Andraste's Gadfly – A Dragon Age and Philosophy Podcast

Hello and Welcome!!

14 May 2021 / JJF / 1 Comment

Andraste’s Gadfly is a podcast about the Dragon Age game series and Philosophy. Kira Tomsons and Jill Fellows are two philosophers who also happen to be fans of the Dragon Age games, and of video gaming more generally. In this podcast they apply philosophical theories and concepts to the Dragon Age games in order to explore the games themselves. From ethical theories to examinations of sexuality, from theories of knowledge to examinations of identity, the podcast explores what philosophy can teach us about these games, and what these games can teach us about the world we live in.

If you find any of our episodes valuable, please consider buying us a coffee!

https://ko-fi.com/andrastesgadflydragonagephil

Follow Andraste’s Gadfly on Twitter at @andrastegadfly

Email Andraste’s Gadfly at andrastesgadfly@gmail.com

Get new episodes of the podcast here, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Episode 7: But All The Codex Entries!!!

Andraste's Gadfly: A Dragon Age and Philosophy Podcast

Episode 7: But All The Codex Entries!!!

00:00 / 1:17:32

Kira and Jill are back! And this time it is all about Trust in Thedas. Can we trust our companions? (Blackwall, Anders and Solas, I’m looking at you!!) Is DA 2 told by a reliable narrator? Can we trust the history we learn through all the codex entries? There are so many codex entries? Why would there be so many codex entries if the history is wrong? (Shout out to the people responsible at BioWare for writing all the codex entries! Kira read them all!!)

We will examine trust and testimony in a philosophical sense, and then apply philosophical concepts to the Dragon Age world, history and characters to see what we can learn!

Episode Six: Justice, Vengeance, Potayto, Potahto

Andraste's Gadfly: A Dragon Age and Philosophy Podcast

Episode Six: Justice, Vengeance, Potayto, Potahto

00:00 / 1:15:51

In this episode, Kira and Jill examine some more mini moral dilemmas: The treatment of Loghain at the end of DAO, the treatment of Anders at the end of DA2 and the treatment of the Wardens after the Adamant quest in DAI. We bring back some of the ethical theories from our first episode (Consequentialism, Deontology and Virtue ethics). And we add two theories of justice to the mix to help us think through these moral dilemmas in the Dragon Age world.

If you like the podcast, you can buy us a coffee (or tea, or–more likely–hot chocolate).

https://ko-fi.com/andrastesgadflydragonagephil

Episode Five: No More Hip Sway!

Andraste's Gadfly: A Dragon Age and Philosophy Podcast

Episode Five: No More Hip Sway!

00:00 /

In this episode, Kira and Jill discuss the way gender is represented across all three Dragon Age games. We consider character creation, gender roles and gender and power in Thedas, the performance of gender in the game, and gender identity.

References:

de Beauvoir, Simone (1953) The Second Sex, translated by H.M. Parshley, New York: Knopf.

Richardson, Sarah S., (2012) “Sexing the X: How the X became the ‘Female Chromosome'” Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Vol. 37 No. 4

Episode Four: “Are Two Successes a Failure?”

Andraste's Gadfly: A Dragon Age and Philosophy Podcast

Episode Four: "Are Two Successes a Failure?"

00:00 / 1:08:09

In this episode Kira and Jill discuss personal identity and sense of self as presented in the Dragon Age games. From Anders and Justice, to Flemith and Mythal to Cole’s transformation from spirit-like to human-like, questions regarding identity are peppered throughout these games. Over and over in the games we are invited to ask what makes someone the person that they are, and what makes someone the same person over time, regardless of how many different bodies they may or may not be occupying. Using philosophical theories and concepts from Rene Descartes, John Locke, Hilde Lindemann, Susan Brison and Derek Parfit, Kira and Jill examine what the Dragon Age games have to say about personal identity.

If you like the podcast, you can buy us a coffee (or tea, or–more likely–hot chocolate).

https://ko-fi.com/andrastesgadflydragonagephil

References:

Brison, Susan (1996) “Outliving Oneself: Trauma, Memory and Personal Identity” (in Feminists Rethink the Self (Feminist Theory and Politics Series,) Diana T. Meyers ed.) Westview Press.

Bostrom, N. (2005) “A History of Transhumanist Thought” Journal of Evolution and Technology. 14 (1).

Descartes, Rene (2008) Meditations on First Philosophy (M. Moriarty, trans.). Oxford University Press

Lindemann, Hilde ((2014) Holding On and Letting Go: The Social Practice of Personal Identities, Oxford University Press

Locke, John, and P.H. Nidditch (1979) An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Clarendon Press.

Parfit, Derek (1987) Reasons and Persons, Clarendon Press

Episode Three: “Humans Are the Worst”

Andraste's Gadfly: A Dragon Age and Philosophy Podcast

Episode Three: "Humans Are the Worst"

00:00 / 1:05

In this episode, Kira and Jill examine depictions of oppression and resistance in the Dragon Age games. We draw on the works of Marilyn Frye for understanding oppression. We also draw on standpoint theory, a feminist theory of knowledge developed by Donna Haraway, Sandra Harding and Nancy Hartsock among others. Finally, we draw on epistemologies of resistance as developed by José Medina. We apply these philosophical concepts to the representations of the city elves and the circle mages in Fereldon and the Free Marches within the Dragon Age games. And we draw some conclusions about how oppression functions in the games, and how that might inform our understanding of oppression in North American society.

If you like the podcast, you can buy us a coffee (or tea, or–more likely–hot chocolate).

https://ko-fi.com/andrastesgadflydragonagephil

Works Cited:

Frye, Marilyn (2000) “Oppression” in Lorraine Code, Encyclopedia of Feminist Theories, London and New York: Routledge. Pp. 370

Haraway, Donna (1988) “Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective,” Feminist Studies, Vol, 14. Pp. 575-599

Harding, Sandra (2015) Objectivity and Diversity: Another Logic of Scientific Research, University of Chicago Press

Hartsock, Nancy (1998) “Marxist Feminist Dialectics for the 21st Century” in Science and Society, Vol. 62, No. 3. Pp. 400-413

Medina José (2012) The Epistemology of Resistance, Oxford University Press

Episode Two: “Stabby Stab Stab!”

Andraste's Gadfly: A Dragon Age and Philosophy Podcast

Episode Two: "Stabby Stab Stab!"

00:00 / 1:18

In this episode we examine the ways that love, sex, romance and relationships are presented in Dragon Age 2. We apply the Ancient Philosophical concepts of Eros, Agape and Philia to examine different representations of love in the game. And we discuss Sex Negative Feminism, Sex Positive Feminism, and the Gender Binary to examine ways the game may be reinforcing or challenging pervasive tropes that exist in Western culture regarding sex, and desire.

Why is the episode called “stabby stab stab?” Listen to find out!

If you like the podcast, you can buy us a coffee (or tea, or–more likely–hot chocolate).

https://ko-fi.com/andrastesgadflydragonagephil

Episode One: “The Least Crappy Option”

Andraste's Gadfly: A Dragon Age and Philosophy Podcast

Episode One: "The Least Crappy Option"

00:00 / 1:12:57

In this episode we examine what we like to call “mini moral dilemmas”. We look at three moral dilemmas that occur across the three Dragon Age games. We apply three ethical theories: Kantian Deontology, Utilitarianism, and Ethics of Care in order to illustrate what makes these moral dilemmas genuine dilemmas and to illustrate how moral theories can help us thing about dilemmas more mindfully both in virtual space and beyond!

If you like the podcast, you can buy us a coffee (or tea, or–more likely–hot chocolate).

https://ko-fi.com/andrastesgadflydragonagephil

A Brief Introduction to Andraste’s Gadfly

Andraste's Gadfly: A Dragon Age and Philosophy Podcast

A Brief Introduction to Andraste's Gadfly

00:00 / 1:50

Want to know what Andraste’s Gadfly is about? Here’s a bit of an introduction to the podcast of two philosophers who are slightly obsessed with the Dragon Age games!