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Stephen West

Beginner friendly if listened to in order! For anyone interested in an educational podcast about philosophy where you don't need to be a graduate-level philosopher to understand it. In chronological order, the thinkers and ideas that forged the world we live in are broken down and explained.

Philosophize This!

Today we talk about the philosophical themes of one of Dostoevsky's most famous books: Notes From Underground. We talk about contemplative inertia, the "stone wall" of rationality, utopian socialism, the tension between love and freedom in the modern world, self-loathing as a defense mechanism, and much more. Hope you enjoy it. :)

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Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/
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Episode #218 ... Dostoevsky - Notes From Underground

Today we talk about the philosophical themes that Dostoevsky had in mind when writing Crime and Punishment. We talk about Russian Nihilism and its consequences. Rational Utilitarianism and Egoism. A common misunderstanding of Raskolnikov as an embodiment of Nietzsche's work. Confession. Guilt. Affirming life through consent. And much more. Hope you love it! :)

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Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. 

Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philosophizethis 

Social:
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Episode #219 ... Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment

Today we discuss the philosophical themes of the book Demons by Fyodor Dostoevsky. We talk about western liberalism, the lack of moral leadership, the promises of Nihilism, the Madman and the Saint, and Dostoevsky's complicated relationship to faith. Hope you love it! :)

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Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. 

Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philosophizethis 

Social:
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X: https://twitter.com/iamstephenwest
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Episode #220 ... Dostoevsky - Demons

Today we talk about the book The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky. We talk about the curse of sainthood. The connection between beauty and morality via his moral-aesthetic spectrum. Realism vs. Idealism. And how beauty can save the world. Hope you love it! :)

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Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. 

Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philosophizethis 

Social:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philosophizethispodcast
X: https://twitter.com/iamstephenwest
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Episode #221 ... Dostoevsky - The Idiot

Today we talk about the philosophical themes around love in The Brothers Karamazov. We talk about Dostoevsky's existential, tragic form of Christianity. Family as a microcosm of society. Active love as an experiential framing. The Grand Inquisitor. Hope you love it! :)

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﻿Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. 

Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philosophizethis 

Social:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philosophizethispodcast
X: https://twitter.com/iamstephenwest
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/philosophizethisshow

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Episode #222 ... Dostoevsky - Love in The Brothers Karamazov

Today we talk about the relationship between philosophy and religion. We talk about the duck-rabbit as a metaphor that may have something useful to teach us about the way we experience reality. We talk about the enormous difficulty of fully addressing the question: what is religion? We talk about Schelling's historical view of revelation and its connection to a possible new era of Christian religious practice. Hope you love it! :)

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Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. 

Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philosophizethis 

Social:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philosophizethispodcast
X: https://twitter.com/iamstephenwest
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/philosophizethisshow

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Episode #223 ... Religion and the duck-rabbit - Kyoto School pt. 3

Today we talk about the book The Stranger by Albert Camus. We talk about why Camus saw himself as an artist and not a philosopher. We talk about happiness. The absurd and it's full implications. The Mediterranean lifestyle. The sun as a symbol of immanence. Revolt against the absurd as a descriptive claim-- not a normative one.

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Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. 

Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philosophizethis 

Social:
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X: https://twitter.com/iamstephenwest
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Episode #224 ... Albert Camus - The Stranger

We look at Albert Camus' The Plague. We talk about a common misreading from the Myth of Sisyphus. We talk about different cycles of his work from his earlier individual confrontation with the absurd to a more community focus. We talk about solidarity. Absurd heroes. Empathy and metaphysical rebellion. Hope you enjoy it, my friends. :)

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Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. 

Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philosophizethis 

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Episode #225 ... Albert Camus - The Plague

Today we talk about Camus’ concept of rebellion and how it offers a powerful alternative to abstract ideologies. We talk about solidarity as the foundation for justice without systems. We talk about the death penalty as a symbol of premeditated murder disguised as virtue. We talk about rebellion as something closer to art than politics—an act rooted in experience, defined by limits, and carried out with sincerity. Hope you love it! :)

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﻿Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. 

Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philosophizethis 

Social:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philosophizethispodcast
X: https://twitter.com/iamstephenwest
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/philosophizethisshow
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Episode #226 - Albert Camus - The Rebel

Today we talk about the concept of exile from the work of Camus. We focus on a couple stories from his book Exile and The Kingdom. We talk about why Camus insists that true lucidity can only arise from the jarring lived experience he calls “exile,” not from armchair reflection. We talk about Janine’s desert epiphany in “The Adulterous Woman.” We talk about school‑teacher Daru in “The Guest,” trapped between France and Algeria, whose double exile shows how history can choose for us. We talk about the everyday escape hatches—nostalgia, comfort contracts, curated news bubbles—that let people dodge exile until reality blindsides them. Hope you enjoy it! :)

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Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. 

Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philosophizethis 

Social:
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Episode #227 ... Albert Camus - On Exile

On this episode of the podcast, we begin learning about the Renaissance. We first discuss the Black Death, a bacterial plague that wiped out 30-60% of the population of Europe. We examine how the population crisis caused by the Black Death led to an economic and political crisis that was ultimately the catalyst for a paradigm shift in philosophical thought. We also learn about the Humanist philosopher Erasmus, who, unlike the philosophers we’ve discussed on recent episodes, did not think that fusing faith and reason was a very good idea. It was much simpler than that. All this and more on the latest episode of Philosophize This!

Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. 

Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philosophizethis 

Social:
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X: https://twitter.com/iamstephenwest
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Episode #022 ... Blast off to the Renaissance!

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