Unlimited Opinions - Philosophy, Theology, Linguistics, & More
Welcome to Unlimited Opinions! Have you ever wanted to listen to a lawyer and his son discuss philosophy, mythology, theology, politics and more? No? Well, Mark and Adam Bishop are here to discuss it all the same! From philosophy to mythology to politics, they discuss it all with rants and tangents galore! Now in Season 14, they're discussing Russell Kirk's The Conservative Mind, breaking down his history of English and American conservative thought from Edmund Burke to T.S. Eliot! There will also be more than the average amount of references to linguistics, 80s movies, and J.R.R. Tolkien. If any of that sounds vaguely interesting, then this is the podcast for you! Episodes are uploaded every Tuesday at 7:00 a.m. CST.
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Episodes
255 episodes
S14 E10: Conservatism Frustrated: America, 1865-1918
What happens to conservatism in a world full of technological and societal change? In this episode, we discuss four pessimistic American thinkers: James Russel Lowell, E.L. Godkin, Henry Adams, and Brooks Adams. While hurt by their pessimism fo...
S14 E9: Legal and Historical Conservatism: a Time of Forboding
Can a coalition of people opposed to the excesses of liberalism, socialism, and utilitarianism really be classified as conservative? At the very least, Russell Kirk sees them as relevant to the history of conservatism! Join us as ...
S14 E8: Conservatism with Imagination: Disraeli and Newman
What is the best counter to Marxism? To Disraeli and Newman, imagination. To the former, a richer view of the necessity of the nation; to the latter, a view of education as being oriented toward virtue and God. Join us as we discuss the various...
S14 E7: Transitional Conservatism: New England Sketches
From Unitarianism to socialism to Roman Catholicism, Orestes Brownson shows the potential of American conservatism founded on a deeper truth. Join us in this episode as we discuss the various philosophical movements in the transitional period o...
S14 E6: Liberal Conservatives: Macaulay, Cooper, Tocqueville
How do we conserve liberty in a society? Is it by curtailing the dangers of democratization? By using religious and social institutions as a bulwark? By increasing technological capabilities? Find out this and more as we discuss Thomas Babingto...
S14 E5: Southern Conservatism: Randolph and Calhoun
Do Randolph and Calhoun make convincing arguments for a coherent southern conservatism? How can you advocate for a political philosophy while still supporting slavery? More importantly, is love really love? All this and more as we continue disc...
S14 E4: Romantics and Utilitarians
Has conservatism really defeated utilitarianism? Or are modern conservatives just utilitarians at their core? Find out as we discuss Jeremy Bentham, James Mill, John Stuart Mill, Walter Scott, George Canning, and Samuel Coleridge in their war f...
S14 E3: John Adams and Liberty Under Law
Was Adams truly the most conservative voice among the Founding Fathers? How does he compare to Alexander Hamilton and Fisher Ames? What has been the impact of Adams' influence on the United States to this day? Find out all this and more as we c...
S14 E2: Burke and the Politics of Prescription
Is Edmund Burke really the founder of modern conservatism? What do his insights into prejudice, natural law, and divine providence mean for us today? Was he justified in opposing the French Revolution so strongly? Find out as we discuss Chapter...
S14 E1: The Idea of Conservatism
Season premiere! Join us as we begin discussing Russell Kirk's 1953 The Conservative Mind, reading Kirk's discussion of the history of conservatism from Edmund Burke to T.S. Eliot. In this first episode, we break down Kirk's goal ...
S13 E11: Season Finale: Plato's Republic Book X - Art, the Immortal Soul, and the Rewards of Goodness
What do we think of Plato's Republic overall? Find out as we conclude our discussion of this cornerstone work as we read the Book X, in which Plato elaborates on his theory of art and representation; describes how he views th...
S13 E10: Plato's Republic Book IX - The Tyrant and True Happiness
Can you pursue happiness by chasing fleeting pleasures? If not, how can we finally demonstrate that? Join us for our thoughts on Plato's conclusion that the pursuit of knowledge leads to the highest form of happiness, demolishing any argument i...
S13 E9: Plato's Republic Book VIII - Imperfect Societies
How does Plato's ideal state collapse? What kind of society does it become, and what does the soul of the person represented by that society look like? Find out as we discuss the origin and development of timarchy, oligarchy, democracy, and tyr...
S13 E8: Plato's Republic Book VII - The Allegory of the Cave
The perfect society can only be achieved by banishing everyone over the age of 10 and starting fresh! At least, according to Plato. Join us as we discuss Book VII of the Republic, discussing what the allegory of the cave really me...
S13 E7: Plato's Republic Book VI - True Philosophers and True Knowledge
What makes someone truly a philosopher? How does knowledge differ from opinion? Does evil really exist? Find out as we discuss all this and more, breaking down Plato's definition of what a philosopher is, and whether it is possible to put philo...
S13 E6: Plato's Republic Book V - Women, Children, and Philosopher Kings
Is this the worst book of the Republic? Does Plato think that anything he is describing is achievable? Find out as we discuss Book V, in which Socrates outlines the sameness of men and women, the benefits of having children in com...
S13 E5: Plato's Republic Book IV - The State as the Soul
Join us as we discuss Book IV of Plato's Republic, which we (surprisingly) both enjoyed! We continue our discussion by reflecting on the necessity of education for the existence of a culture, whether a state needs to be a certain ...
S13 E4: Plato's Republic Book III - Education and Censorship
Is Plato prescribing what he says in the Republic as literal guidance on how to run a state, or is this all just an extreme allegory for the ordering of the soul? Listen to us debate this exact question on this episode of Unlimited Opi...
S13 E3: Plato's Republic Book II - Injustice and the Origin of Society
Thrasymachus, didn't do that bad of a job of arguing in favor of injustice, did he? Glaucon and Adeimantus seem to think so! Join us as we consider the stronger argument in favor of acting unjustly, discussing the Ring of Gyges, the or...
S13 E2: Plato's Republic Book I - Justice
Is it better to be just than unjust, and what makes something subjective? Find out as we discuss Book I of Plato's Republic, breaking down the opening discussion on old age, Polemarchus' traditional definition of justice as doing good ...
S13 E1: Introduction to Plato's Republic
Join us as we begin our discussion of one of the most foundational texts in Western history: Plato's Republic! In this episode, we talk about our prior knowledge and opinions of Plato, the historical background leading up to the w...
S12 E18: Season Finale: The Student and the University, Part 2
In the end, what does Allan Bloom recommend in The Closing of the American Mind? Not much, as it turns out. After an excellent diagnosis of the problems facing American higher education, Bloom ends on a pessimistic note, stating t...
S12 E17: The Student and the University, Part 1
Where have Allan Bloom's descriptions of the modern university gotten us? Where have all of these philosophical trends ended up? Join us as we discuss the first half of the last chapter of The Closing of the American Mind, examini...
S12 E16: The Sixties
Why did all university professors and administrators capitulate to the insane mobs of student radicals in the sixties? Find out as we continue discussing Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind, discussing how the 1960s car...
S12 E15: Swift's Doubts & Rousseau's Radicalization and the German University
What does Gulliver's Travels have to do with the development of the modern education system? Why does classical scholarship see renewed interests in periods of philosophical interest? Why spend 70 pages on one chapter detailing va...