Episode 156: Notes From Underground (Pt. 1)

Summary: <p>We’re sick men. We’re spiteful men. We’re unpleasant men. We think our livers are diseased (especially Tamler’s). So we talk about Dostoevsky’s wild, complex, stream of consciousness masterpiece <em>Notes From Underground</em>. For this episode we focus on part 1 of the novella, and the philosophy behind it. Is the underground man an existentialist hero affirming his freedom in the face of a deterministic hyper-rationalist worldview? Or is he a lonely man consumed with guilt and self-loathing, constructing a pretentious post-hoc rationalization of his character and behavior? Plus, the American Psychological Association just issued guidelines for how to treat men who embrace traditional masculine ideologies. Is the backlash justified?</p> <p>This episode is brought to you by <a href="http://www.eero.com/verybadwizards" rel="nofollow">Eero</a>, <a href="http://www.curiositystream.com/vbw" rel="nofollow">Curiosity Stream</a>, and the generosity of listeners like you. </p><p>Sponsored By:</p><ul> <li> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.eero.com/verybadwizards">Eero</a> Promo Code: VERYBADWIZARDS</li> <li> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.curiositystream.com/vbw">CuriosityStream</a> Promo Code: VBW</li> </ul><p><a rel="payment" href="https://www.patreon.com/verybadwizards">Support Very Bad Wizards</a></p><p>Links:</p><ul> <li><a title="'Traditional Masculinity' Can Be Harmful, Psychologists Find - The Atlantic" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/01/traditional-masculinity-american-psychological-association/580006/">'Traditional Masculinity' Can Be Harmful, Psychologists Find - The Atlantic</a></li> <li><a title="APA ‘Masculinity’ Guidelines Face a Title IX Challenge at Harvard University, for Discriminating Against Men in Psychology" rel="nofollow" href="https://pjmedia.com/trending/apas-masculinity-guidelines-now-facing-title-ix-challenge/">APA ‘Masculinity’ Guidelines Face a Title IX Challenge at Harvard University, for Discriminating Against Men in Psychology</a></li> <li><a title="Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky (trans. by Constance Garnett) [amazon.com affiliate link]" rel="nofollow" href="https://amzn.to/2CbQYcc">Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky (trans. by Constance Garnett) [amazon.com affiliate link]</a></li> <li><a title="Notes from Underground - Wikipedia" rel="nofollow" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notes_from_Underground">Notes from Underground - Wikipedia</a></li> </ul>