Visit melaniebragg.com for more on today's guest.
Melanie Bragg is the author of Defining Moments: Insights into the Lawyer’s Soul, which is available at amazon.com and the ABA website.
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In this episode of the podcast I talk about three meditation apps. Having purchased premium subscriptions to each, and having spent at least six months using these apps, I have a pretty fair sense of them. But there's a lot more to the business of meditation apps than personal preferences. These are businesses, and not all of them are as zen as they think.
I should point out that I do not discuss money in this podcast. When it comes to something like meditation, money should not play a role. Yes, some are more expense than others, but a cheaper price (as is so often the case) can mean a cheaper experience. Then again, sometimes the least expensive option is the best.
I do discuss "bang for your buck," and this pertains entirely to the idea that if you are going to spend money on only one meditation app--regardless of price--then you might extract the most value from a particular app.
Ever wonder what makes someone a complete asshole? Sometimes it can be explained by how they "otherize" others--that is, they employ language and attitudes to distance a person (or culture) from themselves. Sometimes otherization is found in immigration policies, sometimes in cafes. So what is it? How do we fix this? Can we fix it?
Interesting, otherization can be traced back to the idea of the illusory self. In that sense, otherization is yet another example of how self-misapprehension causes unnecessary suffering.
John reads Immanuel Kant's electrifying essay about enlightenment.
In this episode, I provide an introduction to Schopenhauer, as well as a reading from his Essays and Aphorism. Here, Schopenhauer provides a description of consciousness that lands squarely in the realm of panpsychism and Buddhism. Schopenhauer is generally considered a pessimist, which is surprising in light of the existence of Nietzsche. At any rate, what Schopenhauer has to say about consciousness is fairly interesting, and worth a listen.
Encore presentation. This episode is one of the most listened-to episodes over the past year. Also, there will be a second part coming soon.
Nietzsche was Nihilist-in-Chief of the nineteenth century. He viewed consciousness as "superfluous" and rather overrated. Today I will present a brief reading from The Will to Power
In this episode, I state my belief about the idea of a creator. The purpose is to provide a reasonable defence of non-belief that does not necessary rely on religious bad-faith, or some other negative premise.
I read from Russell's Religion and Science, particularly from the chapter on Determinism. What does Russell make of the arguments for and against free will? Let's just say he isn't agnostic, but he does not come down firmly against free will either. I will discuss why this is, and comment in a more general way about Russell's analytical framework.
In this episode, I talk about what the implications are our ability to meaningfully anticipate future events. This is not a trait baked into all life, yet seems to emerge in all enduring species (from a rose with her thorns, to a man with his wall). I argue that the fact of our ability to anticipate the future, when combined with the reality of our conscious experience, means that notions of identity, the self, and will are not baked into human existence.
In this episode:
Trump is claiming victory now that the Mueller Report has been summarized by Attorney General Barr. The New York Times reports that the FBI, acting on the orders of a federal prosecutor, arrested former Stormy Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti. Today I will about about what this all means.
Citation
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/sports/michael-avenatti-extortion-nike.html