propaganda4u

I am in love with Simone de Beauvoir; before I get to that, a public service announcement:

First, bulk fake bacon-bits are damned good.

Second, Existentialism is not nihilism. The coffee-shop philosophers have and continue to misinterpret existentialism as being this negative angst-filled teen philosophy. Although existentialism discusses what some may see as dark issues, its end result is ultimately optimistic. Discussions of purpose, meaning, freedom, and loss, etc. allow one to let go of or release themselves from their self-constructed prisons, thus fostering the realization that we ultimately have a choice in this world.

However, such existential realizations and release is undesirable for most individuals, as, within our culture, complete freedom (or choices) can be paralyzing. For many, there is an innate need to surrender aspects of decision making and opinion formation to higher social controls.

Once an individual realizes her potentials, and the constructive reality of our existence, there is no turning back (I am sure many here will understand ignorance is sometimes blissful, but most of you would not return to the herd mentality).

[When I was seeing clients, it was interesting to help foster their realizations as to how they have the freedom to take control of how they respond to the world. We may not be able to control the natural disasters, but we can control how we perceive and respond to them.]

OK, back to Simone. I can go on hours about how women are underrepresented in philosophy, but I wont; I just wish there were more. Anyway, Simone de Beauvoir was not only attractive according to the standards of her time, but her work also continues to be influential. Overall, she was just damned smart. Women in philosophy rock my world.