Setting Course

[00:00:01]Howdy y’all. [00:00:02]Welcome back. And Namaste. [00:00:03]So we're starting now in chapter [00:00:05]four on Sex and Death. [00:00:07]And I always start this class.

[00:00:10]You know, [00:00:10]when I'm teaching in the classroom, [00:00:12]I always start it with that track, [00:00:13]that video by Mac Miller. [00:00:16]Ya'll know that track? Know Mac Miller?

[00:00:19]and usually everybody in the room [00:00:20]already knows why I chose that track. [00:00:22]Usually everybody in the room [00:00:24]already knows that song. [00:00:25]And they know the tragedy of Mac

[00:00:28]Miller's life. [00:00:29]Not the.. [00:00:29]not not the tragedy of his life, [00:00:31]but the tragedy of his death, [00:00:32]which occurred due to a drug overdose.

[00:00:35]More specifically was, [00:00:37]um, yeah, [00:00:37]he got some bad junk from his dealer [00:00:40]who's now in jail for 11 years [00:00:42]-- just convicted,

[00:00:43]uh, a couple of months ago. [00:00:45]Cocaine and fentanyl. [00:00:46]And, you know, anytime [00:00:47]you go anywhere near fentanyl, there's [00:00:49]a high chance that you won't

[00:00:53]make it. [00:00:53]And fentanyl is [00:00:55]one of the leading causes of death in our [00:00:57]in our world today. [00:00:59]Fentanyl’s bad stuff.

[00:01:00]Yeah. [00:01:00]And this the title of this [00:01:01]track is Self Care. [00:01:03]So the tragedy of his death, [00:01:05]having not taken care of himself

[00:01:06]and self care, [00:01:07]was obviously [00:01:09]not meaning just physically, [00:01:11]but also taking care of ourselves [00:01:13]emotionally, taking care of ourselves,

[00:01:15]you know, mentally, right. [00:01:16]Taking care, taking our own mental health [00:01:19]seriously, [00:01:19]which is, you know, [00:01:20]definitely an aspect of philosophy.

[00:01:22]And there's still a lot [00:01:23]there's a lot of philosophy [00:01:25]in Mac Miller songs. [00:01:26]A lot of his music was about death and, [00:01:30]you know,

[00:01:31]yeah, like on Faces, [00:01:33]it's like Inside Outside, [00:01:35]which is the lead [00:01:36]track on the album Faces [00:01:38]the mixtape, Faces,

[00:01:39]that dropped recently, but it was [00:01:42]he recorded in 2017. [00:01:43]You know, he says, “all [00:01:44]my homies philosophers” [00:01:45]and I don't know how I haven't died yet

[00:01:47]“shoulda died already.” [00:01:49]So there's a lot on the surface [00:01:51]of why [00:01:52]this this particular music [00:01:53]video Self Care by Mac Miller is relevant

[00:01:57]to our understanding [00:01:58]of the philosophy of death [00:02:00]and the relationship [00:02:01]between philosophy and death [00:02:03]and anthropology

[00:02:05]and existentialism and ontology [00:02:07]and all these things [00:02:08]that we've been talking about. [00:02:09]This video lays it all out for us. [00:02:11]And even before we even talk

[00:02:13]about the content of the video, [00:02:14]just the fact that it's called Self Care, [00:02:16]and it's by [00:02:18]Mac Miller, [00:02:19]who who's no longer with us, sadly.

[00:02:21]But then [00:02:24]brief interruption there [00:02:26]because my son just won solo on Fortnite, [00:02:30]so we had to pause and celebrate. [00:02:31]But in this video,

[00:02:33]So we've got not just those layers [00:02:35]on the surface, right? [00:02:36]Mac Miller is no longer with us [00:02:39]talking about self [00:02:39]care and mental health care

[00:02:41]and you know which [00:02:43]Yeah, which he didn't. [00:02:45]And so therefore led to drug, depression [00:02:48]and drug use associated therewith [00:02:50]which then led to his death,

[00:02:52]which is right. [00:02:53]So the relationship [00:02:53]between philosophy and death [00:02:55]are laid out there. [00:02:56]Even before we talk about

[00:02:57]the content of the video. [00:02:58]What do you think [00:02:59]the visual message of the video is? [00:03:02]What do you take away from it? [00:03:05]But then we see him

[00:03:07]in a coffin. [00:03:08]So he's in a coffin — Again, layers of [00:03:12]meaning there. [00:03:14]But as he's, [00:03:15]you know, after he smokes a cigarette,

[00:03:16]then he starts carving into the roof [00:03:19]or whatever you call it, [00:03:20]I don't know what you call [00:03:21]the inside of a coffin. Yeah. [00:03:22]So climbing out of the coffin

[00:03:24]and getting away from death. [00:03:25]the top inside of the roof [00:03:28]makes it sound like at home, [00:03:30]which I guess it was for for him. [00:03:33]Maybe some layers of meaning

[00:03:34]there. He’s kind of buried in the cave, [00:03:37]and he's breaking out. [00:03:38]But what enables him to break out [00:03:40]is by carving this [00:03:42]in the ceiling - “memento mori,” and

[00:03:44]that becomes his passageway, [00:03:46]his means of “communication” [00:03:48]or going through this tunnel. [00:03:50]All right. [00:03:50]I want to jump in here and add

[00:03:51]another layer of meaning. [00:03:53]Before his death in 2004, [00:03:55]this philosopher named Jacques [00:03:56]Derrida gave a speech [00:03:58]and he gave the speech in person,

[00:03:59]in public, and mostly in French. [00:04:03]The speech was about how words [00:04:04]communicate [00:04:05]meaning through passageways of space [00:04:08]and time.

[00:04:09]Words go from one context [00:04:12]to another context. [00:04:13]The person who speaks [00:04:14]the words might have one intended meaning [00:04:17]when the words are spoken

[00:04:18]and the intended [00:04:19]audience might take a different meaning [00:04:21]than the one that was intended. [00:04:23]But suppose that [00:04:24]that speech is written down

[00:04:26]and translated into a different language, [00:04:28]like English, [00:04:29]and then put on the internet [00:04:31]and then put in a YouTube video [00:04:33]in a screenshot

[00:04:34]side-by-side with a picture of Mac Miller [00:04:36]in a coffin carving the Latin words [00:04:37]“memento mori” [00:04:38]before breaking a passage [00:04:40]way out of his coffin.

[00:04:43]You know, hypothetically. [00:04:46]Now, suppose, [00:04:47]hypothetically, that someone watches [00:04:50]that YouTube video. [00:04:51]What kind of meaning

[00:04:52]are they going to take away from it? [00:04:54]What meaning [00:04:55]gets communicated [00:04:56]through this passageway of space time? [00:04:59]The event of Derrida’s speech,

[00:05:01]the event of Mac Miller's [00:05:02]recording his video, [00:05:03]the event of my recorded lecture, [00:05:05]the event of my classroom lecture, [00:05:08]the event of my writing

[00:05:09]the words of this script, [00:05:11]the event of my recording this clip, [00:05:13]the event of you [00:05:14]watching this “right now,” [00:05:16]which is a definitely

[00:05:17]a very different “right [00:05:18]now” than the “right now” [00:05:20]in which I wrote these words [00:05:22]or spoke these words. [00:05:23]All of this:

[00:05:24]The words the Mac Miller spoke, [00:05:26]the visual image of Mac Miller [00:05:28]in a coffin, [00:05:28]the words [00:05:29]memento mori carved in Latin

[00:05:31]in the coffin, [00:05:32]Jacques Derrida’s words [00:05:33]about how words communicate [00:05:35]to people in the future, [00:05:36]to people

[00:05:37]who were born [00:05:38]after Derrida's death, [00:05:39]my words right now... [00:05:41]all of these words and images [00:05:43]get layered on top of each other

[00:05:45]and all of it [00:05:45]communicates some meaning from one event [00:05:48]in space-time to another. [00:05:50]And the words and images [00:05:51]continue to communicate

[00:05:53]meaning after Derrida’s death, after Mac [00:05:56]Miller's death, [00:05:57]and perhaps after my own death, assuming [00:06:00]assuming YouTube outlives me, [00:06:02]assuming out YouTube outlives me

[00:06:04]after my own death, [00:06:05]assuming that YouTube outlives me. [00:06:08]Getting out of his cave. [00:06:11]Right, his coffin. [00:06:13]And he carves this phrase in Latin

[00:06:16]into the wood [00:06:17]which says [00:06:18]“Memento mori.” [00:06:18]What does “memento mori” mean? Anybody know Latin? [00:06:24]So Memento mori.

[00:06:25]“Memento” meaning “remember” and “Mori” [00:06:28]meaning “death,” [00:06:29]which in Latin means [00:06:30]“remember that you will die” [00:06:32][or] “Remember your death.” Remember,

[00:06:34]just remember the reality of death. [00:06:36]“Remember that you will die” [00:06:38]Don’t forget that death is always there, [00:06:42]always behind the scenes. Right. [00:06:44]And the point of this entire chapter,

[00:06:48]all of these different parts [00:06:49]we're going to talk about... [00:06:50]I'm going to boil it down. [00:06:51]We can call this [00:06:52]my thesis statement for chapter four.

[00:06:55]The thesis statement is this: [00:06:58]Philosophy only begins with a meaningful reflection [00:07:03]on the reality of death. [00:07:06]Philosophy only begins [00:07:09]with a meaningful reflection

[00:07:11]on the reality of death. [00:07:13]Only then [00:07:14]that is the genesis of philosophy. [00:07:17]Philosophy's genesis - philosophy’s [00:07:18]beginning

[00:07:20]is a meaningful reflection [00:07:22]on the reality of death. [00:07:23]Now, philosophy only begins [00:07:26]with a meaningful reflection [00:07:27]on the reality of death.

[00:07:30]Worth repeating. [00:07:31]What’s on your mind? [00:07:33]What are you thinking? [00:07:37]Yeah, sure thing. [00:07:43]Yeah.

[00:07:43]So when we think about [00:07:45]what does it mean “to be me”? [00:07:47]What does it mean to be an “I”? [00:07:49]What does it mean to be ___ [00:07:50]or what does it mean to be Brad? Right.

[00:07:51]When we think about ourselves [00:07:53]and it does it mean to be who we are? [00:07:55]A lot of times [00:07:56]who we are [00:07:56]has to do with our relationships

[00:07:58]with our parents and with our loved ones. [00:08:01]And, [00:08:03]you know, [00:08:03]kids and families [00:08:05]and all this kind of stuff.

[00:08:06]So then, when those relationships end, [00:08:10]whether it's because somebody dies [00:08:12]or somebody leaves or for any reason, [00:08:14]then that's a death of one version [00:08:17]of yourself, at the least.

[00:08:18]It could also be a “death [00:08:19]of innocence” and death of. [00:08:21]But it's a death of death of innocence [00:08:23]is also a “death of self,” isn't it? [00:08:25]A death of who you are,

[00:08:27]which then can spin you into depression, [00:08:30]for sure. Right. [00:08:31]What are some other possibilities? [00:08:33]Alternatives to depression? [00:08:34]Doesn’t have to send you

[00:08:35]into depression, does it? [00:08:36]What are some other ways of dealing [00:08:38]with like the end of a relationship [00:08:40]or the death of a pet? [00:08:42]Mm hmm.

[00:08:43]Right. [00:08:43]So those are [00:08:46]ways of escaping, right? [00:08:47]Escaping the reality, [00:08:49]escaping the memory.

[00:08:51]There's a Dave Matthews song: [00:08:53]“bartender, [00:08:54]please give me one drink to remember [00:08:56]and another one to forget.” Right. [00:08:57]So, yeah, those forms of escape. Right?

[00:08:59]And so Mac Miller, [00:09:01]I think, was caught in that, too. [00:09:03]I mean, come on, [00:09:04]Who wouldn't be depressed [00:09:05]if Ariana Grande broke up with you?

[00:09:07]Am I wrong? [00:09:09]What do you think about that other line: [00:09:10]“I got all the time in the world”? [00:09:12]Isn’t [00:09:12]that kind of a denial of death, right?

[00:09:15]I mean. Yeah. Yeah. Mm hmm. [00:09:17]Does that line and those, [00:09:19]I mean, the whole song, [00:09:20]whole video -- does that [00:09:22]kind of hit

[00:09:22]differently after [00:09:23]his death than it did before? [00:09:26]Yeah, I mean, I think. [00:09:27]I think maybe what you're getting at is, [00:09:28]I mean, you could take that line

[00:09:30]in two very different ways, right? [00:09:31]One is being like, “after death, [00:09:34]that beautiful feeling of oblivion [00:09:37]when you have no limit to time [00:09:39]or all the time in the world.”

[00:09:41]Or it could be. [00:09:43]Yeah, before. [00:09:44]So what does he mean? [00:09:45]Mac Miller [00:09:46]probably can mean more than one thing

[00:09:47]at a time. [00:09:48]He’s a pretty, pretty smart guy. Yeah. [00:09:50]All right, [00:09:51]So, this [00:09:51]I already told you

[00:09:52]is the thesis statement of the chapter. [00:09:54]So the chapter is called [00:09:56]“Setting course: InterCourse, [00:09:57]DisCourse, and Death.” Yeah. [00:10:00]Thinking more about: What is the point?

[00:10:03]What is the point? [00:10:08]what's the point [00:10:09]of being? [00:10:14]What’s the point of life? [00:10:22]“to live.” That’s not a bad answer.

[00:10:24]So yeah, the point of life is “to live.” [00:10:26]So then, if “the [00:10:28]point of life is to live it,” then YOLO. [00:10:31]Why not live it to the fullest, right? [00:10:32]YOLO? Make it fun.

[00:10:35]Make it enjoyable. [00:10:36]YOLO!!!! [00:10:38]That's a good philosophy? YOLO. [00:10:41]I mean, it's all going [00:10:42]to end the same way, right?

[00:10:44]No matter what, death [00:10:47]awaits, it's all going to end. [00:10:50]in death. [00:10:51]most of us are [00:10:54]going to be forgotten, right?

[00:10:56]No one's going to remember our names. [00:10:58]No one's going to remember what we did. [00:11:00]Maybe for like [00:11:02]30, 40, 50 years, a generation or two. [00:11:05]Right?

[00:11:05]But I mean, like, [00:11:06]do you even know your great grandparents [00:11:08]or your great great grandparents names? [00:11:10]I mean, you got a bunch of them. [00:11:11]Can you remember all of them?

[00:11:13]Maybe you remember one or two. But [00:11:17]most of us are going to [00:11:17]be forgotten, eventually. [00:11:21]Right [00:11:22]now, in the meantime,

[00:11:23]we live in a world [00:11:24]that's kind of surrounded by like [00:11:27]injustice and unfairness and, [00:11:31]you know. Is that true? [00:11:35]So then: What's the point of

[00:11:40]any of it? [00:11:40]What's the point? [00:11:42]All right. [00:11:42]So imagine with me, [00:11:44]I going

[00:11:44]when I would normally teach this class. [00:11:46]I want you to picture [00:11:47]we would talk here about this young kid, [00:11:51]this kid that was born into like [00:11:55]super wealthy family, right?

[00:11:57]Born into privilege, [00:11:58]every kind of privilege you could think. [00:12:00]I mean, wealth, power, [00:12:02]opportunity, everything. [00:12:04]His parents loved him,

[00:12:06]all that kind of stuff. [00:12:07]And they gave him [00:12:08]everything he ever wanted. [00:12:09]He never wanted for anything, [00:12:11]never had any needs

[00:12:12]that were unfulfilled [00:12:13]or anything like that. [00:12:14]They were kind of like helicopter [00:12:15]parents, you know, like always [00:12:18]protecting them

[00:12:19]from seeing the realities of the world [00:12:23]and didn’t want him to, like, [00:12:25]know about [00:12:27]the suffering [00:12:28]and injustice and poverty

[00:12:30]and things [00:12:30]that were out there in the world. [00:12:31]Because, right. [00:12:33]I mean, “the [00:12:34]point of life is to live it.”

[00:12:35]The point of life is to enjoy it. [00:12:37]The point of life is to be happy. [00:12:38]And if you got wealth and power [00:12:40]and privilege and money, then you know, [00:12:43]you've got the opportunity to enjoy it

[00:12:45]and live it to the fullest. [00:12:47]So why? [00:12:49]Why, you know, depress yourself or risk [00:12:52]depressing the kid by learning [00:12:53]about the injustices

[00:12:55]of the world or inequality or suffering [00:12:58]or poverty [00:12:59]or any of those kind of things? [00:13:01]Right. Violence. [00:13:05]So he never saw any poverty.

[00:13:06]He never saw any. [00:13:08]He was kind of sheltered from that - [00:13:10]he was sheltered from the [00:13:11]realities of the world, [00:13:13]never

[00:13:13]saw violence or starvation [00:13:15]or disease or suffering. [00:13:16]And then one day, when he got [00:13:18]older, when he was an adult, [00:13:22]he got a little bored

[00:13:24]and thought, you know, “I [00:13:25]want to go out and see some of the world [00:13:27]now that I'm an adult [00:13:28]and I can make decisions for myself.” [00:13:31]And so they wanted to go out and see

[00:13:34]the world, [00:13:35]you know, that his parents [00:13:36]had been sheltering him from. [00:13:38]And [00:13:39]so he goes out

[00:13:40]and he sees all this cool shit, right? [00:13:42]All this cool culture, [00:13:44]people that are different [00:13:45]and foods that are different [00:13:47]and, you know, Right.

[00:13:48]Partying and all this kind of, [00:13:50]you know, just [00:13:51]the world had this all [00:13:53]a whole different level [00:13:54]of color and diversity

[00:13:56]and all this kind of cool stuff. [00:13:58]But then he also started to notice, [00:14:01]you know, [00:14:01]not just the excitement [00:14:02]and adventure, but

[00:14:05]he saw this old woman [00:14:07]begging on the side of the road for food. [00:14:10]And she was very old. [00:14:11]She couldn't you know, [00:14:12]she couldn't see very well.

[00:14:13]She couldn't hear very well. [00:14:16]She couldn't do any work [00:14:17]or anything like that. Right? [00:14:18]And she didn't have anybody there. [00:14:20]She was on her own,

[00:14:21]just this poor old woman [00:14:23]on the side of the road begging for food. [00:14:25]And her [00:14:26]survival depended [00:14:27]on the charity of others. Right.

[00:14:30]Whether other people [00:14:30]would help her, feed her. [00:14:33]And if they didn't, then she’d die. [00:14:35]Then he saw this [00:14:38]child, a little child that was that

[00:14:42]didn't have legs. [00:14:44]So, you know, a person of [00:14:46]you know, a person with a disability [00:14:49]that didn't have legs. [00:14:50]And they were also begging

[00:14:52]because they couldn't [00:14:52]take care of themselves and that, [00:14:55]you know, nobody there to. [00:14:56]So they were dependent on the charity [00:14:58]and the welfare of others.

[00:15:01]And then he saw this [00:15:04]funeral, like all these people [00:15:07]that were [00:15:10]like crying and mourning [00:15:13]because their loved one had died.

[00:15:15]And he saw these other people around. [00:15:16]So they were like some people [00:15:17]walking down the street [00:15:19]carrying coffins, you know, like [00:15:21]mourning the death of their loved one

[00:15:23]and other people [00:15:23]that are just kind of [00:15:24]going along their business, [00:15:25]like not really paying much attention, [00:15:27]you know,

[00:15:27]not involved in the funeral or whatever. [00:15:30]Some people that are [00:15:30]just seem to be having a good time [00:15:32]and just doing their normal thing. [00:15:35]And...

[00:15:36]and it just really bothered him. [00:15:38]He got super depressed from all of that [00:15:41]and he just wondered, like, [00:15:42]what is the point of all of it? [00:15:44]He got super

[00:15:48]depressed. [00:15:49]Um, it's depressing, isn't it? [00:15:51]Um, so he got super depressed and decided [00:15:55]that he just couldn't [00:15:56]didn't know how to deal with it.

[00:15:57]Um, all the injustice, inequality [00:16:00]and the randomness [00:16:02]of the suffering, like, [00:16:02]it didn't seem like the people [00:16:03]that were suffering

[00:16:04]deserved it or anything. [00:16:05]It just seemed like [00:16:06]some people got born [00:16:07]into wealthy families [00:16:08]and got privilege and got opportunities.

[00:16:13]Um, and other people didn't. [00:16:15]There didn't seem to be [00:16:16]any really rhyme or reason [00:16:18]or logic to it. [00:16:21]So he gave up,

[00:16:22]he got depressed and he, you know, didn't [00:16:25]exactly go into alcohol or drugs, [00:16:28]but instead just became, you know, [00:16:32]suicidally depressed. [00:16:35]And so he sat

[00:16:37]he just sat down and gave up. [00:16:39]And he's like, [00:16:40]um, “I don't want to do anything anymore. [00:16:41]I don't want to get out of bed. [00:16:42]I don't want to do anything.

[00:16:43]I'm just going to sit here [00:16:44]on my ass.” Um, [00:16:46]and he wanted to die. [00:16:47]Feel that? [00:16:58]Yeah. Um,

[00:17:01]so he was sitting there [00:17:04]trying to figure out [00:17:06]the point of it all, [00:17:08]and he realized a few things. [00:17:10]Um, The story doesn't end there,

[00:17:15]but he became a philosopher [00:17:17]at that moment. [00:17:18]A philosopher [00:17:21]whose name we still remember [00:17:24]thousands of years later.

[00:17:26]You wanna know what [00:17:28]he figured out? [00:17:34]Do you want to know? [00:17:37]what you know? [00:17:39]Is it happening or something?

[00:17:39]I know I'm talking about suffering [00:17:42]so. [00:17:43]Well, when he realized, [00:17:44]I mean, he's sitting there, [00:17:45]he decided that he was going to sit there

[00:17:48]and stop eating, stopped eating, [00:17:51]and decided [00:17:52]he was either going to starve to death [00:17:54]or figure out the meaning [00:17:56]purpose of life. Right.

[00:17:58]And if he figured out the meaning [00:17:59]and purpose of life, then he'd eat. [00:18:00]And if he didn't, [00:18:03]he die. Right? [00:18:04]Either way, it's over.

[00:18:06]He did figure it out. [00:18:09]And so he kind of [00:18:10]as he was sitting there, [00:18:11]he realized: “I can't, um, [00:18:14]I can't fix ALL the injustice,” right?

[00:18:17]“I can't solve [00:18:18]all the injustice.” “I can't solve [00:18:20]ALL the suffering.” [00:18:21]I can't alleviate [00:18:22]all of the suffering around me.

[00:18:25]Um, I can't end injustice. [00:18:27]I can't I can't defeat death. Right. [00:18:30]Any of those kind of things. But [00:18:34]he realized this right this time. [00:18:36]I think if

[00:18:38]life [00:18:41]is meaningful, [00:18:43]then [00:18:46]little logic proof. [00:18:47]Then

[00:18:49]if life is meaningful, [00:18:52]then each moment is meaningful [00:18:58]or [00:19:00]say the same thing the other way around. [00:19:02]If each moment is meaningful,

[00:19:07]then life [00:19:10]is meaningful. [00:19:13]True? [00:19:17]If life is meaningful, [00:19:19]then

[00:19:21]maybe not every moment is meaningful. [00:19:23]But a lot of them have to be right. [00:19:25]A lot of moments have to be meaningful [00:19:27]in order for a life to be meaningful. [00:19:29]But if every moment of each moment

[00:19:31]is meaningful, [00:19:32]then life as a whole has meaning, right? [00:19:36]So every moment has a purpose. [00:19:39]Then life, as the whole, has a purpose, [00:19:42]right?

[00:19:43]So he was sitting there [00:19:45]dejected and depressed [00:19:46]because life had no meaning [00:19:49]and no purpose. And he was right. [00:19:52]Right? Why was he right?

[00:19:56]Is it meaningful or [00:19:57]purposeful to sit on your ass [00:19:59]underneath a tree [00:20:00]while people around you are suffering? [00:20:03]No.

[00:20:05]What if you get up off of your. [00:20:06]Why was he? [00:20:07]He was starving to death, right? [00:20:09]He was starving to death. [00:20:10]But why was he starving to death?

[00:20:12]He wasn't starving to death [00:20:13]because he was poor. [00:20:15]He wasn't starving to death [00:20:16]because he couldn't work. [00:20:17]He wasn't starving to death

[00:20:17]because he didn't have food. [00:20:19]He had all of those things, right? [00:20:21]He had access to all of those things. [00:20:23]He wasn't eating [00:20:24]because he was depressed,

[00:20:25]which is very different than not eating [00:20:27]because you don't have food. Right. [00:20:29]And there are people around him [00:20:31]that were starving [00:20:32]because they didn't have food. Right.

[00:20:34]So he could get up off of his ass [00:20:36]and go and get food [00:20:38]and give it to the people who [00:20:40]were starving. [00:20:42]Is that meaningful?

[00:20:45]So then if you make every moment [00:20:47]meaningful, [00:20:48]then life as a whole is meaningful [00:20:55]How does that land? [00:20:56]What do you think?

[00:20:57]Is it a good answer to the question? [00:21:00]Yeah, you know who I'm talking about. [00:21:02]You seem to know who I'm talking about. [00:21:03]Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:21:06]Siddartha. Gautama

[00:21:10]Sometime around like fifth or [00:21:12]sixth century [00:21:14]BCE, somewhere in northern India [00:21:17]or modern day Nepal, somewhere there. [00:21:21]This philosophy,

[00:21:22]in a nutshell, [00:21:23]is what we call existential philosophy. [00:21:26]In other words, life has meaning. [00:21:28]If you give it meaning, [00:21:30]we live your life in a meaningful way.

[00:21:32]Your life has meaning, right? [00:21:34]If you live your life with a purpose, [00:21:35]then your life has purpose. [00:21:37]If you live your life [00:21:38]without meaning and without

[00:21:40]purpose, then your life [00:21:43]is pointless, right? [00:21:45]And meaningless and aimless and [Okay, taking a quick break] [00:21:50]A waste of food. [00:21:51]And I had a professor once

[00:21:53]that told me I was a waste of space. [00:21:55]Yeah. Um. Yeah. [00:21:58]It was after my exam -- I did my exams, my piano [00:22:01]proficiency exam [00:22:02]I do my piano proficiency exam,

[00:22:04]And look at him, like [00:22:06]How did I do? And he said: “Brad, [00:22:08]you're just a waste of space. [00:22:09]I was like, *Thank you* very much. [00:22:11]You really did that bad,?

[00:22:14]I guess. I don't know. [00:22:15]I didn't think I did that. [00:22:16]I actually worked. [00:22:18]I did work on it. [00:22:19]Piano's not my thing.

[00:22:20]So I was a music major. [00:22:22]And so saxophone, [00:22:23]you know, saxophone you play [00:22:25]use ten fingers to make one note piano. [00:22:28]You have to use ten fingers

[00:22:29]to make ten notes. [00:22:30]That's like crazy. [00:22:32]My brain doesn't work that way. [00:22:33]So it was, like, so hard for me to learn [00:22:35]this little thing that I had to do

[00:22:37]to be proficient in piano. [00:22:38]And yeah, it was [00:22:41]piano was just never really my thing. [00:22:43]I worked at it pretty hard too, [00:22:45]but I think he didn't believe

[00:22:47]that I worked on it [00:22:49]that hard and did that poorly. [00:22:51]But I did. [00:22:51]I did work on it that hard [00:22:53]and did that poorly.

[00:22:54]Anyway, call many questions, [00:22:57]Talk here about the birds [00:22:58]and the Buddha’s experiences [00:23:00]with death [00:23:00]for the first time as an adult.

[00:23:02]Because most of us, [00:23:02]we learn about death when we are [00:23:04]and you know, [00:23:05]a young person [00:23:06]and it comes at various stages,

[00:23:07]usually unplanned, [00:23:09][He died] We don't usually set out [00:23:10]to teach their kids about death, [00:23:12]but instead they find out [00:23:13]about death from,

[00:23:14]you know, the reality of it. [00:23:16]Certain death, death, death, death, dust. [00:23:19]Again, there's a mimesis, right, [00:23:21]that we learn through [00:23:22]a comparative relation.

[00:23:23]And those first [00:23:24]archetypical relationships form [00:23:26]deep psychological understandings [00:23:28]of how we understand that reality [00:23:30]and how we understand it

[00:23:31]in relation to ourselves [00:23:32]and the people we care about, etc.. [00:23:35]So normally I would talk about that [00:23:36]in terms of the Buddha, [00:23:37]but instead I'm going to talk about it

[00:23:39]in terms of Martin Heidegger, [00:23:41]who I sometimes refer to as Voldemort [00:23:43]for various reasons, [00:23:44]most of them having to do [00:23:46]with his political stance

[00:23:48]and his racial stance, [00:23:50]some of his personal stances that I find [00:23:54]worthy of calling him Voldemort [00:23:55]rather than by his name. What is death? [00:23:57]So Heidegger gives us

[00:23:59]he gives us [00:23:59]a very careful, [00:24:00]specific, logical, phenomenological [00:24:03]definition of death. [00:24:09]Okay, so in Heidegger's text

[00:24:12]Being and Time [00:24:13]he redefines Death, he gives us [00:24:15]analysis of death. [00:24:16]Death is important. [00:24:18]as we’ve already said:

[00:24:19]Philosophy only begins with a meaningful reflection [00:24:21]on the reality of death. [00:24:23]And Heidegger does that. [00:24:25]And in [00:24:25]so doing

[00:24:26]gives us a new definition of death. [00:24:29]And his death, [00:24:30]his definition [00:24:31]is, you know, loosely translated [00:24:34]as this as death

[00:24:35]is the utmost possibility of the absolute [00:24:39]impossibility of DaSein. [00:24:42]So we come back [00:24:43]to this notion of DaSein later [00:24:46]at some point,

[00:24:47]but for now, we can just take it [00:24:48]DaSein [00:24:49]to be a particular [00:24:51]German word that Heidegger [00:24:53]usually at the time

[00:24:54]used to refer to a human person, [00:24:56]a human being. [00:24:57]Typically this word [00:24:58]would just mean being. [00:25:00]And Heidegger's work

[00:25:02]is an example of ontology -- questioning. [00:25:04]What does it mean to be? [00:25:06]But he also was asking that question, [00:25:08]Who am I? [00:25:08]What does it mean to be a human person

[00:25:10]and thinking about these things together [00:25:14]and after Einstein, [00:25:16]after Einstein's theory of [00:25:17]general relativity, [00:25:19]you know, understanding the relationship

[00:25:20]between space time [00:25:21]as space and time [00:25:22]are not two different things. [00:25:23]But that space time is reality [00:25:26]can't be reduced beyond that.

[00:25:28]So then [00:25:29]then to begin, Heidegger [00:25:31]began to understand [00:25:32]the human person as “Da-Sein” as [00:25:35]“being [that is] there”

[00:25:37]as “a being that is always in some place in some time” [00:25:41]“To be” is “to be in the world.” [00:25:44]“To be” is “to be with others.” [00:25:46]Dasein ist Mitsein [German] [00:25:47]All this kind of things right to be

[00:25:49]is to be in relationship [00:25:50]with, to be in an ecology, [00:25:52]to be in an environment. [00:25:53]to be surrounded by other humans [00:25:55]as part of a society

[00:25:56]or social cultural structure. [00:25:59]To be is to be with others. [00:26:01]This is what it means to be [00:26:02]right, to be there. [00:26:04]And there is always in some place,

[00:26:06]at some time, surrounded by some [00:26:08]set of circumstances. [00:26:11]So that is understanding of human person. [00:26:13]We'll come back to that later, [00:26:14]although those are pretty good summary, I think.

[00:26:16]His definition of death is [00:26:20]death is the utmost possibility [00:26:22]of the absolute impossibility [00:26:25]of being there. Right. [00:26:26]So it's the

[00:26:28]what does he mean by this [00:26:29]that is the utmost possibility, [00:26:32]meaning that [00:26:33]let's go back to this sort of systematic [00:26:36]philosophy diagram

[00:26:38]that I've drawn before. Right. [00:26:39]So what this diagram is [00:26:42]attempting to show [00:26:43]is how [00:26:44]all these different aspects of philosophy

[00:26:46]relate to one another - the relationship [00:26:48]between philosophy and ethics, [00:26:49]because it always pertains to decision-making. [00:26:53]So Socrates defined philosophy [00:26:55]as a mode of discourse

[00:26:56]for the purpose [00:26:57]of training the intellect, [00:26:59]which has to do with decision making. [00:27:01]And so how does one make decisions [00:27:03]choosing between possible actions, right?

[00:27:06]So thinking through logically [00:27:09]and taking desire [00:27:10]and esthetics [00:27:11]and all of these things [00:27:12]into account, right

[00:27:14]then they're always going to be [00:27:15]in a lot of different [00:27:16]possible actions one can take. [00:27:18]I could take this action. [00:27:19]I can take action. Right now,

[00:27:21]You could choose to focus on [00:27:24]something else, right? [00:27:25]Or try to multitask [00:27:27]because Heidegger is just easy. [00:27:29]So easy for you

[00:27:30]that you can multitask [00:27:31]while you're doing it [00:27:33]or, you know, focus intently. [00:27:34]Right? [00:27:35]So these are possible actions

[00:27:37]to take [00:27:37]in the morning when I wake up, you know, [00:27:39]I could either choose [00:27:40]to get out of bed [00:27:41]or choose to stay in bed after

[00:27:43]Never get out of bed. [00:27:45]These are always two possible actions. [00:27:48]And then so thinking [00:27:49]through situation [00:27:50]leads me to take a particular action.

[00:27:52]If I'm feeling angry or sad, [00:27:55]then that may influence [00:27:56]how I get out of bed [00:27:58]in the morning, right? [00:27:58]It gets a little bit harder to get out of bed

[00:28:01]or the possible actions [00:28:03]that I take [00:28:03]don't want to get up and do something. [00:28:07]And what Heidegger here is simply saying [00:28:10]is that at any given moment, at every

[00:28:13]given moment, [00:28:15]there are lots of possible actions [00:28:18]we could take [00:28:18]or possible things that could happen [00:28:20]to us.

[00:28:22]One of those possibilities [00:28:24]is the utmost possibility, [00:28:26]and that's the possibility [00:28:28]that is always there, [00:28:30]the possibility that is never not there,

[00:28:33]and that's the possibility of death. [00:28:43]So Heidegger saying [00:28:44]that death is the utmost possibility, [00:28:47]It’s the possibility that is always there. [00:28:48]We get this, What can I do today?

[00:28:50]I could do this, [00:28:51]I could do that, I could do this, [00:28:52]or I could die. [00:28:53]Right? [00:28:54]Die is always going to be

[00:28:55]one of the possibilities. [00:28:57]No more me. [00:28:59]And so why? Why think about that? [00:29:01]On some level we know that. [00:29:03]Why would that begin

[00:29:04]process of philosophizing? [00:29:06]What is death have to do with philosophy? [00:29:09]Existentialism is often [00:29:10]discussed as if it's a [00:29:11]philosophy of despair.

[00:29:14]Well, the answer is also right here [00:29:16]that death is the end of possibilities, [00:29:19]that death is the absolute impossibility. [00:29:23]Right? [00:29:23]There are no more.

[00:29:24]It's the end of all possibilities. [00:29:27]Maybe that's a better way [00:29:28]to think about impossibility is [00:29:31]one is no longer able [00:29:32]to do something right

[00:29:34]and no longer able TO BE... no longer [00:29:38]able to be. [00:29:38]You're saying I would be [00:29:42]no me? [00:29:44]No longer able to do that is impossible.

[00:29:47]Right? [00:29:47]So then [00:29:48]death is the end of all possibilities. [00:29:52]So then [00:29:53]why would we say

[00:29:54]that philosophy only begins [00:29:56]with a meaningful reflection [00:29:58]on the reality of death. [00:30:00]The idea is that [00:30:01]once we recognize that

[00:30:02]death is always a possibility, [00:30:05]then we begin to run towards... [00:30:09]and think about [00:30:10]all of those other possibilities, right? [00:30:12]So then these possibilities

[00:30:13]take on a new meaning. [00:30:15]He's having an existential crisis. [00:30:17]You know, for example, [00:30:19]it's the age [00:30:20]old, you know,

[00:30:21]thing like if you were told [00:30:23]definitively [00:30:24]that you were going to die in 30 days, [00:30:26]you are going to die soon. [00:30:28]So sad.

[00:30:29]Nice to know you. [00:30:30]What are you going to do [00:30:31]with those 30 days? Right. [00:30:32]How would you spend those last 30 days? [00:30:34]And then you think about all these things

[00:30:36]that you would make priorities [00:30:38]to do before you die. [00:30:40]YOLO! [00:30:42]And then you know what? [00:30:43]If after 30 days you don't die

[00:30:45]and then do you go back to living [00:30:49]the life that you were before? [00:30:51]Or do you continue [00:30:53]like recognizing every day is a gift? [00:30:57]Every day

[00:30:57]is something valuable, [00:30:59]Every day is [00:30:59]something filled with possibilities. [00:31:02]And then you actively choose [00:31:03]those possibilities

[00:31:05]and you want to make [00:31:05]the best possible choices [00:31:07]because death is always going to be [00:31:09]one of those possibilities. [00:31:11]And then that leads you to,

[00:31:12]you know, [00:31:13]making making choices, making, [00:31:15]taking actions with a little bit [00:31:16]more reflection [and] intentionality [00:31:19]than you might

[00:31:20]if you had no fear of death. [00:31:22]If death was, [00:31:24]you know, [00:31:24]what was the line [00:31:25]from the Mac Miller song?

[00:31:27]I got all the time in the world [00:31:29]and I'm just... [00:31:31]chillin. [00:31:32]I've got all the time in the world, [00:31:34]but for now I'm just chillin, right?

[00:31:37]If you feel like you have [00:31:38]all the time in the world, then [00:31:40]that's going to lead to certain actions [00:31:43]as I have all the time in the world, [00:31:46]you know, manifesting or

[00:31:48]actualizing certain possibilities. [00:31:52]So when we think about actuality [00:31:54]and time and space, that's the “Da”, right? [00:31:57]the being THERE - being here, [00:32:00]being in the moment, being right here,

[00:32:03]right now, that's what is [00:32:05]let's be in the moment. [00:32:06]What is can't be changed, but what is [00:32:09]not yet is filled with possibility. [00:32:12]And therefore we have some

[00:32:14]control over it. [00:32:15]But then when it collapses [00:32:17]with the scientists - you know, Ilike [00:32:19]Schrödinger and Heisenberg. [00:32:21]Those guys would call collapse

[00:32:23]of the wave function [00:32:24]When the wave function collapses? [00:32:25]when this possibility becomes actuality [00:32:30]then some of those possibilities [00:32:31]close off.

[00:32:33]It's no longer possible [00:32:34]for Mac Miller to make new tracks. [00:32:37]Super sad, right? [00:32:39]But also a fact [00:32:41]because death

[00:32:42]is the end of all possibility, right? [00:32:45]Is the utmost possibility (the possibility that is always there) [00:32:48]of the absolute IMpossibility of being there, [00:32:52]which is [00:32:53]always in this process

[00:32:54]of actualizing possibilities. [00:32:56]So we'll come back later to that notion [00:32:58]of actualizing possibilities. [00:33:00]We'll come back to that later, [00:33:02]later this semester.

[00:33:04]Okay. [00:33:04]At this point, [00:33:05]we are only halfway through chapter four. [00:33:08]The title of Chapter four, [00:33:09]as I mentioned, is Setting Course:

[00:33:11]Intercourse, Discourse and Death. [00:33:13]Now, so far [00:33:14]we've mostly only talked [00:33:15]about the last part: Death, [00:33:18]but I'm acutely aware

[00:33:19]that our attention spans are only so long [00:33:21]and we need to give our brains a rest [00:33:23]before we tackle topics [00:33:24]like intercourse and discourse. [00:33:26]So this is what I'm going to do.

[00:33:28]I'm going to give a quick review [00:33:29]of the first half of this chapter, [00:33:31]then pause to watch another music video [00:33:33]before continuing with the second half. [00:33:36]And you take all the time that you need

[00:33:37]in between those two. [00:33:39]So let's review. [00:33:40]The main point of this chapter [00:33:42]is this philosophy [00:33:43]only begins with a meaningful reflection

[00:33:45]on the reality of death. [00:33:47]I describe this [00:33:48]as the genesis of philosophy [00:33:50]because the word genesis means beginning. [00:33:52]So death is the genesis of philosophy.

[00:33:55]I started [00:33:56]by talking about [00:33:57]one of my favorite musicians, Mac Miller. [00:34:00]Mac Miller died in 2018 at the age of 26. [00:34:04]We analyzed the visual message of his video

[00:34:08]called Self Care. [00:34:09]In that video, [00:34:10]we see him [00:34:10]buried alive in a coffin [00:34:12]and he carves the Latin words

[00:34:15]Memento mori, [00:34:16]which means remember that you will die. [00:34:18]And then he literally breaks [00:34:19]through the coffin [00:34:21]using those words to create a passageway.

[00:34:25]I then talked about Jacques Derrida, who died in 2004. [00:34:28]Derrida pointed out that the word communication [00:34:32]actually means a passageway [00:34:34]and that our words [00:34:35]and our art,

[00:34:36]like Mac Miller's words [00:34:37]and Mac Miller's art, [00:34:39]continue to communicate [00:34:41]even after our death. [00:34:43]But Derrida emphasized

[00:34:44]that the meaning that gets communicated [00:34:46]may not be the meaning [00:34:48]that the speaker originally intended. [00:34:50]In fact, it's probably not going to be [00:34:52]because the words go from one context

[00:34:55]to another context. [00:34:56]And the more different [00:34:57]the context is, the more different [00:34:59]the meaning is probably going to be. [00:35:01]For example,

[00:35:02]the meaning that Mac Miller was trying [00:35:04]to communicate through his words [00:35:06]and the visual imagery of Self Care [00:35:09]is most likely very different [00:35:10]from the meaning

[00:35:10]that you and I take away from it [00:35:12]today, years after his death. [00:35:15]Because the context now [00:35:17]is very different than it was [00:35:18]when Mac Miller wrote these words

[00:35:20]and recorded that video. [00:35:22]I then introduced existential philosophy. [00:35:25]Now existentialism [00:35:26]is the branch of philosophy [00:35:27]that's focused on the question

[00:35:29]What is the point of existence? [00:35:31]I mean, if we're all going to die [00:35:33]and eventually be forgotten, [00:35:35]then what's the point? [00:35:37]Obviously, there are many possible ways

[00:35:38]to answer that question. [00:35:40]One answer is given to us [00:35:42]by this philosopher named Siddhartha. [00:35:44]Gautama - known to most of us by the name [00:35:47]the Buddha.

[00:35:47]Now, the Buddha experienced [00:35:49]a profound existential crisis [00:35:51]that led him into a deep, [00:35:53]nihilistic state of depression. [00:35:56]He was bothered by all of the random

[00:35:58]suffering and injustice [00:35:59]that he saw around him. [00:36:01]He felt powerless [00:36:02]to do anything about it. [00:36:03]So he sat underneath a tree

[00:36:05]and stopped eating. [00:36:07]After two weeks of that, [00:36:08]he had a profound [00:36:09]but very simple realization: [00:36:12]life is a series

[00:36:14]of individual moments. [00:36:16]If you waste those moments, [00:36:18]your life is meaningless and pointless. [00:36:21]But if you spend those moments [00:36:23]doing something

[00:36:24]meaningful, like feeding the hungry [00:36:26]or caring for those who are suffering, [00:36:28]then those moments are meaningful [00:36:30]and your life is meaningful. [00:36:32]In other words, life is meaningful

[00:36:34]if you give it meaning. [00:36:36]Death is simply [00:36:37]the end of your opportunities [00:36:39]to do something [00:36:40]meaningful with your life.

[00:36:44]We then turned to a [00:36:45]totally different philosopher. [00:36:46]Martin Heidegger. [00:36:48]Again, philosophy only begins [00:36:50]with a meaningful reflection

[00:36:51]on the reality of death. [00:36:53]Now, Heidegger [00:36:54]redefines death in terms of possibility. [00:36:58]Death is the possibility [00:36:59]that is always there

[00:37:00]at the utmost possibility. [00:37:02]And it's also the end [00:37:03]of all possibilities. [00:37:05]It's absolute impossibility. [00:37:08]Therefore, death is

[00:37:09]the utmost possiblity of the absolute IMpossibility of DaSein or Being-There [00:37:14]Now Heidegger builds [00:37:16]on the insights of Einstein's [00:37:17]theory of relativity and [00:37:19]what was known at the time

[00:37:20]about quantum physics, [00:37:21]and he noticed [00:37:22]that being a human person means [00:37:24]that we are always already [00:37:26]in some place at some time,

[00:37:28]surrounded by others, to be [00:37:30]is to be in the world with others. [00:37:32]In other words, [00:37:33]to be is to be in a context. [00:37:36]Context is where meaning takes place.

[00:37:41]Now, hopefully this is [00:37:42]more than just a summary [00:37:43]Hopefully it helped you to Re-View [00:37:45]and put all these pieces together. [00:37:48]The things that we've seen so far

[00:37:49]in this chapter. [00:37:50]What I'd like you to do [00:37:51]next is watch another music video. [00:37:52]This one's [00:37:53]by Tim McGraw

[00:37:55]called Live Like You Are Dying. [00:37:57]I think it speaks for itself [00:37:58]and it should be obvious why included it [00:38:00]in the course at this point. [00:38:02]But I do want to say

[00:38:03]that I added this video to the course [00:38:05]because a podcast group of students [00:38:07]a few years ago [00:38:08]had a fantastic discussion about it [00:38:10]after watching my original Chapter

[00:38:12]four video, [00:38:13]which is just one of many examples [00:38:15]of how [00:38:15]my students contribute [00:38:17]meaningful insights to this course.

[00:38:19]Indeed, [00:38:19]philosophy is a mode of discourse, [00:38:22]and discourse is [00:38:23]what we're going to talk about [00:38:23]in the second half of this chapter

[00:38:26]Peace out.