Mariana Alessandri, an Associate Professor of Philosophy specializing in existentialism and Latina feminist thought, explores the significance of 'dark moods' and their essential role in the human experience. She discusses how societal obsession with positivity can harm emotional health and critiques the stigma surrounding grief and sadness. Mariana emphasizes the importance of embracing negative emotions and challenges the medical field's rigid perceptions of grief. Her insights encourage a more compassionate understanding of emotional struggles.
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Anzaldua's Early Affinity for Philosophy
Gloria Anzaldua, a Chicana feminist philosopher, carried philosophy books as a girl.
She connected with Kierkegaard's work, finding solace in his exploration of despair.
insights INSIGHT
Philosophers and Dark Emotions
Philosophers like Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, and James explored dark emotions in their works.
William James even integrated his experience with depression into his understanding of the psyche, referring to himself as a 'sick soul'.
insights INSIGHT
Dark Moods, Not Bad Moods
Mariana Alessandri views dark moods like depression and anxiety as dark, but not inherently bad.
She emphasizes the resources offered by women of color philosophers in understanding these moods.
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This book is a collection of lectures delivered by William James at the University of Edinburgh between 1901 and 1902. It focuses on the personal and subjective aspects of religious experiences, rather than on theology or organized religion. James examines various types of religious experiences, including healthy-mindedness, the sick soul, conversion, mysticism, and saintliness. He emphasizes the importance of feeling and personal experience in religion, arguing that these experiences are the primary source of religious beliefs and practices. The book also discusses the psychological and philosophical implications of these experiences, highlighting their complexity and life-altering nature[2][3][4].
Night Vision
Seeing Ourselves Through Dark Moods
Mariana Alessandri
In 'Night Vision,' Mariana Alessandri draws on the works of diverse philosophers and writers such as Audre Lorde, María Lugones, Miguel de Unamuno, C.S. Lewis, Gloria Anzaldúa, and Søren Kierkegaard to argue that our suffering is not a sign of weakness but rather of our humanity. The book proposes that by embracing our dark emotions, we can cultivate 'night vision' and discover new aspects of ourselves, such as wit, humor, closeness, warmth, and clarity. Alessandri critiques the societal pressure to maintain a positive outlook and instead advocates for acknowledging and valuing our darker emotions as essential to a meaningful life.
It's Ok That You're Not Ok
Mark Nepo
Megan Devine
In this book, Megan Devine offers a profound new approach to both the experience of grief and the way we try to help others who have endured tragedy. Having experienced grief from both sides—as both a therapist and as a woman who witnessed the accidental death of her beloved partner—Devine writes with deep insight about the unspoken truths of loss, love, and healing. She debunks the culturally prescribed goal of returning to a normal, 'happy' life, replacing it with a healthier middle path that invites us to build a life alongside grief rather than seeking to overcome it. The book provides practical tips and advice on how to handle the situations that arise from grief and challenges the unhelpful rhetoric often encountered by grieving individuals.
The tragic sense of life
Miguel de Unamuno
Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza
Gloria Anzaldua
In a world that has developed a collective fear of the dark, how can we navigate the not-so-positive feelings that we experience? In episode 121 of Overthink, Ellie and David chat with philosopher Mariana Alessandri about her book, Dark Moods. They talk about how the obsession with light fuels toxic positivity, the ways shame amplifies dark moods, and the harmful effects of associating light with good and darkness with bad. Why does society disregard negative emotions? Does the medical field pathologize grief for good reason? And should we strive to make people feel better when they’re experiencing a dark mood? Plus, in the Patreon bonus, they consider the difficulties of experiencing emotions that lie in a gray area, different types of anger, and whether we need to move away from metaphors of light and darkness entirely.
Works Discussed: Mariana Alessandri, Night Vision, Seeing Ourselves Through Dark Moods Gloria Anzaldúa, Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience Plato, The Republic Miguel de Unamuno, The Tragic Sense of Life
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