DE Weekly: Cynicism, Nihilism, & Rick and Morty
Cynicism and nihilism are two of the most pervasive ideologies of our time. That’s a bad thing. Don’t get me wrong–I’ve thought a lot about both, and I totally get it. I get how the state of the world could entice people to think this way. But these ideologies are pernicious ones–they eat away at you over time and corrode your soul and your spirit.
DE Weekly: Life, Perspective, & Midnight in Paris
Right now is the best time in human history to be alive. I know, with all the troubles of the world today, this seems like a tone-deaf statement. But I’m not being facetious–I really do believe this.
DE Weekly: Inspiration, Service, & Transcendence
Throughout history, a certain kind of person has transcended their own lifetime and remained an inspiration for generations of people to come. To achieve that feat, that person likely performed some great service for humanity.
DE Weekly: History, Fate, & Inevitability
There are those who believe that no choice you make in your life matters. There are those with the opposite view that every choice you make is of ultimate consequence in life. I believe the reality is probably somewhere in the middle. I’ll try to explain why, using a book I finished this week as an example.
DE Weekly: Camus, The Stranger, & Absurdism
“Maman died today.” This opening line from Albert Camus’s The Stranger is one of the most famous lines ever written by any of the existentialists. For good reason, too; it begins one of the best works of existentialist fiction, a story so important because of its mastery of Absurdism.
DE Weekly: Purpose, Happiness, & Cats
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about two things: purpose and happiness. Specifically, I’ve asked myself two questions: What is my purpose in life? And, how can I be happy with however my life ends up?
DE Weekly: Sartre, Hell, & No Exit
“There’s no more hope–but it’s still ‘before.’ We haven’t yet began to suffer” (Sartre 10). There have been countless memorable depictions of Hell over the millennia, but Jean-Paul Sartre’s unforgettable depiction of Hell in his play No Exit remains one of the best.
DE Weekly: Jack Symes, Panpsychism, & Consciousness
I’m constantly exposing myself to philosophical ideas that might inspire me to delve into more reading and learning. This week, I listened to two different podcasts featuring Jack Symes that did just that for me.
DE Weekly: Elvis, Searching, & American Tragedy
The ideas of existentialism aren’t limited to the stories told by the existentialists themselves. In fact, some of the best literature and other art that evokes existentialist ideas do so without even trying.
DE Weekly: Sartre, Being and Nothingness, & Pas Encore Vu
Besides being the preeminent existentialist philosopher, synonymous with the movement and at the forefront of its most emergent thinking, Jean-Paul Sartre also happens to be the author by whom I’ve read the most stuff (save maybe Camus).