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Morbi eu bibendum justo. Aliquam erat volutpat. Fusce pretium tempus lacus in posuere. Aenean fringilla.
writing
Philosophy for the People
The core idea of Philosohpy for the People (PftP) is to get more people to read and enjoy philosophy by pairing timeless theory with a classic work of literature and an essay that reflects on their theme and relevance today.
The idea for PftP originated while lying awake under an open window on a hot Berlin summer night in 2015. I thought of ‘1984’ by George Orwell, how relevant that work still is and how many people have heard of the book, but may not have gotten around to reading it. I remembered that books lose their copyright after a number of years and wondered if that was the case with 1984, so it could be reproduced and shared more widely.
All works by Orwell became copyright free in 2020, 70 years after he died. Which is when I picked up the idea again and turned it into a project. Fueled by reading ‘The Purpose Myth’ a book by Charlotte Cramer, I got to work on taking the steps needed to actually create and publish Philosophy for the People.
Seeing its origin, it is fitting that this first volume of PftP contains a work by George Orwell. Animal Farm is short and straightforward, making it a great introduction for the TL;DR generation, while discussing the truly timeless and relevant problem of power.
Beyond the match in theme between Animal Farm and the Communist Manifesto, Marx also saw the need for the proletariat to be educated and empowered so they would be able to unite, rise up and reclaim power where it belongs: in the hands of all people. Which makes the Communist Manifesto a fitting piece for this first volume of PftP as well.
Animal Farm is a work that was on the reading list of many high school students, while many college students encountered the work of Marx at one point or the other. Yet both are in the category of classics that many people have heard of, but haven’t read. These works are as relevant today as they were when they were published, so no better time to read them than now.
Thank you to Mara Lin, Lisanne and Margot for their support with my essay.
Enjoy. Share. With love, for the people,
Nikki
Moralia etc. is the semi-professional excuse of Nikki Brörmann to engage in applied ethics and all things moral.
read more here.
THE DREAM ARGUMENT // MACGUFFIN
MacGuffin is a design & crafts magazine, with stories about the life of ordinary things, often anonymously designed. Like the MacGuffins in Hitchcock films, these things are not the main characters, but the plot devices that set the story in motion.
Issue N° 1 (‘The Bed’) is all about the amazing backstage stories that revolve around our beds, for which I wrote a piece on the dream argument by Descartes. The words function as a note to the incredible visual work by Ola Lanko, also depicted in the magazine.
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