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The Fitness in Philosophy podcast is dedicated to discussing the intersection between concepts in philosophy and their connection with fitness. Each episode we talk about a particular philosophical concept like autonomy, knowledge, virtue, or truth and discuss how that idea connects with coaching fitness, participating in fitness as an individual, and fitness culture at large. It's hosted by OPEX Fitness Founder James Fitzgerald and Philosophy PhD/(soon to be) OPEX CCP Coach Robby Gustin.
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There's a very real possibility that in the next 100 years what it means to be human will fundamentally change because of AI and robotics. Yes, what it means to be human has changed throughout history but in terms of our basic biology it's been essentially the same for 10s of thousands of years. Now it is poised to change significantly in the comin…
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As Alasdair MacIntyre famously said, human beings are dependent rational animals. The "dependent" part is significant. We often fail to see how dependent we are on basic things like food, water, oxygen, social structure, etc. We often crave independence from certain things, but the truth is that at a very deep and fundamental humans are dependent b…
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As Alasdair MacIntyre famously said, human beings are dependent rational animals. The "dependent" part is significant. We often fail to see how dependent we are on basic things like food, water, oxygen, social structure, etc. We often crave independence from certain things, but the truth is that at a very deep and fundamental humans are dependent b…
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In this episode, James and Robby explore the connection between the philosophy of Alasdair MacIntyre, and more specifically his book "After Virtue", and its connection with fitness. In his book "After Virtue" MacIntyre asks us to imagine there was some sort of catastrophe by which all of our scientific knowledge came to be destroyed. Eventually enl…
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Social Reality and Fitness-(Episode LX)
1:48:22
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Most people would agree that things like rocks, tables, chairs, the sun, and oceans are all real. By real here, we mean something like: these things would exist even if humans didn't exist. But what about social reality? What about things that depend on humanity for their existence and yet have real power and influence? Here are some examples -Mone…
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Reality is one of the central concepts in philosophy. In fact, one of the most fundamental questions in philosophy is, "What is real?". Philosophers are very frequently trying to distinguish appearance from reality. Fitness provides one of the most direct forms of access to the external world/reality in terms of directly sensing the world around us…
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Habits are central to both philosophy and fitness. As far back as the Ancient Greeks, Aristotle famously said "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence therefore is not an act, but a habit." Aristotle in this particular case is talking about virtue, but the point applies equally well to other parts of life, especially health and fitness. One could …
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Most of our life, technology, and progress is centered around the idea of making life easier. Think about things like Door Dash, sleeping pills, and self-driving cars. But a central question that comes up is: Is an easier life necessarily a better life? It seems that as humans we're hard-wired to need some difficulty, challenge, or struggle to live…
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Beauty in philosophy is considered one of the ultimately values like justice, truth, knowledge, and goodness. One of the central goals of most people in engaging in fitness is to look better, or to cultivate physical beauty. In this episode James and Robby ask and give their answer the following questions What makes beauty worth pursuing? Is beauty…
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What is a legacy? At the most basic level it's what we leave to future generations of people. When it comes to a legacy with regard to fitness, the question becomes: What do we owe the future when it comes to the world of fitness and health that we give to future generations? In this podcast, James and Robby ask and attempt to answer the following …
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Since the release of ChapterGPT in late 2022, interest and discussion around Artificial Intelligence has exploded. Why? There are so many societal and ethical implications around the development of AI such as: -Will it lead to the end of all work? -How can we tell appearance from reality when AI is getting so good at mimicking reality? -Is AI essen…
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Since the release of ChapterGPT in late 2022, interest and discussion around Artificial Intelligence has exploded. Why? There are so many societal and ethical implications around the development of AI such as: -Will it lead to the end of all work? -How can we tell appearance from reality when AI is getting so good at mimicking reality? -Is AI essen…
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In the second part of their discussion about human nature, James and Robby continue to investigate the connection between human nature and fitness. They ask and attempt to answer the following questions. What is human nature? Is there an essence to humans that applies across all places and times? What is the balance of nature vs. nurture in human b…
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In this episode, James and Robby investigate the connection between human nature and fitness. They ask and attempt to answer the following questions. What is human nature? Is there an essence to humans that applies across all places and times? What is the balance of nature vs. nurture in human beings? How much of a part of our human nature is fitne…
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What makes you engage in fitness? For many people it's the rewards that as a result of engaging in fitness like looking better, feeling better, and performing better. For people who participate in sports it's things like pleasure, points, and prizes. In this episode James explore the idea of rewards and its relation to fitness. They ask and attempt…
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A prominent feature of any modern society is the notion of punishment or retribution for any wrongdoing. Whether it's jail, fines, public humiliation and ostracism punishment is a central feature of certain aspects of modern society. In this episode James and Robby ask and attempt to answer the following question with respect to punishment and fitn…
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When the internet first became widely used people assumed that more information is always better. Few people today would take genuinely take that stance especially with the rise and rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation as a result of the speed of the internet. What is misinformation? False or misleading information spread mistakenly or…
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In this episode, James and Robby discuss the the concept of information and how it relations to fitness. They discuss questions like: -is all the information we're getting from fitness devices about our health and wellness useful or problematic? -what information with respect to our fitness and health should we pay attention to? -what information c…
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Personal Identity and Fitness Part 2
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In Part 2 of their discussion, James and Robby continue their conversation on personal identity and fitness. One of the central, perennial philosophical questions is the question of personal identity. Questions like the following are central to the personal identity question: -Who am I? -What makes me me as opposed to someone or something else? -Am…
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In this episode James and Robby discuss the connection personal identity and fitness. One of the central, perennial philosophical questions is the question of personal identity. Questions like the following are central to the personal identity question: -Who am I? -What makes me me as opposed to someone or something else? -Am I my body? Am I my tho…
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A lot of modern culture is centered around the notion of authenticity or being authentic. But what does it meant to be authentic?In Part 2 of the Authenticity series, James and Robby build on their discussion from Part 1 and attempt to answer the following questions regarding authenticity and its relationship with fitness. What is authenticity? Wha…
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A lot of modern culture is centered around the notion of authenticity or being authentic. But what does it meant to be authentic? In this episode James and Robby attempt to answer the following questions regarding authenticity and its relationship with fitness. What is authenticity? What does it mean to be to be true to oneself? How do autonomy and…
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Does modern technology help us in our quest to get fit and healthy? Or is technology a distraction from time-honored principles of eating healthy, moving your body, getting enough sleep, etc.? In a continuation of our discussion from Technology and Fitness Part 1 we ask and try to answer the following questions -Has technology had an overall positi…
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Does modern technology help us in our quest to get fit and healthy? Or is technology a distraction from time-honored principles of eating healthy, moving your body, getting enough sleep, etc.? In this episode we explore technology's connection with fitness by asking questions like: -What role will artificial intelligence play in health and fitness …
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How can we know the right thing for us to do and yet fail to do it? For example pretty much everyone knows it's better to: -exercise rather than not exercise -eat healthy food vs eating processed food -not smoke vs. smoke And yet there are literally millions of people who don't exercise, eat junk food, and smoke. How is this possible? This is the c…
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In this episode, we discuss the following questions about subjectivity and its connection with fitness -What is subjectivity? -What is the connection between subjectivity and our lived human experience? -What's the importance of subjectivity, things like emotions, beliefs, opinions, feelings, in fitness? -Can our subjective experience of how we fee…
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In this episode, we discuss the following questions about objectivity and its connection with fitness -What is objectivity? -Why is the connection between science and objectivity? -How does objectivity in fitness help us determine what's real and what's fake? -Should there be objective standards within fitness (for example reaching for a 2x bodywei…
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In this episode, we discuss the following questions about business ethics and its connection with fitness -What are ethics and how does they relate to the practice of fitness? -Why are ethics important in business? -What are ethical and unethical practices within the business of fitness? -How can we balance the need of a fitness business for recurr…
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In this episode, we discuss the following questions about simplicity and its connection with fitness -What is simplicity? -Why is simplicity important in our lives? -What is the importance of simplicity when it comes to our health and fitness practices? -Have corporations made fitness, health, and nutrition needlessly complex in an effort to get us…
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In this episode, we discuss the following questions. -Is the way we exercise today ultimately folly/absurd? -What is folly/absurdity? -Which activities that we engage in in life have meaning vs. the ones that are absurd/folly? -Is fitness just a means to an end to a meaningful life? -What's the connection between absurdity, folly, existentialism, a…
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby turn their attention to the concept of meaning and its connection with fitness. In this episode, we discuss the following questions. -What is meaning? -What is the meaning of life and how have philosophers tried to answer this question? -Where does fitness sit in the hierarchy or …
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby turn their attention to the concept of tradition and its connection with fitness. In this episode, we discuss the following questions. -What is tradition? -What are the benefits and drawbacks of following traditions? -What's the connection between philosophy and tradition? -Should…
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby turn their attention to the concept of progress and its connection with fitness. In this episode, we discuss the following questions. -What is progress? -Is progress always good? -Do certain activities that humans engage in involve progress while others do not? -Can there be any t…
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby turn their attention to the concept of geography and its connection with fitness. In this episode, we discuss the following questions. -Why do different cultures and geographies have different fitness practices? -Which fitness practices are common to all geographies? -Do the diffe…
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby turn their attention to the concept of evolution and his connection with fitness. In this episode, we discuss the following questions. -What are the basics of evolution? -What deep philosophical questions does the theory of evolution raise for who we are as human beings? -How clos…
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Dealing with Disagreements in Fitness (Part 3)
1:44:22
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby are joined by special guest OPEX CCP Coach Brandon Wilton. This is the final episode in our series on disagreements in fitness. In this final episode of the discussion we discuss the following questions. -What role does disagreement play in the fitness profession? Does it help mov…
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby are joined by special guest Brandon Wilton. The topic of the podcast on this episode is disagreements within fitness. They ask and attempt to answer the following questions in the episode: -Do fitness coaches have an obligation to disagree with other fitness coaches and call out b…
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby turn their attention to the concept of experience and its relationship with fitness. They ask and attempt to answer the following questions in the episode: What is disagreement and why is it important? How can we respectfully disagree with those who we think are just as rational a…
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby turn their attention to the concept of experience and its relationship with fitness. They ask and attempt to answer the following questions in the episode: -What is experience? -Does everything we know ultimately come from experience? -How central are experiences to the fitness jo…
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby turn their attention to the concept of instinct and its relationship with fitness. They ask and attempt to answer the following questions in the episode: -What is instinct? -Do we have a fitness instinct? -What types of fitness do we know (and not know) how to do instinctively? -S…
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby turn their attention to the concept of the responsibility and its relationship with fitness. They ask and attempt to answer the following questions in the episode: -What is responsibility? -What is the relationship between what we are capable of as humans and what we are responsib…
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby turn their attention to the concept of the morality and its relationship with fitness. They ask and attempt to answer the following questions in the episode: -What is morality? -Why is morality important in our lives? -Does morality play any role whatsoever in physical fitness? -D…
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby turn their attention to the concept of pain and its relationship with fitness. They ask and attempt to answer the following questions in the episode: -What is pain? -What is the connection between pain and fitness? -Is fitness culture today addicted to pain? ("No pain, no gain") -…
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby turn their attention to the concept of the impact and its relationship with fitness. They ask and attempt to answer the following questions in the episode: -What is pleasure? -Is pleasure the main motivating force in our lives? -What is the connection between fitness, pleasure, an…
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby turn their attention to the concept of the impact and its relationship with fitness. They ask and attempt to answer the following questions in the episode: -What is impact? -How do we measure impact? -How do we know if we're making an impact in fitness? -What's the best timeline t…
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby turn their attention to the concept of the value and its relationship with fitness. They ask and attempt to answer the following questions in the episode: -What is value? -What is the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic value? -Why do people value fitness? -What happens whe…
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby turn their attention to the concept of the belief and its relationship with fitness. They ask and attempt to answer the following questions in the episode: -What is belief? -What role does belief within fitness? -What are some delusional beliefs in fitness and how do they come abo…
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby turn their attention to the concept of the skepticism and its relationship with fitness. They ask and attempt to answer the following questions in the episode: -What is skepticism? -How can skepticism be useful in our daily lives? -How can skepticism be a useful corrective to dogm…
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby continue their discussion of dogmatism and its relationship to fitness. They discuss the following topics in the episode: -Examples of dogmatism in the fitness world -Practical antidotes to dogmatism that both fitness coaches and clients can use -Using the burden of proof to be cl…
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In this episode of the Fitness in Philosophy podcast James and Robby turn their attention to the concept of the dogmatism and its relationship with fitness. They ask and attempt to answer the following questions in the episode: -What is dogmatism -Why is dogmatism bad? -How to avoid dogmatism -Examples of dogmatism in the fitness world -Ways to min…
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