TrueSciPhi

Podcast Profile: Open Door Philosophy

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100 episodes
2021 to 2025
Median: 58 minutes
Collection: Philosophy

Description (podcaster-provided):

Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):

This podcast features three hosts with shared experience studying and teaching philosophy who use conversation to examine classic philosophical questions and connect them to everyday life. Across the episodes, the discussions move between historical overviews of major thinkers and traditions and thematic explorations of enduring problems in ethics, politics, metaphysics, religion, and personal meaning.

A recurring approach is to trace how an idea develops across time. The hosts consider how conceptions of the self shift from ancient views of an immortal soul, through early modern debates about mind and personal identity, to existentialist emphases on freedom, choice, and lived experience. They also spend significant time with ancient Greek philosophy, using Plato’s dialogues to explore love, desire, and moral improvement, and returning regularly to Stoicism—especially Marcus Aurelius—as a source for reflecting on inner discipline, resilience, and practical wisdom.

Moral philosophy is another central thread. Topics include whether morality is relative or objective, how to think about virtue and character (including contemporary debates in moral psychology), and applied ethical questions such as the justification and limits of warfare. Political philosophy appears through surveys of Enlightenment and 20th-century theories of society, rights, education, and justice, drawing from figures like Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Strauss, Rawls, and Nozick. Other episodes investigate aesthetics and the nature of beauty, the concept of property and ownership (including intangible goods), and the relationship between philosophy and literature as a vehicle for exploring mortality, meaning, and human agency.

Religious and cross-cultural perspectives are addressed through examinations of religious experience and arguments about God’s existence, alongside multi-part introductions to Eastern philosophies such as Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. The show also highlights underrepresented voices through episodes on women philosophers across history and a focused series on four influential 20th-century Oxford thinkers. Interspersed are occasional informal, behind-the-scenes conversations, and the series ultimately concludes with reflections on the podcast’s overall journey.

Episodes:

Ep. 96 The End 2025-Feb-11 67 minutes

Ep. 95 The Self, Part Three: The Existentialist View 2024-Nov-12 48 minutes

Ep. 94 The Self, Part Two: The Early Modern Shift 2024-Oct-29 51 minutes

Ep. 93 The Self, Part One: Ancient Conceptions 2024-Oct-15 60 minutes

Ep. 92 The Ladder of Love, Plato's Symposium, Part Three 2024-Oct-01 69 minutes

Ep. 91 Plato's Symposium, Part Two 2024-Sep-17 56 minutes

Ep. 90 Plato's Symposium, Part One 2024-Sep-03 57 minutes

Ep. 89 The Oxford Four, Part Four: Mary Midgley 2024-Aug-20 70 minutes

Ep. 88 The Oxford Four, Part Three: Elizabeth Anscombe 2024-Aug-06 59 minutes

Ep. 87 The Oxford Four, Part Two: Philippa Foot 2024-Jul-23 61 minutes

Ep. 86 The Oxford Four, Part One: Iris Murdoch 2024-Jul-09 60 minutes

Ep. 85 Character and Virtue with Guest Christian Miller 2024-Jun-11 79 minutes

Ep. 84 Our Fourth Annual Marcus Aurelius Extravaganza! 2024-May-28 50 minutes

Ep. 83 Is Morality Relative? 2024-May-14 59 minutes

Ep. 82 Religious Experience, Part 2 2024-Apr-30 63 minutes

Ep. 81 Religious Experience, Part 1 2024-Apr-16 67 minutes

Ep. 80 Philosophers on God with Guest Jack Symes 2024-Apr-02 75 minutes

Ep. 79 From Wollstonecraft to Wolf: Women Who Shaped Philosophy, Part 3 2024-Mar-19 54 minutes

Ep. 78 Ban Zhao and Christine de Piaza: Women Who Shaped Philosophy, Part 2 2024-Mar-05 39 minutes

Ep. 77 Diotima and Hypatia: Women Who Shaped Philosophy, Part 1 2024-Feb-20 39 minutes

Ep. 76 Looking for Beauty: The Philosophy of Beauty, Part 2 2024-Feb-06 67 minutes

Ep. 75 Engaging with Beauty: The Philosophy of Beauty, Part 1 2024-Jan-23 59 minutes

Trailer - Welcome To Open Door Philosophy! 2024-Jan-16 less than a minute

Ep. 74 Preview of 2024 2024-Jan-09 36 minutes

ODP Nonsense 3: Latin, Booze, Neck Ties, Camera Angles 2024-Jan-02 13 minutes

Ep. 73 Year-In-Review and Our Favorite Books of 2023 2023-Dec-26 67 minutes

Ep. 72 The Concept of Property 2023-Dec-12 70 minutes

ODP Nonsense 2: Cardigans, Fraud, Mysterious Travel, and Polish 2023-Dec-05 6 minutes

Ep. 71 Education, Justice, and the Ideal Society: 20th Century Political Philosophy with Strauss, Rawls, Nozick 2023-Nov-28 59 minutes

ODP Nonsense 1: Mullets, Football, Beckham, Astros 2023-Nov-20 6 minutes

Ep. 70 Enlightenment Political Philosophy: Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau 2023-Nov-14 73 minutes

Ep. 69 Spooky Philosophers Halloween Spectacular! 2023-Oct-31 70 minutes

Ep. 68 The Ethics of War 2023-Oct-17 58 minutes

Ep. 67 Where Should I Start with Philosophy? 2023-Oct-03 69 minutes

Ep. 66 Can Science and Wisdom Traditions Complement Each Other?” 2023-Sep-19 73 minutes

Ep. 65 Authority, Labels, and Oranges 2023-Sep-05 72 minutes

Ep. 64 What Is Happiness? 2023-Aug-22 56 minutes

Ep.63 The Philosophy of Love, Part 2 2023-Aug-08 64 minutes

Ep. 62 The Philosophy of Love, Part 1 2023-Jul-25 66 minutes

Ep. 61 Philosophy and Literature 2023-Jul-11 66 minutes

Ep. 60 Language and Meaning, Who Was Ludwig Wittgenstein? The Analytic Tradition, Part 2 2023-Jun-27 59 minutes

Ep. 59 Who Was Bertrand Russell? The Analytic Tradition, Part 1 2023-Jun-13 56 minutes

Ep. 58 Should We Hope? 2023-May-30 61 minutes

Ep. 57 Cultivation of the Soul 2023-May-16 65 minutes

Ep. 56 Kierkegaard on Despair 2023-May-01 55 minutes

Ep. 55 Our Third Annual Marcus Aurelius Extravaganza! 2023-Apr-18 60 minutes

Ep. 54 Hinduism, Eastern Philosophy, Part 4 2023-Apr-04 58 minutes

Ep. 53 Buddhism, Eastern Philosophy, Part 3 2023-Mar-21 60 minutes

Ep. 52 Confucianism, Eastern Philosophy, Part 2 2023-Mar-07 58 minutes

Ep. 51 Taoism, Eastern Philosophy, Part 1 2023-Feb-21 60 minutes

Ep. 50 Listener Questions! 2023-Feb-07 60 minutes

Ep. 49 Who Was Jean-Paul Sartre? 2023-Jan-24 54 minutes

Ep. 48 Who was Simone de Beauvoir? 2023-Jan-10 55 minutes

Ep. 47 Our Favorite Books of 2022 2022-Dec-27 56 minutes

Ep. 46 Higher and Friendly Powers with Guest Peg O'Connor 2022-Dec-13 69 minutes

Ep. 45 Who Was Aristotle? 2022-Nov-29 52 minutes

Ep. 44 Who Was Plato? 2022-Nov-15 50 minutes

Ep. 43 The Complete Works of Epictetus with Translator Robin Waterfield 2022-Nov-01 51 minutes

Ep. 42 Who Was Socrates? 2022-Oct-18 44 minutes

Ep. 41 Who Were the Pre-Socratics? 2022-Oct-04 53 minutes

Ep. 40 The Ring of Gyges: What Would You Do? 2022-Sep-20 46 minutes

Ep. 39 The Problem of Evil - Philosophy of Religion, Part 5 2022-Sep-06 47 minutes

Ep. 38 How To Be Authentic with Guest Skye Cleary 2022-Aug-23 56 minutes

Ep. 37 Is the Universe Intelligently Designed: The Teleological Argument - Philosophy of Religion, Part 4 2022-Aug-09 63 minutes

Ep. 36 The Universe Had To Begin Somehow: The Cosmological Argument - Philosophy of Religion, Part 3 2022-Jul-26 64 minutes

Ep. 35 Can Logic Alone Prove God's Existence: The Ontological Argument - Philosophy of Religion, Part 2 2022-Jul-12 57 minutes

Ep. 34 What is God? Philosophy of Religion, Part 1 2022-Jun-28 65 minutes

Ep. 33 Thought Experiments and Their Value With Guest Helen De Cruz 2022-Jun-14 58 minutes

Ep. 32 Philosophy as a Way of Life, Part 2 2022-May-31 66 minutes

Ep. 31 Philosophy as a Way of Life, Part 1 2022-May-17 63 minutes

Ep. 30 Epictetus, The Slave Who Became a Stoic Master - Stoic Thinkers Part 4 2022-May-03 56 minutes

Ep. 29 Marcus Aurelius, the Stoic Emperor - Stoic Thinkers Part 3 2022-Apr-19 62 minutes

Ep. 28 Seneca and the Stoic Life - Stoic Thinkers Part 2 2022-Apr-05 59 minutes

Ep. 27 Introduction to Stoicism - Stoic Thinkers Part 1 2022-Mar-22 56 minutes

Ep. 26 Listener Q&A 2022-Mar-08 53 minutes

Ep. 25 Philosophers on Consciousness With Guest Jack Symes 2022-Feb-22 54 minutes

Ep. 24 Materialism and Panpsychism - The Mind-Body Problem Part 2 2022-Feb-08 56 minutes

Ep. 23 Consciousness Introduction and Dualism - The Mind-Body Problem Part 1 2022-Jan-25 59 minutes

Ep. 22 - Our Favorite Philosophy Books 2021-Nov-30 56 minutes

Ep. 21 The Eternal Tao 2021-Nov-16 63 minutes

Ep. 20 Introduction To Transcendentalism 2021-Nov-02 54 minutes

Ep. 19 Problems in Philosophy with Guest Dr. Gregory Sadler 2021-Oct-19 73 minutes

Ep. 18 Virtue's Path To Happiness - Ethics and Morality, Part Four 2021-Oct-05 54 minutes

Ep. 17 Kant You Get Enough? (Duty Ethics) - Ethics and Morality, Part Three 2021-Sep-21 57 minutes

Ep. 16 Calculate the Best Possible Decision with Utilitarianism - Ethics and Morality, Part Two 2021-Sep-07 52 minutes

Ep. 15 Why Morality Matters - Ethics and Morality, Part One 2021-Aug-24 61 minutes

Ep. 14 Pragmatism and William James with Guest Jeffrey Howard 2021-Aug-10 59 minutes

Ep. 13 Kierkegaard - The Father of Existentialism 2021-Jul-27 55 minutes

Ep. 12 How To Do Philosophy 2021-Jul-13 58 minutes

Ep. 11 A Philosopher's Guide To Friendship 2021-Jun-29 63 minutes

Ep. 10 Do We Have a Soul? 2021-Jun-15 50 minutes

Ep. 9 The Life and Ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche with Guest Carson Knox 2021-Jun-01 59 minutes

Ep. 8 Falling Upward: The Second Half of Life 2021-May-18 44 minutes

Ep. 7 What Does It Mean To Die Well? 2021-May-04 50 minutes

Ep. 6 Marcus Aurelius and Stoicism 2021-Apr-20 57 minutes

Ep. 5 Who Are You? Maybe. 2021-Apr-06 45 minutes

Ep. 4 Do You Exist? 2021-Mar-23 47 minutes

Ep. 3 A Beginner's Guide to Aristotle 2021-Mar-09 44 minutes

Ep. 2 Plato's Allegory of the Cave 2021-Feb-23 46 minutes

Ep. 1 What is Philosophy? 2021-Feb-09 35 minutes