The Laughing Philosopher's Podcast

Romantic relationships are difficult and perilous and no soft affair. They seem to fail as often as they succeed. Five hidden triggers can sabotage even the best relationship. Communication, trust, togetherness, predictability, and submissiveness are beneficial in moderation, but toxic in excess. We suspect it’s true, but are afraid to admit to ourselves, that too much positive behavior will kill...

It’s not easy to ruin your life. To get to the wrong place, you must do the right things. The Laughing Philosopher’s guide presents six foolproof steps to a boring, miserable life: Think only about yourself. Empty yourself of humility and gratitude. Sacrifice everyone as a means to an end. Be perfectly imperfect. Don’t think for yourself. Drown yourself in the world’s sea of troubles.

Unjustly imprisoned and awaiting execution, Boethius, Roman philosopher and statesman, would write his most famous work, “The Consolation of Philosophy”. Boethius explores the problem of evil, the certainty of pain and suffering, and the unpredictability of good and bad fortune, but shows how, through wisdom and virtue, happiness and serenity are still attainable. In the Middle Ages, for 400 years...

The person you will talk to the most in your life is you. The most important conversations you will ever have are with yourself. Whether it is chatting with yourself in your inner voice, or verbalizing your thoughts and reflections out loud, you will engage in some form of self-talk on a daily basis. But, is it normal to talk to yourself?

"Know yourself” is Socrates’ imperative. Why? There is no perfect life. No one is infallible. Everyone makes mistakes because some of our beliefs and assumptions are false. Just because we think it or believe it doesn’t mean it is true. Yet, beliefs are neither proof nor evidence, but only claims. So, we can’t trust everything we believe to be true. But, still we do. False certainties lead us away...

What are the secrets of beauty? How does each of six major schools of philosophy interpret the beauty of da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” the 1972 film, “The Godfather,” and the 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue? As we strive to appreciate what we see, beauty is beautiful because of the lenses we wear. Duchamp’s urinal is as beautiful as Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”.

Life is too complicated. So, we use shortcuts to safely navigate life’s risks and dangers unharmed. And the more we take shortcuts, the more established and permanent they become. Bad shortcuts result in bad habits and repeat the same bad behaviors again and again. Our mistakes feel automatic. The cure is inside a coffee machine.

The illusion of selfhood is holding you back. You are more than who you think you are. Selflessness will free you to try new paths to self-improvement. You will be less obsessed with other people’s acceptance and approval. You will be more humble and compassionate. You won’t need to choose between your well-being and the well-being of others. The self is an empty costume, and it’s time to undress...

Carl Jung describes the Shadow as the repressed half of yourself assembled from features of your personality judged to be unacceptable. The Shadow is the other self you must hide from others to achieve their approval because it does not conform to their expectations of who you ought to be. To reunite the Shadow with the conscious self is essential for true happiness and wholeness. Achieving your f...

You are a stranger to yourself. The self you know and experience is partial and incomplete. Who you think you are doesn’t match who you really are. The unconscious Shadow is your creative self, the source of your individuality and originality. So long as the Shadow is not integrated with the conscious self, you are broken and will never achieve your creative potential. Wholeness is your first purp...

How can we free ourselves from life’s chaos? While kayaking across a lake, your best friend is killed by a swan after getting too close to the bird’s nest. Your only child is wounded in a school shooting. At the Grand Canyon, your older brother jokingly pretends to fall to his death, then loses his footing and falls to his death. At the airport where he works, your husband dies after being sucked...

Run away from friends who want you to fear something, who never question themselves, who won’t let you think for yourself, who try to change you into the person they think you should be, who revise your joy downward, who deprive you of your feelings, and who are afraid to tell the truth.

Voltaire’s garden is inside ourselves, within our own mind. Empty your life. Mind your own garden. Do what you love. Build a wall. Your mind is your kingdom. If you find peace there, you won’t need to look for it elsewhere.

Dogs have a philosophy of life with 12 guiding principles: Dogs love to learn. Humans are special. Dogs don’t compare themselves to other dogs. Dogs value a natural life. Dogs are trustworthy. Dogs are compassionate. Dogs practice moderation. Dogs are humble. Dogs pay attention. Dogs can neither deceive nor be deceived. Dogs are virtuous. Dogs love unconditionally. A reading of Bukowski’s poem on...

The goodness and badness of human behavior is determined using intentions and outcomes. Yet, as Shakespeare’s Prince Hamlet proves, judging mistakes is hopelessly messy. This episode offers four practical ways to overcome fear of making mistakes.

We invest more thoughtful, rational decision making in adopting a dog than in creating a new person. Procreation should not be automatic. To be a conscious choice, procreation should ask and answer — How much? Why? For what?

Why does it hurt to tell and to be told the truth? Why does truth hurt more than lies? Without false beliefs, fantasies, and illusions, truth wouldn’t hurt. It hurts to face the truth behind the lies we live by.

Why do utterly pointless things having no purpose or benefit? The real cost of pointlessness is the number of heartbeats one must pay for it.

Why is finding life’s meaning so difficult? Look right in front of your eyes! Eight of life’s most profound truths are hidden by familiarity.

Why is finding life’s meaning and purpose so difficult? Actually, it’s easy, once you understand why you’re looking for two things as different as the menu and the meal, the map and the journey.

Let’s reason out the abortion debate through the mind of a philosopher, addressing the big questions and finding answers that agree with your own wisdom and good sense. 

Is this who I want to be? Is this the best I can be? What is my best purpose in life? The philosophy of Confucius will teach you how to live a virtuous life of good character and good behavior.

Once you make the psychic connection between your need for belonging and acceptance, and your feeling that everyone is judging you, you will no longer be a prisoner of society. You will be free!

“Happiness is the purpose of life. And it’s simple. We just make it complicated. Follow this easy recipe. You can eat all you want and you won’t gain weight.”

“The answer is: Suffer. That is all. Think clearly about an ordinary pencil and it will teach you five insanely Zen ways to be happy in a changing world.”