If an alien arrived on this planet having read only the writings of Marx, Proudhon and other great leftist socialist thinkers, they would be very surprised by the reaction to Rich Men North of Richmond. Oliver Anthony's song was loved by some and hated by others with the usual weird subtextual energies of the Culture Wars infusing both. This episod…

In this video we are going to tackle a challenging question: what is self-actualisation isn't what we should be doing; what if instead it is a big cope — a way of burying our head in the sand (rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic; playing our fiddle while Rome burns — choose your preferred analogy) while the world burns.------------------- 📚 Furt…

In this episode, we look at why you should listen to South Park's Butters over modern Buddhist gurus. We talk about the sales pitch used by spiritual gurudom to get people hungry for Enlightenment while hiding the truth about the awful reality of that path. Fun fun fun. ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - Mingyur, R.Y. and Swanson, E., 2010. …

In this episode I talk about the books that rescued me in my darkest times by giving me the breath of heroic inspiration I needed to get moving out of the dark pit I'd found myself in. I talk about what these books had in common and why we need them. ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - _I’m Not There_. (2008). [Movie]. - Dumas, A., *The Three…

The aphoristic style of Friedrich Nietzsche is a wellspring of inspiration. In this episode, we explore the connection between this style and Nietzsche's hiking (10 hours of hiking a day, if he is to be believed). It is Nietzsche's walking that gave birth to the aphorisms in a passive form of thinking that stands in stark contrast to the thorough l…

Karl Marx is the most (in)famous critic of Capitalism. Or is he? As with all stories, it's not so simple. Marx isn't a reactionary dreaming of a tribal communal paradise but more of a sci-fi visionary looking to the society that will transcend Capitalism using its foundation as a jumping off point to a much more interesting, much better world. ____…

Following on from the last episode on Jordan Peterson's brilliant 2005 essay on "Peacemaking" this time we look at what went wrong and at JBP's arc as that of the classical tragic hero. And having a bit of fun with this we compare him to the villain in one of my favourite fantasy series Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. We look at Aristotle's definiti…

In 2005, long before he became a household name, Jordan Peterson wrote an article with the title "Peacemaking Among Higher Order Primates" and it is amazing — partly for its own beauty and pathos and partly for the contract it provides with The Daily Wire Peterson we have today. It is a brilliant ode to what peace looks like and how it might be ach…

Why it Matters is back (kind of). This video revisits the Prophet archetype with a bit more passion and a little less bookishness. It is great to have the previous video as a foundation but as with the old Why it Matters videos the point of this video is to get into why I care so much about this topic and why I think you should as well. We're going…

In approaching the underworld there are a couple of terms that people use. Sometimes it can get a bit confusing who's using what and what we should be using. In this episode we look at the term subconscious vs unconscious and what the meaning and background is of each. As we'll see it wasn't always so clear cut — the French psychological heritage f…

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 Ruffa…

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 integ…

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 rel…

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 sho…

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 p…

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 follo…

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is gaining some steam as a challenger to Donald Trump. What is the former South Carolina governor doing that other candidates is not? Acting like she is a member of the ruling class of the South -- which she is.By Adam Wilson

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 …

"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 Cr…

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 alternat…

Did the elites take over social justice movements like MeToo, Black Lives Matter and Occupy Wall Street? Not exactly. Those movements were all totally in alignment with elite values in the northern United States. And those elites do control most American media and most of academia. So, to say these "causes" were ever separate from elitism would not…

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 cau…

Where does President Joe Biden’s pro-union, “from-the-bottom-up” economic policy come from? From his roots in Delaware and Pennsylvania, where the original settlers believed in getting an education-- but not too much -- and working hard -- but not too too hard. #Biden2024 #bidenomics #quakerlifestyle…

We live in an age of Liminality. It's at the roots of the Meaning Crisis of Nihilism and Leftist value structures. Coming from the same Latin word as subliminal (*limin* meaning "threshold") it is a term that has entered the mainstream from its roots in Anthropology with the work of Victor Turner. Victor Turner developed the concept in his work The…

The Republican Presidential Candidate is often described as a biotech executive, a Trump wannabe, or just this news cycle’s novelty act. But Ramaswamy’s connection with voters is no pretension -- he hails from Cincinnati, Ohio, making him a member of America’s most populous culture, the Appalachians. And those voters also happen to be the people wh…

Apocalypse is traditionally a religious idea but the secular age has been more alight with an Apocalyptic fervour than any preceding age. In this episode we explore why by looking at predictions through the ages and across cultures in an attempt to triangulate on what it is about the end of the world that is so sticky to the human psyche. We are go…

The song by Oliver Anthony isn’t actually liberal or conservative. It’s Appalachian. It talks about the same things that have animated singers in the Scotch-Irish-settled parts of America for 250 years, and it does it in the same musical style, too. The real scandal is that so many online outlets want to claim some of its fame by shaming or blaming…

Trinity returns to the Show David and Trinity talk about: Deion Sanders stirs things up in Colorado Krispy Kreme UK Construction site finds human remains Pumpkin Spice Season California Launches Digital ID on the iPhone Now let's hear them talk about it. Link to Spotify Oliver Anthony Music Let’s talk about our video production software. We use Eca…

David and Wolfie talk about the New Viral Song by Oliver Anthony - Rich Men North of Richmond Now let's hear them talk about it. Link to Spotify Oliver Anthony Music Let’s talk about our video production software. We use Ecamm Live, The leading live streaming and video production studio built for Mac. AFFILIATE LINK: http://bit.ly/ecammsensitive Ch…

Jung once described himself as a failed philosopher. Instead he chose the path of science with psychology. It is surprising then to see what Walter Kaufmann calls Jung's "wildly emotional overreaction" to thinkers like Heidegger and Kierkegaard. Is philosophy Jung's Shadow? In this episode we explore what Jung said about the philosophers and why. F…

Welcome to another episode of Socially Solo, our daily podcast. Our Host David grabs the mic solo and gives you his rundown of a couple of trending topics for the day. Today's Topics: Kentucky Governor Race Jake Paul / Nate Diaz Fight Wendy's Frosty Cream Cold Brew Young Males aren't working full-time jobs Fancy Farm Political Picnic Clip: Support …

The recent House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on unexplained anomalous phenomena (UAPs) featured seemingly serious people suggesting the federal government has captured the aliens and their spaceship. Was the "tic-tac" covered up? Turns out our conversations about UFOs and national security have not substantially changed since the…

Welcome to another episode of Socially Solo, our daily podcast. Our Host David grabs the mic solo and gives you his rundown of a couple of trending topics for the day. Today's Topics: Tequila 1883 and Yellowstone Elon Musk and Twitter Support Blind Primate for Original Art and Fashion Blind Primate Let’s talk about our video production software. We…

Visiting Deschutes National Forest and Suttle Lodge offered a peak at the future of camping culture in the Pacific Northwest, and at the influx of wealthy people who decided to live in the Cascade Mountains full time. The mountains were once a buffer between the liberal-minded culture of Portland and ranchers of Eastern Oregon, but dry-side Bend an…

A summary of my Camino experience: what I hiked, why I hiked and what I learned. ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 Discord ▶ https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9 _________________ ⌛Timestamps: 0:00 Intro: What the Camino …

David and Wolfie talk about the future of AR and VR with Apple's Vision Pro announcement. Now let's hear them talk about it. Let’s talk about our video production software. We use Ecamm Live, The leading live streaming and video production studio built for Mac. AFFILIATE LINK: http://bit.ly/ecammsensitive Check us out at sociallysensitive.com Follo…

You can find poll numbers and pundits on the other podcasts. But the Compass of Power is the only place to find the candidates ranked by cultural region. In this episode, I’m going through the entire known presidential field. But instead of listing folks as Republicans or Democrats, we’re breaking them down as folks from the Northern coalition – mo…

Wolfie gives us his honest review of the new The Flash Movie, starring Ezra Miller, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, Antje Traue, Michael Keaton. Directed by Andy Muschietti. Today on the Show David and Wolfie discuss: The Flash Movie DC Movies Comic Book Movies Now let's hear them talk about it. Let’s t…

Welcome to another episode of Socially Solo, our daily podcast. Our Host David grabs the mic solo and gives you his rundown of a couple of trending topics for the day. Today's Topics: Submarine Black Mirror Yellowstone Support Blind Primate for Original Art and Fashion Blind Primate Let’s talk about our video production software. We use Ecamm Live,…

83% of America's counties voted for Trump in the 2020 but these counties account for only 29% of America's GDP. Why aren't this lesser off rural/exurban population voting for the party who theoretically are most aligned with their interests i.e. the Democratic Socialists? The answer might lie with Karl Marx who saw this population as "rural idiots"…

The Compass of Power helps you understand the limits of the possible, recognize the goodness in others, and cultivate reasonable expectations of national politics. Unlike the usual lenses for looking at politics, it helps you avoid overidentification with political parties, personalities and paradigms. And by doing that, it can foster civil discour…

Welcome to another episode of Socially Solo, our daily podcast. Our Host David grabs the mic solo and gives you his rundown of a couple of trending topics for the day. Today's Topics: Connor McGregor Knocks out Burnie MrBeast and Tom Brady (Is Tom coming out of retirement?) Apple's Vision Pro Support Blind Primate for Original Art and Fashion Blind…

Republican presidential candidates Tim Scott and Nikki Haley challenge a lot of our preconceptions about modern politics, but they definitely carry the flame of the South Carolina spirit.By Adam Wilson

Welcome to another episode of Socially Solo, our daily podcast. Our Host David grabs the mic solo and gives you his rundown of a couple of trending topics for the day. Today's Topics: World No Tobacco Day Mountain Dew Buc-ees Burt Kreischer' The Machine Movie Support Blind Primate for Original Art and Fashion Blind Primate Let’s talk about our vide…

Anthropologist Victor Turner, who popularised the term Liminality, found that human society has two modes of interrelatedness that function like a yin and yang — mutually dependant and without which human life would be impossible. Structure is the mode of status and hierarchy in society; Communitas of love, compassion and myth. These two modes show…

Sit back, buckle up, and let me be your designated driver in short tour through the history of drunk driving. Like a lot of other seemingly inalienable rights, our ability to drink alcohol and to vote have changed over time, and once Mothers Against Drunk Driving formed, the penalties for getting behind the wheel while intoxicated went way up. What…

Today on the Show David and Wolfie discuss: Our First Jobs McDonald's Automation The Best Hotdogs Drone Flights Now let's hear them talk about it. Let’s talk about our video production software. We use Ecamm Live, The leading live streaming and video production studio built for Mac. AFFILIATE LINK: http://bit.ly/ecammsensitive Check us out at socia…

Today on the Show David and Wolfie discuss: Our First Jobs McDonald's Automation The Best Hotdogs Drone Flights Now let's hear them talk about it. Let’s talk about our video production software. We use Ecamm Live, The leading live streaming and video production studio built for Mac. AFFILIATE LINK: http://bit.ly/ecammsensitive Check us out at socia…

The term "reactionary" is associated with the right-wing but like the term radical this term is a concept that transcends the one-dimensional left/right model. That being said it is almost exclusively applied to the right and these days it is used almost exclusively as an insult rather than a self-identifier. It was originally synonymous with right…

Americans are moving South in a big way, and a new analysis shows that Southern cultures are the most likely to experience shootings. We look at a breakdown of gun deaths by cultural region from Colin Woodard’s Nationhood Lab. Death by gunshot is most likely in the Deep South and second most likely in Appalachia. Where are the most Americans moving…