#Cultural perspectives

[omegaphilosophia]

The Philosophy of Authenticity

The concept of authenticity is deeply rooted in existentialist philosophy and has been a significant topic of discussion in various philosophical traditions. At its core, authenticity involves living a life that is true to one's self, values, and beliefs, rather than conforming to external pressures or societal expectations. This exploration delves into the philosophy of authenticity, its origins, key ideas, and its relevance in contemporary life.

Key Concepts in the Philosophy of Authenticity

Existentialism and Authenticity:

Origins: The notion of authenticity is most closely associated with existentialist philosophers such as Søren Kierkegaard, Martin Heidegger, and Jean-Paul Sartre.

Kierkegaard: Kierkegaard emphasized the importance of individual faith and subjective experience, urging individuals to make authentic choices that reflect their true selves.

Heidegger: In "Being and Time," Heidegger discusses authenticity as being true to one's own existence (Dasein) and not succumbing to the "they-self," which represents societal norms and expectations.

Sartre: Sartre's existentialism posits that existence precedes essence, meaning individuals must create their own essence through authentic choices, taking full responsibility for their actions.

Authenticity and Self-Discovery:

Concept: Authenticity involves a continuous process of self-discovery and self-creation.

Argument: To be authentic, one must engage in introspection and recognize their own desires, values, and beliefs, distinguishing them from those imposed by society.

Authenticity vs. Inauthenticity:

Concept: Inauthenticity arises when individuals conform to external pressures and live in a way that is not true to themselves.

Argument: Heidegger describes inauthenticity as living according to the "they-self," where individuals adopt the roles, behaviors, and beliefs dictated by others rather than their own.

Freedom and Responsibility:

Concept: Authenticity is closely linked to the existentialist notion of freedom and the responsibility that comes with it.

Argument: Sartre asserts that individuals are "condemned to be free," meaning they must take responsibility for their choices and the authenticity of their lives, without blaming external factors.

Authenticity in Modern Life:

Concept: The pursuit of authenticity remains relevant in the context of modernity, where societal norms, technological advancements, and consumer culture often challenge individual authenticity.

Argument: In contemporary society, maintaining authenticity involves resisting the pressures of social media, consumerism, and other external influences that promote a superficial or conformist lifestyle.

Theoretical Perspectives on Authenticity

Existentialist Perspective:

View: Existentialists emphasize the importance of individual choice and responsibility in achieving authenticity.

Argument: Authenticity is achieved through existential freedom, where individuals define their own essence and live according to their true selves.

Humanistic Psychology:

View: Humanistic psychologists like Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow highlight authenticity as a crucial aspect of self-actualization and personal growth.

Argument: Authentic living is necessary for psychological well-being and fulfillment, as it allows individuals to realize their true potential.

Postmodern Critique:

View: Postmodern thinkers critique the concept of authenticity, questioning the possibility of a true, stable self in a world of constant change and fluid identities.

Argument: Authenticity may be seen as a constructed ideal rather than an attainable state, with the self being a product of various social, cultural, and historical influences.

Cultural and Social Perspectives:

View: Cultural and social theorists examine how authenticity is influenced by cultural norms and social contexts.

Argument: The quest for authenticity must consider the diverse ways in which different cultures and societies understand and value authentic living.

The philosophy of authenticity centers on the pursuit of a life that is true to one's self, free from the constraints of external pressures and societal expectations. Rooted in existentialist thought, it emphasizes self-discovery, individual freedom, and responsibility. While authenticity remains a crucial concept in contemporary life, it is also subject to critique and reinterpretation, reflecting the complexities of modern existence.

[delicatelysublimeforester]

Embracing Autumn Equinox Day: Celebrating Seasonal Shifts with Indigenous Perspectives

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

Learning About National Hispanic Heritage Month?

Discover Latino Heros Who Fought Fascism Intro I started out writing about National Hispanic Heritage Month and look where I ended up. My outrage at hearing immigrants and asylum seekers, including Latinos, called criminals and worse, found its way into the story, as you will see. Yet, in the process of doing a bit of research, I was touched by learning of Hispanic heroes who fought fascism,…

[wellhealthhub]

The Indulgence and Worth of Exquisite Dining: Exploring High-Priced Meals

What’s the most money you’ve ever spent on a meal? Was it worth it? In a realm where gastronomy transcends its fundamental role as sustenance, it morphs into a portal unveiling realms of opulence, artistry, and unadulterated indulgence. Welcome to the realm of high-priced dining experiences, where culinary creations cease to be mere dishes and metamorphose into veritable masterpieces, and meals…

[nicholasandriani]

The Marvelous Dance of Coincidence: When Destiny and Storytelling Collide

Writers and dreamers, gather ’round for a tale as old as time -aren’t they all?- a narrative element that has both captivated and confounded storytellers since the dawn of creativity: coincidence. Yes, my dear friends, today we embark on a journey to explore the craft of employing coincidence in our beloved forms of storytelling. We shall learn how to wield this powerful tool with finesse,…

[trying-to-jew]

Constantly torn between my desire to convert and the crushing weight of knowing that I won’t be able to exist in the wider fandom spaces that I love without being constantly reminded that Jews are always guilty until proven innocent post-Oct 7.

[leisi-lilacdreams]

posting this while i'm in the mood to share

maybe i'll get it done before the actual new years OTL

i want to a series of 12!boys in more japanese settings and i have some ideas

[bitchslapblastoids]

Just thinking about…… the legalize catboys moment in time….. and like…. What was that??? Why was that??? Catboys? Legalize them? What? Sir, this is a Dan and Phil merch. Why??????????? A half nude slut ass photo of Dan wearing a tail and ears??????????????? What were they saying to us? And why were they saying it? That was the true advent of the no fucks given era

[omegaphilosophia]

The Philosophy of Death

The philosophy of death is a branch of philosophical inquiry that grapples with the nature, meaning, and implications of mortality and the end of life. It delves into existential, metaphysical, ethical, and practical questions surrounding death, dying, and the afterlife. Here are some key aspects and theories within the philosophy of death:

Existential Perspectives: Existentialist philosophers such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Martin Heidegger emphasize the significance of death in shaping human existence. They argue that awareness of mortality is integral to authentic living, as it compels individuals to confront the finitude of life and the freedom to create meaning in the face of death.

Metaphysical Considerations: Metaphysical inquiries into death explore questions about the nature of consciousness, the soul, and the existence (or non-existence) of an afterlife. Philosophers contemplate whether death represents the cessation of personal identity or the transition to another form of existence.

Ethical Reflections: Ethical discussions surrounding death address issues such as euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, and the allocation of resources for end-of-life care. Philosophers debate the moral implications of decisions related to death, autonomy, and the relief of suffering.

Cultural and Religious Perspectives: Different cultures and religious traditions offer diverse interpretations of death and its significance. Philosophers examine the cultural, historical, and theological frameworks that shape beliefs about death, burial practices, mourning rituals, and conceptions of the afterlife.

Existential Anxiety and Fear of Death: Philosophers explore the existential anxiety and fear of death that pervade human consciousness. They analyze how individuals cope with the inevitability of death through denial, acceptance, or the pursuit of symbolic immortality through achievements, legacies, or religious faith.

Personal Identity and Continuity: Philosophers investigate the relationship between personal identity and the experience of death. They consider whether identity persists beyond physical death and how memories, relationships, and cultural narratives contribute to notions of continuity or discontinuity after death.

Practical Considerations: Practical discussions of death address legal, medical, and social aspects of end-of-life care, funeral rites, and the management of grief and bereavement. Philosophers engage with bioethical dilemmas, advance care planning, and the ethical responsibilities of caregivers and healthcare professionals.

Thanatology: Thanatology is the interdisciplinary study of death and dying, encompassing psychological, sociological, medical, and philosophical perspectives. Philosophers collaborate with other disciplines to investigate the psychological, social, and cultural dimensions of mortality.

Overall, the philosophy of death offers a rich and multifaceted exploration of one of life's most profound mysteries. It invites reflection on the human condition, the meaning of existence, and the enduring legacy of mortality in shaping individual and collective experiences.

[centaurianthropology]

One thing that I think a lot of Disco Elysium meta misses (likely because a lot of it is very clearly written by young Americans writing from an intensely American-centric cultural perspective without even really realizing it) is that one of the singular and central themes of the game is massive-scale generational trauma in a home that is economically collapsing as its resources and people are being drained by an occupation.  People have noted that no one tries to help Harry, despite the fact his mental illness is incredibly obvious to everyone around him.  He tells Kim that he completely lost his memory, and Kim politely asks him to focus on the work.  He tells Gottlieb that he had a heart attack, and Gottlieb tells him that if he’s still alive it couldn’t have been that bad.  That he’ll drop dead sooner or later, but then so does everyone.

And that’s the most important thing: so does everyone.  Look at Martinaise.  Look at the world in which Harry lives.  It is not our own, but it is adjacent to ours.  More specifically, it is clearly adjacent to the states of the Eastern Bloc: overtaken and occupied by a faraway government that clearly doesn’t care about Revachol or its people.  And that is obvious in every tired face, every defeated citizen, everyone trying to eke out a little happiness or meaning in spite of the overwhelming trauma and damage around them.  The buildings are still half-destroyed.  The bullet holes are still in the walls.  The revolution was decades before, but it still feels to the people there like a fresh wound.  The number of men of Harry’s generation who are not alcoholic or otherwise deeply fucked up are very few.  Some, like Kim, hide it better, but the deeper you dig into his history, the more you realize how damaged Kim is.  He’s more than a little trigger happy, and hates that about himself, but he is a product of his environment: Kim’s entire life is seeing people he cared about shot and killed, so his instinct now is to shoot first himself, to protect those few people left who still matter to him.

Harry is not unique in his trauma.  He is a distillation of an entire culture of people who tried to rise up and make something beautiful, and were instead routed and occupied.  He is trapped between the occupation and the people on the ground, along with all the rest of the RCM.  Their authority comes from the occupying government, but it is implied that they were formed out of the remnants of the citizens militia which sprung up from Revachol itself as a way to try to mitigate some of the horrors being committed on its streets.  The Moralintern sure as hell wasn’t going to get their hands dirty, so they happily conscripted (and therefore could better control) this group, who are only recognized in certain places, and whose authority mostly amounts to giving out fines.  The RCM is corrupt, but it is corrupt in the same way its culture is.  Bribes are considered standard with them, not a moral failing, but a necessity, so long as those bribes are correctly logged as ‘donations’.  It’s how the RCM stays afloat, and the rest of Revachol completely understands that.  Everyone would take a bribe if it meant they kept eating.  Everyone would take a little under-the-table money if it meant keeping a roof over their heads.  The officersof the RCM certainly don’t make enough to see a doctor.  They have an in-house lazarus, and if he can’t fix them they just die.  Mental health care?  What mental health care?  Harry doesn’t get it for the same reason no one else does: it doesn’t really seem to exist.  There are no counselors, no psychologists, no psychiatrists.  How would they even start?  If the world is what is broken, if everyone is suffering a similar catastrophic amount, it makes sense that Harry’s trauma would simply get rolled up with all the rest.  Kim asks him to get on with the job because Harry’s suffering is not remarkable in Revachol.  He is one of an entire generation who have an astronomical number of orphans from the revolution, and so many younger people are left more or less orphans as their parents drink themselves into oblivion like Cuno’s father.  So Harry’s truly unique attribute is embodying all that trauma, having it all inside of him, filling him to bursting.

To really engage with the themes of the game, engaging first and foremost with the reality of Revachol is imperative.  Imposing our own reality onto Revachol, particularly if coming from an American perspective (which tend to have the habit of both viewing the world through an American lens and not realizing they’re doing it because they’ve never experienced a different lens), will always feel shallow to me because of this.

All that is to say, I would love to hear some more explicitly European meta about this game, and especially Eastern European meta.  If anyone can point me to some good, juicy essays from that perspective, I would be grateful!

[delicatelysublimeforester]

Exploring Unity and Reconciliation: Miyo-wāhkōhtowin / Good Relations Project Tour

[hezekiahwakely]

The revelation of Lena sending Gwen to deliver the name and address to Mr. Bonzo begs the question - how much is the UK government aware of what the OIAR is doing? Is the OIAR the means for carrying out Britain's most illicit dirty work? Is Lena using Mr. Bonzo to assassinate enemies of the state?? Because I'm just imagining a group of seasoned anarchists huddled in a basement somewhere planning the Gunpowder Plot 2.0, and instead of MI6 or whatever busting in to dismantle them, a giant oozing mascot suit from the 90s shows up on their doorstep screaming its own name. How do you even regroup and recover from that psychologically.

[vigilskept]

Throwing my hat into the elves and culture discussion, I think one of the things that I find most... upsetting is _what_ Bioware took from Judaism to make their elves. Which is to say, not a lot. What they took was Jewish history - ghettos, diaspora, and blood libel. The bad parts. Stuff about our oppression. Not stuff from Judaism as a religion or Jews as a culture. We don't get to see elves celebrate any cognates to Jewish holidays. There's no equivalent of kashrut or Yiddish or Ladino (despite that not making sense with the Dales being around for four centuries). The two most defining features of Dragon Age elves, the vallaslin and the Evanuris, directly contradict Jewish teachings. Jews started writing down our history and laws as soon as we lost our homeland and independence to Babylon, but it's written into the fabric of Dragon Age that the elves didn't, and their story is one of obtaining a lost past, not preserving a remembered one. It's even indicated that the city elves largely worship the Maker.

In thoughtful hands this could be a story about how Jews are seen as a religion when it's convenient to oppress us one way and a race when it's convenient to oppress us another, but it's not. Instead the impression I am left with is that in the mind of Dragon Age, Jews are defined solely by our oppression.

thank you for sharing!!!!

this came up earlier when an anon asked about making an elven oc from a (marginalised) cultural context they themselves aren’t from and i think it always comes down to a question of whether oppression and suffering are the only things you’re interested in or whether you care enough to learn about community, family and joy. and bioware seems to fail to clear this bar every time it comes to the elves.

i truly think some of the most incredible work in this fandom has come from fans putting those things back into the setting.

[alwaysbewoke]

"...the first cowboys lived in Mexico and the Caribbean, and most of them were Black. That’s the conclusion of a recent analysis of DNA from 400-year-old cow bones excavated on the island of Hispaniola and at sites in Mexico. The work, published in Scientific Reports, also provides evidence that African cattle made it to the Americas at least a century earlier than historians realized. The timing of these African imports—to the early 1600s—suggests the growth of cattle herds may have been connected to the slave trade, says study author Nicolas Delsol, an archaeozoologist at the Florida Museum of Natural History. “It changes the whole perspective on the mythical figure of the cowboy, which has been whitewashed over the 20th century.”

x

[amygdalae]

I think when getting along with other people, its perfectly natural (and entirely inevitable) that you're going to bump elbows with others and treating confrontation/discomfort with a kneejerk "well we have to beef now and turn this small miscommunication/moment of friction into a Whole Thing" reaction, instead of doing your best to give your fellow people the benefit of the doubt, even if you got off on the wrong foot is really key. and in fact an essential skill for any grown adult. especially when operating within and without other communities or cultures

[mkarchin713]

DP Prompt 1

Everyone in the Zone knew Phantom was an odd fellow.

He always acted like he knew everyone, even when it was their first meeting.

He never stuck around long, sometimes centuries would pass without anyone seeing him.

He always seemed eager to fight, in fact he usually assumed other ghosts wanted to fight him.

So when he started bogarting a permanent portal 24/7 everyone was a bit confused, but at least now he was staying in one spot long enough to regularly visit him, now all the younger ghosts can visit him for training.

TLDR: thanks to time travel shenanigans all of Danny’s rogues think he’s much older than them and don’t realize he’s a baby ghost.