Repost from 2015 Hip-hop singer Frank Ocean is well-known to march to the beat of a different drummer, and nowhere is that more apparent than in We All Try, a lovely and plaintive existential humanist[…]
Category: Existentialism
Little Miss Sunshine
It is less accurate to say that this laugh-out-loud indie hit advanced a recognizable philosophical thesis of its own than to say that it delivered a big, fat, much-needed slap in the face to the[…]
Top 10 Movies: #1 – Children of Men
Repost: Just rewatched this amazing film recently, and what once felt like a warning from the near future now feels ripped from the headlines… Today, most people know director Alfonso Cuarón as the first Latino[…]
Reconstructivist Art: Every Day the Same Dream
I’m not usually one to rave about a video game, but this simple, easy to play , quick to complete game changed my entire evaluation of the potential of video games as an art form. A dark, existential humanist parable about an office drone, the game uses a severely limited set of options and locations as a strength rather than a weakness
The Brothers Karamazov
Repost: I regret not reading The Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoevsky) years earlier. I was always intimidated by its immense length. After having tackled Les Miserables several years earlier however, I felt prepared. My first impression[…]
South Side Settlement House Philosophy
Columbus’ South Side Settlement House, which closed its doors a few years ago after a lifespan of 112 years, was one of a number of unique social service agencies that opened in imitation of Jane[…]
“Hotel California” – Philosophical Music: Rock
In memory of Glenn Frey, please enjoy this repost of an examination of one of his most beloved songs Many mysteries surround the Eagles’ popular classic tune Hotel California, from the warm smell of colitas[…]
8 Bit Kierkegaard
Some of you may have enjoyed my recent repost of my popular essay “Kierkegaard’s Narrative“, about the influence of Christian existentialist Søren Kierkegaard on several popular books and movies (notably including High Fidelity). For a[…]
Kierkegaard’s Narrative – Part II
Please enjoy this repost of the continuation of my 2004 essay: “Kierkegaard’s Narrative” Even without the religious and spiritual dimension that was the ultimate foundation of Kierkegaard’s work, the narrative he inspired continues to garner[…]
Kierkegaard’s Narrative
"Kierkegaard's Narrative" is an existential humanist plot outline named after the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. In general, it runs as follows: An aimless young man drifts through life, obsessed with aesthetics, and seeking sexual fulfillment with a series of women, yet never making substantive choices or real commitments. The climax of the story is the protagonist's decision to commit to a single woman, and to enter into marriage.
The raw source material for this plotline is found in Kierkegaard's books "Either/Or," "Fear and Trembling," and "Repetition," in which he takes on the persona of various first-person narrators, and describes their experiences.