16: Existentialism: Heidegger, Being and Time

What does it mean to be truly free? This episode explores Kant’s concept of autonomy and the relationship between reason, morality, and freedom. Are we truly thinking for ourselves, or merely following forces that shape our choices?

Is society destroying our freedom? We explore Rousseau’s critique of inequality, social comparison, and political power, and we discover why his philosophy remains relevant today.

A concise exploration of John Locke as the thinker who challenged Thomas Hobbes, arguing that humans are rational creatures who posses natural rights: life, liberty, prosperity.

Diving into the abyss, the Leviathan, we explore how fear shapes human nature.

We move decisively from Platonic idealism into the harsh realism of Renaissance. Why Machiavelli still matters today in a world driven by media, performance, and the normalization of emergency power.

In this first episode of political philosophy we dive into Plato’s Republic. Was it a version of justice and wisdom? Or a dangerous model for authoritarian rule? We explore Plato’s life, his ideas of the philosopher-king, and the allegory of the cave, and the lasting debate over whether The Republic inspires democracy or dictatorship. Takeaway: what kind of leaders and societies we truly want today?

In this episode of Philosophizing with a Hammer, we confront one of the deepest questions of modern life: what comes after the death of God? Drawing on Nietzsche’s philosophy, we explore how to navigate the collapse of religious meaning without falling into despair or clinging to hollow substitutes. From the challenge of nihilism to the call for self-created values, we discuss art, love, responsibility, and the courage to affirm life without divine guarantees. This is a journey from inherited faith to existential freedom, where meaning isn’t found, but forged.

In this episode we confront a haunting question: Are we truly ourselves online, or just performing versions of who we think we should be? Drawing on Sartre’s concept of “bad faith” and Foucault’s digital-age Panopticon, we explore how social media transforms identity into performance, authenticity into aesthetics, and freedom into algorithmic suggestion. From Instagram’s curated self to LinkedIn’s highlight reels, and the creeping influence of AI on our choices, this episode challenges you to ask: Am I choosing who I am? Or am I being chosen?

Let’s reimagine Sisyphus, not as a symbol of resignation, but as an existential artist.What does that look like in a world of AI, algorithms, and endless repetition?

In this episode we explore Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time, uncovering how his groundbreaking ideas such as Being, Care, and Being-toward-death radically reframe what it means to exist. We trace Heidegger’s divergence from Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, and ask how his thought challenges us to live more consciously in today’s hyperconnected world.