#808: Stephen West — From High School Dropout to Hit Podcast, and from Stocking Groceries to Reading Philosophy for a Living

Stephen West is a father, husband, and host of the Philosophize This! podcast.

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Timestamps:

[00:00:00] So it begins.

[00:06:11] Stephen’s challenging childhood — from San Diego to Child Protective Services.

[00:07:55] How Stephen supported himself after dropping out of school at 16.

[00:09:37] The physical wear and tear of warehouse work (and unexpected upsides of the job).

[00:11:48] How Stephen discovered philosophy through googling “wisest person in history.”

[00:14:07] Defining philosophy as a “disruption of common sense” and “gym for rethinking.”

[00:16:06] The 4-Hour Workweek as a philosophical text.

[00:19:27] A philosophical shift around Ralph Waldo Emerson.

[00:22:18] The transition from warehouse work to starting Philosophize This! with friendly encouragement.

[00:27:47] Authenticity as the secret sauce to Philosophize This!

[00:32:24] The discomfort of comparing old episodes with new.

[00:34:15] The current state of Philosophize This!: 225 episodes, Patreon, ads, upcoming book deal.

[00:37:18] The value of focusing on content quality before monetization.

[00:38:44] Most popular Philosophize This! episodes thus far.

[00:40:00] Philosophize This! episodes I’d like to hear.

[00:41:20] Thinking of philosophy as a verb, not a noun.

[00:46:44] The concept of amor fati (love of fate) and its practical application.

[00:48:41] Wittgenstein’s ladder as a metaphor for philosophical growth.

[00:51:36] Stephen’s perspective on philosophy as a process rather than a set of protocols.

[00:54:43] Philosophies that have personal meaning to Stephen: Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Simone Weil.

[00:56:40] Simone Weil’s concept of attention and self-emptying.

[00:59:26] Stephen’s approach to simplicity and sacrificing efficiency for meaning.

[01:04:07] Valuing time and playing the long game.

[01:06:01] How philosophy lives “in the shadow” of what we give credit to (science, psychology).

[01:08:31] The value of philosophy in generating better questions.

[01:10:06] Stephen’s future plans: possibly writing philosophical fiction.

[01:19:05] Stephen’s billboard.

[01:21:41] Recommendations for getting started with philosophy.

[01:24:29] Gilles Deleuze and concepts as machines.

[01:26:55] Why do we believe what we believe?

[01:30:40] Stephen’s evolving relationship with religion after starting as a New Atheist.

[01:32:33] Exploring mysticism and religious phenomenology.

[01:37:51] Parting thoughts.

*

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Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.

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