E. S. Dallaire's 'Metaphor & Reality'

This one was called 'Let's Take a Break From This Poker Game'. Ordinarily this episode would be exclusive to Patreon, but after recording I decided to distribute it to other podcast platforms just to get the word out that there's a second 'Metaphor & Reality' episode recorded every week, but that it's only available to my Patreon subscribers. This 'peek' is a bit impromptu, and when I recorded the episode I didn't think I would release it here, but I hope you enjoy it, and, of course – consider becoming a Patreon subscriber! Your support contributes to my work as an independent writer and philosopher – a project which has really only gotten underway over the past month or so. If you join up you'll be taking part in it from the beginning, and most assuredly, your early subscription is much appreciated! Check out the link below.   Click the link for bonus episodes every week exclusive to Patreon, and for more information about E. S. Dallaire's writing: https://www.patreon.com/esdallaireworks

Just making sure I'm not taking for granted that I even know what it is to 'do' philosophy, in this episode. We touch upon, or maybe even take our cue from, Plato's 'Symposium', and then also mention the work of a modern day philosopher named Eva Brann, and specifically her book on Heraclitus, as we briefly mention too Aristotle's Analytics, and his difficulties when accounting for the derivation of first principles. As ever, E. S. Dallaire shares a few of his own thoughts on the matter.   Click the link for bonus episodes every week exclusive to Patreon, and for more information about E. S. Dallaire's writing: https://www.patreon.com/esdallaireworks

The question is inspired by the contemporary philosophical landscape as found on social media and also in the academy, which seems to have split into two opposing camps, each with their own idea of what relationship exists between motivated (ie. politically or socially motivated) philosophical or general inquiry, and philosophical truth with a capital 'T'. For the one side, traditionally where Marx is found and propounded, the two are one and the same; for the other, philosophical motivation and discovery of truth is and always has been removed from the incidental, material conditions of the moment in which it is formalized. For the host of this podcast series, E. S. Dallaire, this debate was once again brought to his attention within the last couple days, and as he analyzes both sides of the debate in this episode, all he really wants to do is express himself honestly, and do right, philosophically, by his readers and listeners moving forward with his own project, which involves this podcast series and also

Beginning with a bit of a discussion as to whether a philosopher should bring the advances of modern scientific practice into his/her philosophy, or else leave them be, as they are a product of a global industrial complex, and what once were their (the scientists') pure motivations and aspiration for knowledge and truth have been reduced to data analysis for the sake of business advances, so are not in keeping with the philosophical spirit searching after knowledge with a capital 'T' (truth). The discussion then moves on, as per the title of the episode, to a compare / contrast of Jung's and Lacan's psychoanalytical theories, and E. S. Dallaire reads out a passage he's written on the matter, and talks a bit about his own philosophical project.   Click the link for bonus episodes every week exclusive to Patreon, and for more information about E. S. Dallaire's writing: https://www.patreon.com/esdallaireworks

What's the Platonic dialogue where Socrates gives reasons for why he doesn't trust writing, or more precisely the product of writers working so carefully to 'beautify' their phrases, as if that would make them more true? Was it 'Phaedrus'? I know he mentions the faults or limits or common motivations for writing in that one. . . Anyways, it's no matter: the point is, going with what he was saying, what I mean to convey in this episode is that the extemporaneous nature of the podcast medium may be perfect for advancing philosophy—specifically, for 'enlivening' it once again, by bringing it out of those dusty tomes which line our shelves and back into common discourse! Only, it is important to remember that one must still speak with the caution of the philosopher, and not get swept away by the excitement of the conversation. Click the link for bonus episodes every week exclusive to Patreon, and for more information about E. S. Dallaire's writing: https://www.patreon.com/esdallaireworks  

A so-called 'sense-making' apparatus is rapidly emerging online, these days, and for the most part it seems to be an organic process. But what may be the next step these independent intellectuals, who could be said to comprise the various nodes of this emerging network, as representatives of their respective domains of inquiry and discipline, take, in order to begin to apply their common theoretical points of agreement in the physical, non-digital world, in an effort to effect real change? Are they the ones who should take this next step toward application?   If you enjoyed this episode, consider supporting E. S. Dallaire on Patreon, and gain access to bonus episodes and the podcast's forum discussion, as well as to more information on the philosophy E. S. Dallaire is developing:   https://www.patreon.com/esdallaireworks  

In this episode of 'Metaphor & Reality', E. S. Dallaire wonders whether psychoanalytic theory really has so much to say that would be of benefit to philosophers.   The Politics of Sexual Difference - Slavoj Žižek, Mladen Dolar, and Alenka Zupančič: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R7SCY5zVLg   If you enjoyed this episode, consider supporting E. S. Dallaire on Patreon, and gain access to the podcast's forum discussion, as well as to more information on the philosophy E. S. Dallaire is developing: https://www.patreon.com/esdallaireworks

In this episode of 'Metaphor & Reality', writer E. S. Dallaire describes how Honoré de Balzac's 'Lost Illusions', and particularly one of its characters, Étienne Lousteau, calls into question a young artist's ambitions and dreams of celebrity and glory and wealth.   E. S. Dallaire's Substack: https://esdallaire.substack.com/   If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to Share, Subscribe, Comment, Rate, etc.! That would be much appreciated!

In this episode of 'Metaphor & Reality', writer E. S. Dallaire talks about Honoré de Balzac's novel 'Lost Illusions', and draws a comparison between Balzac's work, in this novel and in general, and James Cameron's 'Titanic'.   E. S. Dallaire's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ESDallaire   If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to Share, Subscribe, Comment, Rate, etc.! That would be much appreciated!

In this episode of 'Metaphor & Reality', writer E. S. Dallaire debates whether he wants to invest the time required to understand 'Aion', part two of volume nine of Carl Jung's collected works.   Check out E. S. Dallaire's essay 'Coyote Madness', which he talked about in this episode: https://esdallaire.substack.com/p/coyote-madness   If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to Share, Subscribe, Comment, Rate, etc.! That would be much appreciated!

**ORIGINALLY RECORDED BEGINNING OF SEPTEMBER 2019 (but never uploaded to Libsyn, my podcast distributor - for those who noticed that the episode count for this podcast series starts at '003'. Unfortunately, the sound quality on the inaugural episode I recorded is too poor, with an incessant buzzing in the background, so that one will remain 'lost')** In this episode of 'Metaphor & Reality', writer E. S. Dallaire uses Plato's descriptions of the five natural constitutions of the city state (Aristocracy, Timocracy, Oligarchy, Democracy, Tyranny), as well as their degeneration from one state to the next - as outlined in the eighth book of Plato's 'Republic' - to identify the quality and nature of the character and founding principles of the United States of America, as well as those of his own country, Canada.   If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to Share, Subscribe, Comment, Rate, etc.! That would be much appreciated!   E. S. Dallaire's Substack Magazine: https://esdallaire.substack.com/ E. S. Dall

In this episode of 'Metaphor & Reality', writer E. S. Dallaire is once again joined by Nikole, an English teacher and poet who was a guest in 'Episode 020 – Does the Soul Exist, and If So, Where Is It?', to discuss art and the artist's place and role in the modern world. Nikole draws upon her current reading of Nietzsche's 'The Birth of Tragedy', and the discussion soon becomes a very lively compare/contrast between Nietzsche's ideal spectator and the typical or common relationships which individuals say they have with the art they consume today, in 2020.   If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to Share, Subscribe, Comment, Rate, etc.! That would be much appreciated!   Nikole's poetry blog: https://modernlady2017.wordpress.com/ E. S. Dallaire's Personal Website: https://esdallaire.ca/ E. S. Dallaire's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ESDallaire

In this episode of 'Metaphor & Reality', writer E. S. Dallaire uses the philosophy implied by Shakespeare's claim that 'All the world's a stage' as a springboard to dive deep into the surreal quality of the present socio-political climate: a climate which seems to be spreading fast throughout much of the world, setting up a situation—brewing the elements for a perfect storm, if you will—in which police authority, or the authority of the law in general, is being challenged and opposed and protested, the results of which action no one can be certain of at present. In this moment of indecision and uncertainty, wherein it seems order and chaos have collided, history seems to have re-emerged. Those participating and those looking on are perhaps noticing a surreal quality hovering around the present, and in this episode E. S. Dallaire contends that this is a sign of their sense of reality, as they've come to understand it over the past several decades, is being overwhelmed by something inexplicable, something w

In this episode of 'Metaphor & Reality', writer E. S. Dallaire begins with an update on his current book-length project 'The First World Was a Pipe Dream', then moves on to talk about Vaclav Smil's 2017 book 'Energy and Civilization', and how his present reading of the Bible (specifically, the 'Five Books of Moses'), is informing his read of the thesis Smil presents, that the formation of primitive agricultural societies was motivated primarily by the desire to improve the efficient use and transformation of raw materials into energy products consumable by humans. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to Share, Subscribe, Comment, Rate, etc.!   Personal Website: https://esdallaire.ca/ Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme2/esdallaire Twitter: https://twitter.com/esdallaire?lang=en Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ESDallaire

In this episode of 'Metaphor & Reality', writer and entrepreneur E. S. Dallaire examines Cormac McCarthy's 'Blood Meridian'. Cormac McCarthy is consistently ranked among the best living writers, and 'Blood Meridian' is widely considered his masterpiece. E. S. Dallaire examines the book's themes, its narrative, and the philosophy advanced by one of the central characters within the framing of the expansionist doctrine prevalent in America at the time of the novel's setting. Though the novel is premised on real events and even real people, he makes the point that Cormac McCarthy is more a visionary writer than a historian or traditional storyteller, thus it was McCarthy's intention to comprehend all of nature and all of mankind in his portrayal of this time in history when America was pushing to expand its frontier onto the territories of Mexico and native tribes. It is in this context of 'novelist as visionary' that E. S. Dallaire interprets what the late critic Harold Bloom meant when he called 'Blood Mer