Fire

Overthink

Are all fires inherently bad? In episode 130 of Overthink, David and Ellie launch a four-part series on the elements, starting off hot with fire. They look at the role of fire in Greek mythology (focusing on the myth of Prometheus), the evolution of humans’ relationship with fire, and fire’s role as the universal metaphor. Why did Prometheus steal fire from the Olympians and give it  to humans? Why does Bachelard believe that fire is “the” philosophical element par excellence? How did Western culture turn fire from friend to foe? And what would a non-antagonistic relationship to fire look like? In the bonus, your hosts give their fiery takes on arson and pyromania.

Works Discussed: 

Gaston Bachelard, The Psychoanalysis of Fire
Stephen J. Pyne, The Pyrocene
Stephen J. Pyne, “Fire in the mind: changing understandings of fire in Western civilization.”

Support the show

Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com
Website | overthinkpodcast.com
Instagram & Twitter | @overthink_pod
Email | dearoverthink@gmail.com
YouTube | Overthink podcast

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Are all fires inherently bad? In episode 130 of Overthink, David and Ellie launch a four-part series on the elements, starting off hot with fire. They look at the role of fire in Greek mythology (focusing on the myth of Prometheus), the evolution of humans’ relationship with fire, and fire’s role as the universal metaphor. Why did Prometheus steal fire from the Olympians and give it  to humans? Why does Bachelard believe that fire is “the” philosophical element par excellence? How did Western culture turn fire from friend to foe? And what would a non-antagonistic relationship to fire look like? In the bonus, your hosts give their fiery takes on arson and pyromania.

Works Discussed: 

Gaston Bachelard, The Psychoanalysis of Fire
Stephen J. Pyne, The Pyrocene
Stephen J. Pyne, “Fire in the mind: changing understandings of fire in Western civilization.”

Support the show

Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com
Website | overthinkpodcast.com
Instagram & Twitter | @overthink_pod
Email | dearoverthink@gmail.com
YouTube | Overthink podcast

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

2025-05-20 53 min
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