/lit/ - Literature

Until human voices wake us and we drown.

THIS:
>The first is that the strictly disembodied individual is strictly solitary, and it must remain for him indeed an utterly empty, though not meaningless, speculation, as to whether there are any other members of his class. The other, and less commonly noticed point, is that in order to retain his idea of himself as an individual, he must always think of himself as disembodied, as a former person. That is to say, he must contrive still to have the idea of himself as a member of a class or type of entities with whom, however, he is now debarred from entering into any of those transactions the past fact of which was the condition of his having any idea of himself at all. Since then he has, as it were, no personal life of his own to lead, he must live much in the memories of the personal life he did lead; or he might, when this living in the past loses its appeal, achieve some kind of attenuated vicarious personal existence by taking a certain kind of interest in the human affairs of which he is a mute and invisible witness—much like that kind of spectator at a play who says to himself; ‘That’s what I should have done (or said)’ or ‘If I were he, I should…’. In proportion as the memories fade, and this vicarious living palls, to that degree his concept of himself as an individual becomes attenuated. At the limit of attenuation there is, from the point of view of his survival as an individual, no difference between the continuance of experience and its cessation. Disembodied survival, on such terms as these, may well seem unattractive. (P.F. Strawson - Individuals)
is what Osamu Dazai's "No Longer Human" should have been about! No pathetic ramblings of a chad Actively participating in life with embarassingly shallow reflections upon himself or, the others, humans. That book absolute fucking failed the point of having the title "No Longer Human", and instead adapted into some anime tier all-beloved-protagonist story, with extra levels of teenage edge.
Such a pathetic novel!
I can't believe so many here actually believe it to be profound without being disgusted by all the obvious flaws in this work of Dazai.

/lit/ likes the worst Bildungsromane.
Same reason "No Longer Human" is a disappointment.
Ill make a trilogy of /lit/s disappointment trilogy
>maybe rather call it overrated

So it's a novel about a twenty-something-year-old man who feels disassociated from the world and human relationships, who works a mediocre dead-end job, who craves intimacy but is unwilling to be intimate with others, who wastes his own time, and who muses on his vague and endless anxiety.

But, he's aware that he's literally just a character in a cliche absurdist novel. A fictional entity inhabiting a fictional world, which isn't even exciting or thoughtful--it's just meta.

How did reading No Longer Human make you feel? After I read it I felt that I wanted to live a life like Yozo.

>>12237639
What is it?

>>12234326
No Longer Human.

How did he get so much pussy?

>>12077732
this wojak

>>11361601

>>10958791
>44 years old as of a week ago
>never hugged a girl
>never held hands with a girl
>never kissed a girl
>never had a gf
>haven't had any friends for the past 30 years
I think the worst part is that I never even tried. If I wasn't so indifferent maybe things could have changed. Or maybe I'm just a coward.

Hoping to make a /lit/ chart of books about happiness. Post suggestions in this thread. Give a short explanation of the main theses if possible.

I think separating them by genre rather than tier makes more sense... Will post a few very different books to get started.

>Philosophy
Nicomachean Ethics (Aristotle) - one of the earliest works on the topic of happiness; suggests practising moderation.
Tao Te Ching (Lao Tzu) - "do nothing", be content with what you have. Don't personally agree but I thought I'd include some Eastern stuff.
Walden (Thoreau) - live simply and deliberately, and be self-reliant. It's a good middle ground between the Stoics and Nietzsche.

>Psychology
Man's Search for Meaning (Viktor Frankl) - argues that we need purpose and that purpose can make us happy even in the worst conditions.
Affective Neuroscience (Jaak Panksepp) - more of a scientific text about emotions, less "therapeutic" but still has some important lessons.
Thinking, Fast and Slow (Daniel Kahneman) - only part of it is about happiness, but it has some very good chapters on long-term decision making.

Have you ever tried to talk philosophy or literary fiction to people in real life? What was your experience?

The reason I'm asking is that this happened earlier today:

>In college dorms
>Three other students
>They take history, geography and English Literature
>Geography guy has a big moustache
>Your moustache is bigger than Nietzche's, I say
>He responds: who's Neesha?
>Friedrich Nietzche...

At this point I think he misheard me, but after repeating myself several times, I learn he has no fucking clue who this guy is.

I turn to the English lit student but he stares at me blankly. Am I being taken for a fool? How is this happening? Further questioning made is clear none of them knew who he was.

>>10888370
>tfw I almost cried on the train today when a group of high school kids sat next to me and made small talk with each other
>it was inane shit about who said what or how they're classes were going
>tfw I never got to have these conversations with people when I was in high school
>tfw I haven't had a proper conversation with anyone for over 10 years
>tfw this is how it's gonna be for the rest of my life

>>10852531
>tfw my life has just been one long stream of failures
When does this quest end? I want my money back...

how do I get over writer's block?
I had a psychotic break six months ago and now I seem unable to write
my vocabulary has shrunk to around 20%
I struggle to describe even my immediate surroundings and can't visualise anything
I haven't written a journal entry in a year

what do?
I'm gradually becoming illiterate
how do I make it stop?

>thank you for everything you've done for me.

>>10793761
Was the first book I decided to read after almost 8 years of not reading. Put it down about 3/4 of the way through.
> ~1300 pages
Too much filler if you ask me. Wasn't the worst book I've read.
>I give it 3/5
>Masterpiece

>tfw I read a well renowned classical work of art but was too stupid to understand its significance or to properly enjoy it
Anyone know this feel? What was her name /lit/?

how do i stop taking everything at face value?
it's like my mind is fixated on the illusion of an objective reality to the extent that i don't even make logical assumptions when reading
i can barely process themes and concepts in relation to the rest of the book

i never used to be like this
what do?

>>10721098
No longer Human by Osamu Dazai. Bonus: Last book he wrote before he killed himself.

>>10654192
>I just want to be freed from this hell
I say this every day, but for many different reasons.