Author Topic: Rejectionist Philosophy from Buddhism to Benatar by Ken Coates  (Read 2542 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Holden

  • { ∅, { ∅ } }
  • Posts: 5070
  • Hentrichian Philosophical Pessimist
Rejectionist Philosophy from Buddhism to Benatar by Ken Coates
« on: December 03, 2014, 12:59:40 pm »
The book traces the development of this philosophy from its ancient religious roots in Hinduism (Moksha) and Buddhism (Nirvana) to its most modern articulation by the South African philosopher David Benatar. It examines the contribution to rejectionist thought by Schopenhauer and von Hartmann in the 19th century and Zapffe, a little known Norwegian thinker, in the 20th century, and most recently by Benatar. Benatar and Zapffe represent this approach most clearly as anti-natalism. The book also devotes a chapter to the literary expression of rejectionist philosophy in the works of Samuel Beckett and J.P.Sartre. In sum, far from being an esoteric doctrine rejectionism has been a major presence in human history straddling all three major cultural forms - religious, philosophical and literary.

The book argues that anti-natal philosophy and its practice owe a great deal to three major developments: secularization, liberalization of social attitudes, and technological advances (contraception). Anti-natal attitudes and practice should therefore be seen as a part of 'progress' in that these developments are widening our choice of lifestyles and attitudes to existence. In sum, The book argues that anti-natalism needs to be taken seriously and considered as a legitimate view of a modern, secular civilization. Secondly, the book seeks to situate current anti-natalist thought in its historical and philosophical perspective. Finally, it argues that in order to develop anti-natalism further it needs to be institutionalized as a form rational 'philosophy of life', and more attention needs to be paid to the problems and prospect of putting this philosophy into practice.
La Tristesse Durera Toujours                                  (The Sadness Lasts Forever ...)
-van Gogh.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter


Nation of One

  • { }
  • { ∅, { ∅ } }
  • Posts: 4756
  • Life teaches me not to want it.
    • What Now?
Let me know if you find a digital version of this book.  It sounds unique.
Things They Will Never Tell YouArthur Schopenhauer has been the most radical and defiant of all troublemakers.

Gorticide @ Nothing that is so, is so DOT edu

~ Tabak und Kaffee Süchtigen ~

Holden

  • { ∅, { ∅ } }
  • Posts: 5070
  • Hentrichian Philosophical Pessimist
I'd look for it,sure. :)
La Tristesse Durera Toujours                                  (The Sadness Lasts Forever ...)
-van Gogh.

Nation of One

  • { }
  • { ∅, { ∅ } }
  • Posts: 4756
  • Life teaches me not to want it.
    • What Now?
"It" found this while searching for antinatalist literature late in the night, when I was in the "literature and philosophy zone", long after I had closed the math text.

Anti-Natalism: Rejectionist Philosophy from Buddhism to Benatar Kindle Edition by Ken Coates ...

"It" - call it the subconscious or simply the hidden part of the brain inside this head - had remembered being unable to get a copy - and now the electronic version is at an extremely fair price.   To think, I used to beg for change to get a half pint of stinkin' cheap vodka selling for just about two and a half dollars.

Anyway, I was only able to read parts of the first chapter as it was around 3AM when "It" found it.    "It" knew "It" had discovered a treasure.   Coates mentions how rare Schopenhauer and Hartmann were ...

I was going to start a thread to tell Holden about this, and I remember starting a thread some time ago, so I did a search for "Rejectionist".

Lo and behold, Holden had suggested this book to me back in December of 2014.  I remember that month ... trips back and forth to court in hometown ... bouncing a check for court-fees because I purchased my mother an electric can opener.  OK, I'll try to stay focused.

Well, Holden, it took me awhile to find it, but a copy is on the little battery-dependent ebook reader contraption.

Not only was I delighted to read Coates mentioning Hartmann right there next to Schopenhauer, but my sense of being on the "right" path, albeit the Negative Path, was greatly confirmed by noting just how unique Schopenhauer's view was ... in that part of the world, of course.

This is a great book for me to read at the time, and already it is sorting out my confusions concerning Buddhism and Hinduism.   Well, I suppose I should now write Hinduism and Buddhism after having read just a little from Coates during the twilight of a welcomed (almost anxiously anticipated) insomnia.

I have to confess that I was not even aware of my confusion.

While I knew that Buddhism originated in India, I was not aware that Hinduism was far older, and that Brahmanism can be considered separately from the mainstream "organized religion" of modern day Hinduism.

It's amazing.  I had questions in the subconscious that I was not even aware of, and Coates is answering them.   I look forward to my next bout of insomnia.  In fact, I am tempted not to begin the next section of the Dolciant [math] text; but it is on geometric proofs, something I despised as a teenager.   It is a very short section ... Supposedly, using vector methods for geometric proofs is far more satisfying (easier?) than the methods one is exposed to as a youth (before "Analysis"). Still, I am compelled to learn a little more from Coates.  It's a very informative read. 

I am curious about moshka.

I was never quite sure of the relation between the Vedas and the Upanishads and the "Gita", but I am fairly certain the part of "Hinduism" which attracts me would have its source in the Upanishads ... I suspect I would not care for the Gita ...

I really don't know very much about any of this, but I do know what it is to reject this existence as a cosmic accident, something to be transcended ... and, well, rejected.

Our enjoyment of our mental faculties are not really a confirmation of the will-to-live, but simply a little escape route we have discovered, the enjoyment of intellectual pleasures.  Maybe that explains how some can refer to "math" as "fun".  This is most likely what they mean by fun - enjoying intellectual pleasure.

And yet ...

Quote from: Coates
... these moments do not last long and soon willing and striving resumes its hold on us. In any case the vast majority of people do not have the capacity to enjoy intellectual pleasures. Schopenhauer does not consider popular forms of entertainment and pastimes as a substitute for aesthetic pleasures. Here he shows himself to be an elitist unwilling to grant the masses reprieve from willing and absorption into the spectacle before them, e.g. at a sporting event, the circus or music-hall, in a manner paralleling the appreciation of arts. Indeed he believes that sports, card playing and similar pastimes are simply a means to stave off boredom.

Peace to you Holden.  You call me your "teacher", and yet you are often my guide.

You must be familiar with this Moksha [fixed typo after reading Holden's post]  ;)

« Last Edit: April 04, 2017, 03:47:41 pm by Raskolnikov »
Things They Will Never Tell YouArthur Schopenhauer has been the most radical and defiant of all troublemakers.

Gorticide @ Nothing that is so, is so DOT edu

~ Tabak und Kaffee Süchtigen ~

Holden

  • { ∅, { ∅ } }
  • Posts: 5070
  • Hentrichian Philosophical Pessimist
To Herr Hentrich , Senor Raul & Mr.Maughan
« Reply #4 on: April 04, 2017, 02:48:52 pm »
Indeed Hinduism is far older than Buddhism. In fact,in the beginning Buddhism was considered as little more than a sect of Hinduism.
Moksha is the Hindu name for Nirvana(Salvation). Like Nirvana,it is negative in character-the cessation of the endless cycle of birth and death.
As a child I learnt the basic  tenets of both Hinduism(particularly Hinduism) & Buddhism.However,the present day Hinduism is so much about rituals that I could make out the real meaning of the tenets only after discovering Schopenhauer thanks to Herr Hentrich.

Mr.Maughan,I am glad that you liked that metaphor about a child. The thing is,whenever I come across any thinker/philosopher who questions anything which is fundamental about Schopenhauer's philosophy,and believe me there are plenty of them out there, I end up feel completely restless & regain my peace of mind only when ,in my own mind, I succeed in proving to myself that the questioner himself is mistaken.
I also thank you again for the Hartmann quotes. They have helped me to see both the strengths & the weaknesses of his philosophy.

Senor Raul,I do wish you could read more of Schopenhauer’s books. I would love to be of assistance to you in this regard.

Almost everyday the first thought that I have in my mind when I wake up is about Schopenhauer. I do really want to write more,far more about his philosophy.
But that certainly does not mean that I am not swayed by the pull of the Will at all,far from it.

Now,the Vedas are the central/key Hindu scriptures .They are primarily about hymns & rituals.The Upanishads are annexures to the Vedas .They are philosophical in nature. The Gita is primarily a sort of Socratic dialogue between Arjuna(a Hindu mythological character) & Krishna( who is supposed to be the incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu).The Gita ,I’d say, is an amalgamation of theology & philosophy.

Anyway, keep well,Herr Hentrich,Senor Raul (in Paraguay) & Mr.Maugham(please do keep posting more quotes by Hartmann.)

« Last Edit: April 04, 2017, 02:55:12 pm by Holden »
La Tristesse Durera Toujours                                  (The Sadness Lasts Forever ...)
-van Gogh.

Nation of One

  • { }
  • { ∅, { ∅ } }
  • Posts: 4756
  • Life teaches me not to want it.
    • What Now?
Thank you for this clarification.  I am astounded by how little I know.   It is humbling.

Quote from: Holden
Indeed Hinduism is far older than Buddhism. In fact,in the beginning Buddhism was considered as little more than a sect of Hinduism.
Moksha is the Hindu name for Nirvana(Salvation). Like Nirvana,it is negative in character-the cessation of the endless cycle of birth and death.
As a child I learnt the basic  tenets of both Hinduism(particularly Hinduism) & Buddhism.However,the present day Hinduism is so much about rituals that I could make out the real meaning of the tenets only after discovering Schopenhauer thanks to Herr Hentrich.

You know, I distinctly recall reading Schopenhauer's very words, where he claims that someone from India would be better equipped to receive his philosophy than someone from Schopenhauer's own culture.   He said it had to do with ideality versus naive realism.  He knew that the conclusions he had come to were more in harmony with Hindu and Buddhist philosophy/religion.

I am glad that you point out that Moksha/Nirvana/Salvation is negative in character, that it is the cessation of something positive, continual rebirths.

You are in a unique position to appreciate Schopenhauer's philosophy on a deeper level.  I wonder how many people go through existence suppressing their actual thoughts about how they really feel about life, not knowing that it is a perfectly noble characteristic to find life itself some kind of mistake.

In fact, this, as far as Schopenhauer explains it, is the one thing Christianity has in common with the far more ancient religion of Hinduism, the idea of having fallen from grace in having sprouted and spawned.   

I find it all so wonderfully ironic that Schopenhauer was one of the first unapologetic, openly atheistic thinkers in that area of the world; and, at the same time, able to appreciate the wisdom he found at the kernel of religions, whether they had many gods, one God, or no Creator whatsoever.

I think it helps us when we can look beneath the mythological metaphors and allegories and contemplate the brute facts, life feeding upon itself, the snake eating its own tail, and our own very legitimate longing for the cessation of endless striving, want, and boredom.

It's all so mind-boggling, and the worse thing, I think, would be to go through life without any philosophical inclinations whatsoever.  That is why I have such a different view of depression and melancholy.  Whereas society in general, the medical establishment in particular, views depression as an illness that needs to be treated, cured, fixed, I see it more as "a philosophical mood" ...

What they call depression might be what the ancients would call enlightenment.
Things They Will Never Tell YouArthur Schopenhauer has been the most radical and defiant of all troublemakers.

Gorticide @ Nothing that is so, is so DOT edu

~ Tabak und Kaffee Süchtigen ~

raul

  • { ∅, { ∅ } }
  • Posts: 3106
Herr Holden,
Thank you for your response. I really admire your discipline and commitment to philosophical studies. Not many can do that.Certainly not me. As you said, you are in a difficult situation there, working in a place you have to endure. Schopenhauer is a great relief, and also literature in general. You and Hentrich are becoming strangers in your environments. To see deeply as you both do, well let me say few can endure and live with these truths. Who can undestand, but you and Hentrich, the cessation of the cycle of birth and death? Depression and melancholy accompany us all the time while millions are in the pursuit of trivialities. The establishment would treat both of you and others as hopeless cases. Both of you would be dumped into psychiatric hospitals. Hentrich says that it would be sad to go through life without any philosophical inclinations. There is much truth in his statement. However that´s what happens on a daily basis. We are in a truly madhouse For the gorts, as Hentrich calls them, positive thinking is enlightenment. Remember,that´s their rejectionist philosophy. Not many find life as a horrible mistake.No, that´s a very dangerous way to view the world. You and Hentrich and others who read this blog are "leaning strongly in the direction of madness". Take care of yourself. Raúl

Nation of One

  • { }
  • { ∅, { ∅ } }
  • Posts: 4756
  • Life teaches me not to want it.
    • What Now?
Quote from: Raul
The establishment would treat both of you and others as hopeless cases. Both of you would be dumped into psychiatric hospitals.

This is why I choose not to reach out to psychiatrists for "salvation".

I don't like to use the word "genius" since it is such an abused word, and we all have misconceptions about what this actually is, but I would like to point out that Artaud claimed that the genius is a natural enemy to the psychiatrist.

When I am all wound up and filled with anxiety, even if it is over something as trivial as being charged twice for a book and the frustrations involved with making transactions over the Internet, I do not for one minute consider that I am suffering from the diagnosed psychiatric disorder "manic depression", "bipolar", "schizophrenia", etc ...

I know I am suffering the effects of the Will.  I understand that this anxiety is universal.   Thankfully it is just books I am jacked up on now.  Many of our fellow-human beings are jacked up on powerful street drugs that have got them all wound up, hysterically depressed, to the point they become very dangerous.

Then we have individuals in positions of power and authority who experience the very same disturbances as we do, but, unlike us, they are in a position to wreak havoc.

I am blessed to have you and Holden to bounce ideas off of, because, unfortunately, Senor Raul, you are right about our qualifications to be kept in a hospital against our will should we expose some zealous professional to the dark color of our philosophy.

When I was 20 years old I had been placed in jail and eventually sent to an "honor camp".  We were allowed to work ... out in society.  They would actually transport us to gas stations and fast-food restaurants.  Anyway, there were "poetry contests" each week.  The winner would be permitted to take any book from the library (the facility used to be an army barracks for officers, so there was a decent library) to keep.

So, I would submit a poem each week and collect a book.

One week I was suddenly shipped to the main prison to see a psychiatrist because the guards at the honor camp were alarmed at one of my poems, one in which I wrote about how my bones longed to be in the dirt under the full moon.

They thought I was either suicidal or thinking of running away into the forest that surrounded the compound.

This is why I am so disinclined to get back into the work-force and accept my status as "psychiatric disability".   My honesty disturbs others, and when they become disturbed, this causes me to be interrogated or even detained for observation.

I have learned that it is best for me to stay in my own little world and just fill my hours with math drills and tinkering with code.

I know I am mad, but I am harmless.  There are those who do not know they are mad, and they may be far more dangerous for they may have positions of authority ...

Stay safe, brother.  Thanks for checking in with us.

Quote from: Raul
You and Hentrich and others who read this blog are "leaning strongly in the direction of madness". Take care of yourself.

We are leaning in that direction, and yet ... somehow I see myself as far more sane than the general order of the world.  I mean, we all live in sick societies, east, west, north, south, industrialized or primitive ...

This is the paradox we face:  If we suspect we are mad, we may be more sane than those who never doubt their sanity.

And yet, sanity is defined by society, so how does this work out?

I mean, if society as a whole is sick, and society gets to define what insanity is, well, I don't know what's what then.    :-\

I can't deny that I very often feel insane when I am working on mathematical exercises past midnight, when I consider how little I do physical exercise, when I drink far too much coffee to the point that it makes me anxious, when I feel very irritable for no apparent reason, etc.

And yet I would not be inclined to seek psychiatric help even though I have been diagnosed with a mood disorder.  You see, I am not so sure psychiatry is an accurate medical science.  I suspect it is more of a political apparatus used to police the intellectual realm, a way to discredit those who disrupt the social order with dangerous ideas.  If one prefers to sleep in and does not feel inclined to race around a track or jump through hoops or "perform", if one shirks duties and responsibilities, well, one is either criminal or diseased, right?

Sin, crime, illness ...

Is it such a crime to be too lazy to ever be motivated to commit murder for the State apparatus?

Society praises poor farmers who take up arms to travel across the globe to kill other poor farmers of foreign nations, and the unmotivated dreamer who prefers to hide in the woods smoking mari-juana is demonized as a lazy deadbeat.

Which is worse?   Sometimes I feel the entire social order is upside down, and that the wrong people are lionized.

Those who promote self-deception and outright lies when it comes to matters of belief see themselves as righteous, and yet the more noble and courageous who openly proclaim their doubts are condemned for their honesty.

Deceit and shallowness are praised, while deep thought is condemned.

It surely is enough to make someone who thinks very bitter, especially when the thinker is young and sees through the farce of society and the lies taking place in the "adult world".

I suppose humans use language and mathematics, for that matter, to deceive rather than to actually communicate.

When I used to do drugs with others, they would complain that I would just speak my mind and not censor myself.

When I write, I like to write in a stream of consciousness.  Didn't Cioran say that writing is an alternative to suicide (and it's cure)?  Or was that Artaud?

Is it a bad sign when some of those you really admire were committed to psychiatric wards for long periods of time?   
« Last Edit: April 06, 2017, 12:47:56 am by Raskolnikov »
Things They Will Never Tell YouArthur Schopenhauer has been the most radical and defiant of all troublemakers.

Gorticide @ Nothing that is so, is so DOT edu

~ Tabak und Kaffee Süchtigen ~

Holden

  • { ∅, { ∅ } }
  • Posts: 5070
  • Hentrichian Philosophical Pessimist
Senor Raul,

Thank you for your words & I hope that your eyes & your health in general is better now.
Well, people have always regarded me as a bit weird ever since I could remember.I never wanted to play with the other kids as a child.I just wanted to be in my room and read comic books. In the office no one talks to me about anything apart from work related stuff & I like it that way.
I abhor most of the things in the world even my own body & my "self".

I think if I ever got the opportunity to stay completely alone for a month or so,I might just starve into oblivion, I perhaps would not care about anything at all. To tell you the truth,I don't look forward to anything anymore. My favorite pastime to read Horror novels-to escape the horror all around me.


I am afraid of the people,of the things,of the world & even of myself. I want nothing whatsoever to do with this existence & all that it entails.
I understand why you are hostile to religion. Those fake preachers are some of the most vile positivity peddlers I have come across. They all want us to have a nice”relationship”,a nice house,a nice car & all that jazz.

The word relationship makes me sick to my stomach when it’s used in the context of romance. We know what that is all about. Who was that fool,what it Freud,who said we can never know what women want? Well, Schopenhauer knew all about that,& now ,thanks to Herr Hentrich,so do I.
Anyway,this is for you:


Keep well in Paraguay .
La Tristesse Durera Toujours                                  (The Sadness Lasts Forever ...)
-van Gogh.

raul

  • { ∅, { ∅ } }
  • Posts: 3106
Herr Hentrich,
Thank you for your comments. Yes, anxiety is general. We all suffer in this madhouse. Psychiatrists are the tools that the establishment use to put misfits in jail, specially those who dare to think and see clearly, without any blinders. You are in a better position to judge what happens in jail. You´ve been there.

"One week I was suddenly shipped to the main prison to see a psychiatrist because the guards at the honor camp were alarmed at one of my poems, one in which I wrote about how my bones longed to be in the dirt under the full moon.They thought I was either suicidal or thinking of running away into the forest that surrounded the compound." How sad that the guards do not view themselves as prisoners too in this jailhouse called Earth!

"My honesty disturbs others, and when they become disturbed, this causes me to be interrogated or even detained for observation. I have learned that it is best for me to stay in my own little world and just fill my hours with math drills and tinkering with code. I know I am mad, but I am harmless.  There are those who do not know they are mad, and they may be far more dangerous for they may have positions of authority ..."

There is much truth in these words. We like to hide ourselves from ourselves. Those thugs in positions of authority see people like you as the real menace. There is no doubt in my mind that they will not hesitate to put a bullet in your neck the way the Soviet commisars dealth with undesirable people. You also know that in the past, people like you and Holden and many others were chained, flogged and burned at the stake, guillotined or beheaded. The executioners belonged to different instititions of power such as the Inquisition.  But now they have dangerous technology and they will not stop to get rid of thinkers. I have much fear, Hentrich that people like you and Holden might have unpleasant visitors to warn you in advance. Take care. Raúl

raul

  • { ∅, { ∅ } }
  • Posts: 3106
Herr Holden,
Thank you for your response. I have been reading most of your comments and let me say that you can publish a book using this blog alone. You say kids did not play with you. Maybe you were already born "old" for your age. You were born different, let me say.
"I abhor most of the things in the world even my own body & my "self". These are very powerful words. More or less you remind me of a Russian revolutionary named Nechaev who was said to abhor even love in order to commit himself in body and soul to the cause,that is,the destruction of the tsarist regime. 

"I think if I ever got the opportunity to stay completely alone for a month or so,I might just starve into oblivion, I perhaps would not care about anything at all. To tell you the truth,I don't look forward to anything anymore. My favorite pastime to read Horror novels-to escape the horror all around me."

Yes, I agree totally with you. Horror is all around us. We pretend not to see it. This world is truly a madhouse, just puppets in this hellish game. Stay safe. Raúl

Holden

  • { ∅, { ∅ } }
  • Posts: 5070
  • Hentrichian Philosophical Pessimist
Senor Raul,

And to this world, to this scene of tormented and agonised beings, who only continue to exist by devouring each other, in which, therefore, every ravenous beast is the living grave of thousands of others, and its self-maintenance is a chain of painful deaths; and in which the capacity for feeling pain increases with knowledge, and therefore reaches its highest degree in man, a degree which is the higher the more intelligent the man is; to this world it has been sought to apply the system of optimism, and demonstrate to us that it is the best of all possible worlds. The absurdity is glaring.

-Schopenhauer
La Tristesse Durera Toujours                                  (The Sadness Lasts Forever ...)
-van Gogh.

raul

  • { ∅, { ∅ } }
  • Posts: 3106
Herr Holden,
Once again thank you for your words. You quote Schopenhauer very appropriately. The more intelligent man,the higher the pain.Really cruel. Probably those thugs in power realize also the madness they were brought into. Sometimes some people say that all this existential dread will end when I become one of those lucky individuals with a gift for life. I must drive a good car, have a beautiful wife, be a CEO  and make money easily, spends it well, and love my children and thank the universe for all these wonders. To live in delusion and die too in delusion. To be submissive, and not put the order in doubt. Two plus two does not equal four but five. Take care of yourself. Raúl 

 

Holden

  • { ∅, { ∅ } }
  • Posts: 5070
  • Hentrichian Philosophical Pessimist
Senor Raul,

I have studied various existentialists and it always dawns on me as I am reading them, how much more clearly and accurately Schopenhauer has laid out the human condition. A lot of the 20th century existentialists seem to be saying the same things Schopenhauer said with more jargon and less completeness. Man is a "being that creates a lack of being in order for there to be being" for example from Sartre and De Beauvoir seems very similar to Schopenhauer's ever present lack which we are always trying to fill. Except in this case, unlike the Existentialists, who then simply cherish the freedom to will freely, Schopenhauer focuses on the very nature of willing itself, and that there is this lack in the first place. In a way he bypasses the Existentialists that simply stop to be enamoured with ideas of free will and authenticity, and examines the very willing nature itself.


He was too soon eclipsed, dismissed, misunderstood, or ignored by the 1920s as a new breed of obfuscatory philosophers like Heidegger appeared on the continent and overly zealous positivists began to dominate the Anglosphere.


Even more than the existentialists, he knew "angst" though I am pretty sure he did not mention that anywhere in his works. He wrote about it more eloquently, clearly, yet more completely than those who came after who seem like fractured remnants trying to reconstruct bit-by-bit what was already wholly stated.

Heidegger’s idea of ready-to-hand is that when we concentrate on a task, we have a certain flow where we kind of lose our sense of time and are immersed in the task. Things seem to be going well here. Then the "broken tool" occurs when we see are no longer concentrating. Schopenhauer describes this as the feeling we get when we reached our goal, or have just experienced something pleasurable. It is a kind of feeling of unease, angst, existential boredom, and similar feelings. To Schopenhauer though, this would be seeing things as they are- this striving Will. We might get caught up in the flow, but when broken tool occurs, and we have not distracted, sublimated, isolated, and anchored our thoughts, we see it for the Will-to-nothing that it is.

As for the no-thing that allows for understanding of anything- I don't see how that is dissimilar to Schopenhauer's atemporal Will which is "no thing" in terms of its empirical emptiness but its "felt" inner sense of being. I don't see why Heidegger thinks he is really inventing anything new with the terms. It might appear to him that they are radically different, but I don't see it as being so. Perhaps he did not give Schopenhauer's Will too much attention because he wanted to differentiate himself and to do so, you have to deny the significance of previous philosophers?

The line in German philosophy from Schopenhauer through Nietzsche and onto Heidegger is there, so it wouldn't surprise me if Heidegger was more influenced by Schopenhauer (even if indirectly through Nietzsche) than he let on. Many commentators have found the silence odd…

As for his magnum opus, Sein und Zeit, it is an almost unreadable, ponderous doorstopper of a tome best employed as a step ladder for toddlers than a book worth of study by serious philosophers.


Keep well,Senor Raul.Please do keep writing here.


(Its a Spanish song,while I don't understand the lyrics,I like the music)
La Tristesse Durera Toujours                                  (The Sadness Lasts Forever ...)
-van Gogh.

Nation of One

  • { }
  • { ∅, { ∅ } }
  • Posts: 4756
  • Life teaches me not to want it.
    • What Now?
Rejectionist Philosophy from Buddhism to Benatar by Ken Coates is a great read, by the way.

I have thoroughly enjoyed it.  The best value for 2 and a half dollars I ever spent in my life.

I would suggest anyone to download the Kindle App for their PC just to read this book.  It amazes me that there are others who definitely get it.  It is all too obvious that life is pointless.

Maybe the trick is to stay as calm as possible while facing this fact squarely, to overcome the existential despair once and for all simply by staring helplessly into the Void, coming face to face with the Thing That Should Not Be, the Thing that breathes us until these bones return to the great omniscient Mother of Death.





1819 posts :  in honor of WWR ... 1818/1819 = the year the great book was published by Schopenhauer!

(I say "the great book" as opposed to the so-called "good book"  ;) )
« Last Edit: April 22, 2017, 01:04:35 pm by Raskolnikov »
Things They Will Never Tell YouArthur Schopenhauer has been the most radical and defiant of all troublemakers.

Gorticide @ Nothing that is so, is so DOT edu

~ Tabak und Kaffee Süchtigen ~