First Philosophy

Begin with philosophy here!In the penultimate episode of First Philosophy, Awee discusses Emmanuel Levinas and his radical claim that ethics comes before everything else. Instead of understanding the world first, Levinas argues that we are immediately confronted by the “other,” whose presence places a demand on us that cannot be reduced to knowledge, interpretation, or theory. Philosophy, then, is no longer about truth or being—but about responsibility.Sonia and Kas interrupt, interpret, and unpack these ideas, translating Levinas’ dense philosophy into concrete examples and sharp discussions. Through debate, analogies, and moments of tension, they try to make sense of a thinker who resists being fully understood—while showing why his ideas still feel urgent today.

Begin with philosophy here!In the fourteenth episode Awee Prins continues our journey from Martin Heidegger to Hans-Georg Gadamer, tracing the shift from Heidegger’s analysis of technology as a way of revealing to Gadamer’s idea that we live within a fundamentally hermeneutic universe. If technology is not merely technological, then truth is not merely scientific.Kas and Sonia push the discussion further by connecting these ideas to contemporary culture — from human resource management to historical interpretation — asking what it really means to say that we are always interpreting, always historically situated, and never outside perspective.Let's begin, finally!

Begin with philosophy here.In this episode of First Philosophy, Awee Prins begins with Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialism through the lens of freedom, responsibility, bad faith, and the phenomenon of the gaze. Sartre’s insistence that we are “condemned to be free” is unpacked with care, revealing a philosophy far less nihilistic than it is often assumed to be.From the claim that there are no accidents in life to the unsettling demand that everything that happens to us is, in a profound sense, ours, Sartre’s existentialism emerges as a radical call to take responsibility for meaning itself.Only after moving through Sartre’s account of human freedom does the episode return to Martin Heidegger. Heidegger’s analysis of being-in-the-world and situated existence reframes Sartre’s existentialism, showing its deeper ontological roots and shifting the focus from individual choice alone to the structures of meaning that always already shape our experience.Throughout the episode, Sonia and Kas intercede with clarifications, objections, and contextual expansions. They connect Sartre’s analysis of the gaze to later developments in feminist theory, critical theory, and to Michel Foucault’s notion of the medical and disciplinary gaze, showing how questions about being seen evolve into analyses of power, normalization, and social control.Let's begin, finally!

Begin with philosophy here!In the 10th episode of First Philosophy, we move from Martin Heidegger to Jean-Paul Sartre, tracing how existential philosophy shifts from structural analysis to lived drama.Where Heidegger describes the structures of existence, Sartre insists on filling them in with freedom, responsibility, conflict, and anguish. If we are thrown projects, what does that actually mean in everyday life? What does it mean to act, to choose, to flee, or to take responsibility?Sonia and Kas as always, pause, interrupt, and reflect — we move from cafés and prison camps to novels, short stories, and philosophy lectures packed with thousands of listeners. Freedom, Sartre argues, comes with no excuses, no alibis, and no guarantees. The question is not whether we are free—but whether we dare to acknowledge it.Let's begin, finally! #existentialism #JeanPaulSartre #BeingAndNothingness #ExistencePrecedesEssence #FreedomAndResponsibility #BadFaith#HumanCondition

Dasein – Jemeinigkeit - “The essence of Dasein lies in its Existence” In this episode, Awee embarks on a slow and thoughtful exploration of Martin Heidegger's Being and Time [Sein und Seit], one of the most complex and influential works in Western philosophy. Awee addresses the importance and complexity of what Heidegger endeavours in this project; showing the structures of everyday existence, which he terms Dasein. Kas and Sonia assist the listeners in grappling with the contents of the book, as it requires an entirely new vocabulary. They also discuss two ways of interpreting one of Heidegger's most influential concepts; authenticity. Let’s begin, finally!

Intentionality – Bracketing – Dingbewusstsein – Rain or urine? Awee delves into reading the works of Edmund Husserl, guiding the listener through the first steps into transcendental phenomenology. Through key fragments, as well as contextualizing Husserl through his early influences and the thinkers he influenced, this episode will give you a firm starting ground to understanding the father of phenomenology. Sonia and Kas disagree whether Husserl is thinking warmly or falls to...

Kierkegaard · DOSTOEVSKY · Pseudonymous production · Boredom and DreadIn this episode, Awee discusses Kierkegaard's most important works and concepts. Meanwhile, Kas and Sonia give a mandatory Dostoevsky PSA and help us understand the work of Kierkegaard through the song Is That All There Is by Peggy Lee.Let's begin finally!PS As everyone knows, Philosophy is the friends you make along the way, so in the spirit of friendship, could you press the follow button and or/and give the podcast five ...

First philosophy invites you to begin philosophy with us anew. Edmund Husserl says philosophers must be eternal beginners, so in in this podcast we return to our beginnings: great lectures!Our first season centers around Dr. Awee Prins and the lecture series Human Conditions. Each episode is a dive into various philosophical themes, blending insights form great thinkers with contemporary issues and encouraging contemplative conversations on what it means to be human in an ever-changing world....

The History of Philosophy · permanent Netflix · Plato · The Masters of Suspicion · · The world of ideas“Philosophy is a strange zigzag, and with a lot of zigzags to come that we don't even know about.”In the second episode, Awee continues exploring the phenomenological approach while questioning what it means to practice philosophy.Sonia and Kas take a moment to examine the nature of stories, specifically Awee's stories but also in the realm of literature. And also the first of m...