They say this one is the real deal. In Episode 98 of Overthink, Ellie and David untangle the philosophy behind the way we compare, judge, and defend our reputations. From Machiavelli’s advice to despots looking to stay popular, to disgruntled students venting on their professors online, reputation can glide you to victory or trigger your fall from grace. Exploring concepts like the Matthew effect, the homo comparativus, and informational assymetry, your hosts ask: Why do both Joan Jett and Jean-Jacques Rousseau refuse reputation’s fickle pleasures? Does David actually have a good work-life balance, or is everyone else hoodwinked? And, what is the place of quantified reputation in an increasingly digital world?Check out the episode's extended cut here!Works DiscussedKwame Anthony Appiah, The Honor CodeJoan Jett & The Blackhearts, Bad ReputationNiccolo Machiavelli, The Prince?Louise Matsakis, “How the West Got China’s Social Credit System Wrong,” Wired MagazineGloria Origgi, Reputation: What It Is and Why It MattersGloria Origgi, Reputation in Moral Philosophy and EpistemologyJean-Jacques Rousseau, Reveries of the Solitary WalkerJean-Paul Sartre, The Transcendence of the EgoAdam Smith, The Theory of Moral SentimentsJordi Xifra, “Recognition, symbolic capital and reputation in the seventeenth century”Overthink EpisodesEp 28, Cancel CultureEp 19, GeniusPatreon | patreon.com/overthinkpodcast Website | overthinkpodcast.comInstagram & Twitter | @overthink_podEmail |  Dearoverthink@gmail.comYouTube | Overthink podcastSupport the show