Episode 275: The Ineffable Center (Borges' "The Aleph")
Very Bad Wizards26 Des 2023

Episode 275: The Ineffable Center (Borges' "The Aleph")

An episode interesting from every point of view, we train our eyes on Jorge Luis Borges' "The Aleph." The first segment wins the kudos of the learned, the academician, the Hellenist, as we talk about the favorite things we saw this year. The second segment — baroque? decadent? the purified and fanatical cult of form? — dives into the philosophy, comedy, satire, and poignancy of this classic story. Once again, we show our awareness that truly modern podcasting demands the balm of laughter, of scherzo. The finicky will want to excommunicate our discussion without benefit of clergy but the critic of more manly tastes will embrace this episode as he does his very life.

"The Aleph" by Jorge Luis Borges [wikipedia.org]

Version we read: Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges (translated by Andrew Hurley) [amazon.com affiliate link]

Sponsored by:

  • BetterHelp: You deserve to be happy. BetterHelp online counseling is there for you. Connect with your professional counselor in a safe and private online environment. Our listeners get 10% off the first month by visiting BetterHelp.com/vbw. Promo Code: VBW
  • Listening.com: Save time by listening to academic papers on the go. Very Bad Wizards listeners get 3 weeks free when signing up at listening.com/vbw
  • Givewell.org: Make your charitable donations as effective as possible. If you've never donated through GiveWell before, you can have your donation matched up to before the end of the year or as long as matching funds last. Just go to givewell.org, pick PODCAST, and enter VERY BAD WIZARDS at checkout.

Episoder(335)

Episode 7: Psychopaths and Utilitarians Pt. 2 (Now with more poo poo)

Episode 7: Psychopaths and Utilitarians Pt. 2 (Now with more poo poo)

After a clip from The Third Man, Dave and Tamler continue their discussion from Episode 6 on Ted Bundy, utilitarians, and trolley problems. They also talk about Tamler's TED talk envy, inappropriate a...

4 Nov 20121h 7min

Episode 6: Trolleys, Utilitarians, and Psychopaths (Part 1)

Episode 6: Trolleys, Utilitarians, and Psychopaths (Part 1)

Tamler contemplates ending it all because he can't get 'Call Me Maybe' out of his head, and Dave doesn't try to talk him out of it. This is followed by a discussion about drones, psychopaths, Canadian...

20 Okt 20121h 1min

Episode 5: Revenge, Pt. 2: The Revenge

Episode 5: Revenge, Pt. 2: The Revenge

Dave and Tamler continue their discussion about their favorite topic. They talk about the evolutionary origins of retributive behavior, cross-cultural differences in revenge norms, and the proportion...

8 Okt 20121h 5min

Episode 4: Revenge, Pt. 1

Episode 4: Revenge, Pt. 1

Dave allows Tamler to rant about Sam Harris's strawman attacks on moral relativism before launching into discussion about revenge, justice, True Grit, and Michael Dukakis. Though they differ on many i...

20 Sep 201251min

Episode 3: "We believe in nothing!" (Cultural diversity, relativism, and moral truth)

Episode 3: "We believe in nothing!" (Cultural diversity, relativism, and moral truth)

Tamler and Dave discuss recent work in philosophy and psychology about the differences in moral values and practices across cultures. We talk about the implications of moral diversity: does it mean t...

8 Sep 20121h 1min

Episode 2: The "Dangerous Truth" about Free Will (Free Will and Morality, Pt. 2)

Episode 2: The "Dangerous Truth" about Free Will (Free Will and Morality, Pt. 2)

Tamler and David discuss whether giving up our belief in free will makes us more likely to abandon our moral standards. Links "You Can't Handle the Truth!" Jesse Bering "Scientists say free will pro...

1 Sep 20121h 13min

Episode 1: Brains, Robots, and Free Will (Free Will and Morality Pt. 1)

Episode 1: Brains, Robots, and Free Will (Free Will and Morality Pt. 1)

Dave and Tamler start out talking about the new wave of skepticism about free will and moral responsibility in the popular press from people like Sam Harris and Jerry Coyne. Neuroscience figures hea...

30 Aug 20121h 10min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
konspirasjonspodden
aftenpodden-usa
popradet
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
min-barneoppdragelse
wolfgang-wee-uncut
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
grenselos
rss-espen-lee-usensurert
rss-dannet-uten-piano
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
fladseth
frokostshowet-pa-p5
synnve-og-vanessa
alt-fortalt
opptur-med-annette-og-ingeborg