If you had to summarize the meaning of this book and it's sequels very briefly, what would it be?
Same as The Secret, I would imagine (Positive thinking)
>>24985813
How much am I missing by reading picrel without having read the Bible beforehand? I’m at Part 2, and it’s the best thing I’ve ever read.
>>24986986Those four years of penal servitude Dostoyevsky spent in Siberia he spent in the company of murderers and thieves, no segregation having been yet introduced between ordinary and political criminals. He described them in his ''Memoirs from the House of Death'' (1862). They do not make a pleasant reading. All the humiliations and hardships he endured are described in detail, as also the criminals among whom he lived. Not to go completely mad in those surroundings, Dostoyevsky had to find some sort of escape. This he found in a neurotic Christianism which he developed during these years. His emotional life up to that time had been unhappy. In Siberia he had married, but this first marriage proved unsatisfactory. In 1862-63 he had an affair with a woman writer and in her company visited England, France and Germany. This woman, whom he later characterized as ''infernal,'' seems to have been an evil character. Later she married Rozanov, an extraordinary writer combining moments of exceptional genius with manifestations of astounding naivete. (I knew Rozanov, but he had married another woman by that time.) This woman seems to have had a rather unfortunate influence on Dostoyevsky, further upsetting his unstable spirit. It was during this first trip abroad to Germany that the first manifestation of his passion for gambling appeared which during the rest of his life was the plague of his family and an insurmountable obstacle to any kind of material ease or peace to himself. Just as I have no ear for music, I have to my regret no ear for Dostoyevsky the Prophet. The very best thing he ever wrote seems to me to be ''The Double.'' It is the story - told very elaborately, in great, almost Joycean detail (as the critic Mirsky notes), and in a style intensely saturated with phonetic and rhythmical expressiveness - of a government clerk who goes mad, obsessed by the idea that a fellow clerk has usurped his identity. It is a perfect work of art, that story, but it hardly exists for the followers of Dostoyevsky the Prophet, because it was written in the 1840's, long before his so-called great novels; and moreover its imitation of Gogol is so striking as to seem at times almost a parody. Dostoyevsky characterizes his people through situation, through ethical matters, their psychological reactions, their inside ripples. After describing the looks of a character, he uses the old-fashioned device of not referring to his specific physical appearance anymore in the scenes with him. This is not the way of an artist - say Tolstoy - who sees his character in his mind all the time and knows exactly the specific gesture he will employ at this or that moment.
>>24987029Yeah but the people he describes are like people IRL. Remember, Russians are actual human beings with vivid inner lives, not repressed castrated neutralized faggots like the westoids.His writing is functional, no more and no less. Sometimes he conveys very powerful and precise feelz, so to have your writing be "merely functional" im this case actually means great mastery.
>>24987043Dosto is essentially sadomasochistic, he loves dwelling on characters who revel in how depraved they are, but who also prostrate themselves in the just punishment or humiliation of their depravity. Again, sensitive murderers and soulful prostitutes imply the exact situation he adored, all the violence and sexual intrigue he desired so much, but with the approval of his super ego since they ritualistically degrade themselves in a kind of spiritual fetishistic pleasure in confessing, being punished, and then being "redeemed". It's lurid and partakes of a sick kind of gratification in self flagellation.
>>24987328Again, that's what people are actually like. You just have a skewed view of human nature because you live among robotic westoids.
>>24987716If you read Dosto's novels, they are chock full of a grotesque macabre fascination with suffering and shame, with murder and sex and the subsequent groveling misery of those who find themselves in such situations. This type of tripe is 100% on the level of a typical harlequin romance novel, but because it's some old Russian who added Christian Orthodox themes as an accent to the sadomasochism, /lit/ eats it up. It's perverse. Dosto essentially perpetuates a kind of Samsara, a constant cycle of animal impulse outbursts followed by shame, guilt, and regret, but since these mechanisms are woefully insufficient to actually affect a better way of expressing these impulses, it simply fuels a further cycle. How does Dosto purport to redeem these aspects of humanity? Is it to integrate them? To accept that they are rightful parts of the human experience and to work with them to self actualize; to transcend and include? No. His worldview firmly states that they must be brought before a higher power, judged as sinful, and repressed forever. As I said before, this enterprise is utterly futile, since its objective is to destroy what is human, to snuff out the very spark that is humanity. Thus the cycle of indulgence (the inescapable humanity) and self flagellation (the divine judgement that such things are sinful and abhorrent). There is nothing profound, nothing transcendent here, just shallow fetishistic pleasure taking of the lowest tier followed by the harshest condemnation and repentance. Both sides of this coin forever restrict the other to its worst form, forever traps the victim of this ideology to a lifetime of misery and self hatred. It's vile in the extreme.
>he reads poetry to impress women
I’d like to impress those titties with my dick.
>>24984820When I was in my late 20s, I got invited to a poetry reading a few times, got to know those people pretty well. And let me tell you, the dudes are either narcissistic incels with delusions of grandeur or creepy rapists that WILL drug any woman's drink.
modern wom*n don't care about poetry because they think romance is a tool of the patriarchy to keep rape culture alive.
>>24984820Holy boobers
>>24987597*rapes*
Why do you put faith in metaphysical claims that can't be empirically tested? Are you just a science-ignorant caveman?
>>24987385>Observable reality IS metaphysical, it is an impression or image of metaphysical reality.No it's not. If you substitute the simple word "physical" it is more accurate. You perceive sense data from an exterior physical world. No metaphysics required, only physics.
>>24987483You can't even seem to define what you mean by "consciousness". Somehow it is in a single cell organism (it must be from what you've said so far), but also it can't be since that doesn't make the slightest amount of sense.
>>24987578It's not begging the question to propose an if/then situation, especially since you have to grant that relationship is true, since you go on to say that my "if" statement is false, showing it wasn't begging the question, you just disagree with my point, even though you can't articulate why and have to expose that inability with cheap insults of the lowest caliber (literally "you dumb").
>>24987445Yes you did since you tried a little sleight of hand with some nonsense about "complex neural architecture". The thing any reasonable person would allow as "consciousness" requires that complex neural architecture and something like single celled organisms categorically don't have it. You just want to hold on to some wishful thinking that there is this magic concept, some ineffable secret sauce that permeates all life (and perhaps all things everywhere, I'm not sure how woo-woo you get). It's infantile.
>>24987378Huh? How is that an unobservable claim? You just observed it!
You do have a basic understanding of how human language works, don't you?
>>24987960This filtered you? Wow, how sad.>>24987961Name the mistake.
>>24986942so we should talk in African-American vernacular mayhaps?
>>24985487>>24985525good books on language + philosophy of mind?
>>24988020You filter yourself. You need to study argumentation.
>>24988030You're gay
why do you read books?
>>24986293>a wife and kids ruins your hobbies and free timeImagine how retarded you sound right now. Just put more effort into it.
>>24982488We are so overdue for massive gladiatorial games featuring women and large predators
>>24982409Helps me think clearly, like I can actually hear my thoughts and see in some metaphysical space the pattern of my thoughts kinda structure together, like this one leads to this one leads to that. As opposed to my disorderly thinking if I'm just mindlessly consuming, and my thoughts are just like explosions of emotions that I follow non sequiterly from one to another. It all makes me way calmer in general and a more pleasant person.
>>24982546This is the autism capital of the WWW.
>>24982409Because I'm not retarded.>>24982420>Just found out about readingIs this bait or Americans really like this? Last week I was shocked when somebody told me here they don't read any of the world classics in elementary school or any philosophy in high school.
one of those books you immediately start re-reading once you get to the end
>>24987215IN ENGLISH, DOC
>>24980343I do with pretty much every text I like. If OP means by "re-reading" as just flipping some pages back, to contemplate a notorious scene or chapter you liked or were intrigued with.
I have farts with more substance than this thread.
>>24975922I wonder what the incest-couple stands for symbolically.
>>24976282Lol
>Translations are not reading>It is easy>You can not utilise English without French>Women will fawn over you>You might get a French gf
>>24987626Greek being so low does not compute. Especially below "Other".
>>24987933it's only counting direct or near direct loan words looks like
>>24987933I think Latin and Greek are at least interesting. French, not so much.
>>24987954"French" substrate is just a different form of Latin.
>>24987004Amerimutts aren’t straight
>average English speaker is Indian>average French speaker is African>average Spanish speaker is a Mutt (Indian + Native + Iberian + African)>average German speaker is brown>average Dutch speaker is arab>average Swedish speaker is arab>average Russian speaker is mongol>average Italian speaker is on death's doorIs it over for Western literature?
>>24987536telling that you only see opposition as third world. by being racist(?) you actually lose sight of what makes you dutch(?) in the first place. international banter with european countries.
>>24987538think every brown person is red from the sun.
>>24987541calling other ethnics brown is standard banter. not sure what's got your panties in a bunch.
>>24987559just making a point - in europe we’ve thought dutch people were fucking awful since before we knew india existed.
>>24987526>>24987536my novel delivers a powerful polemic against the dutch. i wonder if they will sperg out and mishandle it like their whole nexperia debacle
the fourth blackfyre rebellion editionASOIAF wiki: https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Main_PageBlog: https://georgerrmartin.com/notablog/Old blog: https://grrm.livejournal.com/So Spake Martin (interviews): https://westeros.org/citadel/ssm/Book search: https://asearchoficeandfire.com/SSM search: https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=006888510641072775866:vm4n1jrzsdyGeneral search: http://searcherr.work/TWOW samples: https://archive.org/details/411440566-the-winds-of-winter-released-chaptersold: >>24949686
>>24987263I'm glad he knew how to bathe
It's over.
Uhhhhh Radmure gang, do we still exist?
>>24987224>picIs that a Brindled woman of Sothoryos?
>>24988027>Is that a Brindled woman of Sothoryos?That's a gorgeous valyrian lady of house Targaryen, chud.
>Civilizations may last for centuries and be extremely eventful; Imperial Rome is a prime example.>…>But autumn ends, and a civilization becomes a culture gone frozen in its brains and heart, and its finale is anything but grand. We are now far into what the Chinese called the period of contending states, and the collapse of Caesarism.>In such a period, politics becomes an arena of competing generals and plutocrats, under a dummy ruler chosen for low intelligence and complete moral plasticity, who amuses himself and keeps the masses distracted from their troubles with bread, circuses, and brushfire-wars. (This is the time of all times when a culture should unite — and the time when such a thing has become impossible.) Technology flourishes (the late Romans were first-class engineers) but science disintegrates into a welter of competing, grandiosely trivial hypotheses which supersede each other almost weekly and veer more and more markedly toward the occult.>Among the masses there arises a “second religiousness” in which nobody actually believes; an attempt is made to buttress this by syncretism, the wrenching out of context of religious forms from other cultures, such as the Indian, without the faintest hope of knowing what they mean. This process, too, leads inevitably towards a revival of the occult, and here science and religion overlap, to the benefit of neither. Economic inequity, instability and wretchedness become endemic on a hitherto unprecedented scale; the highest buildings ever erected by the Classical culture were the tenements of the Imperial Roman slums, crammed to bursting point with freed and runaway slaves, bankrupts, and deposed petty kings and other political refugees.When will cesaerism start in europe?
>>24987925>Twilight of the Evening landslol this is not anymore an accurate translation of the title than the first
>>24987967I know. It is a matter of taste.
>>24987182Already has, kind of.
>>24987925On further consideration, this briggs character OP likely got the quotes from seems like a politics peddler of some sort. I doubt Spengler would be pleased to know his philosophy would be mobilized by legions of megalopolitan male prostitutes to advance their petty journalistic ends, but he would not be surprised.
>>24987182You know how “psychics” and “fortune tellers” really just say very general things that are applicable to almost anyone
I've written an account of my travels which lasted around six months. During this time, I tried to make myself as vulnerable as possible: hitchhiking, wild camping, sleeping in abandoned churches, travelling with no possessions etc. So that in my frail state I might enter a purely emotional state of being, and in doing so learn from my feelings more about what it is to be human, unobscured by thoughts polluted by the modern age. I'm deeply inspired by the Romantics like Wordsworth and my goal was to learn from all nature, incl my own self, as much about humanity as possible. This piece I wrote is the first finished piece of writing i've ever written and since it is such a peculiar piece I would really appreciate some feedback to really understand what sort of level it is at. I know most anons will squeal at the lack of irony and cynicism, it is purposefully earnest to the point it will put people off, but any feedback is appreciated. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Np6ZWpuBUVRu7vErExCus2OVylaXezwX/view
>>24984786How are you supposed to know why it's been difficult if you don't read on?
>>24977091>>24977847post your writings faggot
>>24984787Thank you anonI suppose I am not sure entirely myself what my intentions were. I just had lots of thoughts swirling around from the trip and I wanted a way to explain to my friends when I got back what it was that I was actually doing. So it was a way to understand myself what I had done but also show my friends what it is that that is going through my mind when I travel. Also, while I was travelling I was thinking about some ideas for a fiction novel I've been thinking about writing and this was a way to experiment to write in a certain register that I feel best expresses the ideas I want it to convey.Its not an entirely serious piece but I am taking it seriously as an exercise for when I might something genuinely serious in the future
>>24977389I don't know
>>24984369no need to bring victoriaslop into this thread
Victoria EditionPrevious: >>24975069/wg/ AUTHORS & FLASH FICTION: https://pastebin.com/ruwQj7xQRESOURCES & RECOMMENDATIONS: https://pastebin.com/nFxdiQvCPlease limit excerpts to one post.Give advice as much as you receive it to the best of your ability.Follow prompts made below and discuss written works for practice; contribute and you shall receive.If you have not performed a cursory proofread, do not expect to be treated kindly. Edit your work for spelling and grammar before posting.Violent shills, relentless shill-spammers, and grounds keeping prose, should be ignored and reported.(And maybe double-space your WIPs to allow edits if you want 'em.)Simple guides on writing:Comment too long. Click here to view the full text.
>>24987631>who did not cotton to philosophers in particular or brown mouse in general.>The meaning of cotton shifted from "to get on well" to "to get on well together," and eventually to the sense we know today, "to take a liking to." The "understand" sense appeared later, in the early 20th century.What in the goddamn? Pretty cool excerpt thoughbeit.
>>24987631First thing from someone itt that I read till the end, good job anon, give me a chuckleI imagine the brown mouse looking like Chesterton btw
>>24987652disagreeIt's cute
>>24987706>he can’t even finish the few paragraph excerpts that anons post in this threadGet some help nigga. Or at least stop scrolling tiktok. Goddamn.
>>24986825>>24986810Victoria was not actually published, so it doesn't even qualify.
What do you read when you’re going through a really bad anxiety episode / panic attack / paranoia spiral?
>>249879654chan
I don't read at such times.I focus on my breathing and try to empty my mind until calm.After calm I might read some stoic quotes to remind myself to stop being a bitch and deal with what I can and let go of what I can't.
>>24987965I used to read Buddhist insight/Vipassana meditation lit.Helped me through some shit times.You see things from other worldly perspectives and can heal your mind somewhat.For example I thought i was dying because I smoked to much weed one time and got really paranoid thinking I was having a heart attack, so I read some insight meditation and it calmed me down.Another time I ingested too much ketamine and for months and years after that I became isolated and withdrawn from the world, insight meditation and buddhist lit sort brought me back around.My biggest problem was drugs and those drugs fucking with my head.
>>24988015To add, i used to print pdf's from this website, it has been around for a long time.https://www.buddhanet.net/
>>24988015as this anon says, jsut focus on your Buddhist meditations, especially Metta
What are some modern versions (actually used on the internet) of Heideggerian terms?I.e. on 4chan I feel like this terminology is usedZuhandenheit = soullessVorhandenheit = soulSometimes ironically calling poor shitholes soul and anything plentiful and rich soulless, because one is about the current experience and the other is about trying to make it better
