PEL Presents Closereads: Horkheimer and Adorno on The Odyssey (Part One)

PEL Presents Closereads: Horkheimer and Adorno on The Odyssey (Part One)

Author: Mark Linsenmayer, Wes Alwan, Seth Paskin, Dylan Casey June 6, 2026 Duration: 1:00:12

We read part of The Dialectic of Enlightenment (1944), specifically the parts about Homer's epic as an allegory for the merely apparent triumph of modernism (capitalism, instrumental reason) over myth (savagery, magical thinking).

Subscribe to Closereads (and get a link to this text to read along) at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy; follow us there via the free tier to part two and many other episodes like this one ad free, or pay us to get parts 2-5 and everything else we've recorded. (Alternatively, support both PEL and Closereads at patreon.com/partiallyexaminedlife for a nice combo deal.)


What if philosophy wasn't an intimidating subject reserved for academics, but a lively, accessible, and sometimes messy conversation among friends? That's the space occupied by The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast. Hosted by Mark Linsenmayer, Wes Alwan, Seth Paskin, and Dylan Casey-a group who once pursued philosophy professionally before taking a different path-this podcast approaches big ideas with a rare blend of genuine curiosity and informal camaraderie. Their discussions are grounded in actual philosophical texts, which they break down in each episode, but you absolutely don't need a degree or even prior reading to jump in. The charm lies in hearing their real-time reactions, debates, and occasional tangents as they wrestle with concepts that shape our society and culture. Listening feels like pulling up a chair at a pub with remarkably well-read friends who are just as likely to crack a joke as they are to land a profound insight. This isn't a lecture; it's an invitation to a collective, partially examined life, where the journey through a thinker's argument is often more revealing than any polished conclusion. You'll find yourself thinking along with them, questioning your own assumptions, and discovering how centuries-old ideas pulse through our modern dilemmas. Tune in for a uniquely human and engaging take on the discipline that asks the biggest questions.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Ep. 364: Max Scheler on Sympathy (Part Three) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:23
Mark, Wes, and Dylan reconvened for one more hour on Part I, "Fellow Feeling" (ch. 3-4) in The Nature of Sympathy (1913/1922). We continue to try to figure out the razor's edge of "fellow feeling proper" that does not re…
Ep. 364: Max Scheler on Sympathy (Part Two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:11
Continuing on The Nature of Sympathy (1913/1922), Part I: "Fellow Feeling," Ch. 1-4. We look more closely at the text, getting further into how fellow feeling relates to ethics, and why the moral sentimentalists (like Hu…
Ep. 364: Max Scheler on Sympathy (Part One) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:57
On The Nature of Sympathy (1913, expanded 1922), Part I: "Fellow Feeling," Ch. 1-4. What is it to feel sympathy (aka "fellow feeling") for another person? It is NOT to "identify" with that person; ethics requires that th…
PEL Presents Closereads: Husserl on Perceiving Minds [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:21
On Edmund Husserl's Ideas, Vol. 2 (1928), Section 3, "The Constitution of the Spiritual World," Ch. 1, "Opposition Between the Naturalistic and Personalistic Worlds." Given Husserl's method of "reduction" whereby he sets…
Ep. 363: Franz Brentano's Moral Epistemology (Part Two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:56
Continuing on "The Origin of the Knowledge of Right and Wrong" (1889), getting into how we measure the comparative value of things. While Brentano does observe actual practices in these areas, his phenomenology detects m…
Ep. 363: Franz Brentano's Moral Epistemology (Part One) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:45
On "The Origin of the Knowledge of Right and Wrong" (1889). What justifies basic moral facts? Brentano claims that right there in our experience, we can rationally sense with complete certainty that certain kinds of pref…
Ep. 362: Ecclesiastes: Biblical Existentialism? (Part Two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:12
Continuing on Ecclesiastes with guest Jesse Peterson, getting into some more close reading of particular sections. We make some connection from the author's observations to ancient Greek Skepticism, Epicureanism, and Sto…
Ep. 362: Ecclesiastes: Biblical Existentialism? (Part One) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:41
Ecclesiastes is often cited as one of the most philosophical books of the Bible, so we approached it in that spirit with the help of Jesse M. Peterson, whose soon-to-be-published book is called Qoheleth and the Philosoph…
Ep. 361: Marx on Machines (Part Two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:46
On "Fragment on Machines" (1858). Shouldn't automating work free workers? Not according to Marx, until capitalism is overthrown. Until then, automation actually just makes labor conditions worse and certainly doesn't giv…

«1...678910