Below you will find a running list of short philosophical explorations of prominent works in philosophy and literature.
If you’d like to request an exploration of a particular work, or if you’d like me to elaborate on a specific passage or quote, send me a note.
The Plague, by Albert Camus
“But again and again there comes a time in history when the man who dares to say that two and two make four is punished with death.”
Gravity and Grace, by Simone Weil
“We must not wish for the disappearance of our troubles but for the grace to transform them.”
Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius
“Our actions may be impeded… but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its purposes the obstacle to our acting. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl
“Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.”