The Thinkers Who Explain This Baffling Era
These philosophers are less arcane—and more relevant—than some readers might think.
TL;DR
- Roland Barthes' "The World of Wrestling" helps explain the symbolic importance of events like UFC 250.
- Elias Canetti's *Crowds and Power* sheds light on the human impulse to join crowds for emotional release and a sense of power.
- Bruno Latour's work on the sociology of science is relevant to understanding vaccine skepticism and how individual influences shape scientific truth.
- Walter J. Ong's *Orality and Literacy* offers an analogy for the potential shift away from written culture towards new forms of human consciousness, potentially influenced by AI.
- Hannah Arendt's writings on the limbo of modernity can help understand the disorientation of living without established models for life.