The Living Philosophy

In this palette cleanser we are going to talk about the philosophy of romcoms for a change. I reckon this should remove any accusations of important work being done on The Living Philosophy. We'll be looking at two romcoms — the classic Norah Ephron When Harry Met Sally and the lesser known Just Like Heaven starring Reese Wetherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. One is reflective of a type of art that strives for psychological accuracy (Dostoevsky, When Harry Met Sally) category — while the second category (Just Like Heaven, Alexander Dumas's The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo) dispense with reality and works at the hyperreal level of the archetypal underworld. *** Damien's YouTube channel: "Science Fiction with Damien Walter": https://www.youtube.com/@DamienWalterPatreon interview with Damien Walter: *** 📚 Learning Resources: When Harry Met Sally. (1989). [Movie] USA: Columbia Pictures. Just Like Heaven. (2005). [Movie] USA: DreamWorks Pictures. Dumas A (2014) The Three Musketeers. United States: Shine Classics. Dumas A (2004) The Count of Monte Cristo. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics. Dostoyevsky (1993) Notes from Underground. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. *** ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy *** 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ *** 🎼 Media Used: Anguish — Kevin MacLeod Juniper — Kevin MacLeod Overture — Pyotr Ilyich tchaikovsky Fresh Air — Kevin MacLeod Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic *** ⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Introduction2:30 The True vs the Fantastic3:15 Just Like Heaven3:56 When Harry Met Sally6:12 The Unrealistic Just Like Heaven7:31 The Fantastic As Archetypal Dynamism10:52 The Power of Archetypal Storytelling

You can get "Become Who You Are" here: http://designingthemind.org/becoming It's rare that you encounter a fresh take on a path as well-trodden as happiness. I've read a lot of books on the topic and I have to say that Ryan Bush's take is fresh and yet simultaneously ancient. I think this is part of the reason I'm so enthusiastic about it: it integrates a trend in academic philosophy that I've yet to see anyone else talk about: Virtue Ethics. This is an ethical approach to philosophy that goes all the way back to the ancients especially Socrates, Aristotle and the Stoics. Bush integrates this old esteemed tradition with very 21st century fields like Cognitive Science and neuroscience to produce a thought-provoking map of the good life that I can't recommend highly enough.  ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - Pan W, Liu C, Yang Q, et al. (2016) The neural basis of trait self-esteem revealed by the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and resting state functional connectivity. _Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience_ 11(3): 367–376. - Bush R. (2023) _Become Who You Are_. USA: DTM Press - Davey CG, Pujol J and Harrison BJ (2016) Mapping the self in the brain’s default mode network. _NeuroImage_ 132: 390–397. _________________  🎼 Media Used: 1. Letting Go  — Kevin MacLeod 2. Juniper — Kevin MacLeod 3. Dreams Become Real — Kevin MacLeod 6. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Gain and Loss  2:45 The Third Dimension of the Good Life 4:00 How to Eudaimonia 5:21 The Spiritual Path 7:06 The Neuroscience of Self-Esteem 9:43 Virtue: the Royal Road to Eudaimonia

We modern serfs have forgotten something: we've forgotten how to live. You don't question the meaning of life when leisure is the heart of life rather than work. But with the rise of modern urban life, the intrinsic mode of living has died at the hands of the instrumental mode of life. Our entire lives have been colonised by "utility". We don't relax or rest for their own sake anymore — now we rest so that we are more productive. In this episode we explore these two relationships with time: the leisurely intrinsic mode and the future-oriented instrumental mode. _________________ 📚 Further Reading: Burkeman O (2021) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals. First edition. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Burnham, B. (2021) Inside. Los Angeles, CA: Netflix. Available at: https://www.netflix.com/browse?jbv=81289483. De Botton A (2005) Status Anxiety. First Vintage International edition. New York: Vintage International. Seligman MEP (2013) Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment. Atria paperback edition. New York London Toronto Sydney New Delhi: Atria Paperback. _________________ ⭐ Support The Living Philosophy (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ _________________ 🎼 Media Used: Anguish — Kevin MacLeod Dark Times — Kevin MacLeod Mozart's String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, MOVEMENT II, K. 421 — WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Letting Go Ambient Background music Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod: https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 01:27 Modern Times 03:51 The Other Story 10:46 Conclusion

Before the Axial Age the religious archetypes were those of the Priest and the Magician. But with the increased complexity and evolution of society a new archetype emerged: that of the Prophet. This is the archetype of liminal transformation in the midst of a society paralysed by its own success. The Prophet comes in from the edge of inside and shows the society where it has lost its way. ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - Szakolczai Á (2003) _The Genesis of Modernity_. Routledge studies in social and political thought 36. London ; New York: Routledge. ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9 ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ ________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. Anguish  — Kevin MacLeod 2. Density & Time — Ether Real 3. Mind Scrape — Kevin MacLeod 4. Alone With My Thoughts — Esther Abrami 5. Shores of Avalon — Kevin MacLeod 6. Disquiet — Kevin MacLeod 7. Letting Go — Kevin MacLeod 8. Allegro — Emmit Fenn 9. Evening Fall Harp  — Kevin MacLeod Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic Subscribe to Emmit Fenn https://www.youtube.com/c/emmitfenn _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 01:14 Priests and Magicians 03:33 Prophets 04:13 Power and the Priest 06:11 Refusal of the Call 08:19 Personal Aspect and Revelation 09:16 Exemplary and Ethical Prophecy 11:31 Elitist Exemplarys 12:34 Conclusion

Philosopher and anthropologist Rene Girard once described justice and public vengeance. Nietzsche expressed the same in his Genealogy of Morals. Why then do we value justice so highly and look down so judgingly on revenge? And what, if this is true, is the purpose of justice? How is it in any way different from vengeance? The answer is that it is profoundly different and in this video we explore why. ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - Prisoner abuse data: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0032885500080004004 - Death penalty data: https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/death-penalty-international-poll - MP support of death penalty: https://ukandeu.ac.uk/big-differences-on-economic-and-social-values-between-mps-and-voters-new-academic-survey-finds/ - Recidivism in Norwegian prisons - 1 year: https://medium.com/wagovernor/how-norwegian-prisons-prepare-inmates-to-become-better-neighbors-534409a90f33 - 3-year Norwegian recidivism: https://www.firststepalliance.org/post/norway-prison-system-lessons - 1980s Norway recidivism: https://www.firststepalliance.org/post/norway-prison-system-lessons - Nietzsche, F. (2000) *Genealogy of Morals* in _Basic Writings of Nietzsche_ ed. by Walter Kaufmann. New York: Modern Library. - Girard R. (1979) _Violence and the Sacred_. Baltimore: Hopkins Univ. Press. ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9 ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ ________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod 2. Mind Scrape — Kevin MacLeod 3. Fresh Air — Kevin MacLeod 4. Dreams Become Real — Kevin MacLeod 5. Dark Times — Kevin MacLeod Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 01:33 Rehabilitation vs Punishment 06:29 The Dark Side of Justice 10:15 The Hegemony of Justice 13:26 Further Avenues for Research

Would you rather live in a better world or a happier one? In this video we are going to explore how equality has made the world a better place but also how, like the Edenic apple of knowledge, it has come with a cost. The world looks better from the outside but seen from the subjective side it seems that things have only gotten worse. This is following up on the recent episode on Nietzsche's concept of ressentiment that we examined in the previous episodes and follows along our explorations in to the social and political radical theme of modern times. ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - De Botton A (2005) _Status Anxiety_. First Vintage International edition. New York: Vintage International. - Nietzsche FW (2000) *The Genealogy of Morals* in _Basic Writings of Nietzsche_. ed. by Martin Kaufmann. New York: Modern Library. - Orlowski, J. (2020) _The Social Dilemma_ Netflix. - Scheler M (1915) Ressentiment. 1915. - Seligman MEP (2013) _Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment_. Atria paperback edition. New York London Toronto Sydney New Delhi: Atria Paperback. - Tocqueville A de, Bevan GE, Kramnick I, et al. (2003) _Democracy in America: And Two Essays on America_. Penguin classics. London: Penguin. ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9 ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ ________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. Mesmerize  — Kevin MacLeod 2. Despair and Triumph — Kevin MacLeod 3. Long Note Three — Kevin MacLeod 4. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod 5. Dreams Become Real — Kevin MacLeod 6. Letting Go — Kevin MacLeod 7. Fresh Air — Kevin MacLeod Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 2:07 Democracy in America 5:21 The Shadow of Equality 8:21 In the 21st Century 9:59 Medieval Eden 12:00 What to do with Equality 13:48 The Limitations of Meritocracy

In The Ritual Process the anthropologist who put Liminality on the map Victor Turner gave a list of contrasts between Liminality and Structure. There is an uncanny resemblance between these values and the values of Leftism. That is what we are going to explore in this episode which in the final episode in our exploration of Victor Turner's work in this field. ____________________📚 Further Reading:- Szakolczai Á (2003) _The Genesis of Modernity_. Routledge studies in social and political thought 36. London ; New York: Routledge.- Turner VW (1995) _The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure_. The Lewis Henry Morgan lectures 1966. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.________________⭐ Support the channel (thank you!)▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy_________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/________________🎼 Media Used:1.  Long Note Three  — Kevin MacLeod2.  Dreams Become Real  — Kevin MacLeod3. Evening Fall Harp — Kevin MacLeod4. Despair and Triumph — Kevin MacLeod5. Permafrost — Scott Buckley6. There’s Probably No Time — Chris Zabriskie7.  Ether Real - Density & Time — The Grey RoomSubscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusicSubscribe to Chris Zabriskie https://www.youtube.com/c/chriszabriskieSubscribe to The Grey Room https://www.youtube.com/@TheGreyRoomScott Buckley - https://www.scottbuckley.com.au_________________⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Introduction01:31 Liminality03:39 Leftism05:09 The Liminal Left - Economic/Political07:10 Authority and Liminality 10:07 The Cultural Left and Liminality13:39 Conclusion

"When all you have is a hammer every problem begins to look like a nail." Good philosophy is always trying to break up and recreate its map of the world. In this episode we are going to break up the Individualist model of the world a little and broaden our map to include the Collectivist perspectives. We talk a lot about Nihilism and the Meaning Crisis as if they are only to be understood as individual problems but the challenges and solutions that face us in the 21st century can't be understood merely from one angle. This episode is a case study in the Homelessness Crisis and how it looks from the vantage points of Individualism and Collectivism. ____________________📚 Further Reading:- Jerusalem Damsas's article for The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/01/homelessness-affordable-housing-crisis-democrats-causes/672224/- Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page's site with some fascinating graphs and a link to their book: https://homelessnesshousingproblem.com/________________⭐ Support the channel (thank you!)▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy_________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/________________🎼 Media Used:1. Dreams Become Real — Kevin MacLeod2. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod3.  Long Note Three — Kevin MacLeod4.  Despair and Triumph  — Kevin MacLeodSubscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic_________________⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Introduction1:48 Homelessness: a Collective Problem5:03 A vicious circle6:55 Conclusion

Is Liminality the real root of the crisis of Nihilism? In this episode we are going to explore this question and whether Liminality is a better diagnosis of the Meaning Crisis than Nietzsche's Death of God. When looking at Turner's qualities of Liminality the relations between it and Nihilism are striking; if nothing else if provides us an alternative angle on the crisis — a different perspective from which to behold the quagmire we find ourselves in. What is particularly appealing about the Liminality-centred explanation is that it can explain Nihilism AND the value system of the Left from Marx to Social Justice — a theme we'll be exploring in a future video. ____________________📚 Further Reading:- Nietzsche FW and Kaufmann WA (1974) _The Gay Science: With a Prelude in Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs_. 1st ed. New York: Vintage Books.- Turner VW (1995) _The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure_. The Lewis Henry Morgan lectures 1966. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.________________⭐ Support the channel (thank you!)▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy_________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/________________🎼 Media Used:1.   Dreams Become Real  — Kevin MacLeod2.  Fresh Air — Kevin MacLeod3. Long Note Three — Kevin MacLeod4. Despair and Triumph  — Kevin MacLeod5. Lost Frontier  — Kevin MacLeod6. End of the Era — Kevin MacLeodSubscribe to Kevin MacLeod [https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic](https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic)_________________⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Introduction02:38 What is Liminality?05:36 Nihilism09:28 Liminality and Nihilism12:55 Progressivism and the Dangers of Liminality14:34 Curing the Meaning Crisis

For Nietzsche The Last Man stood as the opposite of the Ubermensch and the great danger of the "levelling" tendency of modernity. In this episode we are going to look at what Nietzsche meant by the Last Man and how his prophecy has come through. We look at The Last Man in 21st century society and what Nietzsche got right even while we should be cautious of fully embracing his ideal. ____________________📚 Further Reading:- Joseph S (2011) _What Doesn’t Kill Us: The New Psychology of Posttraumatic Growth_. New York: Basic Books.- McGonigal K (2015) _The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It_. New York: Avery, a member of Penguin Random House.- Seligman MEP (2013) _Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment_. Atria paperback edition. New York London Toronto Sydney New Delhi: Atria Paperback.- Nietzsche FW (1976) *Thus Spoke Zarathustra* in _The Portable Nietzsche_. New York: Penguin Books.- Nietzsche FW and Kaufmann WA (1974) _The Gay Science: With a Prelude in Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs_. 1st ed. New York: Vintage Books.- Nietzsche FW and Kaufmann WA (2000) _Basic Writings of Nietzsche_. Modern Library ed. New York: Modern Library.________________⭐ Support the channel (thank you!)▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy_________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/________________🎼 Media Used:1.   Long Note Three  — Kevin MacLeod2. There’s Probably No Time — Chris Zabriskie3.  Despair and Triumph — Kevin MacLeod4. Dark Times — Kevin MacLeod5. End of the Era — Kevin MacLeodSubscribe to Kevin MacLeod [https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic](https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic)Subscribe to Chris Zabriskie [https://www.youtube.com/c/chriszabriskie](https://www.youtube.com/c/chriszabriskie)_________________⌛ Timestamps:0:00 Introduction01:50 The Last Man in Thus Spoke Zarathustra05:13 The Values of the Last Man09:25 The Last Man in the 21st Century