CBRobertson

Today we turn biographical and attempt to answer a common question from Instagram: how did you become the way you are? From philosophy courses and walks with friends to religion and the military, we dig through my life to try to find clues and ideas to help others who aspire to philosophize... as well as ask (but perhaps not answer) the question: "is it desirable to become a philosopher?" Leave a rating and review, it really helps others to find the podcast. Find more Caffeine and Philosophy content online: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineandphilosophy/

Today I'm joined by Awen (aka Lilith) to discuss the world of Druidry, from its historical origins through to its modern practice today. We go over the social and political role of the Druids within ancient Celtic society, their views of the afterlife, human sacrifice, the path to druidry, and much more... as well as mentioning the organizations that have maintained the living tradition of druidry to the present. Her work can be found at https://www.primaldruidry.com/ Leave a rating and review, it really helps others to find the podcast. Find more Caffeine and Philosophy content online: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineandphilosophy/

Today I'm joined by Sierra to counterbalance our discussion of feminism from before and talk about Men's Rights Activists (MRAs). We try to give a (very) brief history of the movement, as well as going over some of the things we like and dislike about their positions, especially in relationship to marriage. Leave a rating and review, it really helps others to find the podcast. Find more Caffeine and Philosophy content online: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineandphilosophy/

Today I'm joined by Josh Tyler for a wide-ranging conversation on physicality and the dangers of quantitative thinking. We take turns bashing power-lifters and philosophers and other unbalanced modes of thinking, in an attempt at something more balanced and higher quality in our experience of life. You can follow Josh Tyler's work on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/joshtylermma/ Leave a rating and review, it really helps others to find the podcast. Find more Caffeine and Philosophy content online: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineandphilosophy/

Today I'm joined by Joe Peters to discuss the business side of the health industry and how that often-neglected logistics side influences science and healthcare. Ranging over sales experiences in hospitals and personal experiences with doctors and nurses and struggling with our own challenges, we try to get down to the question of how to be healthy people in an age where the financial and insurance requirements of the industry don't always permit them to prioritize the patient in the way that we might hope... and whether science is the problem or the solution to the challenges of bureaucracy. Leave a rating and review, it really helps others to find the podcast. Find more Caffeine and Philosophy content online: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineandphilosophy/

Picking up on themes from Episode 42, I'm joined again by Ben Brower to delve deeper into the value of working with one's hands. We meander through our own experiences in the trades (while occasionally borrowing from the works of Robert Pirsig and Matthew Crawford) in an attempt to describe how making and fixing things changes how manual competence changes how we think, how we speak, even how we see... and also how other people see us. Leave a rating and review, it really helps others to find the podcast. Find more Caffeine and Philosophy content online: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineandphilosophy/

Today we go back a few years to talk about Bo Burnham's production "Inside," a performance of himself, by himself, trapped inside during COVID lockdowns. We go over the psychology of the internet, of oversocialized leftism, of pandemic disgust associations, as well as the artistic merit of the production itself. Original essay: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/2021/07/10/inside-bo-burnham/ Leave a rating and review, it really helps others to find the podcast. Find more Caffeine and Philosophy content online: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineandphilosophy/

Today we dive into perhaps the most important and also misunderstood thinker in all of philosophy: Plato. Was Plato an idealist who believed we are trapped in a cave of unreality? Was he a totalitarian, advocating the "noble lie" and censorship? Or is there more going on in this (in)famous text that is somehow both the foundation of Western philosophy and also -- seemingly -- the aggregation of everything most hated by Western man? Leave a rating and review, it really helps others to find the podcast. Find more Caffeine and Philosophy content online: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineandphilosophy/ -- Intro clip courtesy of the digitally-banished Stefan Molyneux. (Mirror of his full 4 minute rant (NSFW) can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJRYhx42rss)

Today Sierra and I spend an evening on the patio with the wrong (or right) beverage, going over our disagreements about drag performances and feminism. Is drag always an insult to women, like "black-face" with gender? Was there, at one point, a good argument for feminism? And how much concession is worthwhile in conversations with friends before it begins to become insidious? Leave a rating and review, it really helps others to find the podcast. Find more Caffeine and Philosophy content online: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineandphilosophy/

Question: "Is Christianity necessary for a peaceful society?" Source video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UrYdgniNck Learn more about Office Hours at https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/officehours/ Submit your own question or subject to caffeineandphilosophy@gmail.com

Today Sierra and I dive into polling, particularly political "opinion polls." Much of our discussion revolves around Christopher Hitchens' 1992 essay "Voting in the Passive Voice," which can be found on Harper's archive here: https://tinyurl.com/2p9xrkum We also discuss Gaetano Mosca's notion of "political formulas," a concept I learned about from Curtis Yarvin, but which can be read about in The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom by James Burnham, which is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Machiavellians-Defenders-Freedom-James-Burnham/dp/1839013958 Leave a rating and review, it really helps others to find the podcast. Find more Caffeine and Philosophy content online: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineandphilosophy/

Question: "How do you identify what is "Real" or "Authentic" within oneself?" Learn more about Office Hours at https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/officehours/ Submit your own question or subject to caffeineandphilosophy@gmail.com

Source Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sugCJNAPF9o

Today I sit down with Mathias Nordvig, professor of Viking studies and Nordic culture at the University of Colorado at Boulder. We have a lengthy chat about the various literary and archeological information that has been discovered about Nordic pagans, and try to parse through the challenge of if -- and how -- such knowledge can be applied to a living pagan religiosity today. Much of Nordvig's work (including his own "Sacred Flame" podcast) can be found on his website: https://mathiasnordvig.com/ Nordvig also published a recent book relevant to our discussion, "Asatru for Beginners: A Modern Heathen's Guide to the Ancient Northern Way" https://www.amazon.com/dp/1647397634/ Leave a rating and review, it really helps others to find the podcast. Find more Caffeine and Philosophy content online: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineandphilosophy/

Today we cover a recent essay I co-wrote with Ed Hamann offering a speculative hypothesis on the origins of consciousness in shooting, with some added commentary and background. Referenced works: "The Aim of Agency" https://ph2t3r.com/2023/05/14/the-aim-of-agency-shooting-as-an-origin-of-consciousness/ The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes https://www.amazon.com/Origin-Consciousness-Breakdown-Bicameral-Mind/dp/0618057072/ Leave a rating and review, it really helps others to find the podcast. Find more Caffeine and Philosophy content online: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineandphilosophy/

And we're back to discuss Bronze Age Minset by the pseudonymous Bronze Age Pervert. First, who is Bronze Age Pervert, and why should we care about an anonymous author? We dive into the philosophical content of Bronze Age Mindset, but perhaps more importantly, delve into the style of writing and presentation, and find perhaps a stylistic congruency between content, form, and anonymity in this strange and fascinating book. Leave a rating and review, it really helps others to find the podcast. Find more Caffeine and Philosophy content online: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineandphilosophy/

Today we take a critical look at one of the most prominent teachers of philosophy: Ryan Holiday. Famous for his book "Trust Me, I'm Lying," Holiday transitioned from a life of self-described "media manipulation" to a life of philosophy and stoicism... or did he? We go over some of the features and characteristics of Holiday's life and work, including his interpretation of Stoicism. And in the end, turn our sights on Stoicism itself, ultimately asking not whether or not it is a good philosophy, but is it a philosophy at all? You can read Ryan Holiday's letters to his father (mentioned in the episode): - 2016 - https://ryanholiday.net/dear-dad-dont-vote-donald-trump/ - 2020 - https://ryanholiday.net/letter/ For all the critical comments, I still encourage looking at Holiday's work for yourself, which can be found on his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DailyStoic as well as in his books. Leave a rating and review, it really helps others to find the podcast. Find more Caffeine and Philosophy content online: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineandphilosophy/

After a fairly long vacation from the podcast, we return to discuss the academic spelunking of James Lindsay, agent of the "Greivance Studies Affair," mathematician, martial artist, and tireless critic of Marxism and other forms of progressivism. We go over some of the major who's-who in the academic progressive world, including: - Georg Hegel - Karl Marx - Herbert Marcuse - Paulo Freire - Kimberle Crenshaw - Gayle Rubin - John Fetzer - Alison Bailey And perhaps most importantly, we talk about the importance of having "philosophical attack dogs" ('noble puppies,' we might say) to defend the world from bad ideas. Everyone likes to rag on negativitiy, but the naive rejection of some combativeness cedes the world to sociopaths and manipulators. It's a better place with people like Christopher Hitchens, Vox Day, and James Lindsay who are itching to go to war with bad people, and maybe teach us not just to participate in, but even to enjoy that intellectual combat. If nothing else, its an education in its own right. James Lindays' YouTube Channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/@newdiscourses The significant Hegel podcast (of particular import) can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf4R0gX7g3w Leave a rating and review, it really helps others to find the podcast. Find more Caffeine and Philosophy content online: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineandphilosophy/

Today we dive into one of the oldest and greatest games: chess. But is it worth playing? Is there any value or utility in playing chess? Is it any better than modern video games, or perhaps worse? In this expisode, we go over: - Contexts of perfect vs imperfect information - How people think playing chess - Does chess transfer in any way to "real life?" - The beauty of chess - How to develop higher appreciation for excellence in life - Is chess in some way like philosophy? If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a rating and review, it really helps others to find the podcast. Find more Caffeine and Philosophy content online: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineandphilosophy/

Today we get (even more) controversial and explore the political complexities of abortion Discussed: What is the "right" and the "left," politically? Why is the right pro-life and the left pro-choice? The parental sovereignty argument The family and the state If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a rating and review, it really helps others to find the podcast. Find more Caffeine and Philosophy content online: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineandphilosophy/

Today we dive into the subject of "expertise." How do we identify an "expert," or otherwise delegate legitimate knowledge? Can we trust experts? To try to answer these important contemporary questions, we examine three books: The Death of Expertise by Tom Nichols https://dmpi.pasca.radenintan.ac.id/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2018/11/The-Death-of-Expertise.pdf Kindly Inquisitors by Jonathan Rausch https://www.amazon.com/Kindly-Inquisitors-Attacks-Free-Thought/dp/0226705765 Skin in the Game by Nassim Taleb https://www.amazon.com/Skin-Game-Hidden-Asymmetries-Daily/dp/0425284646/ Mostly, we address the horrific and absurd problems with Nichols, the tragic good intentions of Rausch, and the insight and observation of Taleb that most advocates of "trusting the experts" miss in our persistent search for better decisions in a changing and uncertain existence. Leave a rating and review, it really helps others to find the podcast. Find more Caffeine and Philosophy content online: https://caffeineandphilosophy.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caffeineandphilosophy/