Have you ever been ghosted or "fired" by a friend becauseyour grief was "too heavy" for their "capacity"?In this episode of The Loneliness Industry, we dive into thephilosophy of toxic positivity and explore why themodern obsession with "optimizing for the positive" isactually a weapon used to destroy the friendship bond.

We aren't talking about abusive situations ; we are talking about therefusal to be inconvenienced by real human woes. With the help ofByung-Chul Han, Sara Ahmed, Antonio Gramsci, andJulia Kristeva, we examine how your "positive"friends have been recruited as the unpaid prison guards of a systemthat thrives on your loneliness. We look at the "Hazmatsuit" of boundaries , the theft of co-regulation and why NOTbeing a smiling gimboid is actually a form of moral resistanceagainst a sick society.

Timestamps:

Thinkers & Books Covered:

#ToxicPositivity#Loneliness #Philosophy #SelfCareCritique #MentalHealthMatters#Friendship #TheLonelinessIndustry #GoodVibesOnly#WeaponizedPositivity #BurnoutSociety #ByungChulHan #SaraAhmed#CulturalHegemony #TherapySpeak #SocialControl

Do you ever wonder why it seems so hard to connect despite making every effort? In this episode of The Loneliness Industry, we move beyond individual blame to look at the philosophy of loneliness and the structural conditions that keep us apart.Using a cultural critique of Western values, we explore Slavoj Žižek’s concept of "Decaf Love"—connection stripped of its "dangerous" core and the risk of real change. We introduce two characters, Charlie and Alex, to illustrate the friction between seeking a "frictionless," safe existence and the insistence on the "caffeinated" depth that makes us truly human.In this episode, we discuss:The Philosophy of Love: Why thinkers argue that real connection requires a "rupture" of the self.The Societal Panopticon: How narcissistic systems use covert power to get us to self-monitor, turning ourselves into "vending machines" of prescribed behaviors.The "Jo Sh*thead" Red Herring: Why focusing on "toxic individuals" can be a distraction from the systemic machinery that benefits from our isolation.How to Connect: Why the way out of loneliness isn't more self-curation, but rather embracing the "permeability" that allows us to be moved and changed by others.Thinkers Referenced in this Episode:Slavoj Žižek: For the theory of "Decaf Love" and the command to enjoy safely.Judith Butler: On love as "dispossession" and the necessity of being "undone" by anotherAlain Badiou: On love as a "Rupture" and a violent break from the "Individualist Independence".Michel Foucault: For the mechanics of covert power, the "Social Panopticon," and the pathologization of behavior.Christopher Lasch: On the narcissistic values of modern society and the "self as hero" narrative.Donna Haraway: On the myth of the "boundaried self" and the importance of permeability.Gabor Maté: Regarding the way society labels a failure to follow its rules as "pathology".Jiddu Krishnamurti: On the idea of a "sick society".00:00 Introduction – Decent People and Loneliness 05:02 Meet Charlie: Our Decaf Love Seeker 06:45 Žižek on "Decaf Love" 13:15 Alex: The Caffeinated Love Seeker 15:21 Field Examples: Why Good People Fail to Connect 22:30 The Mechanism Behind Our Loneliness 26:30 Issues with Žižek (The Philosopher vs. The Dog) 29:45 The Crucible for Isolation: Societal Values and Tactics 30:45 The Mechanics of Narcissistic Systems 38:09 Decent Human Beings in a Narcissistic System 43:40 Why Jo Sh*thead Is Not the Real Problem 46:05 The Downfall of Jo You-Know-Who 49:35 How Jo’s Fall is Weaponized Against Charlie and Alex 52:42 How to ACTUALLY Connect#philosophy #loneliness #culturalcritique #philosophyoflove #Zizek #JudithButler #mentalhealth #sociology #TheLonelinessIndustry #socialanalysis

If you've ever left a professional support session feeling more isolated than when you arrived, it’s worth asking if the focus was on your "healing" or your "adjustment." In Part 2 of this series, The Loneliness Industry explores the sociological concept of the Scapegoat Mechanism—a group dynamic often used to manage individuals who struggle to fit into modern societal structures.Using the work of René Girard, Jiddu Krishnamurti, and Michel Foucault, we examine why reflective and empathetic individuals are often the ones who carry the collective weight of societal tension. This episode is an analysis of the process that can internalize systemic friction as personal failure.Inside the Episode:- The Krishnamurti Pivot: Why struggling to adapt can be a sign of systemic awareness.- The 4-Point Audit: A perspective-shift to help you re-evaluate your self-perception.- The Selection Process: How groups identify individuals to carry collective responsibility.- Mimetic Desire: Using René Girard to explain the "common enemy" dynamic in social cohesion.00:00 Introduction01:56 The Krishnamurti Story: Truth Is a Pathless Land02:45 Visuals – Theosophists Graphic04:34 Why Failing to Adjust Can Be a Sign of Health08:46 Quiz – The 4-Point Decent Person Test12:06 The Scapegoat Selection Process21:33 What Is Scapegoating?26:36 Girard on Societal Scapegoating28:43 The DSM & the Codification of Scapegoating30:18 Girard and Mimetic Desire34:48 What Unifies Human Societies38:25 Problems Chihuahuas Have Unearthed Regarding Mimetic Desire41:39 Scapegoating as a Tool for Social Order44:51 The DSM as Institutionalised ScapegoatingIf you scored 4/4 on the Decent Person test, it would be a pleasure to meet you! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. The Works Referenced: • Gabor Maté – The Myth of Normal • René Girard – The Scapegoat & Violence and the Sacred • Jiddu Krishnamurti – The First and Last Freedom • Michel Foucault – Madness and Civilization • Christopher Lasch – The Culture of Narcissism • Sara Ahmed – The Cultural Politics of Emotion • Thomas Szasz – The Myth of Mental IllnessDon’t Miss Episodes – Even Though The Algorithm Wants You To:Join the mailing list at https://thelonelinessindustry.net#TheLonelinessIndustry #ReneGirard #Philosophy #Sociology #Krishnamurti #TheMythOfNormal

What if therapy isn't healing you — but training you to comply?This episode of the Loneliness Industry dismantles the hidden power structures operating inside modern therapy, showing how supposedly neutral mental health practices can mirror narcissism and even narcissistic abuse. Instead of validating your lived experience, therapy often reframes structural suffering as personal pathology — turning perfectly sane reactions into signs of disorder.Drawing on thinkers like Michel Foucault, Christopher Lasch, and René Girard, public philosopher Jordan Reyne exposes how psychological institutions use gaslighting tactics to invalidate reality, demand compliance, and ultimately produce self-doubt. You’ll learn how CBT operates as a behaviour correction tool within capitalism, how the DSM functions as a cultural scapegoat machine, and why your distress may be a rational response to a sick society — not evidence that you are broken.By the end, you’ll have a diagnostic toolkit for spotting when therapy becomes compliance training, and three questions that prove you're fundamentally OK — no institutional fixing required.If you’ve ever walked out of therapy feeling like YOU are the problem for noticing the problem, this episode shows why: it was never about healing — it was about conformity.CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS 00:00 What If Therapy Is Making You Feel Worse?00:30 A Case Study: Therapeutic Gaslighting05:53 Section I – The Therapy-Speak Travel Guide (and What It Really Means)11:01 Manufacturing Compliance: How Therapy Trains You to Self-Correct16:00 Weaponised Boundaries: When Mental Health Language Protects Abuse18:35 Marking the Scapegoat: Turning Sane Reactions Into “Pathology”21:03 How Therapy Became Compliance Training22:48 What Real Healing Actually Requires (According to Research)23:28 Why Society Can’t Support the Conditions Necessary for Healing25:34 How Western Capitalism Outsources Blame to the Individual27:08 The Hero Narrative: The Seductive Social Control Mechanism33:02 The Narcissistic Cycle: How the Hero Becomes the Scapegoat35:57 How Therapy Became a Mechanism of Social and Psychological Control41:16 Why CBT Is the Gold Standard of Compliance Training45:11 How Therapy Creates Power Imbalances and Authority Over Your Reality48:44 Power’s Recruitment Process: Who Gets to Define “Healthy”Theme music "The Annihilation Sequence" by Jordan ReyneAvailable on Bandcamp at http://jordanreyne.bandcamp.com

Why do so many of us feel uncomfortable in our own bodies — and why does it make us lonely? This episode looks at how modern body image culture, diet culture, and the wellness industry quietly shape our fears, routines, and relationships.Drawing on philosophy, sociology, psychology, and lived experience, I trace how body standards and appearance pressure turn into dogma: moral rules we absorb without ever choosing them. We break down how fitness culture, health trends, beauty standards, and wellness ideology create comparison, self-surveillance, and social isolation — and how those habits slowly separate us from each other.This isn't about individual willpower. It's about the cultural machinery that turns bodies into projects and belonging into a performance. If you've ever cancelled plans because of how you look, felt judged, or wondered why body image has become such a universal struggle, this episode examines the structural forces behind it — and why the body-control mindset now touches everyone.Episode exploring loneliness, power, knowledge, and how capitalism shapes our relationship with our bodies.🎯 Subscribe for bi-weekly inquiries into how capitalism shapes loneliness, identity, and belonging:    / @thelonelinessindustrypodcast  🔗 RELATED EPISODES:[Add your links to related loneliness/capitalism episodes]📚 RESOURCES MENTIONED:Eat the Rules Podcast - Summer InnanenBeyond the Mirror - Jonny LandelsMen Unscripted - Aaron FloresThe Midlife Feast - Jenn Salib Huber💬 CONNECT:[Add your social media/website links]---⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:10:25 – Today's Journey: Three Parts on Body Standards and Loneliness11:58 – Part I: Philosophy - Power, Knowledge and Body Control21:32 – Dogma's Necessary Archetypes: Good Bodies vs Bad Bodies25:02 – Case Study: L'Oréal and Beauty Standards27:18 – The Relationship Between Science and Dogma34:43 – Part II: Sociology - How We Police Each Other's Bodies36:30 – A Lived Example of Body Surveillance39:20 – In-Groups and Out-Groups: Divide and Conquer Through Body Standards44:29 – Where Sociology Meets Psychology48:50 – Capitalism's Favorite Mantra: It's All About ME51:13 – Part III: Psychology - The Internal Impact52:28 – My Personal Experience Internalizing Body Control Dogma57:48 – The Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model1:03:33 – What To Do To Get Out Of The Body Control Trap---🎓 THINKERS REFERENCED:Michel Foucault (power/knowledge, panopticon, truth regimes), Thomas Kuhn (paradigm theory), Christopher Lasch (culture of narcissism), René Girard (scapegoating mechanisms), Byung-Chul Han (achievement society), Hannah Arendt (enemy-making logic), Paul Hewitt & Gordon Flett (perfectionism research), Leon Festinger (cognitive dissonance), Karen Horney (idealized self-image), Dr. Stacy Sims (female physiology research), and more.

Welcome to The Loneliness Industry, a philosophy podcast about how capitalism’s values — individualism, competition, performance — divide us not only from each other, but from reason itself.This not-so-mini episode is your Logic 101 for the age of un-reason. It explores how dogma performs logic — how rhetorical certainty replaces curiosity — and why that performance is not just intellectually dishonest, but emotionally isolating.When curiosity is shut down, connection is shut down too. Without inquiry, there’s no genuine meeting of minds — only performance, hierarchy, and the slow creep of loneliness disguised as certainty.We revisit the Faux Terminus — a term I coined for rhetorical manoeuvres that end inquiry when curiosity is still warranted — and introduce its sleeker cousin, the Faux Terminus Paralogism, where un-reason dresses up as logic itself.All the familiar logical fallacies appear here as species of the genus Faux Terminus — each one a different choreography of conversational shutdown. Together they reveal the dance moves of dogma and how power justifies itself through performance.Along the way you’ll meet:🧠 Jordan Peterson, wielding the False Dilemma (“accept IQ tests or abandon psychology”).🔮 Joe Dispenza, master of the Scientific Paralogism and Category Error, where “quantum frequencies” prove abundance.👨‍🏫 Dr. Solo, who turns one survey into a sweeping claim about human nature — the Empirical Paralogism and False Universalisation at work.Plus the philosophical ghosts of Karl Jaspers, Thomas Kuhn, and Immanuel Kant, who frame how reason collapses into ritual.If you’ve ever heard phrases like“Science has already proven that…”“If you question this, you’re part of the problem.”“You’re just not in alignment.”then you’ve already met a Faux Terminus.🧩 Fallacies / Species of the Genus Faux TerminusAd Hominem – attack the person, not the pointTu Quoque – “you too” / hypocrisy dodgeWhataboutism – deflection through comparisonStraw Man – misrepresent to knock downMocking Dismissal – ridicule instead of reasonAppeal to Tradition – “we’ve always done it this way”Appeal to Authority – “I’m the expert here”Ad Populum – majority mirageFalse Dilemma – binary coercionAppeal to Emotion – the moral hijackProcess Shield – hiding behind bureaucracyCircular Reasoning / Begging the Question (petitio principii)Tautology – “it is what it is”Category Error, Scientific Paralogism, Systematic Paralogism, Epistemic Paralogism – the high-end, academic variants🕰️ Timestamps3:00 Un-reason & Dogma5:40 What is a Faux Terminus?6:11 Childhood Example8:30 Faux Terminus = Genus | Fallacies = Species9:03 From Unquestioned Authority to Power Struggles9:42 The Performance Aspect10:46 When Power Has to Justify Itself12:29 What is a Paralogism?14:13 Quick Summary of Definitions14:48 Taxonomy of Faux Terminii18:30 The Crude & Personal Faux Terminii24:06 The Bureaucrats of Belief26:45 The Majority Mirage & Loneliness27:47 Jordan Peterson’s False Choice32:36 Freestyle Dance Failures38:59 Paralogisms / Faux Terminus Paralogism43:07 Case Study 1 – Joe Dispenza (Scientific Paralogism)47:07 Case Study 2 – Dr. Solo (Empirical Paralogism)51:17 Which Faux Terminus? – Crib Sheet52:26 How to Keep Reason Alive🎧 Listen if you’re into:Philosophy | Logic 101 | Critical Theory | Dogmatism | Western Spiritualism | Self-Help Critique | Karl Jaspers | Thomas Kuhn | Immanuel Kant | Jordan Peterson | Joe Dispenza | Rhetoric | Fallacies | Critical Thinking | Pseudo-Science | Capitalism and Reason | Empowerment Narratives💬 “Ask: What evidence would change your mind?”If the answer is nothing, you’re not in reason-land anymore. You’re in faith-land — and the high priests wear PhDs.

What do Joe Dispenza, Jordan Peterson, and the Music Pedant at every hipster party have in common?They all kill curiosity — the one trait that fuels connection, reason, and genuine understanding.In this episode of The Loneliness Industry, public philosopher Jordan Reyne unpacks how capitalism, science, and self-help culture all feed the same mechanism Karl Jaspers called “un-reason” — the death of curiosity. Using humour, philosophy, and real-world examples, Reyne reveals how “fake endings” in conversation (the faux terminus) shut down inquiry, divide people into in-groups and out-groups, and keep power, profit, and prestige intact.Through comedic dialogues with:The Music Pedant (the gatekeeper of cool),The Western Spiritualist (the holier-than-thou salesman), andJordan Peterson (the tool-defender of failing paradigms),this episode maps how dogma replaces curiosity across science, spirituality, and social life — and how that loss of curiosity isolates us from each other.Part one explores how inquiry dies; part two will follow where profit thrives when it does — in beauty, health, and self-improvement industries.🧩 What’s Covered

• Just how vital curiosity is to connection, intimacy, knowledge and understanding.
• Why an absence of curiosity is literally un-reasonable
• The meaning of un-reason and why Karl Jaspers saw curiosity as essential to reason itself
• How Thomas Kuhn’s paradigm theory explains scientific “stuck phases” and dogmatic backlash
• Why capitalism kills curiosity (Adorno & Horkheimer’s critique of market-driven knowledge)
• How “tools” like IQ tests and BMI become holy grails defending broken paradigms
• Examples of faux termini — conversational “fake full stops” that shut down dialogue.
• How un-reason drives loneliness and alienation by replacing connection with performance
• A six-question “Faux-Terminus Detection Kit” to keep curiosity alive
• Why curiosity, not compliance, is the true act of rebellion under capitalism

🧠 Philosophers & Thinkers MentionedKarl Jaspers – concept of un-reason and the role of curiosity in reasonThomas Kuhn – Structure of Scientific Revolutions and paradigm shiftsTheodor Adorno & Max Horkheimer – critique of capitalism’s suppression of inquiryKarl Popper – falsifiability and the problem of unfalsifiable claimsImmanuel Kant – the paralogism and errors of reasonRichard Lewontin – genetic variation and the fallacy of racial intelligence(With comedic mentions of Copernicus, Einstein, and even NietzscheThe Loneliness Industry, Jordan Reyne, capitalism and reason, un-reason, Karl Jaspers, Thomas Kuhn, paradigm shift, Adorno, Horkheimer, Popper, Kant, curiosity and reason, dogma, faux terminus, critical thinking, Jordan Peterson critique, Joe Dispenza debunked, pseudo-science, self-help critique, science and ideology, loneliness and capitalism, structural loneliness, empowerment narratives, connection vs performance, philosophical podcast, public philosophy, anti-self-help, body metrics critique, BMI and bias, IQ and racism, epistemology, cultural critique, modern dogma, paradigm collapse.

Stoicism feels honest: it admits life is often unfair and painful. But when “calm acceptance” becomes a lifestyle, it quietly props up the very systems hurting us—and it supercharges loneliness. In this episode of The Loneliness Industry, we take on modern Stoicism, Western spiritualism, and the capitalist machine that turns emotional repression into a virtue.What we cover

• Stoicism 101 (Zeno, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius) and why “control yourself, accept the rest” slides into political apathy

• How calm detachment looks like avoidant attachment in dating & relationships (Bowlby, Ainsworth, Hazan & Shaver)

• Why Sara Ahmed says anger is a map, not a moral failure

• Nietzsche’s “zero tolerance” for Stoic emotional austerity (Apollonian vs Dionysian)

• Avoidant Attachment

• Jung’s shadow: what repression doesn’t erase, it returns—hard

Why Stoicism isn’t the antidote to Western spiritualism—it’s the other glove on the same handPractical alternatives: curiosity over cool, solidarity over “resilience,” mutual aid over self-blameChapters00:00 Intro – the pay review “accept with dignity” script03:10 Stoicism 101: control, reason vs emotion, virtue as the only good12:45 Ahmed: anger as coordinates; dignity without dissent = complicity19:30 Nietzsche: Apollonian vs Dionysian & life-denying calm26:05 Stoicism → avoidant attachment in love & friendship36:20 Jung’s shadow: the return of the repressed42:10 What to do instead (connection vs compliance)49:00 Conclusion & takeawaysIf this helped youSubscribe for more philosophy that names the system, not just your “mindset”Rate/review the podcast (it really helps)Support via:Patreon:   / thelonelinessindustry  Bandcamp: https://jordanreyne.bandcamp.com/Donations: www.thelonelinessindustry.netNewsletter & episode notes: www.thelonelinessindustry.netReferenced thinkers & themesStoicism, Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Zeno of Citium, cognitive primacy vs affect-first (Ekman, LeDoux, Barrett), Sara Ahmed (The Promise of Happiness), Friedrich Nietzsche (Twilight of the Idols), John Bowlby & Mary Ainsworth (attachment theory), Hazan & Shaver, Carl Gustav Jung (shadow), Western spiritualism, capitalism & atomization, avoidant attachment, loneliness epidemic.Trigger/content notes: workplace exploitation, relationship distress, depression, religious critique.#Loneliness #Stoicism #marcusaurelius #Nietzsche #SaraAhmed #AttachmentTheory #AvoidantAttachment #Jung #WesternSpirituality #Capitalism #CBT #MentalHealth #PhilosophyPodcast #PoliticalApathy #EmotionalAusterityHow this content was made

In Part 2 of the conversation with Sam Vaknin, we begin by exploring the cycle between covert and overt narcissism — how these shifts unfold, and why they matter. From there, the focus shifts to Western spiritualism: why movements that preach ego death and “killing the self” often misunderstand both healthy ego formation and the traditions they claim to borrow from.We also look at how self-help movements decouple us from our intuition, turning healing into a commodity built on magical thinking. Finally, the discussion circles back to psychology itself: is the DSM a genuine map of human health, or just a manual for compliance? Where do the limits of psychology become most visible when it confronts individuality and suffering?✨ Topics covered:The covert–overt narcissism cycleWestern spiritualism, ego death, and magical thinking (At around 15 minutes in)How self-help movements commodify “healing”The DSM as a tool of conformityPsychology’s cultural limits

Is disconnection simply the result of modern life — or is it a deliberate feature of the systems we live in?In this episode of The Loneliness Industry, I’m joined by Professor Sam Vaknin — author of Malignant Self Love and one of the most cited (and controversial) voices on narcissism — for a deep dive into why we are so isolated.We agree on one point: disconnection is built into our systems. Where we differ is on how we got here.Sam argues these systems reflect the human condition itself — inherently narcissistic and isolation-seeking — supported by a Lacanian-based justification of humanity’s inherent alienation.If you are a regular listener of the podcast, you’ll know my own view is different. Influenced by Foucault’s analysis of power structures and Butler’s work on social norms and identity, I see disconnection as encouraged because those in power benefit from keeping us apart.This episode begins with a question that spawned an in depth exposition of Vaknins theory of the human condition. What followed is a lively, challenging conversation about narcissism, loneliness, human nature, and the forces that shape our connections — and disconnections. This lively, challenging conversation covers: • A Lacanian-based justification of humanity’s inherent alienation • What narcissism really is — and why Sam Vaknin believes it’s part of the human condition • The role of fantasy in avoiding human connection • How loneliness and disconnection are built into modern life • Whether isolation is a choice or the result of power structures • Why some believe technology encourages social isolation • Different perspectives on human nature and our capacity for connection • How narcissistic systems shape our relationships and communities • What happens when philosophical and psychological theories collideIf you’ve ever wondered whether disconnection is something we’ve chosen — or something designed into the fabric of our culture — this episode will challenge you to see the question from two very different angles.