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Dave's avatar

As usual, the tormented prophet mistakes nihilism for truth, rather than having the wisdom to recognize it as a deeply personal, subjective interpretation.

I sometimes wonder whether philosophers like Nietzsche and Kafka were genuine seekers or carefully placed snares designed to catch those who think deeply, but not quite deeply enough. They seem positioned along the path to enlightenment, not to illuminate it, but to ensconce travelers in a web of doubt and pointless despair, perhaps, right at the edge of revelation.

In many respects, they resemble the very insects Kafka portrayed, though not just any insect. They are more like spiders that trap and devour purpose, meaning, and joy.

It’s not that I fail to grasp or appreciate the nature of the challenges they propose one might encounter. Nor do I dismiss their characterizations or analyses out of hand. It’s their interpretation of the consequences and their framing of those consequences as inevitable to which I object. These are, after all, profoundly subjective conclusions, not universal thresholds of insight, and should neither be projected onto others as predicates to understanding nor internalized without serious reflection - if at all.

The misery of these thinkers may, in the end, be an indelible warning not to avoid the path entirely, but to carry better tools to interpret the terrain when walking it. The goal after all is to stare in to the abyss without being consumed by it.

Anyone who has taken a stroll through a forest with someone who does not enjoy nature will understand.

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Bob's avatar

Wow that explains why i am the loneliest man in the world, I’m a fucking genius

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