I recently finished Dawikins God Illusion. I don't want to discuss this book because it was basicly >muh darwinism, but i admit that this book made me feel insignificant as a human being. There is so much going on in this world and the universe, that anything we do actually doesnt matter.
What are some books that make me feel tiny and insignificant. I'm talking popular science cause im stupid as fuck and won't get the theory of relativity and stuff like that.
Where do you usually lurk? You aren't from /lit/ i presume?
God Illusion is an alright book. It's not popscience but it ain't exactly a philosophical treaty either. It provides a well executed set of counter-arguments, built up on an extensive bibliography of academic works and research. It's not really meant to elevate the reader to any sort of higher mindset.
/lit/ hates Dawkins because of the symbolism associated with the new atheism, wh the "fedora-man" meme ('meme' in Dawkins's sense) which is nothing but a huge spook. This whole subject is much more interesting in my opinion, since it really shows how easy it is to manipulate people, even those siting in holographic ivory tower of internet intelligentsia.
It's funny that those who think of themselves as being ahead of the flock of TV-watching 'sheep' and immune to being guided by there nose are usually the ones who fall for the most obvious of manipulations. Just show them a way to secure their own masculinity in an indirect way; for example by bashing an emasculated 'fedora tipping' atheist, and they will forget all principles of forming an informed worldview.
It's mostly the fault of Christians that lost their battle against atheism in the late 00s and could no longer manifest their faith on the internet, so they had to vent their frustration by using guerilla warfare ad hominems. Perhaps atheist are also to blame for kicking the dead horse a little bit too much...
Anyway - Dawkins is an ok writer. By no way is he an amazing author that will go down in history for centuries to come, but he went through the struggle of laying down the concrete blocks, that we now take for granted. More over, he never allowed to get SJW shit on his legacy, by repeatedly pointing out their bullshit, which shows that he has a certain beliefs and he is ready to fight for them; a trait that he deserves a lot of respect for, especially in today's academia.
Ummm... what did you want OP? right...
First read 'The Last Messiah' by that norwegian dude. Its really short, should take you less than an hour.
Read some Lovecraft. Start with 'At The Mountains of Madness'. If you want less fiction and more of a stream of consciousness kinda thing go for 'The conspiracy against the human race' Thomas Ligotti. Many people shit on him here, but i know some people that liked him.
If you are not scared by math you might want to give 'A Road to Reality' a try.
Personally I found "The Selfish Gene" much more depressing.
>>7372688
>>7372688
Thanks for the tips, ill look into that.
Actually read Mountains of Madness allready a couple years back.
>Where do you usually lurk
I lurk /lit/ now and then and got to know some really good books (and a lot of junk too) and i actually got into Dawkins because he got bashed on this board.
Hes got some good points, but what i really liked about the book is the picture it paints about our world. For example the small probability that someone is even born on a planet like ours. Really got me thinking, and now i need more stuff like that. Not necesarilly religous stuff. Ill probably look into Hawkings universe in a nutshell too.
>>7372585
I don't see how your own life can seem insignificant to you. In fact it is much easier to argue that 99.9999% of the universe and 99% of what happens on the earth is in fact not significant to your life. Your life (and the things influencing it) is ultimately the only thing that matters. So what I want to say is: the perspective is a bit weird. Of course your life is insignificant to the universe, but the universe is not a sentient being; and your life might very well be significant to a lot of others (friends, family etc.). But I digress.
I think that you feel the most helpless and tiny when your own life is in the hand of others, i.e. your decisions cannot change your life (or you are in a loss-loss situation). If you want to read about this, you can start with Kafka (being powerless and seemingly unable to change their destiny is often a key feature of his characters). Other books are Journey to the End of the Night by Céline, which is about a dude who is kind of stuck in a low social class for his whole life or Homo Faber by Max Frisch which is about a guy getting constantly fucked by bad luck.
I know these are maybe not the kind of books you were explicitly asking for, but whatever, they are good regardless and maybe you'll enjoy them anyway.
>>7372688
>unironically using the term SJW
And yet you complain about "fedora-man" memes. Recs aren't too bullshitty though.
Here pic related is one of my fav fedora pics. I think it kind of ironically satirizes both fedora wearers and posters alike by Cranston's hyperbolic tipping. Don't you like it as well?
>>7372822
In what different way should one use the term SJW?
What you're gonna deny that there are people that reference themselves as Social Justice Warriors? (What a childish fucking term; Imagine if slave-trade abolitionists named themselves "Negro Freedom Crusaders"; pretty much same league). You gotta be an idiot or a shill not to see the very real impact on culture that those people have, with current situation on campuses, in media or even military.
Zoey Quinn and Anita Sarkesian were invite to a fucking UN session. The same institution that can call for establishment of trade embargo and armed interventions in against entire nations is now pandering to... i don't even know who she is, apparently a slut that wanted to whore herself into big journalism, a concept as old as newspapers themselves, why is she in UN again?
Anyway SJW is a real force, with real people behind it. Some of them very rich individuals and powerful individuals. They gave themselves that label in the first place.
Anyway you are exercising exactly the same mindless conformity to /lit/'s hyperbrain that i mentioned earlier.
>>7372996
fuck sorry for all the silly mistakes.
>3:26 am
>>7372585
Dawkin's arguments only remain legit against biblical literalists. The big bang theory is still a miracle.
>>7372996
>Anyway SJW is a real force, with real people behind it.
Waah im required to treat ppl with a minimum of empathy and human decency... halp im being oppressed by the feminazis waaah
>>7372688
Thank you for recommending the Last Messiah. Blew my fucking mind.
>>7373251
Where did you find it? Still looking for it...
>>7373292
Soulseek has it. Every other source on the net is behind paywalls.
>>7372688
>says fedora meme is a spook
>falls for the SJW meme
>>7372822
>Don't you like it as well?
I like it, anon. Have this picture of JK Simmons in a fedora in return.
>>7373251
Found it. Read it. Wow.
What kind of philosophical school is that? I need more!
>>7373292
https://philosophynow.org/issues/45/The_Last_Messiah
>>7373540
Same here. I need to read more essays or literature like that.
>>7373251
No problem. Glad you enjoyed it.
>>7373540
>>7373559
It is an offshoot of nihilism, which mostly can be referred to as antinatalism. /lit/ used to have threads about it weekly, but they always turned into huge shitfests. It's probably a good thing they are gone.
If you want more, then as I said in the last post you should read Ligotti.
Wait i even have this pic... but start with ligotti anyway probably.
>>7374532
Maybenot
>>7372996
No one calls themselves social justice warriors. That was a term reactionaries created to ridicule people who challenge the social order, the same way civil rights, women's rights, and anti-war activists in the 60s and 70s were deemed hippies. Society tries to silence those it views as subversive, but the old order always loses in the end, so if you don't like "SJWs" now, you're in for a rough 50 years.
>>7373170
low quality
>>7372688
At first I thought you were serious.
