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I can see how those two philosophers can well-equip you with a good metaphysical framework for life. I haven't read Aurelius's Meditations but it's lying around

by 50 6y ago

I can see how those two philosophers can well-equip you with a good metaphysical framework for life. I haven't read Aurelius's Meditations but it's lying around somewhere - in due time, I suppose. I failed an existentialism course not too long ago and it partly focused on Kierkegaard. The particular books I like from him are Works of Love and Fear and Trembling. If you are interested in more of his thinking, you might like the Danish drama film entitled Ordet (1955). Also, if you want to know more about his personal life, I liked this read: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/keeper-loves-flame-regine-olsen-soren-kierkegaard/ https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/keeper-loves-flame-regin...

AmericanChopper 6y ago
Thanks, I’ll give that movie a watch. Personally I think Either/Or is more significant than Fear and Trembling, but Fear and Trembling was ultimately more influential. Personally I see stoicism and leap-of-faith style absurdism as being quite complimentary. I find the leap of faith to be the most appealing resolution to the absurd, but I don’t think the existentialists were particularly successful in addressing anguish. The stoics on the other hand, excelled in this regard.
- 50 6y ago
  One of the questions I was thinking about when I took that course on existentialism is why might religious existentialism be superior, for lack of a better word, than vanilla existentialism. Research on that question led me to an essay titled "The Other Side of Despair" by Thomas Merton [1]. It's a really good read that I think you'll like. I like the reference and analysis of Kierkegaard's idea of "leveling" - a process "by which the individual person loses himself in the vast emptiness of a public mind" - which is a lot like "alienation" in modern day. Which also reminds me, I should check out Kierkegaard's The Present Age. [1]: https://thevalueofsparrows.wordpress.com/2014/03/29/saturday-reading-the-other-side-of-despair-by-thomas-merton/ https://thevalueofsparrows.wordpress.com/2014/03/29/saturday...
  - AmericanChopper 6y ago
    I’ve always thought it was because living a life with meaning requires faith in one way or another, and the Christian existentialists were simply more comfortable with the concept. The involvement of Christian theology really just muddies the waters imo, because the broader topic is really just about faith, and any effort to impart your own meaning (whether religious or otherwise) to your own life is naturally an act of faith. Kierkegaard was a Christian, but his philosophy revolves primarily around the concept of faith (believing something you can’t prove). Nietzsche was an atheist, but his Death of God was a rejection of faith in general as the basis for providing any meaning to life. The leap of faith as a philosophical concept is not about religion. It’s the concept that a person can provide their own life with meaning, without any rational proof to support such a conclusion. If you find the work of Christian existentialists to be superior, it’s likely because you find the leap of faith to be the superior response to the absurd.

by 50 6y ago

AmericanChopper 6y ago

Thanks, I’ll give that movie a watch. Personally I think Either/Or is more significant than Fear and Trembling, but Fear and Trembling was ultimately more influential. Personally I see stoicism and leap-of-faith style absurdism as being quite complimentary. I find the leap of faith to be the most appealing resolution to the absurd, but I don’t think the existentialists were particularly successful in addressing anguish. The stoics on the other hand, excelled in this regard.

50 6y ago
One of the questions I was thinking about when I took that course on existentialism is why might religious existentialism be superior, for lack of a better word, than vanilla existentialism. Research on that question led me to an essay titled "The Other Side of Despair" by Thomas Merton [1]. It's a really good read that I think you'll like. I like the reference and analysis of Kierkegaard's idea of "leveling" - a process "by which the individual person loses himself in the vast emptiness of a public mind" - which is a lot like "alienation" in modern day. Which also reminds me, I should check out Kierkegaard's The Present Age. [1]: https://thevalueofsparrows.wordpress.com/2014/03/29/saturday-reading-the-other-side-of-despair-by-thomas-merton/ https://thevalueofsparrows.wordpress.com/2014/03/29/saturday...
- AmericanChopper 6y ago
  I’ve always thought it was because living a life with meaning requires faith in one way or another, and the Christian existentialists were simply more comfortable with the concept. The involvement of Christian theology really just muddies the waters imo, because the broader topic is really just about faith, and any effort to impart your own meaning (whether religious or otherwise) to your own life is naturally an act of faith. Kierkegaard was a Christian, but his philosophy revolves primarily around the concept of faith (believing something you can’t prove). Nietzsche was an atheist, but his Death of God was a rejection of faith in general as the basis for providing any meaning to life. The leap of faith as a philosophical concept is not about religion. It’s the concept that a person can provide their own life with meaning, without any rational proof to support such a conclusion. If you find the work of Christian existentialists to be superior, it’s likely because you find the leap of faith to be the superior response to the absurd.