Tag Archives: depression
The Meaning of Meaninglessness
I’m reading a book by a philosopher named Susan Wolf about the meaning of life. Or rather, about the importance of meaning in a good life. What prompts such a book? you may ask. Susan Wolf explains that philosophers have … Continue reading
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, art of living, atheism, autonomy, books, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, eternity, ethics, existentialism, faith, fashion, feminism, freedom, glitterati, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, hierarchy, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, mind control, modernism, mortality, oppression, past and future, philosophy, poetry, political movements, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reading, reductionism, relationships, roles, scientism, secular, self-deception, social climbing, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, status of women, suffering, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, time, twentieth century, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged curing depression, cynicism, definitions of the good life, depression, despair, empirical evidence, facts and theories, fashionable theories, finding your path, having a passion, human purposes, identity theory, life after death, life’s purposes, little things, meaning of life, meaning of meaning, meaninglessness, mind and brain, opinion shapers, passion for philosophy, personal quandary, philosopher’s books, philosophers, philosophic authors, pointlesslessness, quality time, quantity and quality, skepticism, socially constructed beliefs, socially constructed values, Susan Wolf’s Meaning in Life and Why It Matters, the absurd, the search for meaning, too brief to matter, too small to matter, value judgments, what happens when we die, worldviews
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The Devil in the Details
The Devil in the Details Depression is not an attractive word, but it describes my mood in recent days. Two explanations (or causes?) spring to mind. First: I have this neuropathy handicap. My walking lacks its former, rhythmic life-of-its-own, becoming … Continue reading
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, alienation, anthropology, art of living, atheism, autonomy, Biblical God, Christianity, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cults, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, idolatry, immorality, institutional power, Jews, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, male power, masculinity, memoir, memory, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, ontology, oppression, past and future, peace, philosophy, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, sexuality, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, sociobiology, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, status of women, suffering, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, theism, theology, time, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged Abigail L. Rosenthal's "Confessions of a Young Philosopher", beat the devil, Bible study, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, corrupt influence, counterproductive remedy, decentered feeling, dentists, depression, expensive cavities, experimental treatments, fair fights, firm footing, Halakah, hard-bought wisdom, holistic treatments, hollow self, ideal life story, impersonal wisdom, incurable, Jewish observance, life rhythms, life story, limping, Loma Linda Hospital, malevolent spirit, medical treatments, midrashim, mood changes, narrative view, neuropathy, New Age, New Age-niks, patient no better, Pentateuch, personal identity, personal wisdom, philosophy of religion, physical footing, physical therapy, place to stand, placeholder self, Reform temple, reversals of fortune, shell of oneself, solitary walker, speculative theology, spiritual footing, stratagems of evil, taking a walk, talking it out, textual study, the devil, thought experiment, Torah Study, treatment failure, treatment success, walking handicap
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“Birthday!”
“Birthday!” The way you can tell that “I” don’t choose these topics (but respond – as if to an inner prompt) is instanced here: why would anyone (over twenty one) choose that one? My acupuncturist tells me that I’m 29 … Continue reading
Posted in absurdism, action, alienation, anthropology, art, art of living, autonomy, beauty, childhood, chivalry, class, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, health, heroes, hidden God, history, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, institutional power, life and death struggle, literature, love, memoir, mind control, modernism, mortality, motherhood, nineteenth-century, non-violence, oppression, past and future, peace, philosophy, poetry, political, power, psychology, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, seduction, sex appeal, sexuality, social conventions, sociobiology, spirituality, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theism, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged a life of one's own, acupuncture, Aging, Authenticity, bad checks, battening the hatches, being duped, being misinformed, biography, birthday, bitterness, blunders, celebration, chi, children blaming parents, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, cosmic perspective, countering depression, cultural mistakes, cutting losses, delusions of love, depression, disappointment, dramatic people, extraordinary people, facing facts, fascinating people, fear of aging, filial piety, global perspective, global suffering, God's eye view, going strong, heartbreak, honoring father and mother, human history, Leo Bronstein, life foundation, life missteps, life mistakes, life path, life's unfairness, looking younger than your age, mentor, misplaced hopes, mistaken beliefs, mistakes of the culture, mistakes of youth, native ground, native track, necessary mistakes, negative acts, old souls, original life, originality, overprotection, parent-child relationships, parenting, Parenting 101, personal pathway, personal presence, Plan A, Plan D, problem of evil, problem of pain, public intellectuals, rebellion, recovery, recuperation, refusal, romantic delusions, spectator, strong personality, tapering off, unfairness, victory, Walking Wounded, war wounds, winding down
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“It’s Not Enough to be Intelligent”
“It’s Not Enough to be Intelligent” Today Fran, my therapeutic riding teacher, told me I have “a beautiful physique” on a horse and could qualify for the International competitions in “para-dressage” (dressage for the handicapped). People compete in those events … Continue reading
Posted in action, alienation, autonomy, chivalry, contradictions, cool, desire, dialectic, erotic life, faith, femininity, freedom, friendship, health, Hegel, history of ideas, identity, institutional power, love, male power, master, memoir, motherhood, peace, power, psychology, relationships, roles, social conventions, spirituality, suffering, the examined life, the problematic of woman, theism, time, Zeitgeist
Tagged "Confessions of a Young Philosopher", Abigail L. Rosenthal, absurdity, blood work, checkmate, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, contradictions, depression, disappoinment, failure, Faith, God, handicap, Health, hippotherapy, Hitchcock film, holistic healing, hope, hoplessness, intelligence, Janus-faced, Mother, neuropathy, Olympic competition, para-dressage, physiatrist, physical therapy, Portugese, prayer, providence, self-help, suffering, therapeutic riding, Western medicine
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