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Lessons from Soren Kierkegaard
You must merge the Self that is now and the Self that could be into one. The self is composed of infinitude and finitude. However, this synthesis is a relation, and a relation that, even though it is derived, relates itself to itself, which is freedom.
Don’t lose yourself in the world of distraction. But whereas one kind of despair plunges wildly into the infinite and loses itself, another kind of despair seems to permit itself to be tricked out of its self by “the others.” Surrounded by hordes of men, absorbed in all sorts of secular matters, more and more shrewd about the ways of the world—such a person forgets himself, forgets his name divinely understood, does not dare to believe in himself, finds it too hazardous to be himself and far easier and safer to be like the others, to become a copy, a number, a mass man.
If you’re trapped in this delusion then you will identify solely with external factors. But this is how you live a life of anxiety. The man of immediacy does not know himself, he quite literally identifies himself only by the clothes he wear, he identifies having a self by the externalities (here again the infinitely comical). There is hardly a more ludicrous mistake, for a self is indeed infinitely distinct from an externality. So when the externals have completely changed for the person of immediacy and he has despaired, he goes one step further; he thinks something like this, it becomes his wish: what if I became someone else, got myself a new self.
True despair is worse than death itself. This concept, the sickness unto death, must however, be understood in a particular way. Literally it means a sickness of which the end and the result are death. Therefore we use the expression “fatal sickness” as synonymous with the sickness unto death. In that sense, despair cannot be called the sickness unto death.
If you’re not careful, your anxiety will overwhelm you and lead to the loss of your true identity. Melancholically enamoured, the individual pursues one of anxiety’s possibilities, which finally leads him away from himself so that he is a victim of anxiety or a victim of that about which he was anxious lest he be overcome.
Listen to the episode on Kierkegaard.
Three things I enjoyed reading this past week:
's essay on prioritizing the preservation of our way of life over saving jobs/trades threatened by technology is insightful. I support this perspective because it’s a holistic approach to viewing life and work. But sometimes “saving” a trade makes sense, even if technology could perform it more efficiently because the trade embodies a tradition, a way of life, and a community that transcends the individual job itself. wrote on the incoming collapse of the fiat currency, think dollars here. This causes a shift in social order, discovery of esoteric knowledge, and politics favouring more “conservative.” I recommend reading it. The thing that intrigued me is how this collapse would return the powers to the “Makers”. Makers are producers of tangible goods. Personally, I don’t see a reorganization of power returning to the maker class in the way Aether Pirates see it (however, that doesn’t mean I don’t foresee the fall of fiat currency). The makers are wholly tied to the current system, so breaking the system would also mean the fall of the makers themselves. Instead, I envision a reorganization of the system that favours localized economies and small-scale productions. This potentially leads to a resurgence in craftsmanship and artisans, sparking a new renaissance.’s recent essay on the epidemic of loneliness is a must-read. I’ve discussed this topic extensively on my podcast, emphasizing the importance of strong community ties for our well-being. It’s a recurring theme within the wisdom tradition. Freya’s Substack GIRLS is highly recommended. In her essay here, she speaks on how the promise of hyper-connectivity have paradoxically led to a disconnected and lonely generation.Till next week!