The Wisdom Of

The Unbearable Lightness of Being was written by the Czech Milan Kundera, and it was published in 1984. It tells the story of a young woman in love with a man torn between his love for her and his habitual womanizing. In this episode, we discuss living lightly versus living with weight, and Nietzsche's idea of the eternal return.  

In this brief episode, I discuss the ancient idea of negative visualization and the connection it has to gratitude. 

In this brief episode, I discuss how it is Buddhists and Stoics understand anger. 

Molloy is a novel written by the Irish writer Samuel Beckett, published in 1951. It’s the first of a trilogy of novels, the other two being Malone Dies and The Unnamable. In this episode, we discuss the idea of being stuck inside your own mind, and the idea of the mid-life crisis. 

In this brief episode, I discuss the nature and the problem of our human-centered outlook. 

Zorba the Greek is a novel written by the Cretan author Nikos Kazantzakis and it was first published in 1946. The story is about a young English writer who meets Alexis Zorba, an older Greek man with a passion for life.  As their friendship develops, the young writer is gradually transformed. In this episode, we discuss the contemplative life versus the life of action, and the importance of laughter and dance. 

In this brief episode, I talk a little about the nature of narcissism through looking at the Greek myth of Narcissus and Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.  

Plato is considered to be one of the greatest philosophers in history. In this episode, we take a look at his great dialogue the Republic and discuss the important connection he makes between being a good person and happiness.  

In this brief episode, I discuss what Buber calls the  I-Thou and I-It attitudes to life. 

A Doll’s House is a play written by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered in 1879. The play has as it central theme something like the fate of being a married woman in a male dominated world. In this episode, we explore Ibsen's feminism and the importance he places on self-realization.