Read the full article which is published on Philosophy Bits (external link)We want to live happily, yet we suffer. We reflect on our experience and we wonder why we must suffer. Why must life be like this? We recognize there is a problem but we do not grasp its nature. We think something is missing, something we need to find, something that will complete us. We think there is a secret we could discover that would guarantee us endless pleasure and happiness.
We’re told by others that our suffering arises from the way we live. We’re told that we need to look at the world differently. We’re told that we need to live a simpler life, with fewer concerns and desires. We’re told that we need to be more organized, more intentional, and more in control. But even if we do all of these things, we still regularly experience suffering.
It’s true that our suffering arises from our way of life, from our perspective, from the unnecessary complexity we create, and from our reactive and distracted behaviour. But these are only symptoms of the problem.
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Foucault’s critique of power and knowledge shaped poststructuralism, yet its rejection of truth risks becoming its own orthodoxy. To remain...
