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👤 Rebel of the Week
Simone de Beauvoir’s Existentialist Ethics
Beauvoir outlined five prevalent instances where we forsake our inherent freedom and seek refuge from life's ambiguity and uncertainty.
Which one do you spend most time in?
📚 Light Reading
Authenticity is a sham
From monks to existentialists and hipsters, the search for a true self has been a centuries-long project. Should we give it up?
Why we can’t stop longing for the good old days?
Neurology and nostalgia help explain why people have always worried that the world is going downhill.
Attention, rage, and the artist as the supreme being
Surveys continually suggest that many young people want to become an 'influencer.' While it may be tempting to criticise this aspiration, it's a reflection of the society in which they are growing up.
🔎 Study of the Week
Employees under authoritarian leaders are more likely to agree with misinformation
A new multi-country study suggests that, despite variations in demographics and political ideology, leadership styles play a significant role in shaping people’s responses to potentially untruthful information.
📺 Video of the Week
The deepest car scene in TV history (4 min.)
🎙 Podcast Episode
Danny and I explore nostalgia, a complex emotion described as "a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past."
We delve into the various facets of nostalgia, examining its different types, exploring how it can wield both positive and negative influences, and pondering whether it has become a more prominent and powerful force than ever before.
🗣 In Quotes
👀 Perception Watch
😲 WTF
As Slow as Possible is a musical piece by John Cage and the subject of the second-longest-lasting musical performance yet undertaken.
In 2001, an organ in St. Burchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, began a performance that is due to end in 2640. The next note will be played on February 5, 2024.
😁 In the Memetime
📖 Book Club
Our competitive, service-oriented societies are taking a toll on the late-modern individual. Rather than improving life, multitasking, "user-friendly" technology, and the culture of convenience are producing disorders that range from depression to attention deficit disorder to borderline personality disorder.
In The Burnout Society, Byung-Chul Han interprets the spreading malaise as an inability to manage negative experiences in an age characterized by excessive positivity and the universal availability of people and goods.
🤔 Contemplation Corner
Life is not additive; it is multiplicative.
Instead of an accumulation of moments or experiences over time, each moment and experience has the potential to interact with and influence others, creating complex and interconnected pathways that shape the course of our lives.
🎧 The Song of the Week
BONES, Lyson — SocialCues
Listen to the Rebel Intellects playlist on Spotify.
🧠 Become a Rebel
Elevate your thinking, one maverick at a time. Each month, our membership community explores a different philosopher's wisdom. Click here to find out more.
October Workshop:
👍 Thanks for Reading
As always, if you enjoy this newsletter, I’d love it if you shared it with a friend or two. If you’re not finding it valuable, please consider unsubscribing—no hard feelings!
Live well, and I’ll see you next week.
John