In this show, I'll start a two part series on the problem of polarization and identity politics, and what I see as the only lasting solution to that problem. As always, shows like this in a series are basically self contained in their discussions, though connected in their topics.

In this first episode of the series, I'm going to discuss the phenomenon of polarization: what it is, and why it happens. By first figuring out the answers this show to what polarization is and why it occurs, next show, we will move to examine how to solve it.

Topics discussed are as follows:
-What is Polarization? In order to discuss this topic, I will look at French Philosopher Rene Girard's conception of Mimetic desire, which will help us understand in a wider sense how polarization relates in a basic way to human nature.

-Two different answers to one question: "Why Are we so Polarized?" The answers are: (1) Dehumanization, (2) Self-Identity and how identity relates to polarization.

Because much work has been done on the first answer, I focus my reflections on the second answer, which I consider more primary. In order to examine it, I'll be relying primarily on Soren Kierkegaard's analysis of human identity in The Sickness Unto Death and Walker Percy's exploration of the same topic in Lost in the Cosmos.

If you have questions or comments about content from this episode, please send feedback to theheartandtheheadpodcast@gmail.com

In these three episodes, I look at different ways we might respond and choose to experience suffering we encounter in our lives.

This episode looks at how we might begin to find meaning in our suffering. There are a few guiding texts which I reference during this discussion: Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, Huxley's Brave New World, and the Bible's Book of Job.

If you have questions or comments about content from this episode, please send feedback to theheartandtheheadpodcast@gmail.com

In these three episodes, I look at different ways we might respond and choose to experience suffering we encounter in our lives.

This episode looks at an option before us when we suffer: to see our suffering as meaningless. There are a few guiding texts which I reference during this discussion: Shakespeare’s Macbeth; as well as works by Albert Camus, Friedrich Nietzsche, and William Faulkner.

If you have questions or comments about content from this episode, please send feedback to theheartandtheheadpodcast@gmail.com

In the next three episodes, I look at different ways we might respond and choose to experience suffering we encounter in our lives. ·There are a few guiding texts which I'll use for my discussions over these shows: primarily Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning; Shakespeare’s Macbeth; Bessel Van De Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score, Brene Browne’s lecture series, The Power of Vulnerability, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World; comments by the German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche on this theme, and the Bible's Book of Job.

This episode looks at the the tactic of avoiding suffering: ways that we attempt to dissociate from, or numb ourselves out to, the suffering in our lives.

If you have questions or comments about content from this episode, please send feedback to theheartandtheheadpodcast@gmail.com

In this episode, we consider the role that suffering and pain play in the philosophical life. Suffering and pain can cause us to "hit a bottom", propelling us to live differently as a result. We consider this topic through a discussion of Boethius's consolation of philosophy, also considering a diversity of resources from Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, an opinion piece by David Brooks in the NYTimes, Terrence Malick's film A Hidden Life, and the biography of Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Let this quote from Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning guide our reflections:
"The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity—even under the most difficult circumstances—to add a deeper meaning to his life. It may remain brave, dignified, and unselfish. Or in the bitter fight for self-preservation he may forget his human dignity and become no more than an animal."

In the first episode of the podcast, I outline goals of the podcast, address the question of why anyone would want to live philosophically in the first place, and explain the name of the podcast - the Heart and the Head.