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“not everything about life is a construction; to the extent that Sartre was right that ‘we make ourselves what we are’, we can do so only with the existence that we find ourselves given over to, and about which there are numerous objective truths.”

James challenges nihilism by introducing his transcendent hypothesis of meaning, albeit proving nihilism to be false as well. He explains transcendence within the context of dreams, how when one wakes up from a dream they realize it’s wider context upon awakening. Similarly, transcendence happens upon our death which provides our life with a deeper meaning. As a religious person I find it quite fascinating.

“nihilism will not stand in the way; life will continue to take on the character of a game even after we are fully aware that it lacks meaning. Nihilism has the potential to transform our theoretical understanding of our goals, but provides no obstacle to our engagement with them.”

detaching from the framework reveals nihilism exists, accept it exists but reject its ideals for absurdism. In accepting absurdism the realization that all goals within the framework are pointless, thus allowing oneself to truly channel their energy to whatever is most important & authentic to them. Seems simple but if taken seriously I believe this is the most fulfilling & happiest way of living life. (My own notes)

pt.2 touching back onto Nietzsche’s ideas where he leans onto nihilism being bad & it being a source of despair where ultimately he believes god is not real. As of now I haven’t read much of Nietzsche’s work but I personally think his ideology stems from depression, specially since he tries to overcome his nihilistic ideas later on. His ideas would’ve been much more brilliant had he been in a better state.

James touches on Nietzsche’s idea of nihilism which I wholeheartedly disagree with. I liked James’ idea of nihilism which is that it is neither good nor bad which allows a human being to decide a meaning to their life even if it meaningless by his own definition. That essentially is what Absurdism is, it acknowledges nihilism ideas but rejects it for a better life creating using our own authentic meaning. Pt.1

pt.2 & ultimately our goals lead to engaging with the framework to escape anxiety or boredom whether we admit or not. While this may seem discerning at first I believe it is a truth that must be faced. In allowing such questions & ideas to arise it helps us understand ourselves & life as a whole, ultimately allowing us to decide what we want from life as well as how we engage with the framework to our benefit

James denies Heidegger’s & Schopenhauer’s claim that boredom leads to enlightenment towards redemptive goals. As of my last reading update I believed so as well but James makes a very compelling argument. He says that boredom eventually leads to us questioning life & leaning into Nihilism as a whole, if sat in that state long enough & allowing it to develop. We can conclude that human life holds no meaning pt.1

The author thinks that life encompasses 2 core attunements, anxiety & boredom. I fully lean with the author’s take that boredom is the core attunement unlike Heidegger who thinks the opposite. In my experience sitting in boredom allowed me to detach from the social framework & think for myself unreliant on social norms. I feel like I’ve reached a childlike state, I finally have goals & dreams I can call my own.

Pages 24 to 25 enlightened me a ton, I’ve always tried to take another perspective of my goals. I do that just in case they’re aren’t really mine, or more so precisely they have been conditioned into me due to societal norms or some mental burden/wound/insecurity I’ve been carrying around due to my upbringing. Those pages affirmed my ideas and polished them in a way