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Closereads: Philosophy with Mark and Wes

Closereads: Philosophy with Mark and Wes

By: Evergreen Podcasts
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 Reading through difficult philosophy texts line-by-line to try to figure out what’s really being said.Mark Linsenmayer and Wes Alwan 2024 Philosophy Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Hegel's "Unhappy Consciousness" (Part Two)

    Hegel's "Unhappy Consciousness" (Part Two)
    Feb 5 2026
    We're up to sec. 208 in The Phenomenology of Spirit, still trying to figure out how and why individual consciousness is related to "The Unchangeable," which could be the Kantian thing-in-itself, or perhaps specifically the human soul as a thing-in-itself, or maybe Platonic Forms or God or some other Parmenidean One. Because this "part two" discussion was so enthralling, I'm sharing it on this feed, but to get parts 3 and 4, you'll need to sign up to support us: patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Hegel's "Unhappy Consciousness" (Part One)

    Hegel's "Unhappy Consciousness" (Part One)
    Jan 31 2026
    We're within the Self-Consciousness chapter of The Phenomenology of Spirit, specifically starting at sec. 206, which is the transition between two sections we've already considered on this podcast: Stoicism (and Skepticism) and Reason. The more famous part of the self-consciousness portion of the book is on the Master-Slave conflict, and in this section, we've got a similar dividedness, but it's all within one psyche, like you're being tortured by a voice in your head that you don't realize is just part of you. We go between three different translations here: Pinkard, Inwood, and finally Miller, which is what we normally use and will use going forward. You can choose to watch this on unedited video. To get future parts, subscribe at ⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    56 mins
  • Latour on Materialism

    Latour on Materialism
    Jan 20 2026
    Mark and Wes read and discuss the short 2007 article, "Can We Get Our Materialism Back, Please?" Here Bruno Latour complains that materialism as modern common sense conceives of it is actually idealist: It is a social construction. Instead, a "thick" concept of material things acknowledges and details their historical (i.e. material in the Marxist sense) origins. Read along with us. You can choose to watch this on video. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 5 mins
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