I just finished Harlot's Ghost by Norman Mailer. I don't know if his idea of Alpha and Omega is based on any real psychology, but out of all the philosophy and theology I've read, it's the only thing that makes sense. It has always felt like there are two different people in my mind fighting for control. I also agree with his description of narcissism. I've never been able to love or hate another person because I used it up on myself. When I read Stendhal, Dostoevsky and Nietzsche I thought there were some great ideas, but nothing like a profound revelation Mailer caused in me. Where should I go from here? I don't think novels are doing me much good. I would prefer to read something non-fiction. I already tried Plato, Aristotle, Lucretius, Schopenhauer, Kant and a bunch of Christian doctrine. I've avoided Frued because everything I heard sounded nonsensical. Is Jung any good? Or Epicurus? I've heard many interesting things about him. Would it be pointless after Lucretius? I feel like I'm wasting my life and need to discover my identity before I die. There's not enough time to read everything. I have no clue where to start with psychology and I'm not even sure it's any different than philosophy. Seems like the same thing under a different name. Science vs. metaphysics.
Anyway, Vote Trump.
i can give you some recommendations but OP i need you to be completely honest with yourself here. are looking to maximize or minimize your psychosis
>>24848979Maximize.
>>24848979I'm not the other retard. What do you mean by psychosis? When I read Catch-22 it made me extremely neurotic and paranoid. I actually started taking two tylenol every morning like Doc Daneeka. I would obviously like to become a normal person.
>>24848872You have to read Herman Hesse
>>24849019I always wanted to read Narcissus and Goldmund by Hesse and The Myth of Sisyphus by Camus. Would either of these help me? There are a million Greek and Roman poets I don't have time for. I still haven't gotten around to Virgil and Catullus. I also heard about a psychologist named Sherrington from an Aldous Huxley book on witch trials. Maybe worth reading? Or Huxley's (grand?)father? I heard about him in Proust's In Search of Lost Time. Seems like an important figure.
>>24849057crucial question here, how old are you
>>2485012025 and I'm not an inch closer to figuring anything out than when I was at 17. I know I'm lazy and stupid, but, God, have i tried. Most people don't even bother with philosophy, they already know their beliefs the moment they're born.
>>24848872what's so insightful about it?
