Final Blog Post A treasure trove of american philosophy.

Hey, Guys I just though this podcast over American philosophy was an interesting listen.
 Philosophers included are Ralph Waldo Emmerson and William James. In order to summarize, the two speakers John Kaag and Brett Mckay discuss the question and thought process around rather or not life is worth living.

Now I know not everyone is a big podcast person, but, I think hearing John discuss these topics makes it all a little easier to grasp. the total length is about 50 minutes if anyone is interested.
https://omny.fm/shows/the-art-of-manliness/576-a-treasure-trove-of-american-philosophy

Ralph Waldo Emmerson (Below)

I know we all read the book American
Philosophy "a love story" By John but I think its a nice option to hear him discuss some of the topics explored in his book as well as some other topics not mentioned. John Kaag also speaks on his experiences in an abandoned library in New Hampshire.


My thoughts on the age-old question "Is life worth living?", I believe life is always worth living as long as you have a goal that supersedes yourself and your life. There are many different reasons to care about after your life, for some religion is an obvious answer as it gives an immediate answer to what will happen when you die. For others who maybe aren't religious may care to die knowing they left the world better than they found it. One of the quoted answers to this question from James " Maybe, It depends on the liver" this is significant as it puts the significance of the value of life to the person doing the living. Whereas many of the other ways to answer this question place the value of living outside of our control.

John Kaag on "zest" : "James also said something that maybe our listeners might tune into, which is he says that the significance of life depends on what he calls the zest, that feeling that you get at the pit of your stomach when you do something significant. Listeners should ask themselves, “What gives me zest?” and to go back to a Nietzschean phrase, “Does it elevate my soul, or does it crush me?”" 

Runs in total for class 30-35

Refferences:
 https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/american-philosophy-emerson-thoreau/
https://blog.apaonline.org/2018/02/07/american-philosophy-a-love-story/

Daniel Leftwich
Section 11