Philosophy

Resources, rages, and comments about philosophy

Here’s links to some outrageous videos by a couple of contemporary philosophers who in spite of their, uh, “unorthodox” approach I guess you could say, present thought-provoking points. Both have a sense of humor but Alain de Botton uses it as a tool for critical thinking more than Slavoj Žižek.

Alain de Botton is a good-spirited atheist who argues that pessimism is a good thing. His presentation is at a mock church meeting because he also argues that religious people shouldn’t have all the fun of church meetings, singing hymns, having pot-lucks, etc.

Slavoj Žižek is a philosopher with an animated unique presentation style (he can’t leave his nose alone) who addresses novel philosophical issues using “street” language along with some technical vocabulary of philosophy. Entertaining and thought-provoking if you’re interested in philosophy, perhaps just odd and occasionally funny if you’re not. This video is about Lacanian theology and Buddhism.  Lacan was a French psychoanalyst influenced by postmodern philosophy.