Seeing ourselves through darkness

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Vox Media Podcast Network

Society & Culture, News, Politics, News Commentary, Philosophy

4.6 • 10.8K Ratings

🗓️ 29 June 2023

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When we find ourselves in a dark place, what if we didn't "lighten things up"? Sean Illing talks with philosopher Mariana Alessandri, whose new book Night Vision offers a new way of understanding our dark moods and experiences like depression, pain, and grief. Alessandri describes the deep influence of what she calls the "light metaphor" — the belief that light is good and darkness is bad — and the destructive emotional cycles it has produced. They discuss the influence of Stoic philosophy, Aristotelian ethics, and contemporary self-help — and explore what new paradigms for emotional intelligence might entail. Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area Guest: Mariana Alessandri (@mariana.alessandri), professor of philosophy, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; author References: Night Vision: Seeing Ourselves through Dark Moods by Mariana Alessandri (Princeton; 2023) Plato's "allegory of the cave" from the Republic, VI (514a–520a) The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale (1952) The Encheiridion (or "Handbook") of Epictetus (c. 50 – c. 125 AD) The Dialogues and letters of Seneca (c. 4 BC – 65 AD) The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius (121 – 180 AD) The Tusculan Disputations of Cicero (106 – 43 BC) Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics It's OK That You're Not OK by Megan Devine (Sounds True; 2017) Our Lord Don Quixote by Miguel de Unamuno (1914; tr. 1968) Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzaldúa (Aunt Lute; 1987) Enjoyed this episode? Rate The Gray Area ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of The Gray Area. Subscribe in your favorite podcast app. Support The Gray Area by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts This episode was made by: Producer: Erikk Geannikis Engineer: Patrick Boyd Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Lisa Ling, a journalist and host.
0:07.2	And I'm Hoon Lee, but you may know me as Chao on the Max original series War Year, based
0:11.7	on the writings of Bruce Lee.
0:13.4	After every new episode, join us here Hoon and I, and a series of special guests are
0:18.6	going to discuss how the show is made.
0:21.0	So, stream War Year season 3, starting June 29 only on Max, and join us here or wherever
0:26.6	you listen to podcast.
0:31.0	Hey, I'm Ryan Reynolds.
0:32.2	At Mint Mobile, we like to do the opposite of what Big Wireless does.
0:36.2	They charge you a lot, we charge you a little.
0:38.8	So naturally, when they announce they'd be raising their prices due to inflation, we decided
0:43.4	to deflate our prices due to not hating you.
0:46.3	That's right, we're cutting the price of Mint Unlimited from $30 a month to just $15
0:51.0	a month.
0:52.0	Give it a try at MintMobile.com slash switch.
0:54.8	New activation and upfront payment for three month plan required, taxes and fees extra.
0:57.8	Additional restrictions apply, cement mobile.com for full terms.
1:00.8	Hey, it's Sean.
1:03.4	Quick note.
1:04.7	We are off next week for the 4th of July holiday, and when we return, we're kicking off
1:09.3	a new schedule.
1:11.2	Look for the gray area on Mondays from here on out.
	...

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