What does it mean to be “well-adjusted” in a society that might itself be profoundly unwell? And when we use therapy-speak to explain everything from bad relationships to bad politics, do we risk losing sight of moral responsibility for bad behavior altogether? Is self-knowledge even possible in a world built on historical and political denial?
Grab a drink, get comfortable, and join us for a little collective introspection — no copay required.
This week’s jukebox picks:
- Jen’s pick: “Burn the House Down” by AJR
- Bob’s pick: “ Therapy” by Louden Wainwright, III
- Leigh’s pick: “Happy” by Pherrell Williams
In this episode, we reference the following thinkers, ideas, texts, etc:
- On the recent popular uptake of Stoicism (See also our Season 7 conversation with Robin James on this topic in Episode 197: “How the Manosphere Killed Cool”)
- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (167 C.E.)
- Sigmund Freud
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu
- “pop psychology”
- borderline personality disorder (DSM-5)
- Katy Waldman, “The Rise of Therapy Speak” (New York Times, 2021)
- Michel Foucault, Technologies of the Self (1988)
- Plato, Symposium
- Audre Lorde, A Burst of Light: Essays (1988)
- “group therapy”
- “self-care”
- Henry Kissinger: “Academic politics are so vicious because the stakes are so small.”
- Coping mechanisms
- National Philosophical Counseling Association (US)
- Samir Chopra (and Chopra’s conversation with Leigh on the Black Mirror Reflections podcast, Episode 13: “Be Right Back”)
- Depression
- Hermeneutics