PEL Presents PvI#118: Aphoristically w/ Andrea Roccella

PEL Presents PvI#118: Aphoristically w/ Andrea Roccella

Author: Mark Linsenmayer, Wes Alwan, Seth Paskin, Dylan Casey June 7, 2026 Duration: 50:07

Mark and Mary are joined by Andrea, an Italian teacher with a broad performing background who's written a book of philosophical, poetic aphorisms called Think Town: self-help reflections and directives about fear, ego, happiness, etc.

There's a long history of aphorisms in philosophy, and philosophy invented the self-help genre, but how does philosophy work given the lack of argumentation?

We explore the monster under the bed, AI agents, making philosophy personally applicable, being receptive, DOT ego secretions, and more.

Hear more at philosophyimprov.comSupport the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.


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. 384: Graham Harman's Object-Oriented Ontology (Part Two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:15
Continuing on Object-Oriented Ontology: A New Theory of Everything (2018), finishing up ch. 1 (discussing what's so bad about reductionism) and moving to ch. 4, "Indirect Relations," which is about causality. Get more at…
PEL Presents Closereads: Hegel's "Unhappy Consciousness" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:28
We're within the Self-Consciousness chapter of The Phenomenology of Spirit, specifically starting at sec. 206 on the Unhappy Consciousness. This comes after the famous Master-Slave section as well as sections about Stoic…
Ep. 384: Graham Harman's Object-Oriented Ontology (Part One) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:20
On Harman's Object-Oriented Ontology: A New Theory of Everything (2018). What counts as an entity in the world? Harman includes not just physical objects, but fictional objects, "sensual objects," and even events, which…
Ep. 383: Freud on Love and the Primal Horde (Part Two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:50
Finishing up Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego, finally now turning to Freud's anthropological account of group membership. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get…
Ep. 383: Freud on Love and the Primal Horde (Part One) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:25
On the second half of Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego. We talk about the dual origins of group membership for Freud in personal love and in the supposed primitive society where a horde was led by a tyrannica…
PEL 2026 Kickoff Nightcap [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:00
It's another year, and this time we each came in with a short bucket list of philosophical works that we'd like to read before this podcast concludes, whenever that might be. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit…
Ep. 382: Freud on Group Psychology (Part Two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:42
Continuing on the first half of Sigmund Freud's Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego, now getting really into Freud's own type of explanation, whereby he explains how libidinal ties bind group members, typically…
Ep. 382: Freud on Group Psychology (Part One) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:50
On the first half of Sigmund Freud's Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego (1921). Why do members of a mob get dumber and less inhibited? Freud considers Gustave Le Bon's famous book on crowds but then turns to mo…
PREMIUM-Ep. 381: Aquinas on Ethical Psychology (Part Three) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:41
We discuss the first six questions from the "Moral Action" section in the Summa Theologica (1268), which we read in Thomas Aquinas: Selected Philosophical Writings (1993). If you're not hearing the full version of this p…
Ep. 381: Aquinas on Ethical Psychology (Part Two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:11
Continuing to discuss the virtue and moral action from the Summa Theologica (1268). We discuss the definition of virtue and some subsequent questions about what parts of us the term virtue properly applies to. Get more a…