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Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813-1855, age 42)

Kierkegaard explored themes of anxiety, freedom, and the burden of choice. Living before psychology was a formal discipline, he wrote about angst, an existential anxiety arising from human freedom. His concept of the leap of faith emphasized making decisions authentically, even when faced with uncertainty. For Kierkegaard, anxiety wasn’t to be feared but embraced, as […]

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Final Word

A Final Word This book is a wild ride through humanity, spotlighting fourscore of touchstone ideas. A worthy “similar” book to my original intent a quarter century ago and a worthy dedication to my dad. There are many paths one can take through the minds of our great thinkers; I hope you will enjoy the

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Leap of Faith

30 Phil, Chapter 31: In this new look at Kierkegaard’s notion of the “leap of faith” I transform it from a religious leap to a secular leap. While his leap is about belief in God, and more broadly a commitment to a set of values, with an OVM new look, I define a generic “leap

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Sartre’s Existentialism

Sartre’s existentialism emphasizes individual freedom, choice, and responsibility. It posits that existence precedes essence, meaning that individuals are not defined by any preexisting essence but instead create their own essence through actions and decisions. Sartre’s philosophy focuses on the concept of “bad faith,” where people deny their freedom by conforming to societal expectations, and encourages

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Bad Faith

30 Phil, Chapter 31, Sartre, Touchstone 80: Bad Faith. Bad faith is the idea of living a lie; it is the act of denying your inherent freedom and responsibility associated with self-awareness. When you go along to get along, you are not yourself, you are being a rock, you are a “being-in-itself.” To live for

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Consciousness

30 Phil, Chapter 31, Sartre, Touchstone 79: Consciousness. Consciousness is a continuous, self-aware state of existence, an incessant ebb and flow of perceptions, ideas, and emotions. Consciousness is part of your worldview with two basic states: awake and asleep. It’s a complex spectrum of levels while awake, and stages while asleep.

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Anxiety “Angst”

30 Phil, Chapter 31, Sartre, Touchstone 78: Anxiety. The birth of modern psychology: In existentialism, anxiety is the result of confronting the inherent freedoms and responsibilities of human existence. It is not necessarily about fearing specific outcomes or events but rather the realization of the vast possibilities and choices one faces in life, and the

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Socrates (469 – 399 BCE)

99 Generations Ago Socrates was a Greek philosopher and is frequently credited as the founder of Western philosophy. He left no writings, but his student Plato documented his philosophy. Some of my favorite translated sayings attributed to Socrates: Enjoy yourself — it’s later than you think. He who is not content with what they have

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