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The Wes Cecil Podcast

Wes Cecil

My lectures are dedicated to making Philosophy in particular and the world of ideas in general available to everyone. My exploration of topics and thinkers is designed to provide a foundation for listeners to engage in further reading and thought and develop their own conceptions of the topics I introduce. I have PhD in Literature and Philosophy and was a college professor for over 20 years. I am working to remove the barriers that prevent many from experiencing and understanding the lives and thoughts of some of the world's greatest thinkers.

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25 episodes
a few times a week
Avg 43 min
English

Episodes 25

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S8 · E26
Monday · 47 min
A Special Topic on Thinking
Our world is inundated with ‘information’ that is designed to mislead and disorient us. I suggest a few approaches to help us develop our own understanding of our world and ourselves to help combat one of the fundamental challenges I at least encounter almost everyday. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month: patreon.com/wescecil Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S18 · E8
August 28 · 33 min
Taoism: Ep. 8 - Harmony and Melody - Change and the Tao
The goal of Taoism is Harmony with the Tao. However, unlike traditions like Buddhism, Christianity, or Stoicism, Taoism does not view this as a static goal to be completed. Rather, like Jazz Music, the melody of life keeps changing and evolving and the key is to continually evolve ourselves to stay in harmony. Nature does not stop and neither should we. Taoism is a dynamic concept that invites us to continually create beauty with the universe. There is no end. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month: https://www.patreon.com/wescecil Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S8 · E25
August 24 · 51 min
A Special Topic on Teaching
A few questions have come in about teaching so I thought I would spend a moment reflecting on my approach to teaching. Mostly, I think simply valuing whatever subject you are teaching and enjoying the students will create the best experience for everyone. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month: patreon.com/wescecil Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S18 · E7
August 21 · 34 min
Taoism: Ep. 7: The Tao Te Ching IS for You!
I encountered the notion that the Tao Te Ching in particular and Taoism in general is really not for. Rather, it was written for a ruling political elite in ancient China and that we misunderstand its political message when we read it as a guide for living for lowly peoples in the modern world. While this argument has some merit in a very narrow sense, in the broader context of Taoism and history it is not just wrong, but politically suspect. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month: https://www.patreon.com/wescecil Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S17 · E11
August 17 · 42 min
An Invitation to Being Human: Ep. 11 - The Other Humans
The research is perfectly clear that the single greatest determinant of our longevity, health and happiness is having a few meaningful relationships. It is in other humans that humans find their greatest sense of purpose and wellbeing. Unfortunately, as is the theme of the entire series, our current society makes bonding meaningfully with other humans both difficult and, indeed, a bit unnatural. To go from I, Me, My, Mine to thinking of a few key friends and family members is likely the greatest change that one can make for personal health and a sense of joy and peace in life. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S18 · E6
August 14 · 46 min
Taoism: Ep. 6 - Taoism and Calvinism
I realized that perhaps more helpful than comparing Taoism withing the context of Mohism, Legalism and Confucianism would be to compare it to Calvinism. Calvinism, derived from Platonism, is THE dominant cultural influence in much of the west and comparing the key elements of the Calvinist and Taoist worldviews side by side is, I hope, edifying. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month. Image credit: Thanato, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S17 · E10
August 10 · 46 min
An Invitation to Being Human: Ep. 10 - It's Not Just You
A lot of the narrative around our struggles with the modern world focuses on individual responsibility. However, the rates of stress, sleep troubles, prescription drug use, depression and more all point to a systemic problem not a personal one. Our struggles are neither personal nor accidental, the systems we inhabit seriously challenge our ability to live simple, human lives. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S18 · E5
August 7 · 40 min
Taoism: Ep. 5 - The Importance of Not Knowing
Two tales from Chuang Tzu emphasize how we consistently pay too much attention to Language rather than Experience and hence stay confused. By emphasizing the importance of the individual and experiencing over knowing, Taoism consistently resists the concept of universal or even broad ‘truths’. When one learns to think in this fashion, it highlights how much we rely on agreeing with the ‘known’ to construct our sense of the world. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month. Image credit: Thanato, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S17 · E9
August 3 · 51 min
An Invitation to Being Human: Ep. 9 - The Aftermath
As one cultivates a sense of the human it is difficult to not notice how inhuman much of the world is. Our encounters with people and the environment around us will be a constant reminder and challenge for pursuing our own humanity. The aftermath is a seemingly inescapable level of friction as one slowly unwinds both internal and external patterns that have shaped our outlook and habits for much of our lives. So a slight warning, be prepared - as with all adventures, there will be interesting challenges ahead. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S18 · E4
July 31 · 43 min
Taoism: Ep. 4 - Wu Wei - Misunderstanding Non-Action
Besides a cultural bias towards action, we also have a strong drive towards suffering, overcoming, grit, drive etc. in pursuit of external goals. Taoism argues this is exactly the wrong approach. Acting without acting means to work in accordance with the Tao - as experienced through nature - and our own selves. When we cultivate the Tao and reject suffering, difficulty and similar experiences, the Tao flows through us and we live more fully and more easily. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month. Image credit: Thanato, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S8 · E24
July 29 · 40 min
Thames Water, Philosophy and Our Near Term Future
The bankruptcy of Thames water represents a pattern in infrastructure failures that are increasing and will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. The question is when, and perhaps if, elected officials and citizens begin to demand and implement different approaches to solving society's problems. Important notes on Thames water to keep in mind: They Bankrupted themselves - they were not bankrupted by the government it was a clear strategy to extract maximum value for a few at the expense of the many. The two buyout options - which are in fact bankruptcy proceedings - that private investors offer no plan to actually deliver water and deal with sewage, rebuild the infrastructure and guarantee water service and affordability. Rather, the plans, and I’m not making this up, involve paying the very people who have bankrupted Thames water 750 million pounds in fees, no more government fines for not meeting safety or ecology standards, and an aggressive schedule of raising rates. In other words, it is a financial transaction not a water delivery program. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S17 · E8
July 27 · 52 min
An Invitation to Being Human: Ep. 8 - Kindness
Lin-Yutang, Henry James and Herman Hesse all agree that kindness is perhaps the central value for any civilization. Obviously, our current dominant culture has little or no place for kindness as a goal. However, it is the cultivation of kindness and the capacity for kindness that underpins our capacity for joy. Kindness is not sacrificial but rather additive in that it is beneficial for all. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S18 · E3
July 24 · 42 min
Taoism: Ep. 3 - The I Ching Nature and You
If you reject laws, codes, rituals, and words as guides to organizing life and society, what is left? Nature! To understand the Taoist emphasis on Nature it is important to understand that it is offering a concrete, experiential response to what they saw as abstract, metaphysical and ultimately self-defeating approaches to living. Key to this was Taoism’s co-evolution with the I Ching as a central text and guide to thought. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month. Image credit: Thanato, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S17 · E7
July 20 · 47 min
An Invitation to Being Human: Ep. 7 - The Human Experience is NOT for Sale
If we want to be happy, we can go to the ‘Happiest Place on Earth’ for the low cost of $5,000 to $15,000 for a family of four. Food, water, love, friends, joy, beauty, and more are continuously being re-packaged and sold back to us AS IF they are scarce and not available to us without some intermediary. However, as with competition, this notion of scarcity simply alienates from the most human elements of our own existence which, in any case, can’t be sold. Freeing ourselves from this notion from this scarcity mindset is a key element of recapturing our humanity. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S18 · E2
July 17 · 46 min
Taoism: Ep. 2 - The Path that is the Path
Two key insights from a key section of the Tao Te Ching ask us to question 1) Our propensity for committing ourselves to pre-established narratives and 2) Our love of language games. By throwing these fundamental tendencies into doubt, Taoism provides a radical critique of pretty much every conceivable system, not just the prominent schools of Chinese philosophy. While the passages seem a bit gnomic and mystical, they are rather a very clear articulation of a key source of human confusion and unhappiness. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month. Image credit: Thanato, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S17 · E6
July 13 · 49 min
An Invitation to Being Human: Ep. 6 - Life is Not a Competition
Perhaps one of the most pernicious concepts in modern society is the concept that we are all in competition for scarce resources. In this zero sum conception of the world, each human must, by necessity, compete with others for survival and self-expression. By reflecting on the writings of Primo Levi - particularly his “If This is a Man” - I try to underline how this deeply flawed and dangerous vision of the human condition actually destroys the possibility of simply being a human being at all. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S18 · E1
July 10 · 51 min
Taoism: Ep. 1 - The Eternal Tao
Taoism has been generally received in the West as a mystical, quasi-metaphysical philosophy. However, understanding its historical context and development helps place Taoism within its political and folk tradition. This series explores the complex and powerful vision of Taoism that may be more relevant today than ever before in its more than 2400 year tradition. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month. Image credit: Thanato, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S17 · E5
July 6 · 58 min
An Invitation to Being Human: Ep. 5 - The External and The Internal
The dynamic interplay between the external and internal world is the very core of being human. The degree to which we cultivate ourselves within an experience of the world is the degree to which we can evolve and deepen our sense of ourselves and our world. It is this growingness that gives meaning and impulse to lives that thrive. Lacking this, we feel shallow, detached and depressed. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S16 · E11
July 4 · 30 min
Reading The Bhagavad Gita: Conclusion
Congratulations, you’ve read the Gita. Ancient texts are often difficult and a bit offputting but they really help us discover the structures of our own thinking and how our culture has conditioned us to expect certain forms and arguments. While Krishna ends up arguing for acceptance of one’s place in society, he also argues that the way to truth is through inward searching and true dedication. The path of joyful wisdom and duty that is meaningful and light fulfil the brief, not withdrawal, unnecessary suffering and worldly renunciation. Thanks for reading along. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S17 · E4
June 29 · 48 min
An Invitation to Being Human: Ep. 4 - Discover Yourself
Bizarrely, in a society that isolates people, we also don’t spend much time with ourselves. Consistently pulled from ourselves, striving for external standards and ignoring our bodies we lose track of the one thing that really makes us ourselves - ie ourselves. It is prosaic to say, but we need to spend some time with ourselves to actually be a person. Join Wes on Patreon for a deeper dive into the ideas we explore on the podcast. It’s a space for lifelong learners — with bonus lectures, course materials, peer discussion, and audio diaries from France. Wes is active in the community and often engages directly with listener questions. Starting at $2/month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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