Episode

Philosophize This! Clips: / @philosophizethisclips
Get more:
Website: www.philosophizethis.org/
Patreon: / philosophizethis
Find the podcast:
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2Shpxw7...
RSS: www.philosophizethis.libsyn.org/
Be social:
Twitter: / iamstephenwest
Instagram: / philosophizethispodcast
TikTok: / philosophizethispodcast
Facebook: / philosophizethisshow
Thank you for making the show possible. 🙂 On this episode of the podcast we talk about Kierkegaard's views on the value of anxiety and the plight of one in its grips.
www.patreon.com/philosophizethis
www.philsoophizethis.org
Thank you for wanting to know more today than you did yesterday. :)

[@brycec.1470]

"Let's say an elephant has a seizure and falls on your legs." Exceptionally detailed explanation of anxiety, dread and despair.

[@bigsad7524]

Angst: seeing how many movies are on Netflix and scrolling forever, never choosing one. As if we can control whether the ending of the movie we choose will have a good or bad ending.

[@skwbtm1]

Thanks for the video about Kierkegaard's idea regarding choice and despair. Here's a quote from his book Either/Or - on choice, despair and repetition Imagine a captain of a ship the moment a shift of direction must be made; then he may be able to say: I can do either this or that. But if he is not a mediocre captain he will also be aware that during all this the ship is ploughing ahead with its ordinary velocity, and thus there is but a single moment when it is inconsequential whether he does this or does that. So also with a person-if he forgets to take into account the velocity-there eventually comes a moment where it is no longer a matter of an Either/Or, not because he has chosen, but because he has refrained from it, which also can be expressed by saying: Because others have chosen for him-or because he has lost himself. Already prior to one’s choosing, the personality is interested in the choice, and if one puts off the choice, the personality or the obscure forces within it unconsciously chooses. Then when a choice is eventually made-…one discovers that there is something that must be done over again, must be withdrawn, and this is often very difficult. There are stories about human beings whom mermaids or mermen have subjected to their power with their demonic music. To break the spell, so says the story, it was necessary for the person under the spell to play the same piece backward without making a single mistake. This is a very profound thought but very difficult to do, and yet this is the way it is. The error one has absorbed has to be rooted out in this way, and every time one makes a mistake one must begin all over again. As you see, this is why it is important to choose and to choose in time. I congratulate you for being still so young that even though you will always miss out on something, you nevertheless-if you have the energy or, more accurately, will to have the energy for it-can win what is the main concern of life, you can win yourself, gain yourself. Soren Kierkegaard, Either/Or II p. 164-165 1843 Hong translation

[@mahmudrizve489]

Craig Campbell today I learned something new.thank you stranger on the internet ☺️

[@zoorrken]

*"To break the spell, so says the story, it was necessary for the person under the spell to play the same piece backward without making a single mistake. This is a very profound thought but very difficult to do, and yet this is the way it is. The error one has absorbed has to be rooted out in this way, and every time one makes a mistake one must begin all over again."* ...What exactly is he saying here? Isn't the error one has made a lesson? You've obtained more knowledge regardless if you "won" or not. Yes if you've fucked up, you'll have to get back to the point where you was less fucked and then from there move on to something better. If you've put yourself in alcoholism you have a longer path to walk to straighten your life out. Is this the point? What does he mean by rooting the error out like that?

[@TheHark22]

Craig Campbell ; ((:g

[@ari-cv9fr]

@@zoorrken well i think he's more likely referring to unrooting the passive lifestyle people adopt when they let their indecisiveness and others take ahold of their life, rather than 'fixing' the consequences of this kind of lifestyle. So yea, the idea isn't that errors are made in vain and should be somehow 'solved/fixed', but rather that one should deal with this habit of passivity (since it is a continuous source of error) and trace back the whens whos and hows of this habit/coping mechanism. In fact, one could also say that the real mistake he's talking about actually lies in letting choices in your life slip by you. So really each time your opportunity to make a choice passes by, that is an error, which solidifies your passive lifestyle with each repeat offence. Whether the choices one conciously makes are good or bad for them is irrelevant; as long as they are made consciously, they will only aid them in their life.

[@mpcc2022]

Kierkegaard could've really benefited from CBT.

[@samiragadri5370]

I love hearing you speak, you're very eloquent, funny and intelligent.

[@RocketKirchner]

“ The concept of dread is the possibility of freedom “ Kierkegaard

[@midget1716]

Thanks for educating, for free, during Corona virus outbreak. Stay safe and healthy. Lots of love and respect from Pakistan.❤️🇵🇰

[@MistressDarkMatter]

I absolutely love your podcast!! You've made a huge difference in my life. I'm poor but I donated 5 dollars because I love your show so much. :) Thank you for making these videos!!

[@Warriorsruach]

Whats your venmo- I want to donate 5 dollars to you

[@ashleyzeleznik5388]

I want the full bear story! Thanks for the podcast :)

[@samiragadri5370]

me too

[@andthereisntone3454]

Has he explained it fully yet?

[@teozibret914]

@@andthereisntone3454 i dont know has he? ive been searching for it

[@andthereisntone3454]

@@teozibret914 I don't know.

[@wisienkakochacie]

Absolutely mind-blowing episode I must say! Brilliant job Stephen, Thank you !!!

[@maxswanson7737]

This is really profound. I've come to pieces of this on my own but to hear it laid out so concisely brings a lot of clarity to what I've been feeling. Great video

[@finanzalex]

Thank you so much for this presentation. You really give us food for thought.

[@Limits6]

enjoyed this, thank sir!

[@Oners82]

"A giant piece of your life has been taken from you by an epileptic elephant." LOL!!!

[@jasonfishmd]

The self revelation is really cool. Thanks!

[@christinemartin63]

The most difficult, frightening, fulfilling relationship is the one you have with yourself during your lifetime. S is right--it's the examined life--our own life--that hopefully leads to some kind of happiness. The race is to the happy!

[@Anarcath]

Bravo!

[@ready_fight]

Stephen, I would really like to hear that story with the Black Bear and how it cured your anxiety

[@followwind1471]

I started watching this video kind of sad & depressed. But towards the ending I actually felt moderately okay, and I could even laugh about parts you've said during this video.. I guess it all depends on how you put things in perspective that defines the way you feel.

[@bilalkhatib5022]

I have watched every single Kierkegaard video on youtube and not one helped me. They all use super philosophical terms, and I really didn't expect that the only helpful video would be audio only! cheers man

[@hanskung3278]

Read Pascal.

[@bilalkhatib5022]

@@hanskung3278 do you have a specific book recommendation?

[@hanskung3278]

@@bilalkhatib5022 The first part of a small book called The Pensees.

[@teozibret914]

so has the story of the bear encounter been released? would love to read/listen to it. thanks

[@henrydavidpurple8323]

Thank you

[@Deathlupus]

Your bear experience sounds like a sublime you once mentioned.

[@MrNasasak]

Valuable

[@powellj82]

Did you ever post anything more about the bear encounter? I have felt that same sense of timelessness during encounters with other wild animals and am very curious to hear your insight into it! Thanks for positively contributing to society.

[@WingedMatchbox]

powellj82 I’m not doing so well & this has opened my eyes & mind

[@parazun]

Id like to hear the full story about that bear encounter .

[@PaulaBerlowitz]

If we despise you, we should love you, according to Kierkegaard. =)

[@openscienceerichoeven4255]

can do something with the book Thomas Nagel's essay "What is it like to be a bat?" and Thomas Nagel's Mind and Cosmos and maybe Gödel's Incompleteness Theorems and Johann Gottlieb Fichte ( people who find this interssand can find this on my youtube data base) but i'm curious about your perspective thanks

[@steavo08]

Wait, I want to hear the rest of the bear story!

[@StreetsOfVancouverChannel]

You've fairly represented Kierkegaard...

[@bigsad7524]

It's a rarity... cough cough.... *School of Life*

[@patrickshea6915]

I understand

[@PreciseVids]

Does he ever respond to comments?

[@illprovidetheperspective]

I've made some videos with snippets of the philosophize this podcast over some nice nature videos and chill music if anyone wants to check them out! I'm getting into video editing and these podcasts (well especially the ones about existentialism) always make me feel better about life, they're just like 2 minutes long and take the main points :)

[@lucidboi5334]

I love existentalist though. It changed my life. A whole 180°

[@illprovidetheperspective]

Me too! I started making videos with shorter versions of the podcasts and putting them over nature videos and music, its just a like 2 minute refresher and always makes me feel inspired, if you wanna check it out :)

[@hanskung3278]

Pascal talked about our fundamental emptiness before Kieregaard and he did so using a lot less pages and in a much more understandable fashion but I guess some folks like complicated.

[@michaelcrabbe3722]

m not sure about Pascal, but many times I hear that Kierkegaard essentially used religion, which was popular at the time, as a way of communicating the issues we have about life. That being said I’ll check out Pascal.

[@hanskung3278]

@@michaelcrabbe3722 Do it, 10 times easier to understand.

[@savvygood]

It's like herpes of the spirit. LOL

[@evillynn4166]

I'm not afraid of loosing my footing, but how do I get the one I love make a choice, to try and fail with me?!?

[@slartibartfast2977]

What ever happened to the hiking black bear story?

[@h.hholmes.492]

❤

[@jakoblind7341]

Hello Stephen, really enjoying the content it's super! But heres a thing: It's Pronounced "Kierke-gore" -Sincerely, a Dane

[@korneliasures762]

No kirkegaard

[@twinty8206]

The empty space is what makes the bowl useful.

[@LeoulB]

Where is this black bear book???

[@andthereisntone3454]

I don't understand why one should be subjective towards others. Can anyone explain? Thanks.

[@pedrotacolover]

andthereisntone Because an appearance another person portrays could not at all be their true self. Being subjective meaning accepting what someone has portrayed themself to be but understanding that what you think may not be correct.

[@burner1303]

I think he's using it in the sense of treating them like a subject (one with subjective experience, ie a person), rather than an object. As one does oneself normally. Seeing them as a whole, complete person, rather than something one acts upon. Another way to phrase this might be that you should have empathy and compassion for their struggles as you would your own.

[@benjaminpetry8487]

I LOVE MY MANE KG

[@hanskung3278]

I exercise to avoid dread.

[@hanskung3278]

I didn't know I had a "self".

[@sarahlanier6880]

HOW DID YOU END IT LIKE THAT?!! what made you not have anymore anxiety?? why did u have to leave us hanging like that😭

[@andthereisntone3454]

So, the bear....???

[@DjTahoun]

🌷🙏🏻😇🌷

[@hanskung3278]

There is no "self".

[@PaulaBerlowitz]

5 dollars, or your wife, or your phone, yep... all of your... objects?

[@balfiman]

Feminista triggered

[@iliailo9159]

Herpes of the spirit

[@pretheeshgpresannan4172]

But shouldn't we experience or grasp the truth of his philosophy for ourselves . We got an answer, but don't we have to do the math and arrive at the answer for ourselves.

[@CancelledPhilosopher]

FOMO. "Anxiety is the diziness of freedom."

[@nightoftheworld]

Ya free to sweat our choices.. FOMO is also the wellspring of the super ego, which according to psychoanalysis can become rather cruel, _bludgeoning our egos with unbearable guilt._ Psychoanalysis helps us confront the super-egos monstrous self-aggression and manage its sadistic nature. The Christian twist is to get out of the super ego’s violent ruts of condemnation and to embrace our convictions with faith (fear and trembling)-to transcend our anger and to lift our eyes upward toward relations of love, honesty and forgiveness.

[@CancelledPhilosopher]

@@nightoftheworld Huh? Super relevant and accurate point bro.

[@nightoftheworld]

@@CancelledPhilosopher I agree with your FOMO observation. Its anxiety signals freedom, but I also think it’s a top sickness of modern life. What I’m trying to say is that we can reject the pressure too rather than getting dizzy we can sit down and say no thanks to these incessant social injunctions to “enjoy/experience/spend.” We can step away from FOMO and find freedom in its wake as well.

[@CancelledPhilosopher]

@@nightoftheworld Ah okay. Thanks for clarifying. I see what you mean.

[@davidphoenix3701]

WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU PUTTING BBQ SAUCE ON A SALAD???!!!!

[@DrJ-hx7wv]

This is a postmodern interpretation. To deny objective truth is one of the more common distractions from reality. He didn't deny it, but he realized that specific facts or truths are more or less important. Not all truths are relevant to me, but they certainly are objective. You're dumbing SK down to a pretentious college sophomore.

[@MC-kv6sy]

I love that you cover Kierkegaard, but you do society one of the greatest disservices in paraphrasing his comments in your own words. His words are profound. Quote them precisely and then explain in layman terms. Do not slight him by paraphrasing in your own words. Thanks

[@jaimejones1153]

Christ, wonderful podcast but the full minute of repetitive rambling about amazon, patreon, your product page almost turned me off from this channel. glad I stuck through but might you consider moving all that stuff to the end of the podcast? It's far less cumbersome that way. And the fact that, after going through a minute you also had a false start wherein you restated the amazon and patreon stuff was really irksome. Great content, smart man, but unfortunate presentation

[@PrimroseLove]

The irony of this comment.