Person
Every book Joe Folley recommended on podcasts
Joe Folley participates in deep philosophical and psychological discussions on shows like Modern Wisdom, where he examines existentialism, mental health, and the complexities of human thought. Folley draws upon a wide range of philosophical texts to illustrate his points about meaning, suffering, and philosophical communication. He references Ludwig Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and David Hume's An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding to discuss how philosophers structure and revise their arguments. Folley also reflects on texts that challenge or fail to resonate with him personally, noting his critical view of Jean-Paul Sartre's Existentialism Is a Humanism and expressing his opinion that Albert Camus's The Myth of Sisyphus is somewhat overhyped despite addressing fundamental questions about suicide and the meaning of life. Additionally, he touches upon pessimistic philosophies by discussing David Benatar's Better Never to Have Been.
Books recommended by Joe Folley
-
An Inquiry concerning human understanding;
Discussed“And he later sort of revises his thoughts into the much shorter inquiry concerning human understanding.”
Where to get it
-
Better Never to Have Been
Discussed“David Benitar is the sort of superstar of antiism. Um he wrote a book called Better Never to Have Been, which sounds like one of these sort of you know, I'm about to write about how terrible how terrible life is.”
Where to get it
-
Existentialism Is a Humanism
Discussed“Whereas if you just randomly pick one of the great philosophers, like if you just pick up Sartra, as I did the other day, I told you this, and read existential is existentialism is a humanism, and think this is complete nonsense.”
Where to get it
-
The Myth of Sisyphus
The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus is a philosophical essay that explores the concept of the absurd and the search for meaning in a seemingly meaningless universe.
Discussed“I think Kimu talks about a few examples at the beginning of the myth of Sephus, doesn't he?”
Where to get it
-
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by Ludwig Wittgenstein is a dense and revolutionary philosophical text exploring the intricate relationship between language, thought, and the boundaries of what can be meaningfully expressed.
Discussed“If you open Vickenstein's Tractus, the first line of the introduction is something like, "I don't think this book will be useful except to anybody who's already like in agreement with the things that it says."”
Where to get it
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is Being Smart Worth the Depression? - Alex O’Connor & Joe Folley - #1012 | Modern Wisdom | 2025-10-27 | 7 |