FTLOS! returns. In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony ask a number of questions about the nature of tradition and its counterpart -- novelty: What is the ontology of tradition? How do rituals factor in? What is the relationship between seeing the world symbolically and finding meaning? How does novelty disrupt this process? When is tradition bad enough to justify a change? What kinds of novelty can be warranted? What misconceptions do people have about the two ..read more

"Why haven't we received any new episodes lately? What's going on ..read more

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on postmodernism -- this time focusing on potential critiques and social-political consequences ..read more

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss a topic that everyone seems to be talking about these days -- "postmodernism." What even is this thing? Why has it become a hot topic these past few years? What are its origins? What are its metaphysics and epistemology? Its ethics and politics ..read more

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss the concept of atheism: What exactly does it mean to be an atheist? Is there more than one type of atheism? What arguments are given in favor of each? What issues do these arguments run into? What are the ethical and political consequences of atheism ..read more

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on music: What exactly happens to someone when they create music? To what extent are particular members essential to a band's being? Are there examples of bands who kept or even increased in quality after member changes, or are changes always negative? Which version of a song is the actual song? Can music have an essence but also be tied to particular equipment usages? What is the ontology of cover songs? Are musical experiences ineffable? Are there any sounds or patterns that are intrinsically bad, or is everything context depe ..read more

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin discussing a topic that is near and dear to their hearts -- music: What exactly is music in the first place? What relationship might it have with sounds, pauses, relations, and intention? How might Aristotle's 4 causes help us understand things? How does music get made? What level of consciousness does music-making happen within? What is the difference between writing music alone vs. with others? How can we know when music making is successful ..read more

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on metaphysical idealism, this time getting into the "stranger" post-Kantian version of it. They also give a sneak peak of their "disagreement" podcast conversation, which is available for Patreon subscribers ..read more

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin discussing the metaphysical position known as "idealism ..read more

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on the qualia of octopi and how it may relate to human consciousness: When an octopus sees "its" arms below it, does it perceive them as being totally foreign things, or is there some loose sense of unity? Is our inability to draw definitive conclusions about consciousness a result of the limits of empirical/inductive inquiry, or is it more of an a priori/definitional issue? Does biological similarity between species necessarily result in consciousness similarity? How does language factor into this conversation? If other species ..read more