Build Your Own Philosophy, 3/22/10, Period 2

[tyler_gone]

Nothing seemed true; I felt surrounded by cardboard scenery which could quickly be removed. - A. Camus

Never let it be said that Tyler was afraid to touch on his own issues in picking quotes for the class to think about.

"Welcome to class," he said, once everyone seemed to be gathered. "You had all week to read Nausea by Sartre. If you didn't ... basically it's about a guy who stops enjoying everything he loves. Everything -- friends, sex, his own body -- just starts making hm sick. To get happy again, he has to stop thinking the material world will make him happy, and start taking responsibility for how he feels. He's losing something -- but he's also gaining the chance for a meaningful life, and not just an existence. The philosophy behind all of this is called existentialism." And look, there was a handout.

"My question for you today is a simple one: Do you think Antoine was right to decide there's no meaning in life except what we create for ourselves? Or do you think this is just a book about a depressed French guy with too much time on his hands? Talk about it. I'm here."