{"id":16083,"date":"2023-05-30T17:00:10","date_gmt":"2023-05-30T21:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=16083"},"modified":"2023-05-30T17:55:07","modified_gmt":"2023-05-30T21:55:07","slug":"episode-540-scott-samuelson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-540-scott-samuelson","title":{"rendered":"Episode 540 – Scott Samuelson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virtual Memories Show 540:
\nScott Samuelson<\/a><\/p>\n

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“Rome itself can totally scramble one’s sense of what is transcendent and religious and what is earthly and political.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>Let’s visit the Eternal City! Philosophy professor Scott Samuelson<\/a> joins the show to discuss his wondrous new book, ROME AS A GUIDE TO THE GOOD LIFE: A Philosophical Grand Tour<\/a> (University of Chicago Press), and we get right into how he fell in love with Rome, what it means to engage with the city philosophically, and how he blended place, history, philosophy, art, poetry, religion and more in his exploration of Rome and the vita beata<\/em>. We talk about mortality and mercy, the way Roman philosophers remind him of jazz musicians, critiques of Roman imperialism and why the city of Rome itself is its best defense against its colonial-critics, and what he’s looking forward to when he returns to Rome after a 3-year hiatus. We also discuss his experience teaching philosophy to non-traditional students, why he resisted specialization in his field, his love of cooking and the last meal he made for a dying friend, the importance of forgetting and\/or externalizing memory, whether my “Virgil is to Homer as Kobe is to MJ” comp holds up, and more! Give it a listen!<\/a> And go read ROME AS A GUIDE TO THE GOOD LIFE<\/a>!<\/p>\n

“Roman philosophy felt like it spoke to life and death questions without feeling abstract. Also, the philosophers often blended literature and philosophy in a similar way to the Existentialists.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n