Unsolicited advice

There are few philosophies as famous and infamous as nihilism - the belief that nothing really matters. But we rarely stop to ask what nihilism actually is, or give a detailed analysis of its properties. And this is a shame because it prevents us having clear and precise conversations about what is perhaps one of the most important philosophical issues of the past 200 years. So today we are going to try to specify the idea of nihilism. It may not be a perfect system, but I am hoping it will bring some clarity to this often nebulous philosophy.Uploaded 07-04-24Support me on Patreon here (thank you you wonderful person): https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkSign up to my email list for more philosophy to improve your life: https://forms.gle/YYfaCaiQw9r6YfkN700:00 Nihilism01:42 The Total Nihilist07:13 The Moral Nihilist11:40 The Conventional Nihilist15:51 The Dimensions of Nhilism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Head to https://squarespace.com/unsolicitedadvice to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code UNSOLICITEDADVICEUploaded 22-05-26I have often said that I think reading good fiction and novels can improve your life, as much if not more than books written with that purpose in mind. So here is a list of phenomenal works of fiction to get you started, each of which I am confident will improve your life more than any self-help book out there.Support me on Patreon here (you lovely person): https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkSubscribe to my Substack here for more of my writings: https://josephfolley.substack.com/Here is a good production of Othello (I can't find the one I had in mind but it has Ian McKellen in so chances are it is fantastic): https://youtu.be/oX0cbcrMAdo?si=2aPO4BsUsK0lB6_n00:00 A Hopeful Apocalypse05:56 An Envious Tragedy10:18 An Existential Affliction16:03 Some Fabulous Fables20:34 Some Satanic Scribbles25:50 A Pessimistic Psychology31:31 Some Ancient Epics36:12 A Fraught Romance39:13 A Religious Experience Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kierkegaard's "The Present Age" or "On The Present Age" is his attempt to make sense of the changing world of 19th century Denmark, and the dawn of what we would now call modernity. And In this brilliant piece Kierkegaard takes us through so many issues we now view as major and established - predicting them over 150 years ago. So here is his guide to why you hate the modern world.Uploaded 11-05-24Support me on Patreon here: https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkSign up to my email list for more philosophy to improve your life: https://forms.gle/YYfaCaiQw9r6YfkN700:00 The Present Age01:21 A Passionless Present06:29 Information Overload11:51 The Pitiless Public16:27 Levelling and The Individual Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Philosophers are often thought of as truth-seekers, but often people are more interested in the mucky world of simple debate, and there is a sardonic, sarcastic essay by Schopenhauer that can help us out here - "On the Art of Being Right". In here he compiles a series of tactics used (often highly dishonestly) to secure victory in an argument even when one is misinformed, or just downright wrong. And this is just what we will look at today, so that we can learn how to destroy anyone in an argument. And also, why we probably shouldn'tUploaded 22-04-24Support me on Patreon here (thank you you wonderful person): https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkSign up to my email list for more philosophy to improve your life: https://forms.gle/YYfaCaiQw9r6YfkN700:00 The Art of Being Right01:32 "So What You're Saying Is..."03:43 "What I'm Saying is..."06:02 Endless Questions09:09 Control the Metaphors13:05 The "Strength" of Common Sense15:36 Interru-17:14 Make Your Opponent Angry19:04 Toss a Word Salad21:14 Miscellaneous Pointers23:18 The Lessons of Deceit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the Philosophy Q and A. I have had a lovely time reading through your questions, and I look forward to answering them.Uploaded 22-03-24Support me on Patreon here: https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkSign up to my email list for more philosophy to improve your life: https://forms.gle/YYfaCaiQw9r6YfkN700:00 Welcome00:21 3 Key Beliefs02:19 Alienation and its effects05:05 Book recommendations07:10 Deathbed Reflections08:16 Nietzschean disagreements10:36 Thoughts on Eastern Philosophy11:37 Favourite philosopher13:59 Is Philosophy Dead?15:10 How much can you bench?15:19 Thoughts on Kafka's The Trial16:54 Am I Lonely?18:04 Memorable Dreams18:45 Thoughts on the modern world20:37 The Ethics of Zombies21:49 Non-Materialist Metaphysics23:07 What's Philosophy for?24:35 What Philosopher do you despise?25:13 What would I change in Western society?26:12 What is my meaning of life?26:19 Mistakes I've made27:07 Thank you Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

JRR Tolkien is one of the most celebrated authors of the past century, and for good reason! But he also was an accomplished essayist and literary critic, and one of his most interesting essays is called "On Fairy Stories" and the insightfulness of its observations far outstrips the modesty of its scope, to encompass the value of storytelling itself. So I am very excited to talk about it with you today.Uploaded 25-02-26Support me on Patreon here (you lovely person): https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkSubscribe to my Substack here for more of my writings: https://josephfolley.substack.com/00:00 Making the World Afresh10:04 Stories of The Self20:50 Alternative Stories34:28 Storytelling and Joy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dostoevsky is considered a great thinker on many topics. His ideas about God, Theology, Morality, and Social Reform are famous throughout the world. But I want to take a step back from all that and examine what I take to be a cornerstone of his philosophy: his ideas about love. Because all at once his ideas on love are hopeful, optimistic, demanding, and terrifying. And I am excited to look at them with you today.Uploaded 27-05-24Support me on Patreon here: https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link00:00 Dostoevsky on Love01:20 The Unloving Life is Not Worth Living08:11 The Love of the Egoist16:08 Love and Sacrifice23:36 The Universal Lover Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are told that we are in a meaning crisis, but what is it and how do we solve it? This is the question I want to pose (and give some sketch answers to) in this talk. I hope you enjoy. So let's get to the bottom of why everyone is so nihilistic now.Uploaded 03-04-26Addendum 1: I actually don’t think this as much anymore - I’ve read a few of Nietzsche’s letters since this talk that indicate he placed more argumentative importance on the origins-based points than I had interpreted at first.Addendum 2: Watching this back I give the wrong impression - Ann Blair does argue there was a big shift in the way we manage information here, but I accidentally make it sound like there was less continuity than Blair argues (see chapter 1 of her book for more details)Support me on Patreon here (you lovely person): https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkSubscribe to my Substack here for more of my writings: https://josephfolley.substack.com/Thank you to Discourse Collective for welcoming me to their event and to @elliotbewick for filming and running the QnA00:00 Talk44:51 QnA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is no secret that the humanities are under threat. This is for many reasons, but among them is the idea that the humanities are "useless". But at the same time, I am a bit dissatisfied with many of the ways we currently defend these fields. So today we re going to look at the war on the humanities, using Eric Adler's book "The Battle Of The Classics".Uploaded 22-07-26Support me on Patreon here (you lovely person): https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkSubscribe to my Substack here for more of my writings: https://josephfolley.substack.com/00:00 The Decline and Fall of the Humanities07:48 Critical Thinking is Not Enough15:57 What's the Point of The Humanities?24:27 How to Actually Defend the Humanities37:14 A Defence in Practice Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Philosophy is often conceived as a way of making sense of a flawed existence. And perhaps no work is better for this than Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy. He writes this book while awaiting his painful death and imprisonment for standing up for the Roman Senate in the face of corruption, and for that, he has been condemned. His insights can help any of us, whether we are dealing with something as significant as an unjust imprisonment, or simply making our way through the endless tiny sufferings of life itself. This is how philosophy can save your life.Uploaded 02-05-24Support me on Patreon here: https://patreon.com/UnsolicitedAdvice701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkSign up to my email list for more philosophy to improve your life: https://forms.gle/YYfaCaiQw9r6YfkN700:00 The Consolations of Philosophy01:18 The Problem of Pointless Suffering06:49 The False Idols12:03 The Constraints of Value18:56 What Makes a Meaning? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices