Podcasts Education Self-Improvement Conversations with Tyler Elijah Millgram on the Philosophical Life

Elijah Millgram on the Philosophical Life

Published: June 16, 2021, noon

What can studying the lives of philosophers tell us about how to organize and interpret our own lives? Elijah Millgram is a professor of philosophy at the University of Utah whose research focuses on the theory of rationality. His latest book, John Stuart Mill and The Meaning of Life, analyzes the relationship between the ideas of the famous theorist and their impacts on Mill\u2019s life. His forthcoming book examines the life and work of Frederich Nietzsche through a similar lens, combining philosophical analysis and biography.

Elijah joined Tyler to discuss Newcomb\u2019s paradox, the reason he doesn\u2019t have an opinion about everything, the philosophy of Dave Barry, style and simulation theory, why philosophers aren\u2019t often consulted about current events, his best stories from TA-ing for Robert Nozick, the sociological correlates of knowing formal logic, the question of whether people are more interested in truth or being interesting, philosophical cycles, what makes Nietzsche important today, the role that meaning can play in a person\u2019s personality and life, Mill on Bentham, the idea of true philosophy as dialogue, the extent to which modern philosophers are truly philosophical, why he views aesthetics as critical to philosophy, and more.

Read a\xa0full transcript\xa0enhanced with helpful links, or watch the\xa0full video.

Recorded May 11th, 2021

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