Nature and the Nation

Dec 08 2024 128 ep. 65 mins 122
Nature and the Nation Podcast artwork

Nature and the Nation explores politics, philosophy, psychology, sociology and economics from a naturalistic, paleoconservative perspective, using the format of a book review. I examine books published in a wide array of time periods, with a special emphasis on the early to middle 20th century, the ancient Greeks, and of course the present.

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Review: The Metaphysical Club by Louis Menand

Dec 08 2024 105 mins  
In this episode I look at the contrast, ruptures, and uncertainties among three early Pragmatists: Charles Peirce, William James, and John Dewey, as detailed in Louis Menand's bestselling The Metaphysical Club. I also examine Randolph Bourne's use of Pragmatism to justify cosmopolitan immigration and the unaccountable bureaucracy of the American Association of University Professors

Review: Prophets on the Right by Ronald Radosh

Nov 29 2024 93 mins  
In this episode I look at the two writers Oswald Garrison Villard and John Flynn, and their associations with the America First Committee as depicted in Ronald Radosh's Prophets on the Right.

Review: Existentialism and Human Emotions by Jean-Paul Sartre

Nov 24 2024 69 mins  
In this episode I look at Jean-Paul Sartre's Existentialism and Human Emotions with a focus on the failure of existentialism to acknowledge human nature.

Review: William James' Essays on Faith and Morals edited by Ralph Barton Perry

Nov 22 2024 81 mins  
In this episode I dive deeper into William James' lecture series Talks to Students with the essays On a 'Certain Blindness in Human Beings' and 'What Makes a Life Significant' as presented in Ralph Barton Perry's collection of James' essays, Essays on Faith and Morals. I look particularly at the practicality of this blindness and the balance between ideals and practicality.

Review: Ideas Have Consequences by Richard Weaver

Nov 10 2024 65 mins  
In this episode I arrive at Richard Weaver's classic statement of post-war Conservatism, Ideas Have Consequences, in particular the the traditionalist, hierarchical, formal aspects of enduring culture.

Review: The Heart of William James edited by Robert Richardson

Nov 09 2024 64 mins  
In this episode, I discuss William James' consequential essay Philosophical Conceptions and Practical Results and his lecture to students, The Gospel of Relaxation, as collected in The Heart of William James, edited by Robert Richardson.

Review: Darwinism and Human Affairs (Part 2) by Richard D. Alexander

Oct 22 2024 88 mins  
In this episode I continue my examination of Darwinism and Human Affairs, this time exploring the connections between cultural evolution and genetic evolution. I focus on ways that cultural evolution both aligns with and betrays our genetic drive to reproduction.

Review: Darwinism and Human Affairs (Part 1) by Richard D. Alexander

Oct 19 2024 64 mins  
In this episode I return to evolutionary theory, discussing the controversy surrounding group selection and its relationship with kin selection and inclusive fitness as described by Richard Alexander in his book Darwinism and Human Affairs.

Review: Talks to Teachers by William James

Oct 10 2024 65 mins  
In this episode I look at William James' further discussions of psychology in Talks to Teachers, in which he draws on prior psychological writings to address the needs of teachers. I pay particular attention to the practical and pragmatic aspect of his discussion of competing drives and ideas, and his limited domain of the activity of the will.

Review: Pragmatism: The Classic Writings (Part 2) edited by H. S. Thayer

Oct 01 2024 85 mins  
In this episode I return to John Dewey for a look at his essay The Practical Character of Reality, included in the compilation Pragmatism: The Classic Writings edited by H. S. Thayer. I focus on Dewey's examination of the nature of knowledge and awareness.