“Man cannot stand a meaningless life.” Carl Jung, BBC “Face To Face” (1959) The world is a terrifying place and suffering is inevitable. We need a meaning to survive, to live properly – and we are ready to suffer and undergo sacrifice in order to preserve this meaning. “He who has a why to liveContinue reading “What is the Meaning of Life?”
Tag Archives: Philosophy
Book Review: Either/Or – Søren Kierkegaard
Either/Or: A Fragment of Life was published by Søren Kierkegaard in 1843, making it his first major work. The book was written under the pseudonym Victor Eremita “Victorious Hermit”. In the preface, Victor Eremita tells us that he has found two papers in an old desk. They express the viewpoints of two distinct figures withContinue reading “Book Review: Either/Or – Søren Kierkegaard”
Book Review: Twilight of the Idols – Nietzsche
In 1888, the last sane year of Nietzsche’s life, he produced two brief but devastating books: Twilight of the Idols and The Anti-Christ. Originally titled The Idle Hours of a Psychologist, it was renamed Twilight of the Idols or, How to Philosophise with a Hammer by recommendation of Peter Gast, who urged him to findContinue reading “Book Review: Twilight of the Idols – Nietzsche”
The Turn, Technology & The Last God – Heidegger
After Heidegger’s masterpiece Being and Time there is a reorienting shift in Heidegger’s philosophy known as “die Kehre” or “the turn”, he links this to his own failure to produce the missing divisions of Being and Time, as the book remained unfinished. He also distances his view from Jean Paul Sartre’s existentialism, particularly his BeingContinue reading “The Turn, Technology & The Last God – Heidegger”
Temporality – Heidegger
The second most important feature of Being and Time, apart from Being is, Time. Heidegger calls it “temporality.” Dasein is time, we are embodied time. We go from being-in-the-world to care to temporality. Temporality is the ultimate meaning of being-in-the-world and care. The anticipation of death is the ultimate source of meaning of temporality. HeideggerContinue reading “Temporality – Heidegger”
Facticity, Existentiality, Fallenness – Heidegger
The things we care about is a central focus in Heidegger’s philosophy. There are three fundamental terms for the care structure of Dasein: facticity, existentiality and fallenness. 1. Facticity Facticity is a part of what he calls “Geworfenheit” or “thrownness”. We are all thrown or projected into the world, arbitrarily born into a given family,Continue reading “Facticity, Existentiality, Fallenness – Heidegger”
Ready-to-hand and present-at-hand – Heidegger
Two of Heidegger’s most basic neologisms, present-at-hand and ready-to-hand, are used to describe various attitudes toward things in the world. We are constantly surrounded by “equipment” as stuff we can work with in a “context of significance”. For Heidegger, most of the time we are involved in the world in an ordinary way or “ready-to-hand.”Continue reading “Ready-to-hand and present-at-hand – Heidegger”
Dasein and Being-in-the-world – Heidegger
The fundamental concept of Being and Time (Heidegger’s magnum opus) is the idea of Da-sein or “being-there”, which simply means existence, it is the experience of the human being. The world is full of beings, but human beings are the only ones who care about what it means to be themselves. “A human being isContinue reading “Dasein and Being-in-the-world – Heidegger”
Introduction to Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger is known as one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. Born in Germany in 1889, he is best known for his work in existentialism and phenomenology. Heidegger was influenced at an early age by the Greeks. Aristotle’s Metaphysics which talks about what it is that unites all possible modes ofContinue reading “Introduction to Martin Heidegger”
Finding Meaning in the Pursuit of Meaning
After studying philosophy and psychology by myself for a little less than a year. I’d like to share with you my views on life. If I were to gave myself labels for my ever-changing and evolving philosophy of life, at this moment I’d consider myself as a mix of the following philosophies: 1. Absurdism FindingContinue reading “Finding Meaning in the Pursuit of Meaning”