The Wisdom Of

Siddhartha is a novel by the German writer Hermann Hesse.  The story deals with the spiritual journey of a man named Siddhartha and it takes place during the time of the Buddha. In this episode, we discuss how it is Hesse, through Siddhartha, seems to present a more world-loving Buddhist view than that of traditional Buddhism. 

In this brief episode, I share some thoughts on the 2008 Pixar film, Wall-E! 

Simone de Beauvoir was a French existentialist philosopher. In this episode, we take a look at her important work The Ethics of Ambiguity. We talk about how it is she thinks we both evade and misuse our freedom! 

In this brief episode, I talk about the philosopher John Stuart Mill's view on pleasure! 

In this brief episode, I reflect a bit on the morality of tipping!

In this brief episode, I try to say something about Heidegger's view of the typewriter and of technology in general. 

In this episode, we discuss Sartre's quote "Hell is other people" and Nietzsche's quote "Without music, life would be a mistake"! 

In this brief episode, I reflect a bit on Dante's view on sin and vice! 

In this episode, I briefly introduce some of the main themes in the philosopher Byung-Chul Han's book Non-Things. 

Animal Farm is an animal fable and novella written by George Orwell. The story is about a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to establish a free and equal society. In this episode, we discuss the idea of revolution and utopia!

In this brief episode, I reflect a bit on the goal of philosophy, especially from the point of view of Epicurus and Thoreau.  

In this episode, we discuss Kierkegaard's quote "Truth is subjectivity", and John Locke's "The mind is a blank slate"! 

Hannah Arendt was one of the most important political philosophers of the 20th century. In this episode, we discuss what she calls the active life, which includes her notions of labor, work and action.  

In this episode, I talk a bit about what it is that might make something a work of art! 

Thomas Nagel is an American philosopher. In this episode, we discuss his notion of absurdity and how it is he thinks we should respond to it!

In this brief episode, I talk about Nietzsche's view on love, and the Platonic-Christian tradition he's reacting to. 

The Diary of the Seducer appears in Kierkegaard’s first published work Either/Or . The Diary is about Johannes, an aesthete, who through careful manipulation, seduces a younger 17 year old girl called Cordelia. In this episode, we discuss what it means to live the aesthetic life and some of the problems associated with it. 

In this brief episode, I reflect on the connection between suffering and a deeper form of happiness. 

In this episode we discuss Protagoras' famous statement, "Man is the measure of all things" and Marx's, "Religion is the opium of the masses"! 

Erich Fromm was a German psychologist and philosopher. He wrote the book called Escape from Freedom in 1941. In this episode, we discuss Fromm's conception of negative and positive freedom, and the various ways in which he thinks we try to escape the burden of our freedom! 

Short introduction to the Wisdom Of podcast for new listeners. 

Victor Frankl was a Viennese psychiatrist, and a concentration camp survivor. In this episode, we discuss his logotherapy and how it is we can find meaning in suffering. 

In this episode, I reflect a bit on Sartre's novel Nausea and the importance that music plays in it! 

Iris Murdoch was a British novelist and philosopher.  In this episode, we discuss her moral outlook, and how she conceives of the difference between literature and philosophy. 

In this brief episode, I reflect on the nature of boredom and how it might sometimes be beneficial!