DE Weekly: Wisdom, Vanity, & The Book of Ecclesiastes
“What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.” (Ecclesiastes 1:3-4)
This is an existential question as old as humanity itself. It seems impossible for us as human beings to truly answer such questions as: why do things happen the way they do? Why should we strive in life––to be anything––when we are all going to die? Why strive to be good, to be rich, to be intelligent…why? Why are we here?
DE Weekly: Mystery, Suffering, & The Book of Job
Like any philosophy, the core tenets of existentialism are solid because they’re true. They are true all the time, and they are true for everyone. This makes it possible when, in reading old (even ancient) texts, one is looking to find something that evokes existentialism, they are likely to find it.
For an example of this, let’s go back thousands of years to The Holy Bible, specifically The Book of Job.
DE Weekly: Peterson, Kierkegaard, & Anxiety
The crux of existentialism is its contention with the human condition. We are born into this world without our choosing, we must contend with the totality of our freedom, and we are forced to make a series of choices that define the meaning of our life.
I’ve written about the human condition before–what the existentialists thought about it, what their suggestions were to face it…
DE Weekly: Negativity, Uncertainty, & Hope
Fear and negativity are in abundance today. Uncertainty is everywhere. It seems like it’s just one thing after another. Right? That’s what we’re led to believe, at least.
Take one minute to scroll through social media, flip on the news, pick up the local paper at the newsstand (do they still have those?), and, yes, you’d think the sky is going to come crashing down tomorrow.