No better way to start my day than with a talk by the great prof! Made even more special today by an unexpected reference to a recent comment. Wooooo. Thank you for the content as always. 🙏
Yeah, and thank-YOU for the wonderful gift of that earlier comment. Gratitude. Ha ha... so you're starting your day at around 2:00 a.m. Eastern U.S. time... which means you're probably in Europe... and judging by your sobriquet... maybe Wales? Or am I completely off the mark? Ha ha... Anyhow, I'm looking at your Grim-Reaper graphic, especially since I was thinking that my next video might be on modern-day psychopomps. And because I often sense that life speaks to us in the secret language of coincidence, I'll take your Grim-Reaper as an affirmation of the whole psychopomp idea. Anyhow, thanks for being in this universe... and say "Hi" to everyone in Cardiff for me. Eric D.
@@ericdodson2644 😂 great guess! I’m in SW England however the bridge to wales is about a 10 minute drive away! Are you stalking me fan boy? 😂 😂 I’m into the concept of Momento Mori…hence the reaper as a reminder.
@@dlloydy5356 ... Ha ha... No, I'm not stalking you. I just have a knack for creative inference. Anyhow... yeah, Momento Mori is a great reminder of the impermanence of our existential condition... which I find is also a pretty good source of motivation, especially with respect to fulfilling our deeper possibilities while we can. "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may," as the old poem says. Anyhow, greetings from Georgia, U.S.A. (in the Southeast, just north of Florida)
@@ericdodson2644 yes! Many see it as morbid whereas it’s a constant reminder to live life to the best of our ability. A call to action essentially. Appreciate the interaction. Great fun!
I'd say that's true. Instead, our principles organize themselves around life -- when we're able to let them, that is. But of course, that's a lot easier to say than it is to do. And that's mostly because of our problems with hubris and self-importance. So it goes, I guess. Anyhow, thanks for listening. Eric D.
Yeah, that's probably true. Of course, in a perfect universe, we'd have generals who are both. But then again, this isn't a perfect universe. Anyhow, thanks for watching & listening. Eric D.
Well, thanks for saying that, Hatem. I think that a big part of why I don't get more views is that I don't do social media. So, my videos don't get any promotion from that. But that doesn't bother me, mostly because my operating assumption is that the *right* people will watch them, no matter how many people that turns out to be. So... thanks for being one of the relatively few. Eric D.
I enjoyed your part on resentment. I am Autistic and have an autoimmune disease. As such, I have often felt disadvantaged. I am fortunate to live in a middle class neighborhood with access to food and shelter and in these ways I am doing much better than a great number of people. This is certainly a cause for gratitude. However, both socially and physically I am weaker than most and will never be able to accomplish certain things. I have slowly begun to accept that fact, but it continues to be a cause for depression and jealousy of the well-being of others. It is sometimes saddening to see others living seemingly happy and normal lives whereas I'm left with mediocre communication and poor health that leaves me feeling ill most days, bedridden others. I must accept that this is simply the case and cannot be resentful for that which I cannot change. Thank you for your video, professor. If you know of any books or thinkers that would help me, or have any words of wisdom regarding this I would greatly appreciate it.
Well, Andrew, my first thought is that it might help to take a look at the video I did recently on the topic of rejection (link at the bottom of this post). At first, watching a video on rejection may seem like an strange suggestion. However, when we have little choice but to live through difficult circumstances (which seems to be true in your case), it can easily seem like life itself is rejecting us... which in turn makes it a lot harder to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Anyhow, a couple of themes from that video: First, it sounds like life is singling you out for some particularly harsh treatment these days. But on the other hand, we hardly ever know the true extent to which other people are also carrying incredibly heavy burdens (when you study Psychology for a while, it's easy to gain an appreciation for that). And a lot of the time, their crushing burdens are mostly on the inside. Basically, it seems like one of life's great verities that we all have to bear weight in one way or another. And if that's not enough... well, in all probability, some of those people who seem so "normal and happy" will end up dying before you do. And a fair fraction of them will end up suffering in some truly horrific ways before that happens. Basically, as I think you're recognizing in your first paragraph, the fact is that there's always someone a lot better off than ourselves, and always someone a lot worse off, too. So, there's not much sense in spending an inordinate fraction of our time & energy comparing ourselves to others. No matter how high we rise, or how far we fall, there will always be people above and below us. And in any case, comparing ourselves to others hardly ever makes us any stronger, or our lives any better. At the end of the day, our task is to play whatever cards we're dealt as well as we can. And it's always possible to play lousy cards in an incredibly powerful, uplifting and beautiful way. And it's also possible to play lots of strong cards in the most trivial, moronic way imaginable (I don't think you have to look too far into the realm of celebrity to notice some pretty obvious examples or that). Anyhow, I hope that all of this helps in some way. Here's the link to that video I mentioned... Good luck with life's challenge... th-cam.com/video/RBS02lpv-h4/w-d-xo.html
0:00 3/21/61 0:45 Fairness means - consonant With Merit or Performance 3:00 Expectation vs Reality --> (We want Fairness but Life does not know Fairness) 4:13 Fairness is different to different people 🙂🙃 5:05 Who gets to define (for all our lives?) what is fair or not? 7:24 Mired in Fantasy 7:45 Sometimes 2 ideas of fairness can be contradictory. 8:32 Seeking What is True, is not Seeking What is Desirable. Awoken/Reality/Earthly ------------------ Dream/Ideal/Utopia 10:25 Las Vegas Gambling Parlor 13:15 "If you're not happy with what you have now, heh why would you be happy with more?" 😄 14:08 "I Need It" Undefeated Mindset Defeated Mindset Self-Destruction 16:07 Attitude makes The Man 16:41 Find Purpose (easier said than found) 17:19 Make Me Strong 17:44 Sorry don't care. "No one wants to hear about your sandwich." complaining isn't the way of a warrior. 18:41 Whining is wasteful, futility. 19:49 How do you react to other people's success? (it depends, unless that's wrong to say). 21:18 They have what I want. (did they earn it?) 22:15 Birth is Unequal. 23:48 Differentiators produced by luck. (a LOT of luck and trillions of decisions) 25:30 Enjoy others success, enjoy I success. 26:27 "For those to who much is given, much is required." (Talent needs you to put it to use, when its in your hands or in your reach). "Fortune Favors....." "When we can meet with Triumph and Disaster." 28:09 Congratulations! Achievement Unlocked! "Take Care of Your Soul" Take = You have been granted dominion over Care = Along with The duty to do Good of = to/for that which belongs to Your = Your Soul = ????? Soul ????? Essence? Self? Spirit? Your Heart? What you are. Your Soul is Yours. Take Care of It. Who is Yours? You are I, I am not You.
Whenever i mess up or am in the process of messing something up, i come to your videos (sooner or later), and i find myself slowly sliding back to myself. Slowly reconnecting with all that I've learnt. Slowly coming back into touch with our existential predicament, and most of the supposedly serious worries, grudges, envies, feel laughably ridiculous. All of that wisdom that occasionally gets thrown into the trash comes flooding back, and I'm left feeling rather embarassed at my actions. Gradually though, I'm learning to treat myself with compassion and neutrality in these moments of realising uncomfortable things about myself. On this occasion, this particular video was my catalyst.
Thanks once again Eric for your wonderful insight! I mentioned in one of your earlier videos that I'm struggling with an anxiety disorder, which can easily make you feel like life is unfair. Especially when u consider the genetic and biochemical factors potentially causing it it's easy to fall into a vicious cycle of self pity and despair. So your advice on giving up our self importance is incredibly pertinent to me. Best regards, Nick from Sweden
Well, Nick... I'm guessing that you're probably already aware that sometimes anxiety is more somatic (i.e., bodily) in nature, and sometimes it's more episodic (i.e., a product of the situation in which we find ourselves). So, sometimes treatment is more about altering neurochemistry, and sometimes it's more about finding a new orientation toward life. And of course, sometimes it's about both. I can't say much about the more somatic side of your question, other than to say that there's a whole class of drugs called, "Anxiolytics" (in English) designed to diminish anxiety. However, they often come with fairly serious side-effects, and require a lot of caution and ongoing monitoring. As for the more episodic side of things... well, one of the more vicious sides of anxiety is that... once it becomes a problem, it's very easy to get anxious about getting anxious. In other words, it's often the case that our resistance to feeling anxious... is exactly what's making our anxiety a lot worse. In cases like that, sometimes treatment involves what Viktor Frankl calls, "Paradoxical Intention," which basically has to do with *inviting* anxiety, but with a bit of a sense of humor. Of course, it's a lot easier to say that than it is to do it. Another, somewhat related mode of treatment has to do with what's called, "Systematic Desensitization," which has to do with being exposed to a series of things that seem to trigger the anxiety. The goal is to develop a kind of immunity to those triggers, so that they eventually don't have much effect on us. And finally, I think you're probably right about describing your experience in terms of a, "Vicious cycle." So, then the question becomes: How to precipitate a moment of discontinuity in that circularity. It could have to do with putting yourself in a very different situation from what's usual for you... so that your usual strategies don't work too well, and you have to find new ones. In the U.S. we have a program called, "Outward Bound" that sometimes helps people in that way. It takes them into primitive, natural environments that usually carry people WAY out of their comfort zones and usual habits. Of course, that prospect can prompt a lot of anxiety in its own right. But if you can endure that, it might help you. At the very least, it can help you sort of whether the anxiety is coming from your particular situation or not. All in all, because every human being is, to an extent, unique... the solution to life's anxiety usually has to be, too. For most of us, it's a matter of trying a bunch of things, and gradually figuring out what works, and what doesn't. In any case, I hope that this helps... or is at least disorienting in an interesting way. So, let me finish by saying that I doubt that the kind of anxiety you're clearly experiencing these days... is your final destination in life. Sure, it can certainly seem like the end of the world. But in all probability, it's just something unpleasant you have to live through... but that you'll eventually find yourself on the other shore of life. The main trick is to keep experimenting, keep learning, keep seeing if you can modify your life. As the old rock band Genesis sang, "Spring must strike again against the shield of Winter." And I bet that's how it will be for you with time. But in any case... good luck. Eric D. P.S. I apologize for such a long reply... but the suffering you're describing seemed to warrant it.
@@ericdodson2644 I really appreciate such a heartfelt reply! I'm definetly feeling a lot better now due to a combination of your lectures on existential psychology, CBT, psychodynamic thinking etc. Thanks for all the wonderful content over the years it's been life changing!
@@nicknorizadeh4336 Well... you're welcome. I'm happy that my content has played a positive role in your overall journey. That's really the reason why I make these videos in the first place... so that people like yourself can use them to improve their lives. So, thank YOU for telling me that. Gratitude... Eric D.
"The man with the clear head is the man who frees himself from those fantastic “ideas” [the characterological lie about reality] and looks life in the face, realizes that everything in it is problematic, and feels himself lost. And this is the simple truth-that to live is to feel oneself lost-he who accepts it has already begun to find himself, to be on firm ground. Instinctively, as do the shipwrecked, he will look round for something to which to cling, and that tragic, ruthless glance, absolutely sincere, because it is a question of his salvation, will cause him to bring order into the chaos of his life. These are the only genuine ideas; the ideas of the shipwrecked. All the rest is rhetoric, posturing, farce. He who does not really feel lost is without remission; that is to say, he never finds himself, never comes up against his own reality." José Ortega y Gasset
@@ericdodson2644 I've long (6 years almost) consumed your content and every day I find myself reflecting on something you said. Thank YOU for the time and energy you put into these very well-made videos!
@@PalePinkThink Wow... at this point, you probably know my stuff better than I do. Ha ha... but seriously... thanks for your interest and your support. Much gratitude. Eric D.
I loved this Eric. It’s always interesting to hear what you have to say …..a lot of what you were talking about just seems to be encapsulated in the Buddhist teachings of the eight winds of the world which we are all subject to be blown by. Gain and loss , Fame and disrepute, praise and blame ,pleasure and pain. Show me a human being who hasn’t been subject to these winds. It would be fun to do a head to head with you one day.
Well, as is probably obvious, I've been influenced pretty deeply by Buddhist teachings... as well as by my personal practice of meditation. Anyhow, thanks for hearing that. Gratitude. Eric D.
Life is unfair from the start. There is no order to life, it is just chaos and survival of the fittest/luckiest. The unluckiest live in pain from day 1 with disease.
@@ericdodson2644 In nature, the unfit die young, thus solving this problem quickly. In certain circumstances death is preferable to continued suffering. To deal with it, i'd have more lenient euthanasia laws. Sadly, I can only see life in a nihilistic manor, I cannot see any meaning, although death may bring a different answer.
Well... you're welcome. It makes me happy when people take this content, and apply it to their own personal situations. For me that's the real payoff. So, thanks for telling me that. Eric D.
Hope to see you more In 2022. Your lecture videos are really great will you create lecture series again? And please if you could cover topics regarding philosophy of process.
Well, thanks, Abdallah. Yeah, I might start to do some more informal lectures on my other channel. If I do, I'd definitely consider doing something on the philosophy of process. But right now, I'm focusing more on more content for this channel. But in any case, thanks for the encouragement. Eric D.
I frequently recommend his videos to people who are in emotional distress. They can avail themselves of the opportunity to chart a personal path out of the thicket of confusion and unhappiness.
We all agree that extreme poverty/lack may hinder well-being and that past a point extreme privilege may not enhance it. What interests me is what exactly may be the baseline for happiness? How many people do you need to be loved by, in love with? At what point does one's lack of physical or mental functionality inhibit them from finding satisfaction in work? These questions interest me.
Well, VP, I suspect that the answers to the questions you're asking vary quite a bit from person to person -- even at the extreme ends of the spectrum that ranges between poverty and privilege. For instance, some people seem to handle celebrity well. Perhaps Keanu Reeves would be an example, although it's always hard to tell with certainty, because we perceive these people through the highly distorted lenses of the mass media. Similarly, there are many cases of so-called, "Resilient" children, who sometimes suffer the most extreme forms of neglect & even abuse... and still manage to come out on top. And I'd say that the baseline for happiness varies from person to person, too. Some of us are content with relatively modest stations in life... while others are miserable as millionaires or even billionaires. Kurt Cobain was beloved by millions and millions, and was wealthy beyond what most of us can imagine... and yet couldn't make it past age 27 (again, as the mass media report it). So it goes. Eric D.
You need to be loved by at least one parent. People who are emotionally neglected and perhaps even physically abused by parents typically end up with life-long mental and physical problems. That said, adults who find themselves in this situation cannot afford to spend the bulk of their time resenting abusive parents or the effects they leave in their wake. It takes a lot of effort and self discipline for a person to overcome the effects of child abuse.
These are important philosophical ideas. Recently I came up with the term simulacrumorphosis to describe the process of becoming artificial by being so surrounded by the artificial that it consumes you. Resentment seems to be an example. As you pointed out, if the resentful person were to get their way, simply because they want it and feels it would be just, then such would also apply to everyone else and therefore no one else. A world of "equality" where everything is nothing.
Well done as usual.....Your discussion of fairness skirts very closely to the third rail of equality/equity...and just where personal responsibility begins and Utopia ends...but perhaps that was your intension....your insightful commentary is always helpful.
Yeah, that pretty much was my intention. Due to the censorious nature of today's world, it's often difficult to discuss certain topics directly and forthrightly... without being condemned unceremoniously to the Island of Misfit Toys. So, we do the best we can. Anyhow, thanks as always for watching & listening. Eric D.
Life is unfair because evil is willing to pretend to be good in order to win, unlike generally good that is not willing to be evil in order to achieve its goals. Indeed, if true good wants to succeed it must be willing to be immoral in order to get ahead.
To me the operative principle mostly has to do with chance, rather than with the dynamics of good & evil. Sure, sometimes unfairness happens because evil is disguising itself as good. But I suspect that much more commonly it happens by simple accident... by the vagaries of chance, without any discernible evil or malevolent intent at all. But of course, you're always entitled to see things differently. Eric D.
I find it interesting that the concept of antinatalism occurred in the books of Job and Ecclesiates (4&6) a couple thousand years ago. It truly is an interesting thought experiment.
Well, I do write scripts. But when I deliver them, I usually end up improvising now and then. In any case, the scripts I write are WAY longer than the 5000 characters allotted in the description sections of TH-cam videos. But a separate webpage might be a possibility. In any case, thanks for the suggestion. Eric D.
Well, thanks for that vote of confidence. And yeah, my own worldview definitely overlaps with Peterson's in several important ways. Of course, I don't agree with him about everything. But on the other hand, I don't even agree with myself about everything. Anyhow... yeah, it'd be pretty dope to appear on one of Peterson's podcasts. But in light of my own rather modest & unassuming place in the world, I doubt that I'll ever get big enough to become visible on his radar screen. But that's fine. I'm content with simply giving voice to the truth as it appears to me. Anyhow, thanks for taking the time to watch & listen. Gratitude. Eric D.
Well, I respect your decision. But on the other hand, I find that pretty much every human being has something worthwhile to say. It's mostly just a matter of feeling invited... a matter of feeling like we're being understood and accepted, rather than judged. After all, we're pretty much all bearers of life's wisdom in one way or another. And I bet that the same is true of you, too. In any case, thanks for watching & listening. Gratitude. Eric D.
@@ericdodson2644 I always enjoy reading comments and comment oftenly .. but this time i wanted to digest what have been said in this video and just show appreciation. Sometimes its ok to agree and add nothing. My life is kinda a series of unfortunate events and i find the wisdom in this video really helpful, motivating, and calming. Thnx again.
Your deformity comment really hit home with me. It's bad enough having a 2nd head growing out of my back, but did it also have to be smarter than me? Oh well...
Your comment unexpectedly caused me to remember a sci fi movie from the early 1970s about a head transplant. I think I first saw it on a program called "Chiller Theater" back in the 1970s when I was a kid. Rosey Grier and Ray Milland starred in it. Grier's head was grafted onto Milland's shoulder. I think that were on the run from everybody or something. I haven't thought of that movie in decades probably.
@@somethingyousaid5059 ... I remember that movie, too. It was called, _The Thing with Two Heads_. Fun fact: I once met Rosie Greer on a small plane that was heading out of Penn State. That was long after the time when he played football there. But he was on the plane anyhow -- who knows why. Small world, huh?
@@ericdodson2644 Rosey always gave me the impression of being a naturally affable gentle giant. And I've yet to hear any bad talk about him on the part of someone else. In this world that's saying a lot.
@@ericdodson2644 thank you for getting back to me. Your clips are great. This video reminded me of some thoughts I had about the idea of utopia. In a way, I wonder if we are on the whole trying to create a utopian world which, I think, is a potentially dangerous idea. The process of attempting to bring about equal material comfort and wealth, eradication of diseases, evading all causes of mortality, and elongating the lifespan, are all noble desires, but are perhaps unsustainable (at least the way things are currently configured). That's on the physical level, on the psychological level trying to vanquish suffering could be problematic because it is often through suffering that we learn the most...which doesn't seem fair but there you go. So, perhaps the drive for improvement on an outward level is a double edged sword. 🤔
@@untonsured ... Yeah, well, I think it's very easy to think that we know what we're doing... when in reality we haven't even begun to fathom the actual complexities of the situation at hand. It's a problem that's at least as old as the phenomenon of hubris itself. That's not to say that we shouldn't strive to better our world in various ways. In fact, I think we should. But it does suggest that an abundance of caution is warranted, preferably *before* we decide that we definitely know what's best for the world. After all, you know what they say about the road to hell... Anyhow, thanks for the thoughtful comment. You rock! Eric D.
Is there somewhere you're contactable for conversations, at more length and backandforthness than comments are ideal for, and on another topic than the video?
Well, if you promise *not* to try to sell me aluminum siding, or a course in hotel management, or hook me up with a Ukrainian girlfriend... you can DM me at the address below. I can't guarantee how much time I'll have for lengthy conversations, though... edodson@westga.edu
I don't have to devalue life in order to make the point that life is overvalued. And indeed, life _is_ unfair. If you remove the letter "f" from the word "life" you get the word "lie". And indeed, it's a lie about life that this world believes. So what is the lie? That it can never be wrong to force life. But that's bullsh!!t. Of course it can be wrong to force life. It very well may be that it can never be right to force it. Who the hell can logically justify forcing suffering if that suffering is preventable, eh? And thus who can logically justify the very procreation that inevitably forces that very suffering, huh? Only in a world this absurd could two human beings commit the ultimate crime and the law be in accordance with it.
Your actions are not neutral. Neither are your words. In that place, you may be missing the point. By your words you are making a judgment call. In that you are engaging with 'should be' rather that what 'is. Your equation is patently false, because the premises are false, and so cannot be extended as a generality. It is a peek into your preoccupations. You can choose your own hill to die on, and you've chosen this. That's your choice. You can choose differently, if you must choose at all. Something that may be true is that even if you get everything you desire, you may not be able to live with that. You may find it hard to live in heaven, and that may be just the way you are. This might be an interesting watch: th-cam.com/video/JXAsdsHXZ5c/w-d-xo.html. May you find what you want, when you have figured that out.
Well, with regard to the issue of justifying preventable suffering... the problem is that we human beings are a kind of thing with two heads, which is perhaps what you're suggesting in your last sentence. There's one head -- let's call it, "Rosie" -- that's more-or-less sensible... and that tries to minimize suffering where possible, and consequently wouldn't be inclined to justify unnecessary suffering. But then there's another, less rational head. Let's call it, "Ray." Ray actively seeks to increase suffering, both its own, as well as that of other people. For instance, Ray is the source of a lot of our everyday addictive behaviors, along with other forms of self-destructive behavior, and ultimately even the great paroxysms of self-inflicted torment that besmirch human history (genocide, war, enslavement, oppression, etc.). Consequently, Ray would have no problem with justifying unnecessary suffering... partly because Ray isn't particularly governed by logic in the first place. But the thing that makes human existence so vexing... is that both Rosie *AND* Ray are integral parts of our existential constitution. And whether it's Rosie or Ray that wins the debate _du jour_ is anyone's guess. P.S. I hereby apologize to the participants in this thread who didn't see the earlier thread about the movie, "The Thing with Two Heads."
@@ericdodson2644 It's all well and good to want what's best for those human beings that are already born. Even so, that is not enough. You also have to want what's best for those human beings that are not yet born (but which are destined to become so). That is to say, you have to want the prevention of the very procreation that necessarily forces the inevitability of all of their future suffering. Ironically you have to want what only an anti-natalist can want.
Yes, at one level that's true. But on the other hand, sometimes it's *fun* to ruminate about things. And sometimes we can even learn a few things along the way. But... to each his own, I suppose. Anyhow, thanks for watching & listening. Eric D.
"Life is unfair." is a total nonsense sentence used by those without direct power, strength & beauty to trick others, to have at least some control or illusion of control through the slave morality.
Yes, there definitely *is* that side to it. And oddly enough, people who align themselves with a master morality... hardly ever complain about how "Life is unfair," even when they're on the side that's losing. But then again, those sorts of people seem pretty few and far-between these days. In any case, it seems like Nietzsche's observations about all of that... have proved prescient for our own time.
So half an hour of attempted intellectualism to tell us 'tough shit', 'life's not fair - deal with it', 'unfairness is random' and ending with an insincere sign-off. Unfairness is not random Mr Dodson, it doesn't affect good people just as much as bad people, otherwise it wouldn't be unfair would it? It would be fair.
No better way to start my day than with a talk by the great prof!
Made even more special today by an unexpected reference to a recent comment. Wooooo. Thank you for the content as always. 🙏
Yeah, and thank-YOU for the wonderful gift of that earlier comment. Gratitude. Ha ha... so you're starting your day at around 2:00 a.m. Eastern U.S. time... which means you're probably in Europe... and judging by your sobriquet... maybe Wales? Or am I completely off the mark? Ha ha... Anyhow, I'm looking at your Grim-Reaper graphic, especially since I was thinking that my next video might be on modern-day psychopomps. And because I often sense that life speaks to us in the secret language of coincidence, I'll take your Grim-Reaper as an affirmation of the whole psychopomp idea. Anyhow, thanks for being in this universe... and say "Hi" to everyone in Cardiff for me. Eric D.
@@ericdodson2644 😂 great guess! I’m in SW England however the bridge to wales is about a 10 minute drive away! Are you stalking me fan boy? 😂 😂 I’m into the concept of Momento Mori…hence the reaper as a reminder.
@@dlloydy5356 ... Ha ha... No, I'm not stalking you. I just have a knack for creative inference. Anyhow... yeah, Momento Mori is a great reminder of the impermanence of our existential condition... which I find is also a pretty good source of motivation, especially with respect to fulfilling our deeper possibilities while we can. "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may," as the old poem says. Anyhow, greetings from Georgia, U.S.A. (in the Southeast, just north of Florida)
@@ericdodson2644 yes! Many see it as morbid whereas it’s a constant reminder to live life to the best of our ability. A call to action essentially. Appreciate the interaction. Great fun!
Life doesn't organize itself around our principles.
I'd say that's true. Instead, our principles organize themselves around life -- when we're able to let them, that is. But of course, that's a lot easier to say than it is to do. And that's mostly because of our problems with hubris and self-importance. So it goes, I guess. Anyhow, thanks for listening. Eric D.
As I listened to you today, I was reminded that Napoleon said something like, “I would rather have a general who was lucky than one who was good.”
Yeah, that's probably true. Of course, in a perfect universe, we'd have generals who are both. But then again, this isn't a perfect universe. Anyhow, thanks for watching & listening. Eric D.
A person has to get lucky to be the type of person that is good.
I love you so much,you deserve way more views!
Well, thanks for saying that, Hatem. I think that a big part of why I don't get more views is that I don't do social media. So, my videos don't get any promotion from that. But that doesn't bother me, mostly because my operating assumption is that the *right* people will watch them, no matter how many people that turns out to be. So... thanks for being one of the relatively few. Eric D.
I enjoyed your part on resentment.
I am Autistic and have an autoimmune disease. As such, I have often felt disadvantaged. I am fortunate to live in a middle class neighborhood with access to food and shelter and in these ways I am doing much better than a great number of people. This is certainly a cause for gratitude.
However, both socially and physically I am weaker than most and will never be able to accomplish certain things. I have slowly begun to accept that fact, but it continues to be a cause for depression and jealousy of the well-being of others. It is sometimes saddening to see others living seemingly happy and normal lives whereas I'm left with mediocre communication and poor health that leaves me feeling ill most days, bedridden others. I must accept that this is simply the case and cannot be resentful for that which I cannot change.
Thank you for your video, professor. If you know of any books or thinkers that would help me, or have any words of wisdom regarding this I would greatly appreciate it.
Well, Andrew, my first thought is that it might help to take a look at the video I did recently on the topic of rejection (link at the bottom of this post). At first, watching a video on rejection may seem like an strange suggestion. However, when we have little choice but to live through difficult circumstances (which seems to be true in your case), it can easily seem like life itself is rejecting us... which in turn makes it a lot harder to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Anyhow, a couple of themes from that video: First, it sounds like life is singling you out for some particularly harsh treatment these days. But on the other hand, we hardly ever know the true extent to which other people are also carrying incredibly heavy burdens (when you study Psychology for a while, it's easy to gain an appreciation for that). And a lot of the time, their crushing burdens are mostly on the inside. Basically, it seems like one of life's great verities that we all have to bear weight in one way or another. And if that's not enough... well, in all probability, some of those people who seem so "normal and happy" will end up dying before you do. And a fair fraction of them will end up suffering in some truly horrific ways before that happens. Basically, as I think you're recognizing in your first paragraph, the fact is that there's always someone a lot better off than ourselves, and always someone a lot worse off, too. So, there's not much sense in spending an inordinate fraction of our time & energy comparing ourselves to others. No matter how high we rise, or how far we fall, there will always be people above and below us. And in any case, comparing ourselves to others hardly ever makes us any stronger, or our lives any better. At the end of the day, our task is to play whatever cards we're dealt as well as we can. And it's always possible to play lousy cards in an incredibly powerful, uplifting and beautiful way. And it's also possible to play lots of strong cards in the most trivial, moronic way imaginable (I don't think you have to look too far into the realm of celebrity to notice some pretty obvious examples or that). Anyhow, I hope that all of this helps in some way. Here's the link to that video I mentioned... Good luck with life's challenge...
th-cam.com/video/RBS02lpv-h4/w-d-xo.html
0:00 3/21/61
0:45 Fairness means - consonant With Merit or Performance
3:00 Expectation vs Reality --> (We want Fairness but Life does not know Fairness)
4:13 Fairness is different to different people 🙂🙃
5:05 Who gets to define (for all our lives?) what is fair or not?
7:24 Mired in Fantasy 7:45 Sometimes 2 ideas of fairness can be contradictory.
8:32 Seeking What is True, is not Seeking What is Desirable.
Awoken/Reality/Earthly ------------------ Dream/Ideal/Utopia 10:25 Las Vegas Gambling Parlor
13:15 "If you're not happy with what you have now, heh why would you be happy with more?" 😄
14:08 "I Need It"
Undefeated Mindset
Defeated Mindset
Self-Destruction
16:07 Attitude makes The Man
16:41 Find Purpose (easier said than found)
17:19 Make Me Strong 17:44 Sorry don't care. "No one wants to hear about your sandwich." complaining isn't the way of a warrior.
18:41 Whining is wasteful, futility.
19:49 How do you react to other people's success? (it depends, unless that's wrong to say).
21:18 They have what I want. (did they earn it?)
22:15 Birth is Unequal.
23:48 Differentiators produced by luck. (a LOT of luck and trillions of decisions)
25:30 Enjoy others success, enjoy I success.
26:27 "For those to who much is given, much is required." (Talent needs you to put it to use, when its in your hands or in your reach).
"Fortune Favors....." "When we can meet with Triumph and Disaster."
28:09 Congratulations! Achievement Unlocked!
"Take Care of Your Soul"
Take = You have been granted dominion over
Care = Along with The duty to do Good
of = to/for that which belongs to
Your = Your
Soul = ????? Soul ????? Essence? Self? Spirit? Your Heart? What you are.
Your Soul is Yours. Take Care of It. Who is Yours? You are I, I am not You.
Whenever i mess up or am in the process of messing something up, i come to your videos (sooner or later), and i find myself slowly sliding back to myself. Slowly reconnecting with all that I've learnt. Slowly coming back into touch with our existential predicament, and most of the supposedly serious worries, grudges, envies, feel laughably ridiculous. All of that wisdom that occasionally gets thrown into the trash comes flooding back, and I'm left feeling rather embarassed at my actions. Gradually though, I'm learning to treat myself with compassion and neutrality in these moments of realising uncomfortable things about myself. On this occasion, this particular video was my catalyst.
🙏 Thanks You!...I was having.....a "day"today, and REALLY needed to hear this!
Thanks once again Eric for your wonderful insight! I mentioned in one of your earlier videos that I'm struggling with an anxiety disorder, which can easily make you feel like life is unfair. Especially when u consider the genetic and biochemical factors potentially causing it it's easy to fall into a vicious cycle of self pity and despair. So your advice on giving up our self importance is incredibly pertinent to me.
Best regards,
Nick from Sweden
Well, Nick... I'm guessing that you're probably already aware that sometimes anxiety is more somatic (i.e., bodily) in nature, and sometimes it's more episodic (i.e., a product of the situation in which we find ourselves). So, sometimes treatment is more about altering neurochemistry, and sometimes it's more about finding a new orientation toward life. And of course, sometimes it's about both. I can't say much about the more somatic side of your question, other than to say that there's a whole class of drugs called, "Anxiolytics" (in English) designed to diminish anxiety. However, they often come with fairly serious side-effects, and require a lot of caution and ongoing monitoring. As for the more episodic side of things... well, one of the more vicious sides of anxiety is that... once it becomes a problem, it's very easy to get anxious about getting anxious. In other words, it's often the case that our resistance to feeling anxious... is exactly what's making our anxiety a lot worse. In cases like that, sometimes treatment involves what Viktor Frankl calls, "Paradoxical Intention," which basically has to do with *inviting* anxiety, but with a bit of a sense of humor. Of course, it's a lot easier to say that than it is to do it. Another, somewhat related mode of treatment has to do with what's called, "Systematic Desensitization," which has to do with being exposed to a series of things that seem to trigger the anxiety. The goal is to develop a kind of immunity to those triggers, so that they eventually don't have much effect on us. And finally, I think you're probably right about describing your experience in terms of a, "Vicious cycle." So, then the question becomes: How to precipitate a moment of discontinuity in that circularity. It could have to do with putting yourself in a very different situation from what's usual for you... so that your usual strategies don't work too well, and you have to find new ones. In the U.S. we have a program called, "Outward Bound" that sometimes helps people in that way. It takes them into primitive, natural environments that usually carry people WAY out of their comfort zones and usual habits. Of course, that prospect can prompt a lot of anxiety in its own right. But if you can endure that, it might help you. At the very least, it can help you sort of whether the anxiety is coming from your particular situation or not. All in all, because every human being is, to an extent, unique... the solution to life's anxiety usually has to be, too. For most of us, it's a matter of trying a bunch of things, and gradually figuring out what works, and what doesn't. In any case, I hope that this helps... or is at least disorienting in an interesting way. So, let me finish by saying that I doubt that the kind of anxiety you're clearly experiencing these days... is your final destination in life. Sure, it can certainly seem like the end of the world. But in all probability, it's just something unpleasant you have to live through... but that you'll eventually find yourself on the other shore of life. The main trick is to keep experimenting, keep learning, keep seeing if you can modify your life. As the old rock band Genesis sang, "Spring must strike again against the shield of Winter." And I bet that's how it will be for you with time. But in any case... good luck. Eric D. P.S. I apologize for such a long reply... but the suffering you're describing seemed to warrant it.
@@ericdodson2644 I really appreciate such a heartfelt reply! I'm definetly feeling a lot better now due to a combination of your lectures on existential psychology, CBT, psychodynamic thinking etc. Thanks for all the wonderful content over the years it's been life changing!
@@nicknorizadeh4336 Well... you're welcome. I'm happy that my content has played a positive role in your overall journey. That's really the reason why I make these videos in the first place... so that people like yourself can use them to improve their lives. So, thank YOU for telling me that. Gratitude... Eric D.
"The man with the clear head is the man who frees himself from those fantastic “ideas” [the
characterological lie about reality] and looks life in the face, realizes that everything in it is
problematic, and feels himself lost. And this is the simple truth-that to live is to feel oneself lost-he
who accepts it has already begun to find himself, to be on firm ground. Instinctively, as do the
shipwrecked, he will look round for something to which to cling, and that tragic, ruthless glance,
absolutely sincere, because it is a question of his salvation, will cause him to bring order into the
chaos of his life. These are the only genuine ideas; the ideas of the shipwrecked. All the rest is
rhetoric, posturing, farce. He who does not really feel lost is without remission; that is to say,
he never finds himself, never comes up against his own reality." José Ortega y Gasset
Wow... that's really beautiful! And it's very much in keeping with the spirit of this video. ¡Muchas gracias por compartirlo! ¡Agradecimiento! Eric D.
Very insightful, as always, Eric!
Well, thanks, Artin. And thanks for taking the time an energy to listen. Gratitude! Eric D.
@@ericdodson2644 I've long (6 years almost) consumed your content and every day I find myself reflecting on something you said. Thank YOU for the time and energy you put into these very well-made videos!
@@PalePinkThink Wow... at this point, you probably know my stuff better than I do. Ha ha... but seriously... thanks for your interest and your support. Much gratitude. Eric D.
I loved this Eric. It’s always interesting to hear what you have to say …..a lot of what you were talking about just seems to be encapsulated in the Buddhist teachings of the eight winds of the world which we are all subject to be blown by. Gain and loss , Fame and disrepute, praise and blame ,pleasure and pain. Show me a human being who hasn’t been subject to these winds. It would be fun to do a head to head with you one day.
Well, as is probably obvious, I've been influenced pretty deeply by Buddhist teachings... as well as by my personal practice of meditation. Anyhow, thanks for hearing that. Gratitude. Eric D.
Thanks for explaining some of the unreasonable opinions that I've seen lately
Life is unfair from the start. There is no order to life, it is just chaos and survival of the fittest/luckiest. The unluckiest live in pain from day 1 with disease.
Yeah, but even then there's a question: How are we going to deal with it? Anyhow, thanks for listening. Eric D.
@@ericdodson2644 In nature, the unfit die young, thus solving this problem quickly. In certain circumstances death is preferable to continued suffering. To deal with it, i'd have more lenient euthanasia laws. Sadly, I can only see life in a nihilistic manor, I cannot see any meaning, although death may bring a different answer.
Thank you for all of these videos Prof! They have been helpful in both my personal and creative lives!
Well... you're welcome. It makes me happy when people take this content, and apply it to their own personal situations. For me that's the real payoff. So, thanks for telling me that. Eric D.
Hope to see you more In 2022. Your lecture videos are really great will you create lecture series again?
And please if you could cover topics regarding philosophy of process.
Well, thanks, Abdallah. Yeah, I might start to do some more informal lectures on my other channel. If I do, I'd definitely consider doing something on the philosophy of process. But right now, I'm focusing more on more content for this channel. But in any case, thanks for the encouragement. Eric D.
You are an American treasure !!! Love your insights and wisdom
Hmm... "... an American treasure..." That's a new one! Anyhow, thanks for watching & listening. Eric "Pot o' Gold" Dodson.
I frequently recommend his videos to people who are in emotional distress. They can avail themselves of the opportunity to chart a personal path out of the thicket of confusion and unhappiness.
We all agree that extreme poverty/lack may hinder well-being and that past a point extreme privilege may not enhance it. What interests me is what exactly may be the baseline for happiness? How many people do you need to be loved by, in love with? At what point does one's lack of physical or mental functionality inhibit them from finding satisfaction in work? These questions interest me.
Well, VP, I suspect that the answers to the questions you're asking vary quite a bit from person to person -- even at the extreme ends of the spectrum that ranges between poverty and privilege. For instance, some people seem to handle celebrity well. Perhaps Keanu Reeves would be an example, although it's always hard to tell with certainty, because we perceive these people through the highly distorted lenses of the mass media. Similarly, there are many cases of so-called, "Resilient" children, who sometimes suffer the most extreme forms of neglect & even abuse... and still manage to come out on top. And I'd say that the baseline for happiness varies from person to person, too. Some of us are content with relatively modest stations in life... while others are miserable as millionaires or even billionaires. Kurt Cobain was beloved by millions and millions, and was wealthy beyond what most of us can imagine... and yet couldn't make it past age 27 (again, as the mass media report it). So it goes. Eric D.
You need to be loved by at least one parent. People who are emotionally neglected and perhaps even physically abused by parents typically end up with life-long mental and physical problems. That said, adults who find themselves in this situation cannot afford to spend the bulk of their time resenting abusive parents or the effects they leave in their wake. It takes a lot of effort and self discipline for a person to overcome the effects of child abuse.
25:00 you are dope
Thank you, and Amen.
I've oftentimes said,
"No good deed goes unpunished"
....when hyperbolic
Thanks for this message
Wishing you a most joyful
Twenty twenty-two
And to you, as well...
Long may your haikus echo
In the azure skies!
Such as great video.
Thank you for the video, keep them coming pease👍
Well, thanks for the encouragement. I'll probably do one on modern-day psychopomps next. We'll see. In any case, thanks for listening. Eric D.
Thank you sir. Can not wait for the next one.
These are important philosophical ideas. Recently I came up with the term simulacrumorphosis to describe the process of becoming artificial by being so surrounded by the artificial that it consumes you. Resentment seems to be an example. As you pointed out, if the resentful person were to get their way, simply because they want it and feels it would be just, then such would also apply to everyone else and therefore no one else. A world of "equality" where everything is nothing.
Thank you so much! 🙏🥰☘️
Thanks Eric just watched the video it makes a lot of sense in a world 🌎 that doesn’t make sense 😊
Thank you for sharing it 🙏 I love watching your videos. And this one was really needed. Your vocabulary is so rich, it is so pleasant to listen to 😊
Well done as usual.....Your discussion of fairness skirts very closely to the third rail of equality/equity...and just where personal responsibility begins and Utopia ends...but perhaps that was your intension....your insightful commentary is always helpful.
Yeah, that pretty much was my intention. Due to the censorious nature of today's world, it's often difficult to discuss certain topics directly and forthrightly... without being condemned unceremoniously to the Island of Misfit Toys. So, we do the best we can. Anyhow, thanks as always for watching & listening. Eric D.
Life is unfair because evil is willing to pretend to be good in order to win, unlike generally good that is not willing to be evil in order to achieve its goals. Indeed, if true good wants to succeed it must be willing to be immoral in order to get ahead.
To me the operative principle mostly has to do with chance, rather than with the dynamics of good & evil. Sure, sometimes unfairness happens because evil is disguising itself as good. But I suspect that much more commonly it happens by simple accident... by the vagaries of chance, without any discernible evil or malevolent intent at all. But of course, you're always entitled to see things differently. Eric D.
I find it interesting that the concept of antinatalism occurred in the books of Job and Ecclesiates (4&6) a couple thousand years ago. It truly is an interesting thought experiment.
If we could live through all of humanity's history and pre-history, we'd have an extremely different idea of justice!!
In an earlier video you mentioned writing scripts for your videos. Could you share them? Maybe in the video description and/or a webpage?
Well, I do write scripts. But when I deliver them, I usually end up improvising now and then. In any case, the scripts I write are WAY longer than the 5000 characters allotted in the description sections of TH-cam videos. But a separate webpage might be a possibility. In any case, thanks for the suggestion. Eric D.
I hope one day you can get an opportunity to guest on Jordan Peterson's poscast 🙏 You are one of my favorite philosophers here on youtube man.
Well, thanks for that vote of confidence. And yeah, my own worldview definitely overlaps with Peterson's in several important ways. Of course, I don't agree with him about everything. But on the other hand, I don't even agree with myself about everything. Anyhow... yeah, it'd be pretty dope to appear on one of Peterson's podcasts. But in light of my own rather modest & unassuming place in the world, I doubt that I'll ever get big enough to become visible on his radar screen. But that's fine. I'm content with simply giving voice to the truth as it appears to me. Anyhow, thanks for taking the time to watch & listen. Gratitude. Eric D.
Because life is not fair, some fare better than others.
Life is not unfair, people decide to be unfair.
There's a very fine line seperating Nihilism and Zen Buddhism. Some might say they are the very same thing.
Im just gonna appreciate this wisdom and comment nothing smarter like if i have any in first place 😂
Well, I respect your decision. But on the other hand, I find that pretty much every human being has something worthwhile to say. It's mostly just a matter of feeling invited... a matter of feeling like we're being understood and accepted, rather than judged. After all, we're pretty much all bearers of life's wisdom in one way or another. And I bet that the same is true of you, too. In any case, thanks for watching & listening. Gratitude. Eric D.
@@ericdodson2644
I always enjoy reading comments and comment oftenly .. but this time i wanted to digest what have been said in this video and just show appreciation.
Sometimes its ok to agree and add nothing.
My life is kinda a series of unfortunate events and i find the wisdom in this video really helpful, motivating, and calming.
Thnx again.
Your deformity comment really hit home with me. It's bad enough having a 2nd head growing out of my back, but did it also have to be smarter than me? Oh well...
Your comment unexpectedly caused me to remember a sci fi movie from the early 1970s about a head transplant. I think I first saw it on a program called "Chiller Theater" back in the 1970s when I was a kid. Rosey Grier and Ray Milland starred in it. Grier's head was grafted onto Milland's shoulder. I think that were on the run from everybody or something. I haven't thought of that movie in decades probably.
@@somethingyousaid5059 Yep, I'm old enough to remember that movie.
@@somethingyousaid5059 ... I remember that movie, too. It was called, _The Thing with Two Heads_. Fun fact: I once met Rosie Greer on a small plane that was heading out of Penn State. That was long after the time when he played football there. But he was on the plane anyhow -- who knows why. Small world, huh?
@@ericdodson2644 It can appear very small indeed!
@@ericdodson2644 Rosey always gave me the impression of being a naturally affable gentle giant. And I've yet to hear any bad talk about him on the part of someone else. In this world that's saying a lot.
Do you memorize what you are going to say in each video?
No, I mostly write it out ahead of time. But then I usually improvise a little, too. Anyhow, thanks for taking the time to listen. Eric D.
@@ericdodson2644 thank you for getting back to me. Your clips are great. This video reminded me of some thoughts I had about the idea of utopia. In a way, I wonder if we are on the whole trying to create a utopian world which, I think, is a potentially dangerous idea. The process of attempting to bring about equal material comfort and wealth, eradication of diseases, evading all causes of mortality, and elongating the lifespan, are all noble desires, but are perhaps unsustainable (at least the way things are currently configured). That's on the physical level, on the psychological level trying to vanquish suffering could be problematic because it is often through suffering that we learn the most...which doesn't seem fair but there you go. So, perhaps the drive for improvement on an outward level is a double edged sword. 🤔
@@untonsured ... Yeah, well, I think it's very easy to think that we know what we're doing... when in reality we haven't even begun to fathom the actual complexities of the situation at hand. It's a problem that's at least as old as the phenomenon of hubris itself. That's not to say that we shouldn't strive to better our world in various ways. In fact, I think we should. But it does suggest that an abundance of caution is warranted, preferably *before* we decide that we definitely know what's best for the world. After all, you know what they say about the road to hell... Anyhow, thanks for the thoughtful comment. You rock! Eric D.
@@ericdodson2644 Agreed! As Jung pointed out, it is man who is the great danger...and we know so little about ourselves.
If life was fair then all life forms would be exactly the same and all life forms would all get exactly the same things.
Is there somewhere you're contactable for conversations, at more length and backandforthness than comments are ideal for, and on another topic than the video?
Well, if you promise *not* to try to sell me aluminum siding, or a course in hotel management, or hook me up with a Ukrainian girlfriend... you can DM me at the address below. I can't guarantee how much time I'll have for lengthy conversations, though...
edodson@westga.edu
It’s not fair that I was born with so little merit
I don't have to devalue life in order to make the point that life is overvalued.
And indeed, life _is_ unfair.
If you remove the letter "f" from the word "life" you get the word "lie". And indeed, it's a lie about life that this world believes. So what is the lie?
That it can never be wrong to force life. But that's bullsh!!t. Of course it can be wrong to force life. It very well may be that it can never be right to force it.
Who the hell can logically justify forcing suffering if that suffering is preventable, eh? And thus who can logically justify the very procreation that inevitably forces that very suffering, huh?
Only in a world this absurd could two human beings commit the ultimate crime and the law be in accordance with it.
Your actions are not neutral. Neither are your words. In that place, you may be missing the point. By your words you are making a judgment call. In that you are engaging with 'should be' rather that what 'is. Your equation is patently false, because the premises are false, and so cannot be extended as a generality. It is a peek into your preoccupations. You can choose your own hill to die on, and you've chosen this. That's your choice. You can choose differently, if you must choose at all. Something that may be true is that even if you get everything you desire, you may not be able to live with that. You may find it hard to live in heaven, and that may be just the way you are. This might be an interesting watch: th-cam.com/video/JXAsdsHXZ5c/w-d-xo.html. May you find what you want, when you have figured that out.
You didn't actually say anything that would cause me to second guess something that I said. So exactly which of the premises are false and why?
@@BigHenFor wtf i just read, so many crackpots
Well, with regard to the issue of justifying preventable suffering... the problem is that we human beings are a kind of thing with two heads, which is perhaps what you're suggesting in your last sentence. There's one head -- let's call it, "Rosie" -- that's more-or-less sensible... and that tries to minimize suffering where possible, and consequently wouldn't be inclined to justify unnecessary suffering. But then there's another, less rational head. Let's call it, "Ray." Ray actively seeks to increase suffering, both its own, as well as that of other people. For instance, Ray is the source of a lot of our everyday addictive behaviors, along with other forms of self-destructive behavior, and ultimately even the great paroxysms of self-inflicted torment that besmirch human history (genocide, war, enslavement, oppression, etc.). Consequently, Ray would have no problem with justifying unnecessary suffering... partly because Ray isn't particularly governed by logic in the first place. But the thing that makes human existence so vexing... is that both Rosie *AND* Ray are integral parts of our existential constitution. And whether it's Rosie or Ray that wins the debate _du jour_ is anyone's guess. P.S. I hereby apologize to the participants in this thread who didn't see the earlier thread about the movie, "The Thing with Two Heads."
@@ericdodson2644
It's all well and good to want what's best for those human beings that are already born. Even so, that is not enough. You also have to want what's best for those human beings that are not yet born (but which are destined to become so). That is to say, you have to want the prevention of the very procreation that necessarily forces the inevitability of all of their future suffering.
Ironically you have to want what only an anti-natalist can want.
There is no why. It just is. No point to ruminate about it
Lol. Yeah, right.
That's what philosophy's job is though. To ask questions that other think there is no point asking
Yes, at one level that's true. But on the other hand, sometimes it's *fun* to ruminate about things. And sometimes we can even learn a few things along the way. But... to each his own, I suppose. Anyhow, thanks for watching & listening. Eric D.
A lot of bad deeds go unpunished or only get punished partially.
Dear Eric, I’ve learned a lot from you. It’s been awhile since your last video. Could you please keep making your amazing and life changing videos.
korean translation please
If Eric spoke Korean, he would've produced a video by now.
"Life is unfair." is a total nonsense sentence used by those without direct power, strength & beauty to trick others, to have at least some control or illusion of control through the slave morality.
Yes, there definitely *is* that side to it. And oddly enough, people who align themselves with a master morality... hardly ever complain about how "Life is unfair," even when they're on the side that's losing. But then again, those sorts of people seem pretty few and far-between these days. In any case, it seems like Nietzsche's observations about all of that... have proved prescient for our own time.
So half an hour of attempted intellectualism to tell us 'tough shit', 'life's not fair - deal with it', 'unfairness is random' and ending with an insincere sign-off.
Unfairness is not random Mr Dodson, it doesn't affect good people just as much as bad people, otherwise it wouldn't be unfair would it? It would be fair.