Einzelgänger

STOP SOLVING YOUR PROBLEMS

Imagine a bad-tempered man in a boat colliding with another boat on a misty river. If the other boat were empty, he might be irritated, but probably not very angry. But if there were another man in it, he might start shouting, calling him an idiot and telling him to learn how to steer.

This comparison, found in the Taoist text Zhuangzi, raises an interesting question:

If the impact of the collision is the same in both cases, why does one provoke rage while the other barely bothers him? Aside from the man in the boat, the difference is what the mind adds to the collision: a story about what happened: that someone caused it, that he shouldn’t have done so, that he’s inconsiderate, and that he needs to change his ways.

If you have an average human mind, you may have noticed that it loves stirring the pot. Wherever we go, wherever our boats collide with reality (to follow Zhuangzi’s metaphor), our minds seem eager to point out what’s wrong, insisting that we cannot, for a moment, sit back, relax, and enjoy the journey. Instead, they tell us to be outraged, afraid, and ready to fix whatever problem has appeared.

Before we know it, life begins to feel like an endless stream of problems, many of which disturb our peace of mind. And because the mind keeps adding new concerns to the pile, we become perpetual problem solvers, often spending our lives feeling as though we’re carrying water in a sieve.

But what if many, if not most, of our problems don’t need to be solved?

This week’s video explores the nature of what we consider everyday problems, why we may be better off not solving them, and what to do instead.

4 days ago | [YT] | 1,586

Einzelgänger

DEALING WITH ANGER

When we look at history, we see that anger profoundly influenced human affairs. Anger has fueled personal tragedies, torn families apart, and started wars. In a fit of rage, Alexander the Great killed his close friend Cleitus. The Iliad tells the story of Achilles, whose anger drove him to commit terrible acts.

The Buddha repeatedly warned about the destructive nature of anger, while the Stoic philosopher Seneca described it as a form of temporary madness. And yet, after centuries of wisdom, human beings do not seem to have changed all that much.

Anger seems very prevalent in the online sphere today. We see it in comment sections, which have become spaces of ‘rage bait’ and attacks rather than meaningful, constructive dialogue. But there’s also plenty of anger outside of the internet, from ‘office rage’ to violent protests to nations in armed conflict. A significant number of people struggle with anger issues, and we seem to have become less tolerant and patient toward one another.

There’s a fair amount of anger involved with today’s politics, as it seems to play a major role in who people vote for. “Anger has come to define the public mood,” wrote psychoanalyst and emeritus professor Josh Cohen in an article in The Guardian, describing today’s society, characterized by fear, insecurity, and mistrust, as a fertile breeding ground for anger, amplified by social media and used by populist leaders for their own ends.

All in all, it seems more relevant than ever to discuss anger today. So, what is anger? Where does it come from? Why is anger problematic? Can it ever be good or useful? How can we prevent or reduce it when it comes up? And how, if possible, can we use anger as a force for good?

This week’s video contains a complete philosophical guide to anger.

1 week ago | [YT] | 1,127

Einzelgänger

A JOURNEY THROUGH PHILOSOPHY

Hello everyone,

Last year, I started a podcast called Journey of Ideas. The goal of this project is a slow, personal exploration of philosophy, beginning in ancient times and gradually working toward the present. I began with the Presocratics at the dawn of Western philosophy. Once that journey is complete, I plan to turn to other ancient philosophical traditions, including the Vedic sages of the Upanishads, Zoroaster (Zarathustra), Lao Tzu, and Confucius.

When I launched the podcast on Einzelgänger last year, after a long break, I was disappointed with the viewership and received feedback from followers who preferred my old format. So, after three episodes, I decided to bring back the old-school videos and continued Journey of Ideas on Substack and various podcast platforms at a much slower pace. So far, I’ve made six episodes.

If you’re a creative person, you might have experienced coming up with an unlimited amount of ideas (sometimes dozens in just one day), but only a few of these ideas stick, and even fewer stand the test of time. To me, Journey of Ideas is such an idea. It just doesn’t go away.

Of course, an idea that sticks isn’t necessarily a smart one. Considering the sheer size of this project, it’s actually a little crazy. It’s way too ambitious. It’s not particularly YouTube-friendly. But it’s simply something I feel inclined to do.

And when I think about it, having been a philosophical YouTuber for all these years, a journey through the history of philosophy, from its earliest thinkers to the ways their ideas developed, influenced later generations, and shaped how we understand ourselves and the world, makes a lot of sense. It’s also fun.

So, I want to continue the Journey of Ideas at a faster pace and publish the episodes on YouTube as well, along with nature footage I’ve shot over the years and will continue to shoot. I’ve already published the first three episodes on YouTube, so I’ll release the remaining episodes 4, 5, and 6 soon before continuing the journey.

Don’t worry. I’ll keep making the usual content as well.

For those who haven’t heard of the project, I’d be thrilled if you’d give it a try. You can find a playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE2of...

You can also listen here:

Substack: journeyofideas.substack.com/podcast
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/7lOQ65WUeSRBV77bYdoShN
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/journey-of-ideas/id1…

Thank you very much,

Stefan

2 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 862

Einzelgänger

LET THEM BE WRONG

We’re often deeply concerned with whether others are right or wrong. And let’s face it: when we hear people spouting utter nonsense about subjects like history, politics, or different cultures, it can be difficult not to speak up and correct them. For some reason, we want them to get it right; we want them to know and understand how things actually are.

But as many of us have probably experienced, people who are wrong often don’t want to be corrected. And when we try, they seem uninterested or even irritated by information that challenges their beliefs. It’s as if they don’t want their minds changed and couldn’t care less about what’s actually true.

It’s pretty frustrating. Especially when they come in groups, all repeating the same misinformation, hostile to anything that challenges their convictions, as if they’re trapped in their own ideological version of Plato’s cave.

Arguing with these people is like wrestling with pigs: you’ll only get dirty, and the pigs enjoy it. But what if we stop correcting them? What if we simply let them be wrong?

The upcoming video explores how to handle ignorance wisely and prevent it from becoming our problem.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 2,160

Einzelgänger

I DON’T WANT KIDS. AM I A BAD PERSON?

Even though I’m a proud uncle, I don’t want kids myself. I was on the fence about it during my adolescence, but as the years passed, my wish to live without children solidified.

In the past, people have tried to convince me to have kids, but I’ve never found their reasons particularly appealing or conclusive. Others told me, honestly and based on experience, how difficult parenting can be and that I should think twice about it, which only strengthened my resolve.

The decision not to have kids isn’t received well by everyone. I’m lucky to have an understanding family, but I’ve also witnessed people getting condemned for their choice. The country I’m from, the Netherlands, is overall pretty accepting of people who wish to be voluntarily childless. But in many parts of the world, that’s certainly not the case.

On top of that, the internet is full of animosity toward the childfree. There is a great deal of shaming and blaming, ranging from ignorance and misunderstanding to outright spite toward those who don’t conform to the dominant social norm.

I’ve often struggled to understand, let alone explain or defend, why I don’t want children. At the same time, few life decisions have occupied my thoughts more than this question, which has followed me throughout my adult life, from dating and relationships to watching people around me, especially my friends and siblings, start families.

But today, I think I can explain quite well why I don’t want kids. Moreover, I believe I can make a strong case that choosing not to have children is not morally wrong, and may, in some circumstances, even be the more ethical choice.

In today’s video, I’d like to share with you the reasons why I don’t want children.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 1,448

Einzelgänger

THE DARK PHILOSOPHY OF LOOKSMAXXING

The term looksmaxxing has been around for over a decade, but it has only recently entered the mainstream, with figures like Clavicular receiving widespread media attention.

At first glance, looksmaxxing seems like little more than internet slang for improving one’s appearance. At its softer end, it offers familiar advice: go to the gym, improve your grooming, watch your diet, get a nice haircut. But in its more extreme forms, it promotes steroid use, plastic surgery, and even practices like “bone smashing.”

When we dive deeper into the strange world of looksmaxxing, we find ideas and beliefs that are pretty… disturbing, to say the least.

Whole online communities have formed around a deeply pessimistic worldview that underpins much of the darker side of looksmaxxing. These communities are made up largely of teenagers and young men in their early twenties. They often push each other toward extreme forms of self-improvement, while attacking and degrading those who fail to meet their beauty ideals, sometimes in deeply dehumanizing ways.

So why are so many young people drawn to looksmaxxing? What kind of society makes plastic surgery and steroids seem like reasonable answers to insecurity and feelings of inadequacy among young men? What ideas drive them in that direction? And does looksmaxxing actually solve the problems it promises to solve?

This week’s video explores the dark philosophy of looksmaxxing.

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 985

Einzelgänger

SHOULD WE STOP HAVING BABIES?

Is it better never to have been? Some people believe it would indeed be better if no sentient life came into existence. Antinatalism is the philosophical viewpoint that procreation is morally wrong. And therefore, we should avoid it. Some antinatalists think only humans should stop having children; others believe that all sentient beings would be better off if they’d never existed. But isn’t it wrong to oppose the birth of children? Why would anybody be against the creation of new life?

One of today’s most well-known antinatalist philosophers is David Benatar. In his book Better Never to Have Been, Benatar argues that coming into existence is always a serious harm, and thus it’s always wrong to bring new sentient life into existence. Therefore, preventing procreation is the best thing we can do for our potential children, as those who haven’t come into existence are free from the suffering of life. So, his antinatalist position doesn’t come from a hatred of sentient beings. It comes from compassion because it seeks to prevent the inescapable suffering that results from being born.

Antinatalism is a controversial topic that clashes with the worldviews of many. The masses probably oppose antinatalism, viewing it as misanthropic. After all, isn’t ending sentient life as a whole to eradicate suffering a tad extreme?

A number of my essays were previously released as videos, but never published in written form, even though they’re a natural fit for Substack. So every now and then, I’ll be publishing one there. Read the full text here: journeyofideas.substack.com/p/should-we-stop-havin…

2 months ago | [YT] | 1,047

Einzelgänger

WHY WE NEED A CODE AGAIN

It seems that, for more and more people, life feels meaningless. We lack clear direction, struggle to define our purpose, and often drift aimlessly. Meanwhile, the world itself seems increasingly chaotic, as though many of the systems and structures that once provided moral direction, stability, and meaning are slowly falling apart.

And while we may have liberated ourselves, enjoying more freedom and individualism than ever before, many of us also seem somewhat lost… unsure of what to truly believe in or stand for. So, in today’s tumultuous and confusing world, would we benefit from living by a code? And could Bushidō be it?

Bushidō is often described as the samurai code, a collection of virtues and principles associated with Japan’s warrior class. Yet there was never a single, universally accepted code that all samurai followed.

It was only in the late nineteenth century that Nitobe Inazō attempted to systematically describe Bushidō in his famous book Bushidō: The Soul of Japan. Drawing on the ideals of the samurai, he presented Bushidō as a moral philosophy for anyone seeking to live a good life.

This week’s video explores Bushidō and whether it can guide us in a world that has lost its code.

2 months ago | [YT] | 2,358

Einzelgänger

A SIMPLE WAY TO BREAK BAD HABITS

We live in an age of instant gratification. Easy pleasures are all around us, and they constantly beg for our attention. We can indulge in social media, online shopping, streaming, gambling, and mature content without even leaving the couch. Various substances and junk food are widely available, at least in the West.

And so, many of us develop bad habits. Some are rather innocent, others can seriously undermine our well-being. And many struggle to get rid of these bad habits and may try for years, only to relapse over and over again.

The Stoics understood this problem well. They saw excessive desire as a passion: an irrational disturbance that, if we follow it, could get us into trouble. Epictetus spoke extensively about how to deal with the passions, including the temptations that so often lead us astray. In particular, he offered a piece of advice that many of us overlook when trying to break a bad habit.

This week’s video explores a simple way to break bad habits, based on the wisdom of Epictetus.

3 months ago | [YT] | 1,887

Einzelgänger

WHY EMPTINESS IS SO IMPORTANT

We often fail to realize how essential emptiness is. Perhaps it is because we instinctively value something over nothing.

We tend to cherish sound more than silence, life more than death, and certainty more than the unknown. Likewise, we often prefer filling our minds, expressing our thoughts, and staying busy over stillness, silence, and simply ‘being’.

To the modern human, what’s emptiness but a deficiency to be filled?

But the ancient Taoists saw emptiness very differently. They believed emptiness has inherent value. In fact, they saw it as one of the most important principles of life, which shouldn’t be avoided but cultivated. The ancient texts provide various examples of how emptiness is important and how it can benefit our lives in profound ways.

This week’s video explores the underrated power of emptiness, based on ancient Taoist philosophy.

3 months ago | [YT] | 2,492