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/lit/ - Literature

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[ERROR] No.2140988 [Reply] [Original]

What's some good cynical reading?

>> No.2140989
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Can anyone recommend me anything dealing with the solipsism?

>> No.2141002

Anything written by college students who think themselves jaded because they read Kafka and Lacan and Zizek

>> No.2141509

>>2140988
the sixth book of Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers

is about the cynics

>> No.2141511

>>2141002

I don't think you know what cynic means.

>> No.2141520

Thomas Ligotti.

>> No.2141542

I'm currently reading Cynics by William Desmond. Its a pretty decent historical overview of the first cynics (Diogones, Crates, etc) and their influences in Socrates and their reaction against Sophism. It has a few chapters on Cynical themes, and then moves on to classical and contemporary cynics. I haven't read to that part yet, but it seems to mostly be about Jesus and Nietzsche.

Critique of Cynical Reason by Peter Sloterdjik is also good. The central thesis is that cynicism (lower case cynicism, the contemporary apathetic variety that most people mean when they say cynical) is a fourth mode of false consciousness (the other three, according to Marx, being Ideology, Lies, Misunderstanding). A lot of talk of Diogenes, Jesus, Nietzsche, Aurelius and others.

As far as contemporary Cynics go, I wouldn't put Zizek in that category, although I do like his writing, he does hold on to some kind of "Revolution" even if it isn't the usual communist one. Jean Baudrillard on the other hand, is a great example of a contemporary Cynic. His ideas on Fatal Strategies, pushing something absurd beyond its limits (Fatal Strategies) and his idea that History has ended, not because of a resolution of dialectics, but because of their virtual resolution that preceded any actual History, is a very Cynical idea.

>> No.2141548

>>2141542
Also, anyone know anything about Sloterdjik? I'd like to read more of him. I understand he hosts a German language TV show called Im Glasshaus: Das Philosophiche Quartett. Unfortuantely I can't find translations anywhere, although the german language version is available via the TV show's station's website.

While I know /a/ and /tg/ amongst other boards occasionally band together for translation work, I somehow doubt /lit/ would be able to get together to do something similar.

>> No.2141574

>>2141548
philosophy is not children cartoons.

>> No.2141580

Emil Cioran

be sure to follow him on twitter

>> No.2141597

Anything by Margaret Atwood.

>> No.2141615

>>2141574
Yeah, thats why I'm not crossing my fingers for translation. Any Germans (or German speakers) on /lit/ today?

>> No.2141630

>>2141615
I know German, but I don't see much use in translating any of his shows. It's just jiggery pokery he delivers.

>> No.2141660

>>2141630
I don't know what you mean by jiggery pokery. What exactly are the shows like? The topics seem interesting. This months is "Ready to Use: The Exhausted Society". Past shows include "Poor but Sexy: The Future of our Cities" and "Pope Bennedict: The Crusade against Modernity".

While I'm sure his writings (and other peoples writings) are more interesting and nuanced, you have to realize the state of Television in America. Nothing intellectual takes place on American TV, sometimes PBS will actually do something interesting, but ussually they just babble on about classical music, the rainforest, and the everyday customs of foriegn cultures. Like some bullshit on mexican dancing, or hatian cooking.

>> No.2141698

>>2141630
Also, are you German? What are the general views on Habermas and Sloterdjik? Do these views fall in line with any german political parties?

Habermas has always been confusing to me. All the english translations I've seen are confusing, considering what I've read about Habermas, written by English or French speakers.

>> No.2141726

>>2141660

PBS documentary series: Nova, Frontline, POV

all excellent

>> No.2141752

I'd have to take issue with Frontline. I find it to be centrist bull. The Wikileaks documentry was a good example. No discussion of what was in any of the leaked documents, which are the real story. Not a homosexual military private, the New York Times, or Assange.

Maybe its just the episodes I've seen. Most have been about random murder cases. KC Anthony and other unimportant bull shit.

NOVA is cool, but ussually about boring animals, planets, coral reefs and stuff. Not exactly my cup of tea.

Charlie Rhodes sometimes interviews someone interesting. Usually not though.

>> No.2141754

Cynicism is dead.

Join the new sincerity!

>> No.2141763

I've only heard the term New Sincerity in regard to 1990s and 2000s painting. The Faux Naive school, Jules de Balincourt and those other assholes from San Fransisco. This guy came to my university for a lecture, which sucked. He then spent all evening out drinking with a bunch of the art major girls, trying to get laid and score weed.

Does New Sincerity have a meaning outside this?

>> No.2141804

testing, I keep getting abnormal reply. Will delete if this works.

>> No.2142384

>>2140988
life, just pretend there are subtitles

>> No.2142397

Mencken, of course. Best American journalist of all time.