So soon as I hear that such and such a man gives
himself out for a philosopher, I conclude that, like the dyspeptic old
woman, he must have ‘broken his digester.’
I was talking with a guy in a bar tonight who described life as “a joke”, and self identified as an existentialist. What I told him was that he needed a philosophical mechanic. I asked him, approximately (beer was involved, as well as fatigue): would it not be better for you if you could be happy, have a sense of purpose, and do so without violating any of your principles or understanding of truth?
The answer of course was yes. I referred him to my website since I was too tired for a detailed conversation, and would in any event have muddled it up.
But it seems to me that the net effect, the Action To, of much modern philosophy is breaking peoples digesters, their sense of life, their self organizing capacity they are born with. They are born with all the tools they need to find meaning in life, and instead taught to throw them by the wayside and do the cognitive equivalent of praying to the actual Flying Spaghetti Monster. No wonder they get lost. No wonder this world makes them feel alone.