it’s philosophy is for people who suspect that everyday life is full of paradoxes worth thinking through.
One question from an ordinary life at a time, thought through with the writers who faced it first: Camus beside loneliness, Dostoevsky beside conscience, Nietzsche beside the death of God. Short essays, five minutes with your coffee, no philosophy degree required.
Try one, right now
Think of something you did when nobody was watching. Nobody caught you. And yet one person saw it: you. In Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov has an elegant theory for his crime and still cannot live with what he did. No one in the novel makes him suffer as much as he makes himself.
Twenty seconds ago this was an old memory. Now it is a question about who you are when you are alone. That is what these essays do.
The Courage to be Kind
I think most of us try to become a better person. When wanting to be a better person, the first thing that often comes to mind (to me atleast) is being more kind to other people. However in our competitive society kindness isn’t always seen as a virtue. It is more often seen as a sign of weakness. Which to me is a pity.
On Overcoming Loneliness
This is the most personal essay I have written as of yet. In doubt whether I should keep it as a diary entry or publish it as an essay, I decided to do the latter. It was a quite cathartic experience for me writing this, as it captures one of the most central themes of my life thus far: loneliness. I hope the essay can be of any worth to anyone who migh…
The Eternal Witness: Conscience in Dostoevsky’s Novels
During Joseph Folley’s book club I made a comparison to Ivan Karamazov from Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov and Bazarov from Fathers and Sons by Turgenev. The reason I compared the two was because of their shared faith in rationality, holding in aspiration to become just as indifferent to feelings as the laws of physics are, the most striking factor they held in…
Every essay is free.
How it works
A new essay most weeks, on one question from everyday life. Some are personal, some are close readings of a novel, and most follow their question through the writers who faced it first.
Who writes this
I’m Floris van Doorn. I write about existentialism, philosophy and literature, trying to unveil the complexities and paradoxes of everyday life. I read Dostoevsky and Turgenev, Camus and Nietzsche, and I believe the humanities are worth defending, because they teach you how to think.
it’s philosophy publishes short essays on questions from everyday life (loneliness, desire, conscience, kindness, beauty), read through existentialism, philosophy and literature, from Dostoevsky and Turgenev to Camus and Nietzsche. Philosophy for how to live, a few minutes at a time.
Questions
Do I need to have read the books? No. Each essay gives you what you need from them.
Is it free? Yes. Every essay is free.
Can I write to you? Please do. Reply to any email or leave a comment; some of the best thinking here happens in the comments.
What happens when I subscribe? A new essay in your inbox most weeks. No digests, no filler in between.
What if I want to leave? There is an unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email. No hard feelings.