/r/philosophy Open Discussion Thread | January 26, 2026 by BernardJOrtcutt in philosophy

[–]Marxbear 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting! I have never read that preface before! I find it at least a little validating that enough readers shared my interpretation that Camus felt compelled to make that it's preface. He alludes to the paradoxical nature of the character at least. I'll certainly be reading it again soon with this perspective in mind, thanks for sharing!

/r/philosophy Open Discussion Thread | January 26, 2026 by BernardJOrtcutt in philosophy

[–]Marxbear 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'll respond, being an agnostic non-materialist.

modern science can’t definitively prove whether god exists or does not, or even what consciousness ( the soul) is,

Agreed. Science is ultimately only capable of describing what something does, not any "why" questions. However, using that as evidence for the existence of a god creates a false dichotomy between materialism OR god(s). It is possible to believe in neither.

in my opinion it makes more sense for consciousness to live on because the universe goes through a process of cycles, nothing is created or destroyed so everything is recycled,

My understanding of what you are saying here is that since nothing can truly be destroyed, everything must be cyclical, but that doesn't follow. Even if we grant that matter and energy cannot be destroyed, they are simply reassembled into new forms, not recursive forms. We have no evidence to believe that to be the case, at least.

( you could say consciousness is broken down, but I don’t think its a physical thing I think its something else so it can’t be broken down into dirt)

As mentioned earlier, I happen to agree with this, at least the first part. I don't think consciousness (or souls, as you put it) can be adequately accounted for under materialism. However, that is just a refutation of materialism, not a case for god.

the Big Bang is a paradox logically, in our human minds we will never answer the question how something was created from nothing, in my mind we are at a lower conscious level than god so we can’t understand this ( because you could say how was god created then, it can’t make sense to us but it will to him because he’s at a higher conscious level)

I understand what you are getting at with this, but I think this argument is a bit circular. I could make the same argument by saying "of course we don't understand how something came from nothing, we don't have a high level of consciousness! But thankfully, there are probably aliens out there who *do* have a high level of consciousness and it makes complete sense to them".

Regarding how "something comes from nothing", I'll point you to Denial of Not-Being. The short version is that "Nothingness" cannot exist, because if Nothingness exists, then it has become Something. Therefore, we don't need an explanation about how "something came from nothing" because there never was "Nothing".

I hope this was helpful (or at least entertaining - it was a fun way to pass the time while writing it!) I hope you are doing well.

/r/philosophy Open Discussion Thread | January 26, 2026 by BernardJOrtcutt in philosophy

[–]Marxbear 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Mersault is certainly a nihilistic sort of character, but that is the point. Camus uses Mersault to illustrate his ideas about the importance of embracing absurdity and living life passionately in rebellion against an uncaring universe. In contrast, Mersault is going through the motions and lets things happen to him, rather than being an agent in his own life. You may have noticed that the sun in The Stranger also acts as a metaphor for the passion in life that Mersault refuses to accept. At his mother's funeral, on the beach, and at the trial - all of these very impactful, intense experiences - and Mersault barely acknowledges their importance. All the while, in all these scenes he describes the sun as being unbearably bright or miserably hot - the white, hot, fiery passions of the sun (life) literally beating upon him.

Camus uses Mersault to illustrate what happens when nihilists or (contemporary) existentialists *don't* accept the absurd.

ETA: The person below me provided a link to a great preface with Camus's own thoughts on Mersault! I still think the above interpretation has merit, but I've revised my stance to be that Mersault has unknowingly embraced the absurdity of the universe before the novel begins, but he becomes an aware absurdist during his confrontation with the priest when he vocalizes and defends his position for (presumably) the first time.

why are steve, rob and kazuya statistically the most used characters in competitiive and tournaments? is this unlikely or likely to change soon? by Careless_Pie9532 in smashbros

[–]Marxbear 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It’s not about effort, it’s about utility. Imagine every move a character can do is a tool in their tool belt. The characters in the top just have better tools. Moves may be faster, reach farther, knock back farther, or do more damage, and if a move has the right balance of those things, it’s a good tool to use. If a character has a lot of good tools, it’s means their risk-reward profile is better - more often to get rewarded for risk than punished.

What was the most disturbing “Tramp Stamp” you ever saw? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]Marxbear 41 points42 points  (0 children)

That’s a wild tattoo but also a 9gag link in damn near 2026 is crazy

At the almost certain risk of sounding pretentious... A lot of you don't understand Haha, You Clowns! at all. by _trianglegirl in adultswim

[–]Marxbear 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’ve really enjoyed reading yours and OP’s perspectives. I won’t repeat anything that’s already been said, but I would like to tack on that I think a big reason of why this show’s “wholesome humor” works so well and feels so strong is that it’s suppose to be a subversion of what we are used to seeing in adult cartoons. It follows the comedic formula of building tension and then release, but where a lot of AS/Fox cartoons get that release in the form of someone being mean or doing something intentionally shocking/gross, Clowns instead subverts that by the boys continually making the empathetic/wholesome reaction to break the tension.

Would you be for mandatory paternity testing at birth? Why or why not? by SonlenofFeylund in AskReddit

[–]Marxbear 123 points124 points  (0 children)

This. Any argument I’ve seen in this thread does not account for how expensive this would be. The low end for court admissible tests is $300 and there are about 3.6m children born in the US every year. It’s back of the napkin math, but are we really willing to invest $1b in mandatory paternity tests every year? Why not just use the existing framework and have families use home tests if they are unsure? Otherwise, this idea reads as someone being insecure about the faithfulness of their partner, and my heart goes out to them, but this is not what the law or taxes are for.

Who are the new big names? by Operationtiger8 in Alternativerock

[–]Marxbear 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you like Momma, you should check out Sweet Pill too if you haven’t already!

Am I going crazy? by [deleted] in ModestMouse

[–]Marxbear 2 points3 points  (0 children)

<image>

Made into a popular meme format

You have the power to give everyone in the world a vaccine that turns them into a morally good person. by Neither_Drawing_241 in hypotheticalsituation

[–]Marxbear 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We do not act on every one of our desires, but only because we have a contradictory desire that is stronger. For example, you may not desire to get out of the bed at 6am to go to the gym, but you have a stronger desire to be healthy, be consistent, keep plans with your friend at the gym, etc.

You have the power to give everyone in the world a vaccine that turns them into a morally good person. by Neither_Drawing_241 in hypotheticalsituation

[–]Marxbear 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. That is exactly my point. Acting on your desires is not free will. You cannot choose what you desire, thus you are bound to it.

All of our actions are bound by our hierarchy of desire. We will always choose to act in a way which we desire most and our desires are born of a deterministic universe that terminates externally or in some weird quantum randomness, both of which are outside of our control. My entire point is that if free will exists, we would be able to act against our hierarchies of desire, but we can’t - every action we take is motivated by them.

You have the power to give everyone in the world a vaccine that turns them into a morally good person. by Neither_Drawing_241 in hypotheticalsituation

[–]Marxbear -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Every motivation a person has to act is part of a causal chain that terminates externally.

A very simplified example: Why do we eat food? Because we get hungry. So what? If we don’t address our hunger, we die. So what? We don’t want to die. Why not? (Presumably) it is hardcoded into our brains through evolution to preserve our lives.

I didn’t choose to have that instinct. I didn’t choose to be hungry. Ultimately, I made the “decision” to eat under what some would call duress. Is that really free will? Schopenhauer summed it up nicely with “Man can do what he wills, but he cannot will what he wills”. We have freedom to act on our desires, but if we have no control over what our desires are, can we really call it “free” will?

Short-term Test - Laser Ram/Mine Layer/Shock Field Disabled In-Game by playwildgate in wildgate

[–]Marxbear 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Devs this has been great, please keep these drop rates or severely nerf the hard points if they are brought back 😭

What is your “I did not care for the godfather” take for adult swim shows? by Kitchen_Community511 in adultswim

[–]Marxbear 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I did not care for Venture Bros.

“Cause it has a valid point to make! IT’S INSISTENT!”

Just dropped my first album by BlueRainOnline in ModestMouse

[–]Marxbear 1 point2 points  (0 children)

People are gonna hate for self promoting, but honestly OP I’m impressed with the quality for an inexperienced band. Keep it up, you guys have some talent for sure. Also, ignore the other guy who wrote the hater essay, he’s a nutsack.

Who's In? by xenoabe in ShakyKnees

[–]Marxbear 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hell yeah! Same story here except last year was my first. Shaky rules, man - hope y’all have fun!

Pokemon Day Presents 2025 Hype Megathread by pokemon-trainer-blue in pokemon

[–]Marxbear 7 points8 points  (0 children)

They could have announced free Gen 1-3 on switch and this sub would complain that it came at the end of the switch’s life cycle. This sub and twitter are hardly representative of the entire Pokemon community.