Ep. 390: Diderot Debates a Cynic (Part One)

On Denis Diderot's Rameau's Nephew , a dialogue written in the 1760s. Is virtue necessary for happiness, or in the real world, is vice necessary to get by? Diderot's character Rameau argues the latter: that philosophical morality is problematic, and our imperative is prudence, which in Rameau's case involves a lot of clownish deception and (ironically) truth-telling. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsors : Don't get caught running yesterday's security on today's web: visit nordlayer.com/browser . Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Get three months free of online payroll and benefits software for small businesses at gusto.com/pel .

You can listen to Ep. 390: Diderot Debates a Cynic (Part One) online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Ep. 390: Diderot Debates a Cynic (Part One) is an episode from The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast by Mark Linsenmayer.

This episode is 49:45 long.

This episode was published on Apr 28, 2026.

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