Published in Embodying Philosophy·PinnedMember-onlyA Central Problem With Western Philosophy“The passionate revivification of these words and doctrines…is an impotent call to hold fast.” — Jaspers — The other day I was reading an excerpt of Karl Jaspers book, Existenzphilosophie, translated by Felix Kaufmann from 1941. Karl Jaspers is a philosopher that isn’t as widely read as say Heidegger or Sartre, but everything I have read by him has been insightful and interesting. …Philosophy9 min readPhilosophy9 min read
Published in Embodying Philosophy·1 day agoMember-onlyInexhaustible Joy, Catharsis, and PurificationO God, Beast, Mystery; Come! — Human culture, since the dawn of humanity, has been kept alive by the flames of mythology. We frame ourselves as living in myth, and we play this out on a psychological level. We even form our societies based on these myths. Every society developed has done this. In philosophical terms…Philosophy8 min readPhilosophy8 min read
Published in Embodying Philosophy·Jan 26Member-onlyIs Virtue Sufficient for a Good Life?“Virtue is that perfect good which is the complement of a happy life…” — Seneca — The Stoics posit that virtue is sufficient for a good life, and that all other things are indifferent — though they are split into preferred and non-preferred indifferents, such as housing (which is preferred) or homelessness (which is non-preferred). …Stoic7 min readStoic7 min read
Published in Embodying Philosophy·Jan 13Member-onlyThe Apprehension of Nothingness, Anguish, and Vertigo.“It is in anguish that man gets the consciousness of his freedom…” — It has been posited by Jean-Paul Sartre that when a man realizes his own freedom, he experiences fear and anguish. And he doesn’t mean it in a normal sense of the word — he means it in a core, primal way. He seems to think that anguish is the core…Philosophy7 min readPhilosophy7 min read
Jan 4Member-onlyBreaking Into Philosophy“Philosophy is like a locked castle with no doors and windows…” — It’s been said that philosophy is like a locked castle with no doors or windows, yet all the “doing” of philosophy happens inside this castle. How does one enter this proverbial castle of philosophy? How should one get started? …Stoic3 min readStoic3 min read
Published in Embodying Philosophy·Dec 31, 2022Member-onlyThe Last Bastion of FreedomExploring Sartre’s Conception of Freedom — Jean-Paul Sartre was a monumental philosopher and prolific writer in the 20th century. He was one of the main thinkers that helped usher in the era of Existentialist thought as the dominant philosophical movement in the last century. William Barrett, in his book Irrational Man, mentions his philosophy by nature…Philosophy5 min readPhilosophy5 min read
Published in Embodying Philosophy·Dec 30, 2022Member-onlyStoic Reflection Issue №15Fame in a World like This is Worthless — I went on a date with a woman from Bumble last week. We are both 30, and so we were talking about life paths and such, all those things you have conversations about as you get older to not waste each others’ time. She mentioned the desire to start an…Stoic6 min readStoic6 min read
Published in Embodying Philosophy·Dec 18, 2022Member-onlyThe Return to BeingBeing and Nothingness Issue №6 — In issue №5, we investigated the foundation of Being and determined that it is subjective. We have discovered two modes of Being — that of relativity and of passivity. We determined that in order to be, a thing cannot not be passive in its own creation. We have also said…Philosophy9 min readPhilosophy9 min read
Published in Embodying Philosophy·Oct 19, 2022Member-onlyThe Philosophical Mode of Being“To philosophize is at once to learn how to live and know how to die.” — Karl Jaspers — What do you think of when you think of philosophy? Do you think of it as a subject in school that was always a little out of touch? Do you think of it as a pointless, abstract study that renders no meaning in the lives of men? As useless folly? …Stoic8 min readStoic8 min read
Published in Embodying Philosophy·Sep 16, 2022Member-onlyStoic Reflections Issue №14The Dialect of Existence — The true nature of reality is that of change. Everything is in flux; nature, society, how we behave in relation to those things. The sage-like philosopher Heraclitus, who was a source of inspiration for the Stoic school, held this sentiment as well; “All things are in process and nothing stays…Stoic5 min readStoic5 min read