Hang loose! In episode 149 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk about all things surfing. They explore the long history of wave-riding across the globe, from Peru to West Africa, and consider how surfing helps us to reimagine social issues and what surfing reveals about the connection between flow and freedom. Is surfing the pinnacle of human life? How has the sportification of surfing directly contravened surfing’s anti-capitalist ethos? Why is the average surfer an image of white masculinity? And how is this image tied to indigenous erasure? In the Substack bonus segment, your hosts discuss the similarities between surfing and skating, surfing as an art, and the existential risk of surfing.

Works Discussed

Daniel Brennan, Surfing and the Philosophy of Sport

Kevin Dawson, Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora

William Finnegan, Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life

Aaron James, Surfing with Sartre: An Aquatic Inquiry Into a Life of Meaning

Peter Kreeft, I Surf, Therefore I Am: A Philosophy of Surfing

Aileen Moreton Robinson, “Bodies That Matter: Performing White Possession on the Beach”

Peter J. Westwick and Peter Neushul, The World in the Curl: An Unconventional History of Surfing

Wade in the Water: A Journey Into Black Surfing and Aquatic Culture (2023)

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How can we explain the rise of loneliness in our world? In episode 148 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss the difference between loneliness and solitude, how loneliness could help explain the rise of fascism in the US, and the public health implications of loneliness. What is the male loneliness epidemic, and does it truly exist? Does the state have a moral obligation to address the loneliness of its citizens? And do we have a fundamental human right to connection? In the Substack bonus segment, your hosts get into the etymology of loneliness and discuss the type of companionship that animals offer humans.

Works Discussed:

Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism

Kimberley Brownlee, Being Sure of Each Other: An Essay on Social Rights and Freedoms

Bouke de Vries and Sarah A. Rezaieh. “Political Philosophy and Loneliness”

Bouke de Vries, “State Responsibilities to Protect us from Loneliness During Lockdown”

Samantha Rose Hill, "Where loneliness can lead"

Zohar Lederman, “Loneliness as Lack of Solidarity: The Case of Palestinians Standing Alone”

Emmanuel Levinas, Otherwise than Being

David M. Peña-Guzmán and Rebekah Spera, Professional Philosophy and Its Myths

Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science

 Jill Stauffer, Ethical Loneliness: The Injustice of Not Being Heard

Lars Svendsen, A Philosophy of Loneliness

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Join our Substack for ad-free versions of both audio and video episodes, extended episodes, exclusive live chats, and more: https://overthinkpod.substack.com/

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Don’t shy away from this one! In episode 147 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss confidence. Modernity has created a crisis of confidence, leading to the demand that we all maximize our confidence. But what is confidence? Is it a personality trait or a relational concept? What causes under- and over-confidence? And is instilling confidence an equity issue? Your hosts think through Charles Pépin’s pillars of confidence, Don A. Moore's formula for calibrating your confidence, and the gendered nature of confidence through bodily expressions. In the Substack bonus segment, Ellie tells an embarrassing story which reveals the situational nature of confidence, and they discuss the relationship between confidence and nature.

Works discussed:

Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance”

Don A. Moore, Perfectly Confident: How to Calibrate Your Decisions Wisely

Charles Pépin, Self-Confidence: A Philosophy

Iris Marion Young, “Throwing Like a Girl: A Phenomenology of Feminine Body”

Enjoy our work? Support Overthink via tax-deductible donation: https://www.givecampus.com/fj0w3v

Join our Substack for ad-free versions of both audio and video episodes, extended episodes, exclusive live chats, and more: https://overthinkpod.substack.com/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.