The Laughing Philosopher's Podcast

Religion is the accidental force behind why we chase endless productivity, why working harder feels morally right and hardly working feels morally wrong, and why our self-worth and self-esteem revolve around our productivity and usefulness. Don’t you feel guilty and ashamed whenever you could have been more productive but chose not to? Wouldn’t you rather chose to fail as a spouse, fail as a parent, or fail as a friend than to fail at work? Why don’t happiness, relationships, or fun count as being productive? We are so bored with our lives and so indifferent to our fate that we’ve become apathetic to our own apathy!

Our first experience of the world is our true self. Concealed behind our outward appearance, a bag of skin, inside ourselves, our unique, subjective consciousness is who we really are. And so, we look for absolute truth behind the natural world of appearances in Plato’s Forms, Schopenhauer’s Will, and Spinoza’s God. You are the blueprint of the gods and the key to unlock the secrets of the universe.

What is a perfect day? Perfection is within our grasp each and every day. One must choose today to be a perfect day by choosing wisely to do three easy and simple things. And to be a perfect day, one must choose wisely not to do three other simple things one would normally do in an ordinary, boring day.

Let us unpack Kierkegaard’s insight that today can only be known by living forwards, but only be understood by looking backwards. Life, at any given moment, is unknowable. When something happens, you instantly experience it as either good or bad. You experience yourself as either happy or sad. You experience your fate as either lucky or unlucky. And yet, what’s happening cannot be understood as you experience it. Moment by moment, why is life a mystery, and how does something really good come out of something really bad?

Aristotle’s wisdom can make you a more likable person with more and better friends. For Aristotle, without friends, no one would want to live. Friendship is the chief cornerstone of living well and doing well. To be more likable and have more friends, don’t do three things: Don’t prove you have nothing of value to say by speaking. Don’t judge the imperfections of others. Don’t believe everything you think.

Romantic relationships are difficult and perilous and no soft affair. They seem to fail as often as they succeed. Five hidden triggers can sabotage even the best relationship. Communication, trust, togetherness, predictability, and submissiveness are beneficial in moderation, but toxic in excess. We suspect it’s true, but are afraid to admit to ourselves, that too much positive behavior will kill a good relationship.

It’s not easy to ruin your life. To get to the wrong place, you must do the right things. The Laughing Philosopher’s guide presents six foolproof steps to a boring, miserable life: Think only about yourself. Empty yourself of humility and gratitude. Sacrifice everyone as a means to an end. Be perfectly imperfect. Don’t think for yourself. Drown yourself in the world’s sea of troubles.

Unjustly imprisoned and awaiting execution, Boethius, Roman philosopher and statesman, would write his most famous work, “The Consolation of Philosophy”. Boethius explores the problem of evil, the certainty of pain and suffering, and the unpredictability of good and bad fortune, but shows how, through wisdom and virtue, happiness and serenity are still attainable. In the Middle Ages, for 400 years, “The Consolation” was one of two books considered so important they were expected to be in everyone’s personal library. The other book was The Holy Bible. 

The person you will talk to the most in your life is you. The most important conversations you will ever have are with yourself. Whether it is chatting with yourself in your inner voice, or verbalizing your thoughts and reflections out loud, you will engage in some form of self-talk on a daily basis. But, is it normal to talk to yourself?

"Know yourself” is Socrates’ imperative. Why? There is no perfect life. No one is infallible. Everyone makes mistakes because some of our beliefs and assumptions are false. Just because we think it or believe it doesn’t mean it is true. Yet, beliefs are neither proof nor evidence, but only claims. So, we can’t trust everything we believe to be true. But, still we do. False certainties lead us away from truth and virtue. Which path leads us to wisdom?