Existentialism and Meaning with Theodore Dalrymple

Youtube ^ | September 7, 2019 | Hermitex Podcast

[OddLane]

Anthony Malcolm Daniels, who generally uses the pen name Theodore Dalrymple is an English writer and retired prison doctor and psychiatrist. He worked in a number of Sub-Saharan African countries as well as in the East End of London. Before his retirement in 2005, he worked in City Hospital, Birmingham and Winson Green Prison in inner-city Birmingham, England.

He is the author of a number of books, including Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass; Our Culture, What's Left of It; and Spoilt Rotten: The Toxic Cult of Sentimentality.

In this episode we will be discussing existentialism, meaning, responsibility and his book *The Terror of Existence: From Ecclesiastes to Theatre of the Absurd*which he co-authored with Kenneth Francis.

[OddLane]

ping

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks OddLane.

“In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, not to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is...in some small way to become evil oneself. One's standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control. I think if you examine political correctness, it has the same effect and is intended to.” -- Theodore Dalrymple [Wiki attributes this to Anthony Daniels, TD is his nom de plume]

[TChad]

Bump for later.

[aquila48]

Excellent discussion on the search for meaning and purpose in life in an era where religious or transcendence belief has essentially vanished, resulting in the social pathologies that we see everyday.

Without the core and unifying purpose dictated by belief in a higher being, and in a society where their physical needs are taken care of (which in past times satisfying those needs took up most of your time), people are left with lots of time in their hands and to their own devices to answer the question “what am I to do with my life?”

The answers take the form of various addictions such as addiction to drugs, Shopping, Sports, Alcohol, Vacuous Entertainment, Thrills, Vacationing, getting rich...

And then there are those that seek meaning in a cause - Do-Gooderism. They make saving the planet their purpose, or eliminating “inequality” by force, or gun control, or animal welfare, or normalizing delusions, or immigrants... and they will pursue those causes with the religious fervor of the most zealous missionary.

A lot of food for thought - thanks for posting it.

[Tax-chick]

bttt

[snoringbear]

Existentialism is a philosophy not a religion. In it’s purest form it means “I Am”. The problem with Existentialism it provides no moral guidance. Could be that it’s Libertarianism carried to its most extreme.

[marktwain]

I have a friend who immigrated from the Soviet Union in the 1980’s.

I asked him why he did so.

He said: I wanted to live in a country where you did not have to lie all the time.

[Sans-Culotte]

He said: I wanted to live in a country where you did not have to lie all the time.

And he ended up in a country where we have at least three* genders, where "men" can give birth and menstruate, and "women" can father children. Welcome to the world of "truth over facts"*.

* According to Joe Biden.

[GOPJ]

“In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, not to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity.

Matters... this IS the face of evil - in our time: the liberal press...and members of the red deep state.

[nicollo]

Thanks for the headsup on this podcast. I’m definitely checking it out.

WSJ just ran a review of Dalrymple’s latest book on the East India Co. The dude has serious issues with that history, lol. (From the review, I’m not convinced.)

I might just have to read the book, as I’m studying the Borneo Company just now.

[nicollo]

WSJ review: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-anarchy-review-corporate-warfare-11567783201

[OddLane]

There's some great information about the East India Co. in the book Milk of Paradise: A History of Opium.

[SunkenCiv]

He nailed it. A now-retired restauranteur had a great deli down on 44th St in Kentwood MI (thinking about it, this must have been over 10 years ago); he told me he'd emigrated from Jordan in 1960 (if memory serves) as there was hno future for Christians in Jordan, as he put it.

[OddLane]

Definitely not if the Muslim Brotherhood seizes power in that country, which seems increasingly likely. The Hashemite Kingdom is always on a knife’s edge.