The Wes Cecil Podcast

Episoade

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  Taoism: Ep. 11 - Taoism and Nihilism 18.09.2026 27min

  Taoism posits that the meaninglessness of life is not a basis for Nihilism but for Joy and Liberty. The palpable despair imparted by the advance of science and the increasing awareness of the triviality of humanity on a universal scale disoriented - and perhaps is still disorienting - virtually every culture in the world. Taoism, however, provided an inspiring response to these problems 2,600 years before they appeared.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/wescecilImage 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.
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  Q & A - What is an American? - Ep. 2 16.09.2026 34min

  Q & A - WHAT IS AN AMERICAN?Wes and Jeremy take questions from listeners on Lecture I: "What is an American?" Apologies for the audio quality on this one—it improves as the series moves along.Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  The Joy of Resistance: Ep. 2 - You are Not A Resource 14.09.2026 44min

  2,000 years ago Cicero warned us against the idea that other people are functionally prey from whom we extract the profit. Unfortunately, his arguments have been forgotten and we inhabit a society that insists that the exploitation of others is not only acceptable but necessary and admirable. As Deleuze and Guattari and others have demonstrated, this logic leads to an idea of the self that is entirely devoid of human sympathy. We think we are exploiting others but we are in fact re-conceptualizing ourselves as extraction/consumption machines that have no other values or functions. Within this context, caring for others as valuable and even beautiful is an act of resistance.Books mentioned:Cicero De Officiis Book 3 50-57 Deleuze and Guattari A Thousand Plateaus - Plateau 6 Delueze and Guattari Anti-Oedipus Koran Al-Mutaffifin and Al-Isra (amongst many other passages)Deluzism by Ian Buchanan particularly the last chapter.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.
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  Taoism: Ep. 10 - Socrates was NOT a Taoist 11.09.2026 28min

  While Taoism emphasizes ‘not knowing’ it does so in a very different way than Socrates’s claim of knowing what he does not know. In Chapter 17 of Chuangtzu we encounter a classic example of both the limits of knowledge and the importance of experience to the Taoist tradition. In many ways, Taoism refutes the entire basis of the Platonic/Socratic tradition that underlies most of the western philosophic 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: https://www.patreon.com/wescecilImage 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.
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  What is an American? - Ep. 1 09.09.2026 53min

  WHAT IS AN AMERICAN?In my introductory lecture I explore the uniquely powerful role America plays in the contemporary world and the history that underlies its global dominance. 250 years ago, the United states had a tiny population, was loosely organized and beset by internal conflicts. A rapid and massive demographic and geographic expansion brought this relative backwater onto the world stage and then to global dominance. The cultural transformations that proceeded with this transformation created a society that is, for good or ill, extremely influential and uniquely American.Sign-up for Wes’s PATREON to get your questions answered by Wes!Plus, gain access to course materials, reading lists, bonus lectures, and Wes’s weekly diaries from France. Only $2 / month.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  New Series! The Joy of Resistance: Ep. 1 07.09.2026 46min

  Resistance rather than revolution and Joy rather than suffering. Within our contemporary cultural environment, understanding the tensions in how we respond to the world can help feel more powerful. Creating meaning and joy will also transform our sense of ourselves and, by extension, our world. Books Mentioned: Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right by Karl MarxThe Rebel by Albert CamusMai 68, l’heritage impossible by Jean-Pierre Le GoffSteppenwolf by Herman HesseJoin 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.
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  Taoism: Ep. 9 - The Radical Epistemology of Taoism 04.09.2026 44min

  Taoism’s view of the world is dramatically opposed to the standard outlook of western civilization. Life has no meaning, no path, no truth, no goal and no actual relationship to individuals. This can be read as a type of early Absurdism or as a liberatory outlook that frees us from fundamentally misunderstanding our relationship with nature.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.
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  A Special Topic on Thinking 31.08.2026 47min

  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.
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  Taoism: Ep. 8 - Harmony and Melody - Change and the Tao 28.08.2026 33min

  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.
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  A Special Topic on Teaching 24.08.2026 51min

  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.
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  Taoism: Ep. 7: The Tao Te Ching IS for You! 21.08.2026 34min

  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.
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  An Invitation to Being Human: Ep. 11 - The Other Humans 17.08.2026 42min

  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.
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  Taoism: Ep. 6 - Taoism and Calvinism 14.08.2026 46min

  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.
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  An Invitation to Being Human: Ep. 10 - It's Not Just You 10.08.2026 46min

  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.
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  Taoism: Ep. 5 - The Importance of Not Knowing 07.08.2026 40min

  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.
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  An Invitation to Being Human: Ep. 9 - The Aftermath 03.08.2026 51min

  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.
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  Taoism: Ep. 4 - Wu Wei - Misunderstanding Non-Action 31.07.2026 43min

  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.
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  Thames Water, Philosophy and Our Near Term Future 29.07.2026 40min

  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.
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  An Invitation to Being Human: Ep. 8 - Kindness 27.07.2026 52min

  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.
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  Taoism: Ep. 3 - The I Ching Nature and You 24.07.2026 42min

  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.