Metaphysical Exile

Metaphysical Exile

By Fernando OlszewskiSociety & CulturePhilosophy
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Metaphysical Exile episodes

  • A brief commentary on prisons of flesh

    Utilizing a metaphorical and poetic language, we can state that our consciousnesses are imprisoned in our bodies, our flesh. However, the reality is even worse: our consciousnesses are part of our bodies, they arise from our flesh. They themselves are a prison. Once generated and born, we cannot escape. In this essay, I discuss how we're "locked" inside our bodies, which themselves are imprisoned in a time and a place, and we never know what kind of horrors this time and place will bring us — and these external horrors exist on top of the horrors that our own bodies are already capable of producing.  

    Text: https://www.metaphysicalexile.com/2021/08/a-brief-commentary-on-prisons-of-flesh.html 

    Music by REPULSIVE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsRbuU_ffaJuxagEGpXfNkg

    15 min
  • The reflection in the mirror

    All of us are part of nature's insidious game. If we took a good in the mirror we'd see in ourselves all the horror of the world — and if we were prudent, we'd deny the program in ourselves and refrain from making new fellow sufferers and monsters.  

    Text: https://www.metaphysicalexile.com/2021/05/the-reflection-in-mirror.html

    Music by CO.AG: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA

    19 min
  • Suffering & Death Everywhere

    In this essay, I discuss how existence is not only filled with suffering and death, but have suffering and death as its intrinsic features. I also discuss how, no matter the type of universe we happen to live in — one with a definitive beginning and end, or one that recycles itself and always gives rise to new suffering beings — the negative ethical imperative against the creation of new conscious beings remains the same. 

    Text: https://www.metaphysicalexile.com/2021/04/suffering-death-everywhere.html 

    Music by CO.AG: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA

    14 min
  • Repetition and Decomposition

    Birth, life, suffering, death, repetition — and just the right dose of dopamine to keep us from realizing how pointless this whole process is. Nature is insidious in how it makes us perpetuate ourselves. Even human events and history ends up being an endless repetition that goes nowhere.  

    Full text: https://www.metaphysicalexile.com/2021/09/repetition-and-decomposition.html 

    Music by CO.AG: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA

    6 min
  • Better to remain in potentiality

    In this essay I go through a few reasons why it would have been better not to have been, and how not even an Utopia would change this preference.  

    Full text: https://www.metaphysicalexile.com/2021/04/better-to-remain-in-potentiality.html 

    Music by CO.AG: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA

    9 min
  • Avoidable Blood

    In this essay I emphasize the idea that while, from a pessimist standpoint, the best is not to be born and so we should abstain from creating new conscious beings, that doesn't change the fact that there are people alive today that live under immense man-made forms oppression. These are forms of oppression that could very well be remedied if only we stopped preying on each other. Telling oppressed peoples to just stop reproducing doesn't answer their predicament, since even if they ended up agreeing with a cosmic pessimist outlook and voluntarily stopped creating new conscious beings, that still wouldn't solve the rest of their lives under the yoke of man-made forms oppressions — only political action is able to do that.

    Full text: https://www.metaphysicalexile.com/2020/11/avoidable-blood.html

    Music by CO.AG: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA

    13 min
  • Men and Cockroaches

    In this essay, I talk about how many of us, to a greater or smaller degree, believe history has a purpose or direction towards the fulfillment of reason and progress, and how that belief is unwarranted. If cockroaches could reason like men, they too would believe roach history had a purpose. 

    Full text: https://www.metaphysicalexile.com/2020/11/men-and-cockroaches.html 

    Music by CO.AG: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA

    15 min
  • Fascism and Nazism were not left-wing "socialist" ideologies

    In this essay, I show how the idea that Fascism and Nazism were "left-wing socialist" ideologies is a complete fabrication by the contemporary right in order to distance itself from Fascism and Nazism — which is ironic, since almost all of them admire many aspects of both Fascism and Nazism, while they pretend to decry those regimes.

    Full text: https://www.metaphysicalexile.com/2020/11/fascism-and-nazism-were-not-left-wing.html

    Music by CO.AG: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA

    17 min
  • Jesus' Chloroquine: a reflection on Brazil's historical injustices, part II

    In this essay, I continue the discussion about how slavery, racism, sadistic violence and authoritarian rule became ingrained in Brazilian society, and how the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated this. An important observation: this was first written in Portuguese on May, 2020. At that time, Brazil had a few thousand deaths related to the pandemic. As of January, 2022, the pandemic's official death toll in Brazil is 620,000 — but since Bolsonaro's far-right government does everything in its power to hide deaths from Covid-19, it is estimated that the real number is closer to a million.

    Full text: https://www.metaphysicalexile.com/2020/12/jesus-chloroquine-reflection-on-brazils.html

    Music by CO.AG: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA

    26 min
  • Slavery and the coronavirus: a reflection on Brazil's historical injustices, part I

    In this essay I talk about how slavery left a horrible mark in Brazilian society that is plainly felt to this day, and how many white Brazilians pretend they don't live in an extremely racist society. I also discuss how the Brazilian economic elites are incredibly callous, rude and openly treat workers as if they were disposable. An important observation: this was first written in Portuguese on April, 2020, and at that time Covid-19 had killed about 2,000 Brazilians, officially. As of January, 2022, the pandemic's official death toll in Brazil is 620,000 — but since Bolsonaro's far-right government does everything in its power to hide deaths from Covid-19, it is estimated that the real number is closer to a million.

    Full text: https://www.metaphysicalexile.com/2020/11/slavery-and-coronavirus.html

    Music by CO.AG: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA

    19 min

About Metaphysical Exile

From the publisher's feed

My name is Fernando Olszewski. I am a PhD student in philosophy at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and hold a master's degree in philosophy from the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro. I have a background in philosophy and economics. The texts I read here are my own reflections, and so are the free format episodes.