies, seduction and holiness.Here is a great entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on De Beauvoir’s Ethics of Ambiguity Simone de Beauvoir (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Sign-up for Wes's PATREON for class discussions, course materials,

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36:02

House of the Intellect - Ep. 6

The Wes Cecil Podcast ·

2025/02/10

ROB US OF WHAT WE LOVE:In this episode I discuss the ways in which our culture and mental habits combine to rob us of the experiences we would love to be having by both limiting our capacity to participate and limiting the communities in which we might participate. I use contemporary American film culture as an example of a simultaneously booming art form that nonetheless seems to be culturally barren. Sign-up for Wes's PATREON for class discussions, course materials, weekly diaries from France and

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173 results

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