The Pursuit of Happiness

We intuitively understand that happiness is our aim and the very point of our existence. I outline the various theories on happiness, and use Hannah Arendt’s vita activa and Georges Bataille’s concept of sovereignty to explore how we can be happy in a world that seems to, on the contrary, propel us away from our happiness.

Jackass! What a Blast!

Jackass! What a blast! How I first discovered the film franchise was when I needed a mood lightener. I was studying philosophy at the time and really needed a laugh, and so I searched for ‘wacky films’ online. And boy, what a discovery.

The Right to be Neutral: Should Russians Lose Their Jobs?

In the last week, two prominent Russian musicians had been dismissed or forced to resign from their jobs. In today’s parlance, they have been cancelled. What precisely did they do to merit their cancellation? Or in this case, what didn’t they do?

Labour, Work, Action by Hannah Arendt

Hannah Arendt investigates the sources of human happiness in her essay entitled Labour, Work, Action, exploring the relation and differences between the three concepts. The text was originally a lecture delivered in 1964.[1] Since the ancient Greeks, the vita contemplativa (life of contemplation) has been considered a superior form of life than the vita activa (life of action). However, both aspects can be found in every person, as distinct but related “faculties” and are also “ways of life.”