EF42 (S2-E3): Civil Individualism: Loneliness Atop Mount Empowerment

Podcast, Season Two / By /
Civil Individualism: Loneliness Atop Mount Empowerment

(EF42) S2-E3: Civil Individualism: Loneliness Atop Mount Empowerment

PLAY | DOWNLOAD Going against society has the empowering feeling of standing alone on the top of a mountain. But is it even possible to climb to such heights without falling into the lonely pit of self-delusion? And what does it really mean to be an individual? More...

The big question driving Episode EF42 is … What does it mean to be an individual?

Sam Payne is finishing her Ph.D. in physics under the advisement of a professor making a controversial claim as to why the Big Bang wasn’t the beginning of the universe. The professor’s new theory of everything posits a universal force that is being interpreted as proof that God exists. Sam gets caught in the crossfire between the professor and the angry mob of protesting college students who believe he is trying to bring Creationism to universities. On a knife’s edge in life and career, the increasing pressure on Sam’s individualism is insisting on a drastic plan. Will Sam have the guts to carry it out?

Humanity’s rise to the top of the food chain is due to our success as social creatures, so it can be confusing to sync that reality with our drive to also be individuals. With deep introspection into what got you to this point in life, can you actually define what it means to be a real individual? How would you prove you have what it takes? Are you capable of creating completely new ideas that aren’t influenced by your predecessors, as Transcendental philosophers like Walden and Thoreau? Or maybe you think you must climb the mountain alone to create a better world, as Ayn Rand believed?

Into The Rabbit Hole

SHOW NOTES: This episode is dedicated to Justin Vernon. See the EF42 Show Notes for details of the dedication, inspirations, references, selected quotes and more. 

ABOUT THE EVOLVE FASTER PODCAST: Everything is changing, yet the questions that drive us remain the same. Will humanity face the absurdity of our collective existential crisis in time? Join Scott Ely as he takes us deep into the rabbit hole with philosophical tales to reboot your mind, upgrade your life and explore your soul. To Evolve Faster is to see the fact that you will die someday as a formidable challenge, instead of a source of immense fear. Create your reality…before it creates you. Isn’t it time for an upgrade? More episodes…

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