Philosophy vs. Improv

Monica is an actor and writer who ran a live-on-stage philosophy podcast called The Happier Hour, and so naturally we talk about happiness, or flourishing (eudaimonia). You can watch this episode in its unedited video form. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Take a class this fall from him at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsors: Get 16 free meals and free shipping via HelloFresh.Com/improv16 (code improv16). Visit Twit.tv/apple for three great podcasts about all things Apple.

Chris has an act called "I Am the Show" where he improvises to a film that he hasn't seen that's playing silently, making up all the dialogue and sound effects. Mark and Bill talk to Chris about being a spectator or critic of art: To understand a work, is it good or necessary to try to divine the artist's intentions, or is meaning in art something that happens after a work becomes an objective thing, such that the artist's intentions are not really relevant, and in fact the author might not have any better idea than you do of its meaning? This spurs us for some reason to enact some scenes initiated by pantomime, i.e. silence. Darts, anyone? You can watch the unedited video of this episode for free. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of most recent episodes, and other bonus stuff.

Genevieve is a comedian, podcaster, and she was a philosophy major who's studying for her doctorate in Divinity. We talk about the idea that "we are all one" (and thus we are all God, if you want to call the sum of all things by that name) that's in various traditions. Ralph Waldo Emerson called this the "oversoul." We spend the rest of the discussion under the bleachers not making out, getting bored at the Grand Canyon, being nervous before the big show, and considering everyone's food allergies. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of most recent episodes (not this one!), and other bonus stuff. Sponsors: Get 16 free meals and free shipping via HelloFresh.Com/improv16 (code improv16). Check out the Skeptoid podcast at skeptoid.com.

Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff of the Brain in a Vat podcast join Bill and Mark L. (aka Alf) to talk about rationality, broadly construed, while not moving a couch and not giving each other Christmas presents. Does "reason" by itself tell us what to do and what to believe? Is trypophobia really just bigotry? (It is not.) What's the rationale for making negative comments on a podcast? Are bigots bigger than bigamists? Was Ayn Rand a cannibal? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of recent episodes, and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Check out the Banned Camp comedy podcast.

Zach is an improvisor who's written for MST3K, been a commentator for Resistance Pro Wrestling, and has been a recurring guest on Hello From the Magic Tavern. He joins Mark and Bill to discuss competitiveness in all its forms. Is strife part of utopia, or would all conflict be removed in an ideal political situation? Is the controlled competitiveness of sports or improv games fundamentally different than mere aggression? Also, we chase a dog. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of recent episodes, and other bonus stuff. Sponsors: Get 16 free meals and free shipping via HelloFresh.Com/improv16 (code improv16). Check out the Skeptoid podcast at skeptoid.com.

Tanner runs the popular daily podcast Practical Stoicism, so of course we brought him on to talk about on-board flight services and attitudes among retail service workers. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of recent episodes, and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Listen to The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman.

Mark and Bill engage in a wide-ranging discussion (with scenes, of course) covering the categorization of things, paradigm components and essences of things, historical advertisements, what goes in a museum, irresponsible loans, using the tools of convenience, diner culture, obsolete storage media, undefined locations, self-serve oil change, and a surprise ending whereby you learn that we've been painting the fence all along! Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of recent episodes, and other bonus stuff.

Marla is an improviser from the Whirled News Tonight iO Theater show. We talk about obeying proper forms of behavior and drawing improv inspiration from outside sources. Plus, a thruple blind date and BBQ chain of custody. And introducing a new character, Lil' Confucius. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of recent episodes, and other bonus stuff.

We talk transcendental idealism and Schopenhauer with Cole, who teaches philosophy at the College of Southern Nevada. Also, the least effective confidential informant! Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of recent episodes, and other bonus stuff.

Mark and Bill act out a couple of scenes of a person trying to convince a stubborn person of something. But there's a twist in the characterization! Also, before you were born, the world did not exist. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of recent episodes, and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Check out the Self Esteem Party podcast on TheSonarNetwork.com.

Rachael was a mentor of Bill's and works with him at the newly reopened iO Theater. So it's like we have TWO improv instructors here. We run some  scenes, talk a bit too much about chili, and touch on functionalism, idealism, napism, and other isms. Jump into the marzipan! Brucie and Frucie are waiting for you! Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, video versions of recent episodes, and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Check out the History Cache Podcast.

What does the shortness of our lives and the beauty of the world actually entail in terms of behavior and philosophy? Nick is a former pro skater who teaches philosophy at U. of San Diego and has written This Beauty about this question. Mark and Bill engage Nick via car wash planning, the appearance of Bill's imaginary friend, Groundhog Day, and other invitations to awesomeness. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Check out Spencer Wants to Know.

Voice actor Dee, who has a background in both improv and stand-up, talks to Mark and Bill about the meaning of life and engages in THREE scenes all about a parent trying to get some kids into a vehicle and on the road. Also, does COVID cause ennui? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Check out Killed to Death, an improvised true crime podcast.

As our first stand-up comedian (albeit one on sabbatical) guest, Matty has inspired us to largely ignore the philosophy on this one and instead look at these two different ways of producing comedy. Do the motivations of improv folks and comics differ? Which group is more annoying? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Check out the A Pastor and a Philosopher Walk Into a Bar podcast.

Mark and Bill talk about the lost art of prank phone calls and act out some "customer service nightmares" with an eye to the foundations of law and creativity that defies artistic rules. The scenes are longer and riskier than normal. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Check out the Totes Recall film review podcast at totesrecall.com.

The anonymous policy wonk who runs the Carneades.org YouTube channel joins Mark and Bill to discuss the core concept of his new book, Are All Lives Equal?: Why Cost-Benefit Analysis Values Rich Lives More and How Philosophy Can Fix It. Should economics really be measuring the value of life at all? Can it do this in any principled way? Can economists really understand how much joy cat videos really bring us? What should parasitic micro-organisms value? Were all the world's religions originally infections diseases? No question is off the table! Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

What is personhood? How can a group best collaboratively invent a scene? Sarah is a host of Marty and Sarah Love Wrestling and a repeat guest on Hello From the Magic Tavern. We fit in THREE scenes, some discussion of the various layers of what it is for something to be (or not be) person, and some musings about the weather and such. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

Stephen West from the juggernaut Philosophize This! podcast joins Mark and Bill to learn to say no and talk about reason vs. emotion in grounding ethics. What do the voices in your head (or at your lunch table) say to you? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

Mark and Bill break former patterns by each bringing in not a lesson but a question, which we knew about beforehand, and those questions are about pattern-breaking and about what current philosophers worry about. With special surprising scenes conveying cutting-edge podcasting/instructional techniques. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

Jay Sanders, famed not only for his appearances on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and The Day After Tomorrow and many many other screens and stages, joins us to talk tragedy, how he's applied the lessons of improv to his scripted acting, and more. Jump into the improv maelstrom with us! In the post-game, which just…

It's all down to this. Which discipline, which host will prevail?  All stakes are on the table, and if this thinking isn't critical enough, if these scenes aren't congruent enough, if we fail the big scan-tron test that is life, then it's all been for nothing. Tune in for this, the most exciting single podcast episode you've ever heard in your whole goddamned life. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

Skye teaches and Columbia and the City University of New York, and she recently published How to Be Authentic: Simone de Beauvoir and the Quest for Fulfillment (which is very good, and NOT snake oil). She joins Mark and Bill to talk about what authenticity might mean for an existentialist, how it relates to truth, responsibility, and picking a theme for your birthday party. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

We talk about observations and how they relate to theories and other types of preconception. Is there such a thing as pure observation?  We tour a submarine and plan a party. There is no Chumbawamba in either case. Improver Chris starred in the Improvised Star Trek podcast and has been a recurrent guest and now an editor on Hello From the Magic Tavern. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

Barry hosts Hi-Phi Nation, and his most recent season had a run on David Lewis, America's foremost philosopher of possible worlds. So we talk about that notion that Hollywood has had so much fun with lately, and then we have fun with it in a couple of variations on a classic diner scene. Cheese salad, anyone? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

Bill is a sad but steadfast street sweeper. Mark has secret character traits. Filmmaker Jack C. Newell is our inaugural non-philosopher, non-improviser guest, and his film knowledge leads to us talking about ethics in terms of film tropes plus some meta-historical-reenactment. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

Babette teaches at Fordham and recently edited the collection "Reading David Hume's 'On The Standard of Taste,'" which Mark made use of for PEL#289. So, more philosophically beefy than our typical PvI episode, and yet also live and hence unpredictable. Taste it!  Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

Contemplate the difference between signs, symbols, and symptoms. Did our improv scene get Zoom-bombed, or is that just real life intruding? THINK OF THE CHILDREN (eating Doritos)! What flavor of chip is Bill trying to teach today? Why is Brooke sad? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more Philosophy vs. Improv. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

...which, as I was saying, is right in the middle of a sentence or scene! How should our personal and family histories shape our behavior, both in real life and in improv scenes? Do these histories, these stories we tell ourselves, nail us down as people? Are we all old before our time? Are those your real parents? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more Philosophy vs. Improv. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

Panpsycast host Jack brings his promiscuous philosophy of mind to the show, wherein mind is here, there, and everywhere. But what does that mean? Skits about renting a flat for nefarious purposes and designing software for Nozick's experience machine reveal all! But the question remains... So what? You have to care! Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more Philosophy vs. Improv. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Get 15% off premium earbuds at BuyRaycon.com/pvi.

Today's episode is about questioning: how one might question, what sets the parameters for a proper answer, and how to give those answers in an informative and/or dramatically effective way. Watch out for dream pigs! Also, how to get into the VIP room at Stuckey's. Perhaps a pair of paralegals can help. In the post-game, included JUST THIS ONCE for public enjoyment, we reflect on improv in the real world and some potential spin-off improv podcasts from our episode. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more Philosophy vs. Improv. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Get 15% off premium earbuds at BuyRaycon.com/pvi.

We are joined by the young purveyor of the Reductio podcast, who wrote his dissertation on normality, which was such a normie thing to do. Can "abnormality" be morally neutral, or is that term cursed? You down with OTPs? How many towels do you need? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more Philosophy vs. Improv. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

Is money the root of all evil, or does it save us from needless cabaret bartering? What is money qua social construction? Should we retain the chocolate fountain? Are you ready to run? Did you bring your NFTs to trade for blue powder? Bill is master of the frustration scene. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more Philosophy vs. Improv. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

Guest free, we discuss topics from hairballs to boogers to color vision among inanimate objects and rules for unicorn play. When the bad-ass, smelly, screaming white ball hits the 5 ball, how does the causality work? Is skepticism about physical forces just conspiracy theory? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more Philosophy vs. Improv. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

The philosopher of games joins us for a frustration game. What is a game, anyway? We ask dumb questions on a museum tour.  Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more Philosophy vs. Improv. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

Can we have an entertaining discussion inspired by Aristotle's most boring book? Bill leads Mark and our guest Tommy through some let's-describe-what's-in-an-imaginary-room exercises.  Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more Philosophy vs. Improv. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/improv.

There's trouble at the work site! There are secret shifts of emotion going on. Do they make sense? Later, a guy's car is blocking a driveway. Does he deserve the electric chair, or a beer? It depends on your theory of punishment. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more Philosophy vs. Improv. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

The scene is its own entity. What else might be its own entity? Can a machine that passes the Turing test know what it's like to be a bat? We bring in emotions from irrelevant contexts, and we keep hearing them long after they're gone. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more Philosophy vs. Improv. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/improv.

What is "othering"? Why did Bill get such a bad grade? Is it because of his feather quill pen? Our first real philosophy professor guest joins us for some office hours and anti-vaxxer drama. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more Philosophy vs. Improv. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsors: Visit betterhelp.com/improv to be matched with a licensed, professional therapist. Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/improv.

Let's all lose our jobs and talk instead about fundamental ontology and social dynamics.  Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more Philosophy vs. Improv. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsors: Visit betterhelp.com/improv to be matched with a licensed, professional therapist. Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/improv.

Featuring TWO guest improvisers, Jill, co-founder of HUGE Theater and her friend Michelle, owner of Improv MKE. Bill and our guests each start a scene to explore something of what utopia might amount to, and of course how it will inevitably go bad. Could there be some single utopia for everyone? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more Philosophy vs. Improv. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsors: Visit betterhelp.com/improv to be matched with a licensed, professional therapist. Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/improv.

Riffing on resemblance. Eventually invoking the spirit of a toaster. Mark is wrong: the God Emperor of Dune can't drink water at all, just dried food. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more Philosophy vs. Improv. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsors: Visit betterhelp.com/improv to be matched with a licensed, professional therapist. Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/improv.

Do you believe in miracles? If doctors believed in miracles, would they just let surgeries finish themselves? Do assumptions of a logical universe make it not just unjustified by psychologically impossible for us to really believe in miracles? Read about our VERY FIRST guest, Tim Sniffen at timsniffen.com. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more Philosophy vs. Improv. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff. Sponsors: Visit betterhelp.com/improv to be matched with a licensed, professional therapist. Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/improv.

Who stole Carmine's lunch? I think you know. Are there only a certain number of "logical" directions from one idea to another? Are there no mistakes, or are there mistakes that know? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more Philosophy vs. Improv. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions and other bonus stuff.

Are so-called "material objects" really just a scam? These two cut-ups (Bill and Mark) cut up the world in various ways, showing you how to teach, how to act, and how to haggle. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more PvI. Support the podcast to get our post-game discussion and other bonus stuff.

Beauty is cool, but is art always aiming at beauty? Generations disagree about their music. Snakes disagree about how much they should worry. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more PvI. Support the podcast to get our post-game discussion and other bonus stuff.

Bill gets really real, with his unlogical emotions. When we feel things, do we know why? Is there a why? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more PvI. Support the podcast to get our post-game discussion and other bonus stuff.

Bill gets to have the power of live and death, with a bit of moral luck. Is he enthused? Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more PvI. Support the podcast to get our post-game discussion and other bonus stuff. Sponsor: Learn about St. John's college at sjc.edu/improv.

Turkeys speculate in a game scene. Are they reasonable and/or jive turkeys? Then, geometry is subject to ad hominem attack in an instructive relationship scene. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more PvI. Support the podcast to get our post-game discussion and other bonus stuff.

Why is lying wrong? Scene conceptions clash. It is hard to lie in a pretend scene, because the pretending is already a lie. You can lie inside-out or outside-in. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more PvI. Support the podcast to our post-game discussion and other bonus stuff.

Mark and Bill do impressions of people you don't know. The is-ought distinction is bravely explored. Does pretending to be cavemen help? Magic business is afoot. Childhood speaks. Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more PvI. Support the podcast to get bonus stuff (including the "post-game" portion of this discussion.

Does it make sense to try to have everyone get what they "deserve"? We act out the desert machine but yet get no predictable cake. Judgebot 5000 enters our lives. Is this our first really good episode? Maybe. Hear more PvI. Support the podcast to get bonus stuff and good karma!