Existentialism: Are We Missing The Point?

Existentialism: Why It Still Matters
Existentialism is well known as a philosophy of freedom. But does it lean so hard into freedom that it misses out on larger social and political issues? Let's find out in this video on Existentialism: Why It Changed.
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Written by Michael Burns
Hosted by Michael Burns
Directed by Michael Luxemburg
Edited by Brian M Kim
Produced by Olivia Redden
Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound
#existentialism #philosophy #wisecrack
© 2023 Wisecrack / Omnia Media, Inc. / Enthusiast Gaming

[@lephtovermeet]

Debating whether or not Existentialism is even relevant is the ultimate existential expression.

[@toyotaprius79]

But what if (and that if is undoubtedly true) our existential causes came from a robust profit making industry that infiltrated its interests into every function of our society?

[@MrGamelover23]

​​@@toyotaprius79hat? No seriously, what are you trying to say?

[@Reed5016]

@MrGamelover23 Probably some conspiracy theory bullshit.

[@biggerdoofus]

@@toyotaprius79 But what if (and that if us undoubtedly true) our existential causes are varied and can't be reduced to a single pleasing enemy?

[@movement2contact]

​@@toyotaprius79What was the pure existence before this capitalist takeover then? Feudalism..?

[@KingAwesomeOutputs]

I like it when Michael tells us to commit crimes

[@skatchina]

I'm frustrated that I ca't seem to find it. If someone has a orking link to download the book, I'd be eternally grateful.

[@data-dylan]

This would be a tort, not a crime.

[@user-sl6gn1ss8p]

@@skatchina I've heard libgen has a lot of books

[@UrbaneOracle]

While the existing power structures often feel overwhelmingly powerful and unchangeable, nihilism and existentialism have a key blessing to share: these systems were built by humans and can, therefore, be unbuilt by them. Fate, luck, astrology, and divine watchmakers didn't make systemic racism, housing inequity, or wealth disparities. Our ancestors left us with that bag. If we organize ourselves with the intention to unpack it and make it better, we can.

[@Reed5016]

That’s definitely something I needed to hear at this time. I’m genuinely afraid of where the world, especially the US, is going.

[@DragonDrummer2]

@@Reed5016Same

[@MaskedHeart]

Maybe your grand children's children will be the ones to get it right. 💖🌏🌎🌍💖

[@MisterCynic18]

Burn it all, return to monke

[@ratinthehat_]

I hope the world explodes

[@Adalric30]

Hi Michael. Your comments made me realize something. I think we, as fans of the channel, would be really interested in how YOU changed your mind over the years. We watch this channel for its content, but we trust it because we trust you. If I could watch 10 or 20 minutes about where you started, how you evolved, which views you had that changed, where you realized you were young dumb and ... I would really be enthrawled. Maybe post it on another channel, but to actually better understand the mind (as well as your team's) that's feeding offering me all these great ideas, I'd be even more captivated than I already am. Thanks for the great work. Good luck in the future.

[@WisecrackEDU]

Cool idea for sure - I've done this a bit on the philosophy videos I've made on our patreon, but would be good to have something like this for everyone. I'll aim to do it on an upcoming stream for sure.

[@dayegilharno4988]

@@WisecrackEDU MY take on all this: One definitely needs precisely 11 lines of Adderal to get s*** done in this day and age!

[@kevinmerchant2913]

I am close to finishing Ethics of Ambiguity and I feel like de Beauvoir does an excellent job of grounding Sartre's Existentialism and giving the philosophy a solid ethical framework. As mentioned in this video, she brings social and political dimensions that feel so real even (especially?) now. It's also not as dense as other existential works that draw heavily from the phenomenology tradition, making it a must-read!

[@WisecrackEDU]

Good review!

[@seannamei]

Marginal disagreement here. I’ll start by saying that also love this work but I think it’s worth mentioning that it’s somewhat of an answer or a correction to In Search of a Method wherein Sartre was trying to do the same thing: 1) marry existentialism to Marxism and 2) come up with an ethics.

[@MCSorry]

@@seannamei Ethics of Ambiguity couldn't have been an answer or correction to Search of a Method; Ethics of Ambiguity came out ten years prior (in 1947) to Sartres's Search (1957). If anything, it's the Ethics that made Sartres reconsider his position.

[@seannamei]

@@MCSorry holy shit you are right. This is the second time I’m being corrected on this point. I did a video on the first chapter, introducing it as a work released in the 80s and my friend had to remind me that it came out 40 years before. I think it’s the brilliance of the work that keeps throwing me off. Same with the complete translation of second sex. Genius and way ahead of its time.

[@andyschwartz8808]

Simone de Beauvoir says she is living in a material world and she is a material girl

[@qwertyuiopaaaaaaa7]

This is one of your best videos. So great to see more context and show how philosophers have amended their thinking over time. Chef’s kiss.

[@WisecrackEDU]

appreciate it!

[@zacnance3425]

What are we doing? Brings to mind Daniel Johnston’s line “we know what we’re doing, we’re marching to hell.” There’s hope in that realization, I suppose.

[@aladdinbinschamar2442]

I want the shirt though

[@juliacoves5873]

Good luck and congratulations with the baby Michael! I’m sad I missed the last stream yesterday ❤

[@MelodicQuest]

I'm impressed with your restraint, Wisecrack. A whole video on existentialism and not a single Rick and Morty reference.

[@deadcard13]

Rewatch the opening.

[@anemac9]

Did you even watch the video? it's in the first minute.

[@enocloke24]

Found the dude that’s listening and not watching 😂

[@WisecrackEDU]

shhh don't tell! They were impressed! We need this!

[@MelodicQuest]

​@@WisecrackEDUWhoops, sorry. Sorry that this community is full of narcs!

[@razeal18]

I love deep dives like this. breaks it down so I can incorporate it into my own thoughts.

[@cumfartchuglord]

I am unwritten Can't read my mind I'm undefined I'm just beginning The pen's in my hand Ending unplanned Staring at the blank page before you Open up the dirty window Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find Reaching for something in the distance So close you can almost taste it Release your inhibitions Feel the rain on your skin No one else can feel it for you Only you can let it in No one else, no one else Can speak the words on your lips Drench yourself in words unspoken Live your life with arms wide open Today is where your book begins The rest is still unwritten Oh, oh, oh I break tradition Sometimes my tries are outside the lines We've been conditioned to not make mistakes But I can't live that way Staring at the blank page before you Open up the dirty window Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find Reaching for something in the distance So close you can almost taste it Release your inhibitions Feel the rain on your skin No one else can feel it for you Only you can let it in No one else, no one else Can speak the words on your lips Drench yourself in words unspoken Live your life with arms wide open Today is where your book begins Feel the rain on your skin No one else can feel it for you Only you can let it in No one else, no one else Can speak the words on your lips Drench yourself in words unspoken Live your life with arms wide open Today is where your book begins The rest is still unwritten Staring at the blank page before you Open up the dirty window Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find Reaching for something in the distance So close you can almost taste it Release your inhibitions Feel the rain on your skin No one else can feel it for you Only you can let it in No one else, no one else Can speak the words on your lips Drench yourself in words unspoken Live your life with arms wide open Today is where your book begins Feel the rain on your skin No one else can feel it for you Only you can let it in No one else, no one else Can speak the words on your lips Drench yourself in words unspoken Live your life with arms wide open Today is where your book begins The rest is still unwritten The rest is still unwritten The rest is still unwritten Oh, yeah, yeah

[@jamesbaldwin9197]

Thank you for making this video! Anyone watching likely has access to online versions of all of these fantastic philosophers. I recently finished Black Skin, White Masks. As far as personal actions, getting organized in a minority rights/libreration movement, mutual aid network or socialist org is the most effecting thing a person can do.

[@fvkijay]

Thank you for this. It's been almost 20 years of my life searching for something to concisely describe existentialism as effectively as my philosophy course in uni. This really did it.

[@bigmike4133]

I would love to hear more about Camus and absurdism. I struggle to imagine Sisyphus happy and would like to know how one embraces and simultaneously revolts against absurdity?

[@samuelcharles7642]

Read his books

[@bigmike4133]

@@samuelcharles7642 after 3 rereadings I'm looking for another perspective on it.

[@Retrofalcon580]

Happy to see Fanon get some attention in the conversation of existentialism!

[@gustavomarquez1856]

Finally!!! I am sure that Michale has been excited about this one since he's fascinated with Kierkegaard. Sometimes Sartre seems to be almost consciously ignored... Super happy for the video!!!

[@A_M_Bobb]

I'd love to see you break down James Baldwin and W. E. B. Du Bois concept of "double consciousness".

[@Dutchman451]

This would be fascinating to hear some thoughts on. I believe double consciousness extends to all people who try to square citizenship with the existential reality of being a human in a social environment

[@TheDrDave89]

Message sent to you publicist. Good luck! Terrific video xx

[@nicholasdawn9940]

Another phenomenal (one might even say... phenomenological) video! Thank you, Wisecrack team, for your awesome work. Some topics to explore for the channel: - Object Oriented Ontology (see: Graham Harman and Timothy Morton) - Family Abolitionism (see: Sophie Lewis) - Peter Turuchin's cliodynamics - the phenomenological Animism of David Abram - the Analytic-Continental Divide - a deep dive into the philosophical foundations of conservatism (a truly wild ride) - Syl & Af Ko's anti-colonial veganism - utopianism as an aspect of political ideology and strategy - democratic socialism vs wokeist progressivism

[@WisecrackEDU]

dope comment - thanks for the ideas!

[@alexwixom4599]

As much as I like philosophy, it's really easy to get depressed and miss the better meaning.

[@WisecrackEDU]

Very, very true.

[@emmittforbush1656]

I would get the "Wisecrack: What are we doing here?" shirt 🤷‍♂️

[@deadcard13]

Same. I would also buy a 1000 Raw Dome hat.

[@WisecrackEDU]

we'd have to make sure the hat maker didn't accidentally leave the top of the hat open.

[@phantomasuras]

I second this

[@pennywaldrip3774]

Since Zizek is an avowed Hegelist, I think there need to be more Hegel videos. And then maybe something somehow that might explain the general mindset of those in Slavic or Balkan countries. (Yugopnik)

[@ryanleone3007]

As someone who has/had bad teeth it's comforting that some great thinkers also forgot to brush their teeth.

[@elisonrobzah131]

I genuinely enjoy all of the information and viewpoints this channel delivers and expresses. Although I am not qualified to comment articulately on several of the philosopher’s exclamations covered, I thoroughly enjoy learning and absorbing the information everyone brings. I will always have a deep appreciation and admiration for the time and execution this team delivers with every submission this team uploads for the masses. From the bottom of a naive, more than casual viewer, Thank you very much.

[@richardl.metafora4477]

Holy freaking moly. What ever my KZbin algorithm is it keeps taking me to better and better places. This is the best place yet and I’ve been at it almost a year. W wow do you do terrific stuff! I’ll spend actual money, which I don’t really have to listen to more of this

[@yt_Ajay_]

Sometimes I feel like I just watch Wisecrack for the vibes. I got lost somewhere in the first half of this video, but you know.. it's nice over here..

[@makhalid1999]

So nobody's gon talk about how Micheal's publisher isn't giving his due share

[@WisecrackEDU]

In fairness academic publishing pays ALMOST nothing . . . but they did just kinda ghost me.

[@colonelweird]

After I converted to Catholicism, I went to college intending to become a philosopher. After a while they cut off my financial aid and I had to drop out. And in a few years I realized Catholicism was a mistaken detour for me. But that experience has left me with a lot of questions about the philosophers I just got a taste of when I was in school. That philosophy department had a thing for early Husserl - I even dipped my toe into Logical Investigations - and Max Scheler. I think they saw them as providing adequate answers to what were otherwise dead ends in some major trends in late 19th & early 20th century philosophy. A few of them had a thing for Gadamer and Ricoeur. I'm saying all this, of course, because I think it would be cool for Wisecrack to do videos on these guys. Oh, and Eric Voegelin too. And maybe a video on the use of "gnosticism" in the 20th century, whether as an epithet much loved by conservative Catholics, or as a serious system of thought. That would be interesting.

[@MintyAsteroid]

Great video! Would love an in depth video on Albert Camus and Absurdism and how it specifically challenges Existentialism.

[@daemoneko]

I hope you get your publishing money you are owed But I would hate to be the intern working at ROman and Littlefield Internation Publishing on monday, receiving 99 new emails with the subject 'WHERE IS BURNS' MONEY"

[@WisecrackEDU]

True - hopefully only 3-5 people actually do that.

[@annoyingneighbour1917]

My two favourite topics, Marx and Existentialism in the same video? This made my day ❤

[@Stealthkiller17]

Tanks for making another great video!

[@valmid5069]

Another great upload video guys!

[@BlackwindSensei]

Man just loved this video I've gotta come back to take some notes.

[@thenoiboi]

"WHAT ARE WE DOING?" has been my go-to caption when sharing political items/anything related to climate change.

[@TKHaines]

I like the shirt idea. Please add a confused smile face to it.

[@lsobrien]

That T-shirt idea sounds good. (Ace vid btw, not often existentialism is put in the dock.)

[@WisecrackEDU]

Thanks! And hopefully we can make the shirt.

[@juancniccc]

your videos are great guys. thank you so much for the knowledge. wish i had the means to support yall more

[@WisecrackEDU]

you are supporting us by watching the videos! we appreciate it.

[@BadassRaiden]

Michael, I would be thrilled if you did a video about Absurdism, comparing the differences and similarities between Camus and Nagel.

[@GothicOctopus]

Did not know about Satre’s later work. That’s awesome to hear about. Thank you so much.

[@bgiv2010]

I feel the absurdism video coming and I'm so here for it.

[@WhocaresWhy44]

I dig this channel. I loved Donald Palmer's Sarte 4 Beginners. I have had the park made unavailable to me. I have made the park unavailable to others. I have felt the absence of Paul. Paul was a waiter but the Cafe is gone. Great Channel.

[@herpderp728]

"hot dog party" is one of those phrases that seem very dangerous to google

[@Nick-cp3sr]

Really 💙 your philosophy videos! Would you ever consider doing a video on the utility and limits of Stoicism. Particularly the tension between its classical notions of 'deterministic pantheism' and practical applications of the dichotomy of control.. 👍🏼

[@urbaneblobfish]

You should do a video about Camus' absurdist philosophy, which is similar but also kinda different from mainline existentialism. Also thanks for shouting out Sartre's later works, I'll def check those out soon.

[@FigureOnAStick]

I think that there is one aspect of the dialectic between freedom and constraint that deserves more attention. Freedom and constraint are paradoxically linked, and so cannot easily be divided into a good/bad binary. To explain what I mean, consider what is required to master a skill, drawing, for example from a state of absolute ignorance. The first stage of learning is the first discovery of a potential capacity- that a pencil makes graphic marks, and that graphic marks can be used to produce an image. The second stage is the stage of creative play- the exploration of the relationship between your actions, the the results,they produce, and the way those reults feel- scribbling and doodling. After some time, one may find that the absolute freedom to make any mark is also a constraint, because they can't direct the outcome in any meaningful way. The third stage, deliberate practice, is the deliberate imposition of constraint in the form of disciple, which narrows ones options from a potentially infinite of actions to a very narrow set of those that yield the results you want, in drawing, these are the skills of form, composition, perspective, value, etc. After that is another round of creative play, exploring the full potential of the skills won through deliberate practice. This cycle repeats back and forth, occasionally punctuated the the unexpected discovery of new degrees of freedom and constrained more broadly by wider context of need (ie, you can't just sit around and draw all day forever, you have to make a living for yourself more comprehensively). Given the liberatory direction of philosophy as a project, it is understandable why freedom is usually held in higher regard than constant- philosophy is intended to free the thinker from the restraints of convention after all- but I think this is a misreading of the situation. After all, the billionaire tycoon is an extraordinary free individual, largely unconstrained by physical or social resistance, and billionaires also fucking such and make things harder for everyone else to support that freedom. Rather than attempt to assign absolute moral value freedom and constraint (freedom=good, constraint=bad), we should recognize them as moral qualities insofar as the dynamic relationship of freedom and constraint within a material system yields ethically charged outcomes, good or bad. We humans, as autonomous beings within the system, have the freedom to choose how to respond to our circumstances and shape the world, and we humans are also social animals living within a material ecosystem, constrained by the laws of physics and our biological needs and the conventions of the communities on which we depend. It's a far more complex relationship with freedom and constraint than simple moral absolutes, but it's also more grounded and useful approach to the matter

[@biggerdoofus]

The part about how little sense it makes to stick to the same ideas is something I wish more analysis of philosophers would include. I've heard it mentioned that Wittgenstein was very different between his younger and older writings, but not much any other great philosophers. While he didn't live long, I wouldn't be surprised if changing his mind is part of why no one is good at interpreting Nietzche.

[@TTottiD]

I liked the "4th wall break"-like elements in this video... it makes it more personal, and they were placed when I was about to loose interest and braught me back in... with a good balance of this... it gives the video a pretty good structure

[@GoopyToots]

It'd be great if you guys did a video (or videos) of modern day philosophers (IE still alive) and how different philosophical concepts may (or may not) have changed with some of these philosophers.

[@skylineXpert]

There are moments when i find it pointless going to work or wake up at all because yesterday was tough.

[@sharpsheep4148]

Sounds like burn out

[@syedk6543]

Excellent video on Existentialism. Are you able to do one on Gabriel Marcel's idea of hope & despair (in his Homo Viator: Introduction to a Metaphysic of Hope)

[@ashram12]

I like to joke that Existentialism ruined me. I learned about Existentialism in high school, and the teacher explained it in this way (or maybe I didn't understand her correctly): that I didn't need to do homework if I didn't want to. My parents, or school, can't force me to do homework, and I should decide for myself if that's something I want to do. So consequently, I realized that I put a lot of effort in school because that's what my parents expected of me, it wasn't something that I personally had a lot of interest in. So I stopped doing a lot of my homework, and my academic grades took a bit of a nosedive. So in hindsight, I would say that you should be careful about teaching Existentialism to teens.

[@Stealthkiller17]

That's like free choice without the responsibility. I was there once too, yet when I read Sartre, I overthougt my bad live choises and realised, that I was the one making them. Still took me a while to get a grip. But that insight was helpfull.

[@dennisvandermeij9779]

Loved this, also nice to finally get a clear explanation on wtf a dialectic really is, nice touch! (Isn't it pronounced 'Camus' though?')

[@GeniialesCoOko]

10/10 would buy a "What are we doing" T-shirt from you guys. Reflects my political views very accurately

[@ayurvedicman]

Yes to shirts! "What are we doing"

[@Stealthkiller17]

One of your best comments ever! „Wisecrack: What are we doing?“

[@thegoodlord6518]

4:44 you better double check that... In an interview in Les Nouvelles Littéraires, 15 November, 1945, Camus said point-blank: “I am not an existentialist.” He went on to say, “Sartre and I are always surprised to see our names linked. We have even thought of publishing a short statement in which the undersigned declare that they have nothing in common with each other and refuse to be held responsible for the debts they might respectively incur. It’s a joke actually. Sartre and I published our books without exception before we had ever met. When we did get to know each other, it was to realize how much we differed. Sartre is an existentialist, and the only book of ideas that I have published, The Myth of Sisyphus, was directed against the so-called existentialist philosophers.”

[@DarthKrag]

I just signed up for patreon, I'm in for the beer helmet prop jokes. . .but more for what that says about us philosophically.

[@dinninfreeman2014]

This video finally unlocked an understanding of the relationship between Existentialism, platonism, and rationalism. I've been reading a lot of Giordano Bruno and this helped me figure out some of the underlying philosophy I was grappling with. Honestly, another problem with existentialism I have is the belief in an unknowable universe as science has been shown to provide methods for predicting the universe, with particular regard to physics and chemistry which can get really precise about the natural laws of the universe. Perhaps there are things science will never be able to predict fully, but the reality is clearly ordered in a predictable way for much of the known universe, and as far as I can tell there's no reason to believe that it can't all be predicted.

[@gennaroconnors9304]

Just emailed the publisher. hope that helps.

[@elimgarak1617]

Signing up for Patreon now to get Michael that beer helmet.

[@mitchellkramer]

I'd love to learn more about the Situationist International and Guy Debord. I feel like that would be a good way to build off this video.

[@johnmacias488]

What a great video! I really enjoyed this one! Thanks guys

[@ducanhvu9658]

This is very well done. I love existentialism and simone de beuvoir. She is the bedrock of existential therapy.

[@chrisdavis1742]

Please do absurdism next! This was great!

[@Garbimba1900]

8:29, yes to the t-shirt, but the question is more important. Really, what are we doing? What are we focusing on? If we know that there is a decline in population and a climate crisis, what are we doing? What should we be focusing on?

[@kevinholt4184]

Whenever I think about the milieu of existentialism debate, I'm reminded of the little old ladies hoarding possessions in the movie labyrinth. They piled mountains of worthless items onto their backs. There is no need for endless debate about the various breeds or iterations of existentialism. And maybe it's the word, itself, that seems to beg for expansive analysis. Instead of endless "points of view" and classical versus modern approaches all combining to obfuscate rather than reveal, you only need the root definition. Like a smooth little stone in your pocket. Existentialism is simply one of many words used to express an acknowledgment that you now understand and concede that there is no objective or imposed purpose to existence. And, maybe also that you are free to fabricate one for yourself, if you choose.

[@natepetersen1508]

I've been reading a lot of Stirner lately and I feel like he has the most correct assessment of the interaction of the "freedom" of the individual but also the limits placed on them by spectres

[@kingjoeblack5]

Holy hell… Wisecrack mentioning a black philosopher😮😮😮.

[@hrishikesh-s]

Hi Michael, can you please do a fireside chat with Alain de Botton for about an hour or 1.5 hours? I love the ideas you both present, and would love to see the discussion ❤

[@WisecrackEDU]

I mean, I don't know him, but would be happy to chat.

[@jamesrucker4641]

Love the video. Would also love to hear you talk about Serial Experiments Lain.

[@Bestape]

Enjoyed this one. Delve deeper into ambiguity plz.

[@thetruth4654]

I think even if existentialism somehow gets academically rejected, the impact of it`s philosophers, writers and artists will still live on because these thinkers confront us with questions we all have, and people will have existential crisis, dread etc regardless of how well respected it is. So for all of the flaws and contradictions within existentialism, it is one of the most humane philosophies because it deals with and raises concerns that will likely always be relevant(atleast as long as humans live on earth to raise existential questions.) And existentialism`s contradictions make it the most human of all philosophies because humans are in an off themselves walking contradictions.

[@grayfox6930]

Here before the thumbnail change ✊😔

[@Fever2113]

Such a dense video but it succinctly caotures a lot of amazing topics around one theme. Very wekl written guys!

[@jdw677]

When I was 17 I had a bit of a libertarian phase where I mirrored a lot of Sartre's early writings. The belief in a radical freedom in which anyone can do anything they so choose is something I based a lot of my early politics on before I had a good understanding of socialism and the limitations material realities put on that supposed radical freedom. Seeing the way Sartre worked through his understanding of Marxism combined with his belief in the choices we make for ourselves mirrors how I've evolved in my own politics. I look at it similar to the way we teach something like physics. In physics we start with airless, frictionless, spaces then slowly put those understandings into context to see the world isn't s simple, but can still be understood, one piece at a time.

[@MoMo-ul6uk]

Hey guys, great video. I actuality read the Ethics of Ambiguity and the Second Sex from de Beauvoir, and my opinion is that Existentialism is still relevant today (more than ever now I'd argue). America especially seems to have narrowed their social discussion around justice (for good reasons), but I think people certainly need to be reminded to take responsibility for the greater good (the definition of what that is can be argued). I'd like to see what your take is on the philosophy of minimalism. I recently came across a Netflix documentary uploaded to KZbin.

[@MegaDino1997]

Youre channel is gold for our minds.

[@ihatecranberryjiuce]

Hooray for referencing Fanon, Wretched of The Earth is a life changing book

[@EricGranata]

So glad Michael is at Wisecrack. That opening line 😂

[@justacontrarian]

I disagree. Philosophy is TOO sexy for most folks, esp. the logic-chopping stuff LOL.

[@tcmackgeorges12]

Critique of Dialectical Reason mentioned! Mega W

[@stebuklas.g]

0:29 Chain smoking - ok, I can see that. But “drinking cocktails”?! That is probably the most un-french thing ever.

[@salarian9026]

I'd love to see Michael making Karl Popper not only accesible but even funny 🤣

[@WisecrackEDU]

Challenge . . . maybe accepted?

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

​@@WisecrackEDUyep

[@kagan1587]

This debate about freedom really reminds of a quote from The black prism by Brent Weeks: "Maybe when you were born on the top of the mountain you could pretend the mountain didn't matter, but those who climbed it and those born at its base who could never climb at all knew differently."

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Yep. Life can be great if you put in the effort!😊😊😊😊❤❤❤❤

[@markop.1994]

Or is it life can be great when you are born to economic prosperity?

[@steven2183]

hamster wheel mentality

[@Dan-ud8hz]

“As mortals, we're ruled by conditions, not by ourselves.” ― Bodhidharma

[@eriknephrongfr8847]

Excellent review. Thank you

[@dango_dumpling]

Please make a video on the philosophy of The Little Prince (the book, not the movie). It's one of my favorites.

[@LKH165]

Make a video on Decoloniality! I'd love to see your take on that!!

[@ClaytonLivsey]

I've been waiting for this video for a long time you guys. I think early existentialism is popular for the same reason that CBT, Stoicism, yoga and manifesting are popular right now, because you can do it all by yourself. And I'm not so sure that's politically radical. Declaring yourself or other people to be a priori free might be a good pep talk but that just seems like another form of idealism, just another essence to cling to. I think that Frank Herbert did it better. We are born unfree as animals, but we must train ourselves to be free in the only the ways that humans can. You are born unfree, but you have to fight for your mental freedom. This is a much more gradual process than Sartre just declaring that you are free.

[@buddhabillybob]

Good video! I wanted to see _The Rebel_ by Camus mentioned.

[@offduty23]

The capacity to resist, and the choice to resist, are the key common threads of both Existentialism and Absurdism. It is in that choice, to accept things as they are or to resist and attempt to change how things are, where we find radical free will.

[@erinmcdonald6076]

I want the “what are we doing? t-shirt please!

[@dometrikschramm5301]

Please make that wisecrack "what are we doing?" shirt

[@Feedbackking13]

I would buy that shirt but there should be one with and without the wisecrack title/logo.

[@juliacoves5873]

First stream back after your paternity leave we will all email your publisher at once asking for your money

[@Cazaton]

Does anyone else play the drinking game, when Wisecrack says Kierkegaard, take a shot?

[@WisecrackEDU]

be careful with that one.

[@MrSimaTai]

Amazing work wisecrack =)