# #84 Continental Philosophy: Genius or Gibberish? - Keegan Kjeldson

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-uncertainty-podcast-7089022/84-continental-philosophy-genius-or-gibberish-keegan-kjeldson
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-uncertainty-podcast-7089022/84-continental-philosophy-genius-or-gibberish-keegan-kjeldson.md
Podcast: [The Uncertainty Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-uncertainty-podcast-7089022)
Published: 2026-05-15T18:20:00+00:00
Episode link: https://mileskdonahue.substack.com/p/84-continental-philosophy-genius
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/197831476/aec7f9f7b6a8e7d1fbde7e94b528bb46.mp3
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Duration seconds: 6553

## Resource

Keegan Kjeldson of the Untimely Reflections YouTube channel returns to the podcast to discuss the merits of continental philosophy. While he is largely in favor and I am not, we both agree that Hegel is abysmally obscure. Video of this interview is available on YouTube . To support the channel, do please oh please consider donating, either via PayPal or Buy Me a Coffee . Follow me on X because you’re awesome . EPISODE CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:18 Hegel vs Plantinga: obscurity and clarity 00:03:07 Keegan’s defense of continental philosophy 00:08:38 Why continental philosophy feels impenetrable 00:11:15 Spinoza and intuitive knowledge 00:14:25 Nietzsche, style, and philosophical insight 00:18:07 Logical positivism and ethics 00:22:21 What is metaethics? 00:27:17 Utilitarianism and moral intuitions 00:30:17 Do arguments bottom out in intuition? 00:36:39 What is philosophy for? 00:44:41 Moral realism and objective moral truth 00:48:59 Judith Butler and the charge of gibberish 00:54:10 Clear continental thinkers 00:55:57 Heidegger and justified obscurity 01:02:00 Is clarity always a virtue? 01:06:49 Can poetry give us rational grounds? 01:12:52 Moral knowledge vs moral persuasion 01:15:29 Motivated reasoning in ethics 01:25:21 Ethics, emotion, and objectivity 01:28:14 The Nazi example and moral realism 01:32:26 Abortion, personhood, and moral disagreement 01:38:44 Objective truth in morality and science 01:41:17 Has humanity made moral progress? Get full access to Miles K. Donahue at mileskdonahue.substack.com/subscribe

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