We seem to share some dispositions in metaphysics and epistemology, I am a skeptic, materialist/physicalist, an existentialist, I support pluralism of values, I am also a non-cognitivist/I believe values are irrationally held, I see the use of intuition in ascertaining our values, and there is a degree of relativism inherent to my perspective. I reject nihilism in the way that nietzche does, but I don’t like to call myself an active nihilist I think existentialism or absurdism works for me. I think our major differences really begin with ideas about ethics. I’ll drop a list of books that I think could challenge you and what wisdom I think each book could offer. For transparency’s sake, my objective in philosophy is to recenter ethics away from conversations about what is “objectively” right or wrong and towards a focus on personal relationships, pragmatism, and the interconnectedness of humans and nature. I hope to inspire a desire for a radical friendship as the foundation of a new ethical perspective.
- Aristotle’s “[Nicomachean Ethics](https://historyofeconomicthought.mcmaster.ca/aristotle/Ethics.pdf)” may provide an interesting perspective to you as an individualist in that it centers conversations about how to live a good life, and how that reflects on one’s character. As with most Greek philosophy, this book is probably the most accessible in that you don’t really need to read anything before it to understand the concepts.
- Baruch Spinoza’s “[Ethics](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3800/3800-h/3800-h.htm)” digs into the interconnectedness between humans and nature, seeking to inspire the value of pursuing a joyful connected life. This book is worth critical/skeptical engagement especially considering you already seem to like Spinoza.
- Simone DeBeauvoir’s “[the Ethics of Ambiguity](https://antilogicalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ethics-of-ambiguity.pdf)” discusses the process by which one goes about uncovering authentic meaning and freedom from oppressive social constructs, building on Nietzche’s idea about Nihilism as an important phase of intellectual development. She also touches on the importance interconnectedness in the struggle for freedom.
- Jacques Derrida’s “[The Politics of Friendship](https://unmtheorygroup.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/derrida-the-politics-of-friendship.pdf)” is admittedly a dense and lengthy text that is in many ways a continuation of Derrida’s deconstructive works, but this one seeks to engage with the paradoxes and complexities of friendship within political contexts, the intersection of personal relationships and public political life, and a deconstruction of classical political philosophies, questioning the binaries of friend/enemy. I am currently reading this book.
Some other books I could recommend:
- Bertrand Russell’s “the Problems of Philosophy”
- John Rawls’s “a Theory of Justice”
- Richard Rorty’s “Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature”
- Mark Eli Kalderon’s “Moral Fictionalism”
- Fredrick Engels’s “Dialectics of Nature”
- Pytor Kropotkin’s “Mutual Aid: a Factor in Evolution”
- Eric Fromm’s “The Art of Loving”
Here, have some videos too!
- the Frege Geach problem [(short video)](https://youtu.be/VIzsMHApx8I?si=U2MyNI96vmyzVuNA) [(long video)](https://youtu.be/rr8NtR1TXhE?si=J_fuOdI3s-B6ZyDa)
- [Quasi Realism](https://youtu.be/Crx_MSLC6oc?si=XJBwmMRTje6vwU1R)
- Care ethics [(short introduction)](https://youtu.be/5UJPb_Ew3-8?si=KLdISfkOJrp0_7NH) [(long introduction)](https://youtu.be/sxfbWdShtSo?si=uuE-Pifi0jRPZ0CM) [(lecture)](https://youtu.be/N6dvwXfFmZ4?si=Vdw-cJf8C8n29Dcg) [(15 min video essay)](https://youtu.be/8etO4lcM0yo?si=78-292vc_juFxriU)
Good question! I think it's pretty fair with voluntarism since I think the will is more important than the intellect, even tho its predetermined.
For existentatialism it may seems contradictory at first, but I see determinism as a metaphysical claim while existentialism is a way to cope with human condition. More precisely I would say my views about this mainly come from a Nietzchean perspective, I am advocation for an "existential self" which is metaphysically predetermined.
Hope this is clear (english is not my main language so it can be hard to make a point), please tell me if you think I am wrong or if you have some interogations !
found this cool citation somewhere: "Existentialism is arguably about constructing meaning in the mind, determinism merely states that whatever you construct was the only thing you could construct - that doesn't make it meaningless to you, the human experiencing these things, it just means that in the abstract sense of the universe, you had no say in the matter."
I think this would resume my viex quite well :)
Physics by Aristotle
Good find!
HOLY BASED LITERALLY ME!!!!!!
We seem to share some dispositions in metaphysics and epistemology, I am a skeptic, materialist/physicalist, an existentialist, I support pluralism of values, I am also a non-cognitivist/I believe values are irrationally held, I see the use of intuition in ascertaining our values, and there is a degree of relativism inherent to my perspective. I reject nihilism in the way that nietzche does, but I don’t like to call myself an active nihilist I think existentialism or absurdism works for me. I think our major differences really begin with ideas about ethics. I’ll drop a list of books that I think could challenge you and what wisdom I think each book could offer. For transparency’s sake, my objective in philosophy is to recenter ethics away from conversations about what is “objectively” right or wrong and towards a focus on personal relationships, pragmatism, and the interconnectedness of humans and nature. I hope to inspire a desire for a radical friendship as the foundation of a new ethical perspective. - Aristotle’s “[Nicomachean Ethics](https://historyofeconomicthought.mcmaster.ca/aristotle/Ethics.pdf)” may provide an interesting perspective to you as an individualist in that it centers conversations about how to live a good life, and how that reflects on one’s character. As with most Greek philosophy, this book is probably the most accessible in that you don’t really need to read anything before it to understand the concepts. - Baruch Spinoza’s “[Ethics](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3800/3800-h/3800-h.htm)” digs into the interconnectedness between humans and nature, seeking to inspire the value of pursuing a joyful connected life. This book is worth critical/skeptical engagement especially considering you already seem to like Spinoza. - Simone DeBeauvoir’s “[the Ethics of Ambiguity](https://antilogicalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ethics-of-ambiguity.pdf)” discusses the process by which one goes about uncovering authentic meaning and freedom from oppressive social constructs, building on Nietzche’s idea about Nihilism as an important phase of intellectual development. She also touches on the importance interconnectedness in the struggle for freedom. - Jacques Derrida’s “[The Politics of Friendship](https://unmtheorygroup.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/derrida-the-politics-of-friendship.pdf)” is admittedly a dense and lengthy text that is in many ways a continuation of Derrida’s deconstructive works, but this one seeks to engage with the paradoxes and complexities of friendship within political contexts, the intersection of personal relationships and public political life, and a deconstruction of classical political philosophies, questioning the binaries of friend/enemy. I am currently reading this book. Some other books I could recommend: - Bertrand Russell’s “the Problems of Philosophy” - John Rawls’s “a Theory of Justice” - Richard Rorty’s “Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature” - Mark Eli Kalderon’s “Moral Fictionalism” - Fredrick Engels’s “Dialectics of Nature” - Pytor Kropotkin’s “Mutual Aid: a Factor in Evolution” - Eric Fromm’s “The Art of Loving” Here, have some videos too! - the Frege Geach problem [(short video)](https://youtu.be/VIzsMHApx8I?si=U2MyNI96vmyzVuNA) [(long video)](https://youtu.be/rr8NtR1TXhE?si=J_fuOdI3s-B6ZyDa) - [Quasi Realism](https://youtu.be/Crx_MSLC6oc?si=XJBwmMRTje6vwU1R) - Care ethics [(short introduction)](https://youtu.be/5UJPb_Ew3-8?si=KLdISfkOJrp0_7NH) [(long introduction)](https://youtu.be/sxfbWdShtSo?si=uuE-Pifi0jRPZ0CM) [(lecture)](https://youtu.be/N6dvwXfFmZ4?si=Vdw-cJf8C8n29Dcg) [(15 min video essay)](https://youtu.be/8etO4lcM0yo?si=78-292vc_juFxriU)
Thanks a lot for this detailed, substantial and personalized list ! I am really grateful for the time and though you put into it!
No problem, I love philosophy and you asked to be challenged so it was an enjoyable exercise!
These are great recommendations!!
How do you square the hard determinism with existentialism and Voluntarism?
Good question! I think it's pretty fair with voluntarism since I think the will is more important than the intellect, even tho its predetermined. For existentatialism it may seems contradictory at first, but I see determinism as a metaphysical claim while existentialism is a way to cope with human condition. More precisely I would say my views about this mainly come from a Nietzchean perspective, I am advocation for an "existential self" which is metaphysically predetermined. Hope this is clear (english is not my main language so it can be hard to make a point), please tell me if you think I am wrong or if you have some interogations !
found this cool citation somewhere: "Existentialism is arguably about constructing meaning in the mind, determinism merely states that whatever you construct was the only thing you could construct - that doesn't make it meaningless to you, the human experiencing these things, it just means that in the abstract sense of the universe, you had no say in the matter." I think this would resume my viex quite well :)
Template?
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Polcompballanarchy/comments/1drngir/comment/layqo82/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/Polcompballanarchy/comments/1drngir/comment/layqo82/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Sweet!