Podcasts about existentialist

Tune in to hear:What can Miss Havisham, the Charles Dickens' character, teach us about the dangers of fleeing our pain?How is Miss Havisham, on some fundamental level, a potent metaphor for our own lives?What does Dr. Crosby mean by “emotional graying” and why are its effects so insidious?What did author Khalil Gibran have to say about why running from pain can also mean running from joy?Why do vulnerability and greatness often go hand-in-hand?LinksThe Soul of WealthConnect with UsMeet Dr. Daniel CrosbyCheck Out All of Orion's PodcastsPower Your Growth with OrionCompliance Code: 0988-U-25094

Tune in to hear:Why should we take heed of our internal anxiety that expresses that something is not quite right in our lives?Why do Existential Philosophers think of anxiety as a potential catalyst for personal growth rather than a hindrance?How can passion help us give our anxiety form and function?How did the philosopher Heidegger think about anxiety's role in our lives?How does Albert Camus relate anxiety to one's sense of the weariness of life?LinksThe Soul of WealthConnect with UsMeet Dr. Daniel CrosbyCheck Out All of Orion's PodcastsPower Your Growth with OrionCompliance Code: 0983-U-25093

Tune in to hear:What is Joseph Campbell's Monomyth, or Hero's Journey, and how does Lord of the Rings exemplify this?How might a “call to adventure” crop up in our own lives and why is it so important to answer them some of the time?Why can striving and searching for a more meaningful life be so painful? How is this pain directly proportional to our potential?Why did Kierkegaard mean by the quote: “anxiety is freedom's possibility?”LinksThe Soul of WealthConnect with UsMeet Dr. Daniel CrosbyCheck Out All of Orion's PodcastsPower Your Growth with OrionCompliance Code: 0982-U-25093

Tune in to hear:Why does the prospect of freedom generate great anxiety for people?What led to Hitler's ascent in post-war Germany?How is freedom dialectical in nature and what role did freedom play in the rise of the Third Reich?What is the dark side of freedom and how can responsibility keep this in check?Why does the Existentialist philosopher Kierkegaard refer to “anxiety as the dizziness of freedom?”According to Erich Fromm, what are the three primary ways we run from our agency?What are the meaningful differences between “freedom from” and “freedom to?”LinksThe Soul of WealthConnect with UsMeet Dr. Daniel CrosbyCheck Out All of Orion's PodcastsPower Your Growth with OrionCompliance Code: 0783-U-25076

Howdy folks, Hard to stay positive in the current environment and that is the theme of the show. Existentialist doom consumes us all as we cope in 2025. This one is pissed, We got Metal, Punk Hip Hop and country. Gower tells a classic memory and is about to cash in on his vintage Nirvana shirt. We are old but know how to bring it commercial free. Doomed, MATADOR Artist include: Voodoo glow skulls, Bo Burnham, High on Fire, MF Doom, Iron Maiden and many more.

In The Myth of Sisyphus, Albert Camus wrote that "there is only one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide." In this week's philosophical news recap, Nathan and Taylor discuss death, dying, and the rise of identity based persecution in the context of existential philosophy. Trigger warning that this episode covers issues related to genocide, suicide, and sexual abuse. If you'd like more information about Camus and/or existential philosophy, see my YouTube channel, BYTE-GEIST, where I have a variety of introductory videos on the topic. Or, check out my interviews with expert existentialist Dr. James McLachlan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tune in to hear:Where is this quote from? “How did you go bankrupt? Two ways: gradually, then suddenly.” Also, how might this quote apply elsewhere in our lives?Why is self-deception so insidious and hard to address for many of us?Why are we so hard-wired to preserve ease, virtue and safety and why is there a dark side to this?What are some of the mental gymnastics we do when we are faced with the cognitive dissonance of doing the wrong thing and knowing better?Why is attempting to live your most purposeful life so challenging, and even scary, at times? What can we do to overcome this hurdle?LinksThe Soul of WealthConnect with UsMeet Dr. Daniel CrosbyCheck Out All of Orion's PodcastsPower Your Growth with OrionCompliance Code: 0171-U-25021

“All the natural movements of the soul are controlled by laws analogous to those of physical gravity. Grace is the only exception.” … “It is necessary to uproot oneself. To cut down the tree and make of it a cross, and then to carry it every day.” … “I have to imitate God who infinitely loves finite things in that they are finite things.” … “To know that what is most precious is not rooted in existence—that is beautiful. Why? It projects the soul beyond time.”(Simone Weil, Gravity & Grace)“That's how the figure of Christ comes into this idea of the madness of love. It's that kind of mad, self emptying act completely. And it's the  one thing, she says, it's the only thing that means that you  are able to love properly. Because to love properly, and therefore to be just properly, you have to love like Christ does. Which is love to the extent that you, that you empty yourself and, you know, die on a cross.” (Deborah Casewell, from this episode)This is the third installment of a short series on How to Read Simone Weil—as the Mystic, the Activist, and the Existentialist.This week, Evan Rosa invites Deborah Casewell, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Chester, author of Monotheism & Existentialism, and Co-Director of the Simone Weil Research Network in the U.K.—to explore how to read Simone Weil the Existentialist.Together they discuss how her life of extreme self-sacrifice importantly comes before her philosophy; how to understand her central, but often confusing concept of decreation; her approach to beauty as the essential human response for finding meaning in a world of force and necessity; the madness of Jesus Christ as the only way to engage in struggle for justice and how she connects that to the Greek tragedy of Antigone, which is the continuation of the Oedipus story; and, the connection between love, justice, and living a life of madness.About Simone WeilSimone Weil (1909–1943) was a French philosopher, mystic, and political activist. She's the author of Gravity and Grace, The Need for Roots, and Waiting for God—among many other essays, letters, and notes.About Deborah CasewellDeborah Casewell is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Chester, author of Monotheism & Existentialism, and is Co-Director of the Simone Weil Research Network in the U.K.Show NotesSimone Weil's Gravity & Grace (1947) (Available Online)Deborah Casewell's Monotheism & ExistentialismSimone de Beauvoir's anecdote in Memories of a Beautiful Daughter: “Shouldn't we also get people's minds, not just their bodies? Weil: “You've never been hungry have you?”Leon Trotsky yells violently at WeilThe odd idolizing of Weil without paying attention to her writing”You get a kind of, as you say, a kind of odd idolization of her, or a sense in which  you can't then interact so critically   or systematically with her philosophy, because her figure stands in the way so much, and the kind of the respect that people have.”Anti-Semitism despite JewishnessSimone Weil's relationship to food: an unhealthy role model“She'd reject anything that wasn't perfect.”Extreme germophobeExpression of solidarity with the unfortunateHer life comes before her philosophy. Being, you might say, comes before thinking.Weil's life of extreme self-sacrifice as “mad”—alienating, insane, strange to the outside world.“ I think an essential part of, to an essential part of understanding her is to understand that   world is kind of structured and  set up in such a way that it runs without God, without the supernatural, God's kind of abdicated through the act of creation. And as a result, the universe operates through necessity and through force. So left to its own devices, the universe, I think, tends towards crushing people.”Abandonment vs abdicationPeople possess power and ability and action—a tension between activity and passivityWeil's Marxism and theory of labor and workActivity becomes sustained passivityConsent, power, and the social dynamics of force and necessityI think she sees the best human existence is to be in a state of obedience instead. And so what you have to do is relinquish power over people.The complexity of human relationships“She was a very individual person … a singular, individual life.”The Need for Roots“And this is what I do like about Simone Weil—is that she's always happy to let contradictions exist. And so when she describes human nature and the needs of the soul, they're contradictory. They all contradict each other. It's freedom and obedience.”Creating dualismsShe is a dualistSimone Weil on Beauty and Decreation”Decreation is essentially your way to exist in the world ruled by force and necessity without succumbing  to force and necessity, because in a way there's less  of you to succumb to force and necessity.”Platonic idea of MetaxuWeil on the human experience of beauty—” people need beautiful things and they need experiences of beauty in order to exist in the world, fundamentally… if this world is ruled by force and necessity.”The unity of the transcendentals of beauty and truth and goodness—anchored in GodWeil's PlatonismWeil as religious existentialist, as opposed to French atheistic existentialist“ For her, God is the ultimate reality, but also God is love. And so the goal of human existence, I think, is to return to God and consent to God. That's the goal of human life.”“What are you paying attention to?”The madness of ChristThe struggle for justice“Only a few people have this desire for justice, this madness to love.”Existentialism and Humanism: “Sartre says that  man is nothing but what he makes of himself.”Making oneself an example“The real supernatural law, which is mad and unreasonable, and it doesn't try to make accommodations and get on with the world and deal with tricky situations. It's just mad.”Simone Weil on Antigone and the continuation of the Oedipus storySummary of the Greek tragedy, Antigone“And so Antigone says, the justice that I owe is not to the city. It's not so that the city can, you know, continue its life and move on. The justice that I owe is to the supernatural law, to these more important primordial laws that actually govern the  life and death situations and the situation of your soul as well. And that's why she does what she does. She's obedient to the unwritten law rather than the written law.”“The love of God and the justice of God is always going to be mad in the eyes of the world.””The spirit of justice is nothing other than the supreme and perfect flower of the madness of love.”The mad, self-emptying love of Christ“That's how the figure of Christ comes into this idea of the madness of love. It's that kind of mad, self emptying act completely. And it's the  one thing, she says, it's the only thing that means that you  are able to love properly. Because to love properly, and therefore to be just properly, you have to love like Christ does. Which is love to the extent that you, that you empty yourself and, you know, die on a cross.”Does Weil suggest an unhealthy desire to suffer?“ It hurls one into risks one cannot run. If one has given one's heart to anything at all that belongs to this world. Um, and the outcome to which the madness of love led Christ is, after all, no recommendation for it.”“But if the order of the universe is a wise order, there must sometimes be moments when, from the point of view of earthly reason, only the madness of love is reasonable. Such moments can only be those when, as today, mankind has become mad from want of love. Is it certain today that the madness of love may not be capable of providing the unhappy masses, hungry in body and soul, with a food far easier for them to digest than our inspirations to a less lofty source? So then, being what we are, is it certain that we are at our post in the camp of justice?”“ From a loftier view, only the madness of love is reasonable.”“Only the madness of love can be the kind of love that actually helps people in the world. Fundamentally, that people, even though they know it's mad, and they find it mad, and they would sometimes rather not see it, they need that kind of love, and they need people who love in that kind of way. Even if it's not the majority, people still  need that. And so in some way, the way in which  she is, and the way in which she sees Christ being, is indispensable. Even though the path that you have to go down has nothing to recommend, as she says, in the eyes of the reasonable world, nothing to recommend it. It's the only just thing to do. It's the only just and loving thing to do in the end.”Production NotesThis podcast featured Deborah CasewellEdited and Produced by Evan RosaHosted by Evan RosaProduction Assistance by Macie Bridge, Alexa Rollow, Emily Brookfield, and Zoë HalabanA Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/aboutSupport For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/give

“What are you going through?” This was one of the central animating questions in Simone Weil's thought that pushed her beyond philosophy into action. Weil believed that genuinely asking this question of the other, particularly the afflicted other, then truly listening and prayerfully attending, would move us toward an enactment of justice and love.Simone Weil believed that any suffering that can be ameliorated, should be.In this episode, Part 2 of our short series on How to Read Simone Weil, Cynthia Wallace (Associate Professor of English at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan), and author of The Literary Afterlives of Simone Weil: Feminism, Justice, and the Challenge of Religion and Evan Rosa discuss the risky self-giving way of Simone Weil; her incredible literary influence, particularly on late 20th century feminist writers; the possibility of redemptive suffering; the morally complicated territory of self-sacrificial care and the way that has traditionally fallen to women and minorities; what it means to make room and practicing hospitality for the afflicted other; hunger; the beauty of vulnerability; and that grounding question for Simone Weil political ethics, “What are you going through?”We're in our second episode of a short series exploring How to Read Simone Weil. She's the author of Gravity and Grace, The Need for Roots, and Waiting for God—among many other essays, letters, and notes—and a deep and lasting influence that continues today.In this series, we're exploring Simone Weil the Mystic, Simone Weil the Activist, Simone Weil the Existentialist. And what we'll see is that so much of her spiritual, political, and philosophical life, are deeply unified in her way of being and living and dying.And on that note, before we go any further, I need to issue a correction from our previous episode in which I erroneously stated that Weil died in France. And I want to thank subscriber and listener Michael for writing and correcting me.Actually she died in England in 1943, having ambivalently fled France in 1942 when it was already under Nazi occupation—first to New York, then to London to work with the Free French movement and be closer to her home.And as I went back to fix my research, I began to realize just how important her place of death was. She died in a nursing home outside London. In Kent, Ashford to be precise. She had become very sick, and in August 1943 was moved to the Grosvenor Sanitorium.The manner and location of her death matter because it's arguable that her death by heart failure was not a self-starving suicide (as the coroner reported), but rather, her inability to eat was a complication rising from tuberculosis, combined with her practice of eating no more than the meager rations her fellow Frenchmen lived on under Nazi occupation.Her biographer Richard Rees wrote: "As for her death, whatever explanation one may give of it will amount in the end to saying that she died of love.In going back over the details of her death, I found a 1977 New York Times article by Elizabeth Hardwick, and I'll quote at length, as it offers a very fitting entry into this week's episode on her life of action, solidarity, and identification with and attention to the affliction of others.“Simone Weil, one of the most brilliant, and original minds of 20th century France, died at the age of 34 in a nursing home near London. The coroner issued a verdict of suicide, due to voluntary starvation—an action undertaken at least in part out of wish not to eat more than the rations given her compatriots in France under the German occupation. The year of her death was 1943.“The willed deprivation of her last period was not new; indeed refusal seems to have been a part of her character since infancy. What sets her apart from our current ascetics with their practice of transcendental meditation, diet, vegetarianism, ashram simplicities, yoga is that with them the deprivations and rigors‐are undergone for the pay‐off—for tranquility, for thinness, for the hope of a long life—or frequently, it seems, to fill the hole of emptiness so painful to the narcissist. With Simone Well it was entirely the opposite.“It was her wish, or her need, to undergo misery, affliction and deprivation because such had been the lot of mankind throughout history. Her wish was not to feel better, but to honor the sufferings of the lowest. Thus around 1935, when she was 25 years old, this woman of transcendent intellectual gifts and the widest learning, already very frail and suffering from severe headaches, was determined to undertake a year of work in a factory. The factories, the assembly lines, were then the modem equivalent of “slavery,” and she survived in her own words as “forever a slave.” What she went through at the factory “marked me in so lasting a manner that still today when any human being, whoever he may be and in whatever circumstances, speaks to me without brutality, I cannot help having the impression teat there must be a mistake....”[Her contemporary] “Simone de Beauvoir tells of meeting her when they were preparing for examinations to enter a prestigious private school. ‘She intrigued me because of her great reputation for intelligence and her bizarre outfits. ... A great famine had broken out in China, and I was told that when she heard the news she had wept. . . . I envied her for having a heart that could beat round the world.'“In London her health vanished, even though the great amount of writing she did right up to the time she went to the hospital must have come from those energies of the dying we do not understand—the energies of certain chosen dying ones, that is. Her behavior in the hospital, her refusal and by now her Inability to eat, vexed and bewildered the staff. Her sense of personal accountability to the world's suffering had reached farther than sense could follow.”Last week, we heard from Eric Springsted, one of the co-founders of the American Weil Society and author of Simone Weil for the Twenty-First Century.Next week, we'll explore Simone Weil the Existentialist—with philosopher Deborah Casewell, author of Monotheism & Existentialism and Co-Director of the Simone Weil Research Network in the UK.But this week we're looking at Simone Weil the Activist—her perspectives on redemptive suffering, her longing for justice, and her lasting influence on feminist writers. With me is Cynthia Wallace, associate professor of English at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, and author of The Literary Afterlives of Simone Weil: Feminism, Justice, and the Challenge of Religion.This is unique because it's learning how to read Simone Weil from some of her closest readers and those she influenced, including poets and writers such as Adrienne Rich, Denise Levertov, and Annie Dillard.About Cynthia WallaceCynthia Wallace is Associate Professor of English at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, and author of The Literary Afterlives of Simone Weil: Feminism, Justice, and the Challenge of Religion, as well as **Of Women Borne: A Literary Ethics of Suffering.About Simone WeilSimone Weil (1909–1943) was a French philosopher, mystic, and political activist. She's the author of Gravity and Grace, The Need for Roots, and Waiting for God—among many other essays, letters, and notes.Show NotesCynthia Wallace (Associate Professor of English at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan), and author of The Literary Afterlives of Simone Weil: Feminism, Justice, and the Challenge of ReligionElizabeth Hardwick, “A woman of transcendent intellect who assumed the sufferings of humanity” (New York Times, Jan 23, 1977)Of Women Borne: A Literary Ethics of SufferingThe hard work of productive tensionSimone Weil on homework: “Reflections on the Right Use of School Studies with a View to the Love of God”Open, patient, receptive waiting in school studies — same skill as prayer“What are you going through?” Then you listen.Union organizerWaiting for God and Gravity & GraceVulnerability and tendernessJustice and Feminism, and “making room for the other”Denise Levertov's  ”Mass for the Day of St. Thomas Didymus”“Levertov wrote herself into Catholic conversion”“after pages and pages of struggle, she finally says: “So be it. Come rag of pungent quiverings,  dim star, let's try  if something human still can shield you, spark of remote light.”“And so she  argues that God isn't  particularly active in the world that we have, except for when we open ourselves to these chances of divine encounter.”“ Her imagination of God is different from how I think  a lot of contemporary Western   people think about an all powerful, all knowing God. Vae thinks about God as having done exactly what she's asking us to do, which is to make room for the other to exist in a way that requires us to give up power.”Exploiting self-emptying, particularly of women“Exposing the degree to which women have been disproportionately expected to sacrifice themselves.”Disproportionate self-sacrifice of women and in particular women of colorAdrienne Rich, Of Woman Borne: ethics that care for the otherThe distinction between suffering and afflictionAdrienne Rich's poem, “Hunger”Embodiment“ You have to follow both sides to the kind of limit of their capacity for thought, and then see what you find in that untidy both-and-ness.”Annie Dillard's expansive attentivenessPilgrim at Tinker Creek and attending to the world: “ to bear witness to the world in a way that tells the truth about what is brutal in the world, while also telling the truth about what is glorious  in the world.”“She's suspicious of our imaginations because she doesn't want us to distract  ourselves from contemplating the void.”Dillard, For the Time Being (1999) on natural evil and injusticeGoing from attention to creation“Reading writers writing about writing”Joan Didion: “I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means, what I want and what I fear.”Writing as both creation and discoveryFriendship and “ we let the other person be who they are instead of trying to make them who we want them to be.”The joy of creativity—pleasure and desire“ Simone Weil argues that suffering that can be ameliorated should be.”“ What is possible through shared practices of attention?”The beauty of vulnerability and the blossoms of fruit trees“What it takes for us to be fed”Need for ourselves, each other, and the divineProduction NotesThis podcast featured Cynthia WallaceEdited and Produced by Evan RosaHosted by Evan RosaProduction Assistance by Emily Brookfield, Liz Vukovic, and Kacie BarrettA Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/aboutSupport For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/give

This episode is the first of a short series exploring How to Read Simone Weil. The author of Gravity and Grace, The Need for Roots, and Waiting for God—among many other essays, letters, and notes, Weil has been an inspiration to philosophers, poets, priests, and politicians for the last century—almost all of it after her untimely death. She understood, perhaps more than many other armchair philosophers from the same period, the risk of philosophy—the demands it made on a human life.In this series, we'll feature three guests who look at this magnificent and mysterious thinker in interesting and refreshing, and theologically and morally challenging ways.We'll look at Simone Weil the Mystic, Simone Weil the Activist, Simone Weil the Existentialist.First we'll be hearing from Eric Springsted, a co-founder of the American Weil Society and its long-time president—who wrote Simone Weil: Late Philosophical Writings and Simone Weil for the Twenty-First Century.In this conversation, Eric O. Springsted and Evan Rosa discuss Simone Weil's personal biography, intellectual life, and the nature of her spiritual and religious and moral ideas; pursuing philosophy as a way of life; her encounter with Christ, affliction, and mystery; her views on attention and prayer; her concept of the void, and the call to self-emptying; and much more.About Simone WeilSimone Weil (1909–1943) was a French philosopher, mystic, and political activist. She's the author of Gravity and Grace, The Need for Roots, and Waiting for God—among many other essays, letters, and notes.About Eric O. SpringstedEric O. Springsted is the co-founder of the American Weil Society and served as its president for thirty-three years. After a career as a teacher, scholar, and pastor, he is retired and lives in Santa Fe, NM. He is the author and editor of a dozen previous books, including Simone Weil: Late Philosophical Writings and Simone Weil for the Twenty-First Century.Show NotesEric O. Springsted's Simone Weil for the Twenty-First CenturyHow to get hooked on Simone Weil“All poets are exiles.”Andre WeilEmile ChartierTaking ideas seriously enough to impact your lifeWeil's critique of Marxism: “Reflections on the Cause of Liberty and Social Oppression”:  ”an attempt to try and figure out how there can be freedom and dignity in human labor and action”“Unfortunately she found affliction.”Ludwig Wittgenstein: “Philosophy is a matter of working on yourself.”Philosophy “isn't simply objective. It's a matter of personal morality as well.””Not only is the unexamined life not worth living, but virtue and intellect go hand in hand. Yeah. You don't have one without the other.”An experiment in how work and labor is doneThe demeaning and inherently degrading nature of factory workChristianity as “the religion of slaves.”Christianity can't take away suffering; but it can take away the meaninglessness.George Herbert: “Love bade me welcome / But my soul drew back guilty of dust and sin”Weil's vision/visit of Christ during Holy Week in Solemn, France: “It was like the smile on a beloved face.”The role of mysteryWeil's definition of mystery:  ”What she felt mystery was, and she gets a definition of it, it's when two necessary lines of thought cross and are irreconcilable, yet if you suppress one of them, somehow light is lost.”Her point is that whatever good comes out of this personal contact with Christ, does not erase the evil of the suffering.What is “involvement in contradiction”“She thought contradiction was an inescapable mark of truth.”Contradictions that shed light on life.Why mysticism is important for Weil: “The universe cannot be put into a box with techniques or tricks or our own scientific methods or philosophical methods. … Mystery instills humility and it takes the question of the knowing ego out of the picture. … And it challenges modern society to resist the idea that faith could be reduced to a dogmatic system.”“Faith is not a matter of the intellect.”“Intellect is not the highest faculty. Love is.”“The Right Use of School Studies”“Muscular effort of attention”She wanted to convert her Dominican priest friend into the universality of grace—that Plato was a pre-Chrisitan.” (e.g., her essay, “ Intimations of Christianity Among the Ancient Greeks”)“Grace is universal.”How school studies contribute to the love of GodPrayer as attentionWeil on Attention: “Attention consists of suspending our thought, leaving it detached, empty, and ready to be penetrated by the object. It means holding in our minds within the reach of this thought, but on the lower level and not in contact with it. The diverse knowledge we have acquired. Which we are forced to make use of. Above all our thought should be empty waiting, not seeking anything but ready to receive in its naked truth. The object that is to penetrate it.”Not “detached,” but “available and ready for use”Making space for the afflicted other by “attending” to themLove that isn't compensatory“The void as a space where love can go”What is prayer for Simone Weil?Prayer as listening all night long“Voiding oneself of secondary desires and letting oneself be spoken to.”Is Simone Weil “ a self-abnegating, melancholy revolutionary” (Leon Trotsky)Humility in Simone Weil“The Terrible Prayer”Was Simone Weil anorexic?Refusing comfort on the grounds of solidaritySelf-emptying and graceAccepting the entire creation as God's willSimone Weil on patience and waiting“With time, attention blooms into waiting.”“She's resistant to the Church, but drawing from Christ's self-emptying.”God's withdrawal from the world (which is not deism)“A sacramental view of the world”“ The very creation of the world is by this withdrawal and simultaneous crucifixion of the sun in time and space.”(Obsessive) pursuit of purity in morals and thoughtIris Murdoch's The Nice and the Good“Nothing productive needs to come from this effort.”“ She put her finger on what's really the heart of Christian spirituality. … We live by the Word … by our being open to listening to the Word and having that transformed into God's word.”Production NotesThis podcast featured Eric O. SpringstedEdited and Produced by Evan RosaHosted by Evan RosaProduction Assistance by Emily Brookfield, Alexa Rollow, Zoë Halaban, & Kacie BarrettA Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/aboutSupport For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/give

Gary Cox's "How To Be An Existentialist"

Send us a textIs the self a soul that is immortal? Is the self a thinking thing or a bundle of perceptions? The Existentialists take this question and place at the center the importance of choice. The self emerges through our experiences and the choices we make. Join us as we discuss Kierkegaard and Sartre in this final episode on The Self. Contact us via email at contact@opendoorphilosophy.com Open Door Philosophy on Instagram @opendoorphilosophyOpen Door Philosophy website at opendoorphilosophy.com

This episode explores the philosophical relevance of video games, examining why games matter and what they reveal about the human condition. At the core of this inquiry is the question of what it means to be human and how we cope with life's existential tensions. Playing games, engaging in sport, and immersing ourselves in stories are all ways in which we seek meaning and enjoyment in life. Video games, in particular, combine play and narrative, providing a uniquely engaging aesthetic space to explore identity, existence, and purpose.Watch the video version on YouTube here.CreditsWritten and presented by James CartlidgeProduced by Greta RauleacOriginal Music by James CartlidgeBreaking the Game is a YouTube channel and podcast series about philosophy and video game studies. It aims to facilitate discussions about games, the games industry and philosophy with wider audiences. It mainly (though not exclusively) focusses on the indie games sphere, and current and future philosophical topics include phenomenology, existentialism, political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of mind/consciousness, cognitive science, psychoanalysis and psychology. It is based on the postdoctoral research of James Cartlidge.Check out and subscribe to Breaking the Game here.

Continuing our discussion of one of the fathers of Existentialist philosophy, Justin walks us through one of Nietzsche's famous thought experiments.  Nietzsche thought he had found a recipe for living in a way that affirms life.  Did he?

I read from existentialist to exocyclic.     These Ex Libris Bookplates are so pretty! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_Libris_(bookplate)     The word of the episode is "exobiology".     Theme music from Tom Maslowski https://zestysol.com/     Merchandising! https://www.teepublic.com/user/spejampar     "The Dictionary - Letter A" on YouTube   "The Dictionary - Letter B" on YouTube   "The Dictionary - Letter C" on YouTube   "The Dictionary - Letter D" on YouTube   "The Dictionary - Letter E" on YouTube     Featured in a Top 10 Dictionary Podcasts list! https://blog.feedspot.com/dictionary_podcasts/     Backwards Talking on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmIujMwEDbgZUexyR90jaTEEVmAYcCzuq     https://linktr.ee/spejampar dictionarypod@gmail.com https://www.facebook.com/thedictionarypod/ https://www.threads.net/@dictionarypod https://twitter.com/dictionarypod https://www.instagram.com/dictionarypod/ https://www.patreon.com/spejampar https://www.tiktok.com/@spejampar 917-727-5757

Existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre famously said we are condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, we are responsible for everything we do. It has long been known that navigating the human condition is a scary challenge, and life long commitment to many. But are there better, or best ways to accept, cope or even embrace that source of anguish? Establishing meaning is different for everyone. As always, we hope this light, relatable, yet philosophical conversation between Jeff and Danielle LaSusa provides some helpful perspective that furthers your journey, helping to bring listeners clarity, understanding, and meaning. Danielle's Support Group: https://mother-den.mn.co/landingDanielle's Newsletter: https://www.daniellemlasusa.com/subscribeAkashic Records: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akashic_recordsJean-Paul Sartre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_SartreListen to more podcasts hosted by Jeff: https://wavepodcastnetwork.com/Jeff's TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/therapyjeff/Jeff's Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@therapyjeffDISCLAIMER: The insights shared in this podcast are for educational purposes only, and should not be seen as a substitute for professional therapy. The guidance is general in nature, and does not equate to the personalized care provided by a licensed therapist. The callers are not therapy clients.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“Existentialism is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the issue of human existence.[1][2] Existentialist philosophers explore questions related to the meaning, purpose, and value of human existence. Common concepts in existentialist thought include existential crisis, dread, and anxiety in the face of an absurd world and free will, as well as authenticity, courage, and virtue.[3] Existentialism is associated with several 19th- and 20th-century European philosophers who shared an emphasis on the human subject, despite often profound differences in thought.[4][2][5] Among the earliest figures associated with existentialism are philosophers Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche and novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky, all of whom critiqued rationalism and concerned themselves with the problem of meaning. In the 20th century, prominent existentialist thinkers included Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Simone de Beauvoir, Karl Jaspers, Gabriel Marcel, and Paul Tillich. Many existentialists considered traditional systematic or academic philosophies, in style and content, to be too abstract and removed from concrete human experience.[6][7] A primary virtue in existentialist thought is authenticity.[8] Existentialism would influence many disciplines outside of philosophy, including theology, drama, art, literature, and psychology.[9] Existentialist philosophy encompasses a range of perspectives, but it shares certain underlying concepts. Among these, a central tenet of existentialism is that personal freedom, individual responsibility, and deliberate choice are essential to the pursuit of self-discovery and the determination of life's meaning.[10]” -Wikipedia. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/antonio-myers4/support

“I hate the Kansas City Chiefs with a passion reserved only for things that I love.” —Tod Goldberg In this episode of Deviate, Rolf shares his 2002 NPR “Savvy Traveler” dispatch about trying to watch the Super Bowl in Thailand (3:00); then he and Tod Goldberg discuss how they became NFL football fans as kids in the 1970s, and how this affected their fandom later in life (8:00); how it could be difficult in the days before the Internet for kids to find information about NFL teams and players, and which books they read about the early days of pro football (23:00); the origins of the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs in upstart pro leagues, their more recent fortunes in the NFL, and how the last Chiefs Super Bowl appearance was nine months before Rolf was born (38:30); on watching Super Bowls from overseas and following the Chiefs (or 49ers) as adults, the strengths of the 2020 Chiefs and 49ers teams, and the emotional stakes of Super Bowl LIV (49:00); how the Chiefs have dominated the AFC in the four years since 2020, how this success has affected people's perception of them, and how the Chiefs' Midwesternness makes them different from other NFL dynasties (1:05:30); the role superstition plays in sports fandom, how some team fandom comes out of love for individual players, how fandom creates a leveling of social classes, and the merits of "fair weather" fandom (1:10:30). Novelist Tod Goldberg (@todgoldberg) is the New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen books, most notably the Gangsterland series of crime novels. He is also the director of the University of California-Riverside Palm Desert Low-Residency MFA. NFL games and players: Super Bowl LIV (2020 KC Chiefs versus SF 49ers NFL title game) Rolf Benirschke (San Diego Chargers placekicker in the 1980s) The Catch (touchdown reception in the 1981 NFC Championship Game) Christian “Nigerian Nightmare” Okoye (Chiefs fullback in the 1980s) Mike Mercer (NFL punter in the 1960s) Marshall Goldberg (Jewish Chicago Cardinals running back in the 1940s) 1934 NFL Championship Game, aka the “Sneakers Game” (title game) 1940 NFL Championship Game, (73-0 Bears-Giants title game) Steve Grogan (New England Patriots quarterback in the 1980s) Ed “Too Tall” Jones (Cowboys defensive end in the 1980s) Super Bowl IV (1970 Chiefs versus Vikings NFL title game) NFL Films: Super Bowl IV Highlights (sports documentary) Hank Stram (Chiefs coach from 1960-1974) Len Dawson (Chiefs quarterback in the 1960s and 1970s) Todd Blackledge (Chiefs 1983 draft-pick quarterback) Joe Montana (quarterback who won four Super Bowls with the 49ers) Super Bowl XLVII (2013 Ravens versus 49ers NFL title game) Patrick Mahomes (current Chiefs quarterback) Andy Reid (current Chiefs head coach) Jimmy Garoppolo (former 49ers quarterback) Super Bowl XVI (1981 49ers versus Bengals NFL title game) Jet Chip Wasp (pass play that helped the Chiefs win Super Bowl LIV) Other links: "Pandemic Love: A personal history of nostalgia" Deviate episode 142) Kumbh Mela (Indian Hindu pilgrimage celebrated every 12 years) Tod Goldberg on why sports is so emotionally affecting (Deviate episode) Matthew Zapruder (American poet and editor) West Coast offense (passing-oriented football strategy) Candlestick Park (former stadium that hosted San Francisco 49ers games) Tom Landry, Existentialist, Dead at 75, by Sarah Vowell (essay) Tecmo Bowl (1980s football video game) Sears Christmas Wish Book was great American literature (Deviate episode) Nerf (toy brand that made foam footballs) Championship: The NFL Title Games Plus Super Bowl, Jerry Izenberg (book) The Super Bowl Shuffle (rap song performed by the 1985 Chicago Bears) All-America Football Conference (professional football league from 1946-49) Los Angeles Dons (football team in the AAFC) American Football League (professional football league from 1960-69) Battle of New Orleans (1815 battle between British and US armies) Former Minnesota quarterback Joe Kapp gets in a fight (video) Lloyd C. A. Wells (pioneering scout for the Chiefs in the 1960s) Historically black colleges (pre-Civil Rights universities for African-Americans) Edgar Allen Poe (Baltimore poet whose poem inspired the Ravens mascot) 2014 American League Wild Card Game (Royals v. A's baseball game) "A Native American football team beat the 1927 NFL Giants" (Deviate episode) "How Mahomes Made 3rd & 15 Magic in Super Bowl LIV" (NFL Films doc) Ken Griffey Jr. (American baseball player) Lambeau Field (Sports stadium in Green Bay) Class: A Guide Through the American Status System, by Paul Fussell (book) 2015 World Series (baseball championship won by the Kansas City Royals) Golden State Warriors (NBA team based in San Francisco) The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel's 2017 album Lumber. Note: We don't host a “comments” section, but we're happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

In 1956, New Yorker writer Dwight Macdonald joined Encounter, a magazine secretly backed by American and British security agencies. He arrived in London just as British Influencers turned a young Existentialist named Colin Wilson into England's answer to Jean-Paul Sartre. Meanwhile, the CIA incited a youth rebellion in communist Hungary. We investigate the covert propaganda behind Operation Free Youth Action and Operation Anti-Sartre and the Outsider's influence on Macdonald's famous critique of Mass and Middlebrow Culture. Shownotes: Carol Ann Gill  is the author of Carol Ann, Sarah Roth wrote on Operation Focus, Hugh Wilford is the author of The Mighty Wurlitzer, Gary Lachman is the author of Beyond the Robot, Alfred Betschart writes on Sartre, Stefan Collini is the author of Absent Minds, Geoffrey Wheatcroft is the author of Absent Friends.

Dr. Gordon Marino joins me for episode 101. He is an existential philosopher, boxer, and boxing coach (he's coached Mike Tyson). We have a truly existential conversation, about as real as it gets. We talk about his book "The Existentialist's Survival Guide: How to Live Authentically in an Inauthentic Age." Dr. Marino shares his heart and we dig deep into real life issues. This is a special episode; I hope you check out his books and articles. And pray for Dr. Marino and his wife, Susan.   Gordon Marino earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, and B.A. from Columbia University. His areas of specialization include History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, and Kierkegaard. He teaches philosophy and related courses as a professor at St. Olaf College and holds a position as the curator of the Kierkegaard Library. ​ In 2018, Marino published his most recent book, The Existentialist's Survival Guide. He has authored and co-authored numerous works, including Kierkegaard in the Present Age. His articles have appeared in internationally-acclaimed news sources and periodicals such as the Atlantic Monthly, New York Times Magazine, Wall Street Journal, and the American Poetry Review.  His book: https://www.amazon.com/Existentialists-Survival-Guide-Authentically-Inauthentic/dp/0062436007/  Here's his NY Times article "The Long Conversation." https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/the-long-conversation/  #sorenkierkegaard #existentialphilosophy #philosophy #faith #thiefonthecross #god  Follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/bumperstickerfaith      Find us on Instagram @bumperstickerfaith Won't you please consider becoming part of the BS Crew? To find out more and join, go to https://www.patreon.com/bumperstickerfaith.       Feel free to comment and be sure to share. Thanks for listening. Our website: www.bumperstickerfaith.com      Join the BS Crew: https://www.patreon.com/bumperstickerfaith      Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bumper-sticker-faith/id1607763646      Or Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1OZgz7PIQPEmMKSaj75Hc7      Music is by Skilsel

What relevance does existentialism have for teachers? Dr. Alison Brady (UCL) uses the existentialist philosophy of Jean Paul Sartre to rethink what it means for teachers to reflect and account for their own practice. We talk about Sartre's ideas about the self and freedom, how teaching might be seen as a process of ‘bad faith', and why teachers need talk candidly and honestly about the vulnerabilities of being in the classroom. Alison is the author of ‘Being a Teacher: From Technicist to Existential Accounts' (Springer, 2023).

With the launch of the Fearful Ends Kickstarter imminent, Dan and Paul discuss roleplaying impossible situations. How do we maintain player autonomy when the deck is clearly stacked against them? What does it mean to "play to fail", and how do we enjoy games when there is little to no hope of success? Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) defined autonomy by three themes regarding contemporary ethics. Firstly, autonomy as the right for one to make their own decisions excluding any interference from others. Secondly, autonomy as the capacity to make such decisions through one's own independence of mind and after personal reflection. Thirdly, as an ideal way of living life autonomously. In summary, autonomy is the moral right one possesses, or the capacity we have in order to think and make decisions for oneself providing some degree of control or power over the events that unfold within one's everyday life. Fearful Ends is a horor roleplaying game about existential tragedy. Existentialist philosophy encompasses a range of perspectives, but it shares certain underlying concepts. Among these, a central tenet of existentialism is that personal freedom, individual responsibility, and deliberate choice are essential to the pursuit of self-discovery and the determination of life's meaning. However, because of the world's absurdity, anything can happen to anyone at any time and a tragic event could plummet someone into direct confrontation with the absurd. This is what gives meaning to people's lives. To live the life of the absurd means rejecting a life that finds or pursues specific meaning for man's existence since there is nothing to be discovered. Back Fearful Ends on Kickstarter This description uses material from the Wikipedia articles "Autonomy" and "Existentialism", which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

It's about time we featured an actual philosopher on PSYCHIC WARFARE, and there's no one better suited than Dr. William Irwin. Dr. Irwin is a professor of philosophy at King's College in Wilkes Barre, PA and is an accomplished author who's topics focus on how philosophy intersects with pop culture. However, he's also an incredibly huge Metallica fan. So much so that he has both edited a book of essays entitled Metallica and Philosophy and written a book of his own, The Meaning of Metallica: Ride the Lyrics. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Irwin to talk about the philosophical ideas of Metallica's lyrics discussed in the former of the two books, including the search for authentic self, enlightened self interest, and James Hetfield's existentialist lyrics and values. Do you enjoy the show, and want more insightful content like this with the heavy music artists you love? Be sure to subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice and follow the show at the below socials: Twitter - @psychicwarfarepodcast Instagram - @psywarpod

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the most discussable movie of the summer made by the unlikely pairing of feminist indie director Greta Gerwig and Barbie's corporate overlords at Mattel. Does the film convey at least a legitimate teen version of feminist existentialism? It is actually enjoyable? What sort of irony is this, and can any film be both a blockbuster children's film yet also be a meditation on serious social and philosophical issues? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Check out the Jordan Harbinger Show at jordanharbinger.com/subscribe.

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the most discussable movie of the summer made by the unlikely pairing of feminist indie director Greta Gerwig and Barbie's corporate overlords at Mattel. Does the film convey at least a legitimate teen version of feminist existentialism? It is actually enjoyable? What sort of irony is this, and can any film be both a blockbuster children's film yet also be a meditation on serious social and philosophical issues? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Check out the Jordan Harbinger Show at jordanharbinger.com/subscribe.

Kayla and Tom met on the apps and after a few weeks they went out to dinner. Kayla thought it was a great date, but now she can't get ahold of him! She wants to know if he's ok or if she's getting ghosted! Listen to find out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Existentialists and Stoics recognize the importance of choice. Our choices define us, through our choices we make ourselves and establish what is meaningful. In this episode, Danny and Randy discuss how to choose like an existentialist and stoic.  Subscribe to ESP's YouTube Channel! Thanks for listening!  Do you have a question you want answered in a future episode? If so, send your question to: existentialstoic@protonmail.com  Seeking Your Insight... (google.com)

July 21, 2023, is a date that will go down in cinematic history as one of the most successful and satisfying double bills ever that also inspired a cultural phenomenon like no other. Upon release, the only important decision became: Barbie then Oppenheimer or Oppenheimer then Barbie? After Sophia and Nick discuss what they think is the correct order, listen to their explosive deep dive on these beautiful existentialist films by filmmaking favorites Christopher Nolan and Greta Gerwig. Choose whichever order you'd like between Oppenheimer (15:39) and Barbie (1:09:58), but don't miss out on a frenetic Barbenheimer edition of Smash or Pass (1:47:07).Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @oscarwildpodFollow Sophia @sophia_cimFollow Nick @sauerkraut27Music: “The Greatest Adventure” by Jonathan Adamich

July 3, 2023The Funny Thing About YogaNish the F1sh Explains It All Episode No. 21In this very episode Giana and Bradshaw talk with Nishanth Selvalingam, also known as Nish the F1sh on TikTok and Instagram. Nish teaches yoga and meditation in Los Angeles and hosts a weekly virtual and IRL Sangha gathering focused on philosophy and spiritual studies. He has grown a large following on TikTok for sharing his understanding of deep concepts in a digestible and uplifting manner, which he also does in this episode today. We talk about different schools of philosophy, deaths Reincarnation, yoga and religion, Patanjali, Samkhya, and mythology. He shares with us that the dichotomy between east and west is a false one, that death is akin to changing your clothes, and that all paths lead to the same place. We had a lot of fun learning from Nish and we hope to keep the conversation going. Follow Nish on social media or join his Monday night gatherings- All links are below! Please Rate, Review and Subscribe and if you're enjoying the podcast, and share It with friends…00:00 Intro00:30 Whats going on today?02:30 Welcome Nishanth A.K.A Nish the F1sh07:50 The False East- West Dichotomy and Philosophy16:07 Existentialist and the Buddha 20:27 Death…. Of Course24:38 Mediumship and Reincarnation29:53 Is Yoga a Religion? 34:47 God and the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali 37:47 A tangent on Samkhya42:57 How Nish Teaches in LA46:01 White People Chanting 53:58 The Funny Thing About Mythology1:00:01 Where you can find Nish and OutroFollow Nish on Instagram and TikTok @Nishthef1shWebsite: https://beacons.ai/nishthef1shYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0jNs8LzKie2KBmuId5fs7QPodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/for-the-love-of-yoga-with-nish-the-fish/id1540320474Follow Us on Instagram:@TheFunnyThingAboutYoga @CayaYogaSchool @GianaGambino @BradshawWishJoin us in Nicaragua: https://www.cayayogaschool.com/nicargua Be Featured on the Podcast: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSck2nTNc_UlcCKBhZId5DmDwoU6aslkFfGKtdz-1uSo-HNY8g/viewformSubscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.cayayogaschool.com/contactFollow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/thefunnythingaboutyoga/Learn more about C.A.Y.A. Yoga School: https://www.cayayogaschool.comGiana's Website: https://www.gianayoga.com/ Bradshaws Website: https://www.bradshawwish.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Once a year, I read The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It's a cathartic annual ritual for me. What is it about this novel that has such an impact on my soul and those of other readers? Who is the man who wrote it, and what was he trying to do with this story of a father and son struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic landscape?For answers to these questions, I decided to talk to a foremost expert on McCarthy's work, as well as the literature of the American West in general. His name is Steven Frye and he's a professor of English, a novelist in his own right, and the author and editor of several books about the reclusive, philosophical author, including Understanding Cormac McCarthy. We begin our conversation with some background on McCarthy and a discussion of his distinctive style and themes, and why he avoids the limelight and prefers to hang out with scientists over fellow artists. We then dive into The Road, and Steve unpacks what inspired it, as well as the authors and books that influenced it. We then dig into the big themes of The Road, and how it can be read as a biblical allegory that wrestles with the existence of God. We delve into the tension which exists between the father and son in the book, and what it means to “carry the fire.” We end our conversation with why reading The Road makes you feel both depressed and hopeful at the same time.A spoiler alert here: If you haven't read The Road yet, we do reveal some of the plot points in this discussion. Also, why haven't you read The Road yet?Resources Related to the PodcastOther books by Steven Frye, including his novel Dogwood CrossingMcCarthy's books mentioned in the show:The RoadAll the Pretty HorsesBlood MeridianThe Orchard KeeperNo Country for Old MenThe Sunset LimitedThe film adaptation of The RoadThe Santa Fe InstituteBrothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky“Cat in the Rain” — short story by Ernest Hemingway“Indian Camp” — short story by Ernest HemingwayAoM Podcast #635: The Existentialist's Survival GuideAoM Article: Carry the FireAoM Article: Books So Good I've Read Them 2X (Or More!)Connect With Steven FryeSteve's website

Under the light of ancient Western philosophies, our darker moods like grief, anguish, and depression can seem irrational. When viewed through the lens of modern psychology, they can even look like mental disorders. The self-help industry, determined to sell us the promise of a brighter future, can sometimes leave us feeling ashamed that we are not more grateful, happy, or optimistic. Night Vision: Seeing Ourselves Through Dark Moods (Princeton UP, 2023) invites us to consider a different approach to life, one in which we stop feeling bad about feeling bad. In this powerful and disarmingly intimate book, Existentialist philosopher Mariana Alessandri draws on the stories of a diverse group of nineteenth- and twentieth-century philosophers and writers to help us see that our suffering is a sign not that we are broken but that we are tender, perceptive, and intelligent. Thinkers such as Audre Lorde, María Lugones, Miguel de Unamuno, C. S. Lewis, Gloria Anzaldúa, and Søren Kierkegaard sat in their anger, sadness, and anxiety until their eyes adjusted to the dark. Alessandri explains how readers can cultivate "night vision" and discover new sides to their painful moods, such as wit and humor, closeness and warmth, and connection and clarity. Night Vision shows how, when we learn to embrace the dark, we begin to see these moods--and ourselves--as honorable, dignified, and unmistakably human. In this interview, we talk to Alessandri and the narrator of the audio book version of Night Vision, Gisela Chipe.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Under the light of ancient Western philosophies, our darker moods like grief, anguish, and depression can seem irrational. When viewed through the lens of modern psychology, they can even look like mental disorders. The self-help industry, determined to sell us the promise of a brighter future, can sometimes leave us feeling ashamed that we are not more grateful, happy, or optimistic. Night Vision: Seeing Ourselves Through Dark Moods (Princeton UP, 2023) invites us to consider a different approach to life, one in which we stop feeling bad about feeling bad. In this powerful and disarmingly intimate book, Existentialist philosopher Mariana Alessandri draws on the stories of a diverse group of nineteenth- and twentieth-century philosophers and writers to help us see that our suffering is a sign not that we are broken but that we are tender, perceptive, and intelligent. Thinkers such as Audre Lorde, María Lugones, Miguel de Unamuno, C. S. Lewis, Gloria Anzaldúa, and Søren Kierkegaard sat in their anger, sadness, and anxiety until their eyes adjusted to the dark. Alessandri explains how readers can cultivate "night vision" and discover new sides to their painful moods, such as wit and humor, closeness and warmth, and connection and clarity. Night Vision shows how, when we learn to embrace the dark, we begin to see these moods--and ourselves--as honorable, dignified, and unmistakably human. In this interview, we talk to Alessandri and the narrator of the audio book version of Night Vision, Gisela Chipe.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

Under the light of ancient Western philosophies, our darker moods like grief, anguish, and depression can seem irrational. When viewed through the lens of modern psychology, they can even look like mental disorders. The self-help industry, determined to sell us the promise of a brighter future, can sometimes leave us feeling ashamed that we are not more grateful, happy, or optimistic. Night Vision: Seeing Ourselves Through Dark Moods (Princeton UP, 2023) invites us to consider a different approach to life, one in which we stop feeling bad about feeling bad. In this powerful and disarmingly intimate book, Existentialist philosopher Mariana Alessandri draws on the stories of a diverse group of nineteenth- and twentieth-century philosophers and writers to help us see that our suffering is a sign not that we are broken but that we are tender, perceptive, and intelligent. Thinkers such as Audre Lorde, María Lugones, Miguel de Unamuno, C. S. Lewis, Gloria Anzaldúa, and Søren Kierkegaard sat in their anger, sadness, and anxiety until their eyes adjusted to the dark. Alessandri explains how readers can cultivate "night vision" and discover new sides to their painful moods, such as wit and humor, closeness and warmth, and connection and clarity. Night Vision shows how, when we learn to embrace the dark, we begin to see these moods--and ourselves--as honorable, dignified, and unmistakably human. In this interview, we talk to Alessandri and the narrator of the audio book version of Night Vision, Gisela Chipe.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Under the light of ancient Western philosophies, our darker moods like grief, anguish, and depression can seem irrational. When viewed through the lens of modern psychology, they can even look like mental disorders. The self-help industry, determined to sell us the promise of a brighter future, can sometimes leave us feeling ashamed that we are not more grateful, happy, or optimistic. Night Vision: Seeing Ourselves Through Dark Moods (Princeton UP, 2023) invites us to consider a different approach to life, one in which we stop feeling bad about feeling bad. In this powerful and disarmingly intimate book, Existentialist philosopher Mariana Alessandri draws on the stories of a diverse group of nineteenth- and twentieth-century philosophers and writers to help us see that our suffering is a sign not that we are broken but that we are tender, perceptive, and intelligent. Thinkers such as Audre Lorde, María Lugones, Miguel de Unamuno, C. S. Lewis, Gloria Anzaldúa, and Søren Kierkegaard sat in their anger, sadness, and anxiety until their eyes adjusted to the dark. Alessandri explains how readers can cultivate "night vision" and discover new sides to their painful moods, such as wit and humor, closeness and warmth, and connection and clarity. Night Vision shows how, when we learn to embrace the dark, we begin to see these moods--and ourselves--as honorable, dignified, and unmistakably human. In this interview, we talk to Alessandri and the narrator of the audio book version of Night Vision, Gisela Chipe.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Under the light of ancient Western philosophies, our darker moods like grief, anguish, and depression can seem irrational. When viewed through the lens of modern psychology, they can even look like mental disorders. The self-help industry, determined to sell us the promise of a brighter future, can sometimes leave us feeling ashamed that we are not more grateful, happy, or optimistic. Night Vision: Seeing Ourselves Through Dark Moods (Princeton UP, 2023) invites us to consider a different approach to life, one in which we stop feeling bad about feeling bad. In this powerful and disarmingly intimate book, Existentialist philosopher Mariana Alessandri draws on the stories of a diverse group of nineteenth- and twentieth-century philosophers and writers to help us see that our suffering is a sign not that we are broken but that we are tender, perceptive, and intelligent. Thinkers such as Audre Lorde, María Lugones, Miguel de Unamuno, C. S. Lewis, Gloria Anzaldúa, and Søren Kierkegaard sat in their anger, sadness, and anxiety until their eyes adjusted to the dark. Alessandri explains how readers can cultivate "night vision" and discover new sides to their painful moods, such as wit and humor, closeness and warmth, and connection and clarity. Night Vision shows how, when we learn to embrace the dark, we begin to see these moods--and ourselves--as honorable, dignified, and unmistakably human. In this interview, we talk to Alessandri and the narrator of the audio book version of Night Vision, Gisela Chipe. 

Welcome back for another episode of Nick's Non-fiction with your host Nick Muniz Featuring not only philosophers but also playwrights, anthropologists, convicts, and revolutionaries, At the Existentialist Café follows the existentialists' story from the first rebellious spark through the Second World War to its role in postwar liberation movements such as anti-colonialism, feminism, and gay rights. Interweaving biography and philosophy, it is the epic account of passionate encounters - fights, love affairs, mentorships, rebellions, and long partnerships and a vital investigation into what the existentialists have to offer us today. Subscribe, Share, Mobile links & Time-stamps below! 0:00 Introduction 5:20 About the Author 7:25 Ch1: Sarte 18:20 Ch2: The Magician from Messkirch 24:05 Ch3: Occupation Liberation 31:25 Ch4: The Dancing Philosopher 37:20 Ch5: The Imponderable Bloom 45:15 Next Time & Goodbye! 45:45 Da Hang/Newz YouTube: https://youtu.be/EqKipaZh7n8 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheNiche

We continue our climb up the mountain of Purgatory. Canto Four begins with a consideration of the meaning of prayer for the process of purgation. God, we are told, cannot hear the prayers of those passing through Purgatory, but their time on the mountain can be shortened by the prayers of the living. We discuss this rather strange piece of doctrine. Given what we learned in Hell about the very precise nature of divine justice, doesn't this violate or circumvent it somehow? Or is this an argument for the God-granted power of the human mind, and the importance of community within Christianity? We also discuss the importance of paying attention. Dante seems to suggest here, in an almost proto-Existentialist way, that certain aspects of reality are revealed through attentiveness that can't be discovered any other way. Does this connect to these Canto's focus on prayer? Finally, we consider again Dante's political commitments. Can his longing after the perfect monarch be squared with his metaphysics? Is it incurably naïve, or are we just being decadent moderns? Is the naivety with him or with us? 

Christianity is a relationship with Jesus Christ and not religious practices. If we are trying to approach God through zealous religion apart from an eternity transforming relationship with Jesus Christ, we are self-deluding and hypocritical; we have put off God with heartless duties; we have acted in religion as if we have been blessing an idol; we are left powerless to search our hearts and regulate it, and exercise it in our performances; a religion that leaves us without an eternal standing before the coming Lord. May we be those who are found diligent to study our hearts, watch our hearts, keep our hearts! How right it is to step aside often to talk with God and our own hearts; that we would keep a more true and faithful account of our thoughts and affections; that we would seriously demand of our own heart at least every evening, “O my heart, where have you been today, and what has engaged your thoughts?”Core thoughts of this episode curated from John Flavel: "Treatise on Keeping the Heart" (public domain). Another great resource from the massive website, https://www.archive.orghttps://chat.openai.com/chathttps://northernexposure.fandom.com/wiki/Chris_Stevenshttps://www.moosechick.comFruit of the Spirit: Gal. 5:22-23"Other Things with... " YouTube ChannelCut & Paste Personal Invitation to invite your friends to check out “gwot.rocks” podcast: I invite you to check out the podcast, “gwot.rocks: God, the World, and Other Things!” It is available on podcast players everywhere! Here is the link to the show's home base for all its episodes: http://podcast.gwot.rocks/ (Ctrl+click to follow the link) LIFE HELPSDONATE You can help support this podcast by clicking our secure PayPal account. For donation by check, make payable to Transform This City, P.O. Box 1013, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174. “gwot.rocks” is a ministry of Transform This City. gwot.rocks home page Transform This City Transform This City Facebook gwot.rocks@transformthiscity.org Thank you for listening! Please tell your friends about us! Listen, share, rate, subscribe! Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian StandardBible®, Copyright © 2016 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. ChristianStandard Bible® and CSB® is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Art of Manliness Once a year, I read The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It's a cathartic annual ritual for me. What is it about this novel that has such an impact on my soul and those of other readers? Who is the man who wrote it, and what was he trying to do with this story of a father and son struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic landscape?For answers to these questions, I decided to talk to a foremost expert on McCarthy's work, as well as the literature of the American West in general. His name is Steven Frye and he's a professor of English, a novelist in his own right, and the author and editor of several books about the reclusive, philosophical author, including Understanding Cormac McCarthy. We begin our conversation with some background on McCarthy and a discussion of his distinctive style and themes, and why he avoids the limelight and prefers to hang out with scientists over fellow artists. We then dive into The Road, and Steve unpacks what inspired it, as well as the authors and books that influenced it. We then dig into the big themes of The Road, and how it can be read as a biblical allegory that wrestles with the existence of God. We delve into the tension which exists between the father and son in the book, and what it means to "carry the fire." We end our conversation with why reading The Road makes you feel both depressed and hopeful at the same time.A spoiler alert here: If you haven't read The Road yet, we do reveal some of the plot points in this discussion. Also, why haven't you read The Road yet?Resources Related to the PodcastOther books by Steven Frye, including his novel Dogwood CrossingMcCarthy's books mentioned in the show:The RoadAll the Pretty HorsesBlood MeridianThe Orchard KeeperNo Country for Old MenThe Sunset LimitedThe film adaptation of The RoadThe Santa Fe InstituteBrothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky"Cat in the Rain" — short story by Ernest Hemingway"Indian Camp" — short story by Ernest HemingwayAoM Podcast #635: The Existentialist's Survival GuideAoM Article: Carry the FireAoM Article: Books So Good I've Read Them 2X (Or More!)Connect With Steven FryeSteve's website

People sometimes ask me what I think of video games. I think that, in moderation, they're a fine source of the kind of passive entertainment we all need little doses of in our lives. But for me personally, I rarely play video games because there's just too much other stuff I'd rather do instead.There is one notable exception to my ambivalence towards video games, however. A game which I played for hours with thorough enjoyment and zero regret: Red Dead Redemption 2. It's a video game that's more immersive and story-like than most others, and even gets you reflecting on the existential layers of life.Here to discuss those deeper layers of Red Dead Redemption 2 with me is Patrick Stokes, a professor of philosophy and fellow fan of the game. We combine two of my favorite things — Red Dead Redemption 2 and the philosophy of Soren Kierkegaard — in a conversation on the existential themes you can find in the game like nostalgia, freedom, choice and consequences, and the certain uncertainty of death.Resources Related to the EpisodeAoM Podcast #790: Kierkegaard on the Present (Passionless) AgeAoM Podcast #635: The Existentialist's Survival Guide"Art for Trying Times: How a Philosopher Found Solace Playing RedDeadRedemption 2" by Patrick StokesDigital Souls: A Philosophy of Online Death by Patrick Stokes"A Special Way of Being Afraid" — Kathy Behrendt on the fear of non-existence in deathA Very Easy Death by Simone De BeauvoirPhoto of Lewis Powell — conspirator in the Lincoln assassination"The Ruin" poemKierkegaard quote on living life forwardsMimesis as Make-Believe by Kendall WaltonThe Ethical Demand by Knud Ejler LøgstrupPatrick's articles on New Philosopher Connect With Patrick StokesPatrick's WebsitePatrick on Twitter

Haruki Murakami has often been accused of being a feckless, merely popular writer, but in The Existentialist Vision of Haruki Murakami (Cambria Press, 2022) Michael Ackland demonstrates that this is not the case, arguing that Murakami has not only assimilated the existentialist heritage but innovatively changed and revitalized it, thereby placing exciting personal possibilities within the reach of his worldwide readership. Ackland's study begins by tracing the troubled introduction of such alien conceptions as individualism, democracy and citizens' rights, and self-interested autonomy into Japan. It argues that Haruki Murakami was seminally exposed to these ideas, and to their modern reconfiguration in French existentialism, during the student protests of the late 1960s, and that the dissent and radicalism of this period has been rechanneled into his fiction. The first two chapters introduce readers to this formative period and to major, recurring concerns in Murakami's fiction. Then modern existentialism itself is discussed in terms of its philosophical roots in the writings of Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, and of its fictional dramatization in the works of such authors as Fyodor Dostoevsky and Franz Kafka, and finally as it was received in Japan. Usually foreign conceptions undergo considerable recasting in Japan to heighten their relevance and innovative potential. This, too, is a hallmark of Murakami's adaptations, and part of his virulent critique of Japanese socialization and conformity, which is traced initially in such important short fiction as “The Elephant Vanishes” and “Sleep.” The bulk of this monograph focuses on the place of existentialism in Murakami's major novels. It argues that much-maligned “Murakami man” actually represents a carefully calculated case of failed or partial socialization, which leaves him ripe for unconventional personal developments, and eventually to become an exemplary existentialist figure. In Japan, according to Murakami, the individual typically becomes a regimented, exhaustively worked foot-soldier of contemporary capitalism, or archetypal salaryman, with the potential for terrible excesses underscored by telling allusions to war atrocities and the holocaust. Or the individual can become a free-thinking agent and vibrant alternative to the Japanese consensual norm. Independent decision-making and action are all important, for as Sartre famously stated, “human freedom precedes essence.” In other words, we make ourselves—how this is possible is explored in three chapters, which examine in succession Murakami's vision of childhood and formative years, his use of the supernatural and metaphor to disrupt social norms and to radically expand the challenges confronting individuals, and his evolving conception of what constitutes meaningful, accessible existentialist action. Jingyi Li is a PhD Candidate in Japanese History at the University of Arizona. She researches about early modern Japan, literati, and commercial publishing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Haruki Murakami has often been accused of being a feckless, merely popular writer, but in The Existentialist Vision of Haruki Murakami (Cambria Press, 2022) Michael Ackland demonstrates that this is not the case, arguing that Murakami has not only assimilated the existentialist heritage but innovatively changed and revitalized it, thereby placing exciting personal possibilities within the reach of his worldwide readership. Ackland's study begins by tracing the troubled introduction of such alien conceptions as individualism, democracy and citizens' rights, and self-interested autonomy into Japan. It argues that Haruki Murakami was seminally exposed to these ideas, and to their modern reconfiguration in French existentialism, during the student protests of the late 1960s, and that the dissent and radicalism of this period has been rechanneled into his fiction. The first two chapters introduce readers to this formative period and to major, recurring concerns in Murakami's fiction. Then modern existentialism itself is discussed in terms of its philosophical roots in the writings of Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, and of its fictional dramatization in the works of such authors as Fyodor Dostoevsky and Franz Kafka, and finally as it was received in Japan. Usually foreign conceptions undergo considerable recasting in Japan to heighten their relevance and innovative potential. This, too, is a hallmark of Murakami's adaptations, and part of his virulent critique of Japanese socialization and conformity, which is traced initially in such important short fiction as “The Elephant Vanishes” and “Sleep.” The bulk of this monograph focuses on the place of existentialism in Murakami's major novels. It argues that much-maligned “Murakami man” actually represents a carefully calculated case of failed or partial socialization, which leaves him ripe for unconventional personal developments, and eventually to become an exemplary existentialist figure. In Japan, according to Murakami, the individual typically becomes a regimented, exhaustively worked foot-soldier of contemporary capitalism, or archetypal salaryman, with the potential for terrible excesses underscored by telling allusions to war atrocities and the holocaust. Or the individual can become a free-thinking agent and vibrant alternative to the Japanese consensual norm. Independent decision-making and action are all important, for as Sartre famously stated, “human freedom precedes essence.” In other words, we make ourselves—how this is possible is explored in three chapters, which examine in succession Murakami's vision of childhood and formative years, his use of the supernatural and metaphor to disrupt social norms and to radically expand the challenges confronting individuals, and his evolving conception of what constitutes meaningful, accessible existentialist action. Jingyi Li is a PhD Candidate in Japanese History at the University of Arizona. She researches about early modern Japan, literati, and commercial publishing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

Haruki Murakami has often been accused of being a feckless, merely popular writer, but in The Existentialist Vision of Haruki Murakami (Cambria Press, 2022) Michael Ackland demonstrates that this is not the case, arguing that Murakami has not only assimilated the existentialist heritage but innovatively changed and revitalized it, thereby placing exciting personal possibilities within the reach of his worldwide readership. Ackland's study begins by tracing the troubled introduction of such alien conceptions as individualism, democracy and citizens' rights, and self-interested autonomy into Japan. It argues that Haruki Murakami was seminally exposed to these ideas, and to their modern reconfiguration in French existentialism, during the student protests of the late 1960s, and that the dissent and radicalism of this period has been rechanneled into his fiction. The first two chapters introduce readers to this formative period and to major, recurring concerns in Murakami's fiction. Then modern existentialism itself is discussed in terms of its philosophical roots in the writings of Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, and of its fictional dramatization in the works of such authors as Fyodor Dostoevsky and Franz Kafka, and finally as it was received in Japan. Usually foreign conceptions undergo considerable recasting in Japan to heighten their relevance and innovative potential. This, too, is a hallmark of Murakami's adaptations, and part of his virulent critique of Japanese socialization and conformity, which is traced initially in such important short fiction as “The Elephant Vanishes” and “Sleep.” The bulk of this monograph focuses on the place of existentialism in Murakami's major novels. It argues that much-maligned “Murakami man” actually represents a carefully calculated case of failed or partial socialization, which leaves him ripe for unconventional personal developments, and eventually to become an exemplary existentialist figure. In Japan, according to Murakami, the individual typically becomes a regimented, exhaustively worked foot-soldier of contemporary capitalism, or archetypal salaryman, with the potential for terrible excesses underscored by telling allusions to war atrocities and the holocaust. Or the individual can become a free-thinking agent and vibrant alternative to the Japanese consensual norm. Independent decision-making and action are all important, for as Sartre famously stated, “human freedom precedes essence.” In other words, we make ourselves—how this is possible is explored in three chapters, which examine in succession Murakami's vision of childhood and formative years, his use of the supernatural and metaphor to disrupt social norms and to radically expand the challenges confronting individuals, and his evolving conception of what constitutes meaningful, accessible existentialist action. Jingyi Li is a PhD Candidate in Japanese History at the University of Arizona. She researches about early modern Japan, literati, and commercial publishing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

This episode of Dirty Water hits a high-water mark as Ben Mondy peels layers from "the best surfer in his generation never to win a world title" Julian Wilson. Many revelations, including Julian's arrest as a teen, the day he stared death in the face, not just his own, but Bruce Irons', Nathan Fletcher's and Maya Gaberia's, how he was forced to become the family breadwinner at fifteen after his mama got hit with breast cancer and why he wanted to beat hell out of a fellow competitor. Essential.      

Suswati Basu is a multilingual disabled journalist, mental health books show podcast host, and award-winning activist.She has written for the Guardian, Huffington Post, and the F-Word blogs, and has worked for various media outlets such as the BBC, Channel 4 News, and ITV News. She has worked in China, India, and the UK and currently writes on a freelance basis. As a result, she speaks multiple languages including Mandarin, Spanish, Hindi, and Bengali. Suswati has also appeared on BBC Radio's Woman's Hour with Jenni Murray as well as BBC News, speaking in regard to feminist issues. As a survivor and thriver from trauma, living with both mental health and physical disabilities, she began the How To Be... podcast looking at helping mental wellbeing through reading and interviewing authors.   Suswati joined me today to talk about Albert Camus' “The Stranger,” a classic of Existentialist literature, featuring a disconnected main character who faces consequences for a violent action he committed, even though he evidently has no concept of consequences, violence, or feelings. If you're my age and you grew up in the States, you probably read this in your high school English class, and all I can tell you is that it's a totally different book now.     Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   This episode is sponsored by Lover's Moon by Mark Leslie and Julie Strauss   Do you have a book you want to tell me about? Go HERE to apply to be a guest on the Best Book Ever Podcast.   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram     Guest: Suswati Basu Podcast/Website/Facebook/Instagram/You Tube/Twitter Discussed in this episode: The Stranger by Albert Camus The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 1984 by George Orwell Haramacy: A Collecgtion of Stories Prescribed by Voices from the Middle East, South Asian, and the Diaspora by Zahed Sultan Energize: Make the Most of Every Moment by Simon Alexander Ong How to Be Sad: Everything I've Learned About Getting Happier by Being Sad by Helen Russell The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country by Helen Russell Stronger: Changing Everything I Knew About Women's Health by Poorna Bell   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links, meaning I get a few bucks off your purchase at no extra expense to you. The charity links are NOT affiliates, but they are organizations I trust and personally donate money to. Anytime you shop for books, you can use my affiliate link on Bookshop, which also supports Indie Bookstores around the country. If you're shopping for everything else – clothes, office supplies, gluten-free pasta, couches – you can use my affiliate link for Amazon. Thank you for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

Suswati Basu is a multilingual disabled journalist, mental health books show podcast host, and award-winning activist.She has written for the Guardian, Huffington Post, and the F-Word blogs, and has worked for various media outlets such as the BBC, Channel 4 News, and ITV News. She has worked in China, India, and the UK and currently writes on a freelance basis. As a result, she speaks multiple languages including Mandarin, Spanish, Hindi, and Bengali. Suswati has also appeared on BBC Radio's Woman's Hour with Jenni Murray as well as BBC News, speaking in regard to feminist issues. As a survivor and thriver from trauma, living with both mental health and physical disabilities, she began the How To Be... podcast looking at helping mental wellbeing through reading and interviewing authors.   Suswati joined me today to talk about Albert Camus' “The Stranger,” a classic of Existentialist literature, featuring a disconnected main character who faces consequences for a violent action he committed, even though he evidently has no concept of consequences, violence, or feelings. If you're my age and you grew up in the States, you probably read this in your high school English class, and all I can tell you is that it's a totally different book now.     Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website   This episode is sponsored by Lover's Moon by Mark Leslie and Julie Strauss   Do you have a book you want to tell me about? Go HERE to apply to be a guest on the Best Book Ever Podcast.   Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram     Guest: Suswati Basu Podcast/Website/Facebook/Instagram/You Tube/Twitter Discussed in this episode: The Stranger by Albert Camus The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 1984 by George Orwell Haramacy: A Collecgtion of Stories Prescribed by Voices from the Middle East, South Asian, and the Diaspora by Zahed Sultan Energize: Make the Most of Every Moment by Simon Alexander Ong How to Be Sad: Everything I've Learned About Getting Happier by Being Sad by Helen Russell The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country by Helen Russell Stronger: Changing Everything I Knew About Women's Health by Poorna Bell   (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links, meaning I get a few bucks off your purchase at no extra expense to you. The charity links are NOT affiliates, but they are organizations I trust and personally donate money to. Anytime you shop for books, you can use my affiliate link on Bookshop, which also supports Indie Bookstores around the country. If you're shopping for everything else – clothes, office supplies, gluten-free pasta, couches – you can use my affiliate link for Amazon. Thank you for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!)

Emil has a mid-life crisis... and records it. This episode is a sequel to "The Outsider", the other purely philosophical episode that anchored Drifter's Sympathy into a hardcore existentialist stance. This cast uses the holy trinity of American Country Music, Taoism and the Twilight Zone to illustrate our fruitless attempt to resolve the perpetually unfinished nature of consciousness itself. In the form of a classic Existentialist thesis, 'Four Walls' puts forward that escapism only erodes what integrity and strength we have... and that the only way forward is straight through the murk & confusion directly. At the very least, you'll never hear the song "Hello Walls" the same again... and at the very best, this cast helps demonstrate why Kurtz's last words in 'Heart of Darkness' are "The horror, The horror."

Do you ever feel like the time we live in feels flat, complacent, timid, conformist, populated by people who are focused on playing it safe and are inwardly empty?A century and a half ago, the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard felt the same way about the period in which he lived, and posited that there are two kinds of ages: the revolutionary, decisive, and passionate, and the sensible, rational, and reflective.Here to unpack Kierkegaard's ideas on these two kinds of ages is Jacob Howland, retired professor of philosophy and author of Kierkegaard and Socrates. Today on the show, Jacob and I first discuss some background on Kierkegaard and his existential philosophy. We then get into the differences between an age of passion and an age of reflection. We discuss how in a passionate age, an individual stands as an individual, possesses an energy which focuses on truth and ideals, and has the courage to take bold leaps of faith, while in a reflective age, the individual is subsumed by the crowd, is afraid of public opinion, and gets so lost in analysis and abstraction that he never makes a decisive move. All along the way, we delve into how Kierkegaard's description of his age parallels our own, and Kierkegaard's evergreen call to be an individual, embrace risk, and own your opinions and actions.Resources Related to the PodcastWorks by Kierkegaard mentioned in the show:Two Ages: A Literary ReviewEither/OrFear and TremblingThe Sickness Unto DeathPhilosophical FragmentsConcluding Unscientific Postscript on Philosophical FragmentsThomasine Christine Gyllembourg-EhrensvärdGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich HegelOn the Advantage and Disadvantage of History for Life by Friedrich Nietzsche “Yes, Sabermetrics Ruined Baseball”AoM Article: Your Three Selves and How Not to Fall Into DespairAoM Article: An Intro to EnvyAoM Podcast #635: The Existentialist's Survival GuideConnect With Jacob HowlandJacob's Website

Tune in to hear:- What are some different attitudes about aging and death held across the world? How particular is the western attitude about these things relative to the rest of the world?- How do these attitudinal perspectives shift the concrete outcomes (e.g. levels of happiness and fulfillment) for people who are themselves aging?- Where should one begin if they would like to start incorporating more eastern ideas around death and not push back so much against the natural aging process?- In 12-15 years, America will have its most aged population yet. What are the societal implications for this national “greying” and are we prepared for the implications of this as a country?- What are the pros and cons of working past the traditional retirement age of 65?- How can we mentally prepare ourselves for retirement outside of a fixed savings benchmark?- Are there practical steps we can take to drive home the salience of the reality of our aging?- What is a potential colloquial definition of Existentialism and how can it be practically applied to improve one's quality of life? - What are some good reading resources for applying existentialism practically? Instagram: @old_methuselahCompliance Code: 0216-OAS-2/2/2022

Tune in to hear:- Is the market always crazy or does it go through long periods of predictability in many peoples' lifetimes? Is uncertainty implicit in capital markets?- There's always going to be a reason to fear, there's always going to be a reason not to invest. What pragmatic steps can we take to invest thoughtfully in the face of this?- Why might concentrated, active portfolios make more sense for some subset of the population?- What are some potential catalysts that could bring active management back in favor?- How does Emilie think about active management from an angle of creative destruction?- Financial wellness is a term that is thrown out there a lot, but it is rarely elucidated in depth or operationalized. What does financial wellness really look like?- Has Emilie noticed patterns of how clients' behaviors and concerns differ between those with varying tiers of wealth?- What's a financial concern for women that men are largely oblivious to?Instagram @emiliedayanhillCompliance Code: 2928-OAS-11/17/2021