Tolstoy's Guide to Wasting Your Life | The Death of Ivan Ilyich
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- čas přidán 31. 05. 2024
- How should we best spent our finite time on this earth? This is an excellent question pondered by philosophers for thousands of years. But in Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich, he asks a different question: how would we waste our lives, and die unfulfilled, having never taken control of our existence.
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00:00 Wasting our Lives
01:07 Memento Mori
05:11 Social Roles and Societal Lies
09:30 Alone in Public
15:05 The World of Ivan Ilyich
LINKS AND CORRECTIONS:
First of all I would like to thank @tommyobrien6749 for pointing out this text would be a good topic for a video!
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CLARIFICATIONS:
I am talking about Tolstoy in a largely secular way here, but it is important to remember the effect of religion on his philosophy
Would you consider posting your videos as podcasts on Spotify?
Hey @unsolicitedadvice9198 that subscriber was me 😊 thanks so much for doing this video!! You've made my day! I actually was struggling a bit lately but this is such a great pickup!! Keep up the good work 👍
Ah I have added your name to the comment! Thank you again!
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"Sing like no one is listening.
Love like you’ve never been hurt.
Dance like nobody’s watching,
and live like it’s heaven on earth."
-Leo Tolstoy
I prefer Norm's version of this poem, iykyk
@@ChunkietaI didn't even know he was sick!
Isn't this a Mark Twain quote?
@@OtsoO I thought it was Taylor Swift with as many white women who have this plaque in their homes and profile descriptions.
I thought it said by Aristote 😂
Going through a particular hard stage of life, your videos never fail to make me stop and rethink things, awesome work
Ah thank you! I am really happy you are finding them helpful. I hope things get better for you soon
@@unsolicitedadvice9198 thank you man
Hey bro, there is this philosopher named Dr. Esther Meek and her work really helped me make it through the hardest time in my life, particularly in the area of applying other philosophy. She writes about epistemology and her book "Little Manual for Knowing" is short + cheap if you would be interested to read it.
You can also see her speak at a variety of places on CZcams, one of the best series is a week at Dallas Theological Seminary, but you don't need to be a Christian to benefit from her epistemology. The video "why we all need epistemological therapy" is the first in the series (I actually have a playlist that I think is public 😁)
As a cancer survivor, i can sadly attest to this. Been rebooting myself ever since (two years in June), things are still not great, but improving.
DON'T WAIT FOR CANCER, PEOPLE!!! Live now!
can i ask, how did you find the will to continue on? i'm also dealing with cancer, and it feels like my willpower has been sucked out of me. i don't want to waste this second chance i've been given.
As a graduate of c.19th Russian literature and philosophy, and publisher of Lermontov and Leskov, I applaud your concise and thoughtful ideas on Tolstoy's lesser known works.
I thoroughly enjoy this philosophical exploration of different philosophers and look forward to more in the future. This one makes me ponder hard, since I'm in a similar situation where I put 200% in as taught and raised to do for decades, only to find myself in my mid-30's going 'why for did I do all this soulkilling stuff with no achievement of reward?' It was all a lie of a life for everyone else, and not truly what I wanted or needed to do.
Not one iota did I really put in for me, and alas I have no idea who I am and need to figure it out now that I have no one to tell me how to be. It's tough, but able to be done, especially when you're at face regularly with your own shadow.
Ah thank you so much! You are very kind. And best of luck with your journey
You either try and fit in with everyone’s version of you to gain acceptance or you put up with their fury and be your authentic self. Another fantastic video 👍
Thank you! I am glad you liked it
The real question is, what is your authentic self? We act different ways around different people subconsciously. So do you really only have one way of being yourself.?
@@theoptimisticnihilist504 I would say that an inauthentic self would be living up to the expectations of others 100% of the time. There may not be a way of being 100% authentic to yourself living within a society. Ivan illyich died knowing his whole life was wrong because he allowed people to direct his life. A life more authentic would have resulted in a completely different life to the one he had.
What if your authentic self is a serial killer?
@@konyvnyelv. if your authentic self is to be a serial killer then you would almost certainly have a total lack of empathy. You wouldn’t be in a position where you would be trying to please anybody but yourself.
Another banger as always, your quality is always top tier
Thank you! I am really glad you are finding the videos interesting
100%
22 years of a marriage and two children made, I finally kissed the marital loneliness goodbye. Been alone for a decade and more now, never felt that type of loneliness again.
"what is the greatest wonder'"
"each day death strikes and we live as though we were immortal"
- Bhadagav Gita
We'll be able to live forever thanks to technology but I personally don't want eternal life
I cried on the last page of Ivan Ilych. And nowadays I get a bit paranoid when I bump my hip on something accidentally.
The human body is an incredible thing. I think people forget or don't know that fitness, training and rest can heal and strengthen your body, like against a bump on something
@@figy1288While that's true, the tragic truth is, no matter how fit you are, how well you take care of your body...all it takes is a disease or a stupid accident, and you collapse like a house of cards...
I feel very lucky for finding your videos, they feel like talking to a really knowledgeable friend
I absolutely love the way you're able to be visually touched by the horrifing message of the book while explaining it clearly and in a charming way
It's scary how I've been thinking about this very concept the last few days, and this video just so happens to grace my feed. Thank you for the insightful knowledge as always.
A small detail I've noticed is that Pyotr Ivanovich's last name (patronym) matches Ivan Ilyich's first name. Of course they're not actually father and son, and it probably wasn't the author's intent to make them match; but as Petr Ivanovich was about to become, in some sense, a successor of Ivan Ilyich's fate, it feels metaphorical.
just went through some personal struggles, this video helped reevaluate some things and cope a little, thank you and great work!
You seem like such a wonderful young man, so it brings me no joy to deliver the message that the day will come when you have that realization and it will likely bring you to your knees. I hope for your sake that it hits you young so that you can learn from it and carry on an even more fulfilled man. In that way, it shouldn't be something to fear, but just a mere stage in life, a growing pain to look forward to developing through. 🙏🏼
Also, thank you so much for your amazing videos. You summarize the philosophy that I've read over my many years better than I can for the people that I care about. And I think that's making a difference in some of their lives. If I met you on the street, I would shake your hand with tears in my eyes and offer you my heartfelt gratitude.
I just read this book, and i always come looking for your videos as they give me a proper final thought about what i understood from my readings. great video as usual
Another great video and very well explained.
In today’s world it is really difficult to find authenticity and genuinity as today’s society is facing the pressure of competition and norms specially after the era of social media. It is almost like everything we think and believe is force fed to us. We are driven by ego, or expectations or insecurity or just the societal norms forced onto us, which we believe that we willingly and genuinely following ourselves which we might not realise ourselves that we are not and instead being controlled.
I really liked this video and the “why you can’t trust good people” by you. Thanks for such great content.
Thank you for watching them!
Fantastic video as always. You deserve sooo much more with this channel. I truly hope your channel keeps growing and more people start to see how valuable your work here is.
Ah thank you! I am already pretty blown away with how fast the channel has grown
That is such a good video. Well done. That was really good to watch, your oratory, gestures, images, subtitles, sources, storytelling, cuts and timing. I look forward for one day i make and mount videos like yours about my topics.
I recently found your channel and I think it's one of the best.
Thank you!
The problem today is not that YOU waste YOUR life, but that others are wasting your life for you without your consent
I have been in a situation though my adult life that has haunted me for the last 10ish years where I felt what I was promissed if I sloted myself into my role was never delivered. I since hit a dark place and began theraphy 2 years ago but its something I still struggle with, being myself, acting acording to my actual will is a horrifying prospect, but Ive seen the emptyness and misery of not doing it and I dont want to go back to it.
I love your videos and watch them as soon as they come out keep up the good work.
Listening to your thoughts is like a therapy to me, Thank you.
I finally read this a week ago after putting it off for ages and it gave me such an existential crisis! I had a look to see if you’d made a video on it and really hoped you would make one asap!! thank you for this!! 😁😁
Ah it is a cracking story! And it can certainly have that crisis-inducing effect
As higher primates we walk a balance between our individuality and the painful isolation individuality implies. We can paradoxically be members of many groups and retain our individuality because the surrender of individuality is not essential to group affiliation, unless the *group* requires it. "Propriety" is simply peer pressure, reinforced by tradition which is peer pressure from dead people. We choose how much this matters to us, but are also responsible for the consequences of the expectation of others. No one is an island, nor are we leaves
Beautiful analysis man, this is one of my all time favorite stories. Literally left nothing unsaid.
Ah thank you! It is a cracking novella
I have watched a large no of your videos , this is my first comment and i wish u success in your YT carrier your video's are exceptional and extremely informative. Thanks
Ah thank you! That is very kind!
You make excellent points.
Ultimately, I think that living for a dream is a very fulfilling way to live.
That said: even if there is no extreme glory or hardship, a life lived with love and service toward others is a life well lived.
Definitely very thought provoking video. There's definitely a tight rope that can form between our goals and our obligations.
Your summaries frame the novel really well and add to the experience.
Thank you!
My absolute favorite video thus far x
The way you convey this information is really second guessing what I’ve been doing up to this point. Thank you
Thank you for watching!
Philosophy gains a whole new meaning when i watch your videos makes me think of such possibilities.
This video was both terrifying and inspiring! You should have millions of subscribers. Hopefully your channel will blow up soon 👍
You are on the level of or above the best of philosophy teachers. So concise and clear…
Could you do a video on non-secular philosophers “solutions” to death anxiety. If religious and scientific solutions can’t genuinely explain what happens after we die, what can?
Just few weeks ago I had to make a decision, a bit tough. I was still questioning wether I made the right choice until I saw this video. Its a beautiful world.
Once again, I am early. Thank you for making these videos. This is one of my favorite channels right now.
Thank you! Encouraging comments like these really make my day
You are my go to source for philosophical realizations. Love your content❤
Thank you! I am really glad you are enjoying the channel
Just watched this one; really good. First one of your videos I’ve watched….had to subscribe. Looking forward to others. Thanks and keep it up! Best regards.
Thank you! And it is good to have you on board
As long as you're here, wanted to thank you for making videos on Dostoevsky, helped a Russian understand Russian literature a little bit better
Ah thank you for watching them! I would love to read them in Russian one day
Great video !!!!Got me thinking
Love seeing this channel growing
Thanks!
Great Video, one of your best!
Thank you!
It’s easy to say this is my new favorite channel :)
Ah thank you!
I really like your video, they're rich in information, very educating for myself.
Thank you!
Amazing video. Really made me think about my Alevels
Your an amazing speaker, your cadence and annunciation are near perfect. Your sure to go far with that my friend.
Thank you! That’s very kind of you!
Bro there we go with another banger..! you never miss, You are so underarated this is peck content, looking forward..to your videos every week. ~
Thank you! I really appreciate it
Great video, yet again!
If anyone is interested in litrature on this matter I would also recommend The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati, it's one of my favourite novels but it often goes unnoticed.
Ah thank you for the recommendation. I'll have to get myself a copy
Idk if you have watched "Vienna Blood" but you remind me of the character Dr Max Lieberman! I love your videos man!
Good work as always
Thank you!
What a timing! I was just reading this novel haha
Death is certain yet always a surprise
Really good and thought provoking
Thank you! That’s very kind
Nothing made me think more acutely about my mortality than The Death of Ivan Ilyich. It's one of those literary creations that is just so life-like, it's actually terrifying.
I dislike the idea that we always have to gain something (which contradicts present moment thinking) and is exactly why the fear of doing so is why it happens. What did we have to gain from being born? To accept death isn't about gain or to cope with the fear of it, its to realize... we, as individuals, decide what it means to one day die for ourselves so we know, for ourselves, what it means to live.
I like your face.
Can we live our life without gaining something from work
When I had to read this in college, I also happened to be sick and the story gave me existential nightmares.
So today we found out that there was a voting for best-looking philosopher and this guy lost to Kierkegaard
Wonderful video
Thank you! That is very kind
Thank you this video is great
Thank you for watching it!
I used to have a friend who I could discuss philosophy with on a daily. Your channel reminds me of those times but unfortunately he is more a diogenes now. I miss him but drugs ruined his life...
Diogenes is based though.
Too relatable. I know this second-hand pain
Warning.
To be fulfilled in life you must share your experience and intelligence to benefit future generations.
You cannot waste your life when there is no future.
I know you make classic literature and philosophy videos but it would be amazing if you cover the Fight Club novel by Chuck Palahniuk and 1984 by George Orwell. Keep up the good work mate ;)
Love your work my friend. Love the pace although certain ideas could be expanded on as it may take longer to understand for someone like me. My iq is in double digits.
You’re a scholar and a gentleman.
good video
Normies don't want yall to know this, but if you lack goals and purpose, it is possible to alienate enough that you enter the "autopilot". Mad feeling. Also it kills you in every way but physically.
Love your videos brother …
You are my Jordan Peterson
I remember reading that story, and being horrified by how insensitive and narcissistic his wife was. While he was dying, and moaning in pain, she complained about how the noise he was making was wearing on her nerves!😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮
The film, seconds 1966, handles part of this beautifully.
been following you since last 6 months
You gotta do a live QnA at 100K
Thank you! And I think I'll do a Q&A of some sort, though I don't have a livestream set up, so it may have to be a video answering comments on a community post or something similar
babe wake up, new unsolicited advice dropped
I do not think that fear of death must or should be our primary motivation to live a meaningful life. At least I never needed this memento mori whip above my head - even before I came to understand that this is not our one and only stay here, and that we will have a lot more opportunities to catch up the lives lost. So do not panick and just let it be sometimes.
Reincarnation is demonic delusion. It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment. Remembrance of death is more a tool than a motivation but it does motivate us when we keep an eternal perspective.
@@ElonMuskrat-my8jy I think you only can say what motivates YOU, not US or me. I never needed death as a motivation, to find meaning in life is for me motivation in itself. As for "demonic delusion" - I often see a more of demonic influence in fanatic "christians" or jews.
@@alena-qu9vj As I said the remembrance of death is more of a tool than a motivation. It's not the meaning of life either. I would agree that many fanatical Christians and Jews have demonic influence but that doesn't mean reincarnation isn't heresy taught by demons to keep us from repentance, faith in Christ, saving our immortal souls and preparing for eternal judgment.
@@ElonMuskrat-my8jy Reincarnacion is the only concept which gives meaning to free will. You reap what you saw. You have enough opportunity and time to repent your previous bad deeds and motivation to learn and actively change your life/fate for better. And you learn to do it willingly, from really deep understanding of the relatedness and consequencess of everything, not only passively from fear of some cruel image of god and his punishment.
I think you have a false idea of what reincarnation realy is.
@@alena-qu9vj You realize the phrase "you reap what you sow" is Biblical right? Our souls don't wander into trees or insects after we die to make up for past sins. They are immortal and will exist forever. They will be restored to our bodies at the resurrection because the deeds we did with our souls also were done with the body. How we live in this world determines how we experience the world to come. Those seeking to obey Christ and live in His Church will have ever-wellbeing and those who refuse to humble themselves before Christ, His Gospel and His Church will experience ever-illbeing. This life was given to us for repentance. There is no repentance in the life to come.
I wonder if you might eventually do a series on Becker's meditations on the knowledge of death and it's consequences.
I do find it very interesting, so it is possible
Great video. Ive lived the authentic life Tolstoy suggests. I quit the most powerful bureaucratic job simply because i was unsuited for it and this was when i needed it do badly to screw my uncles who tortured snd looted my family. Gods grace i got into a bank where most people were kind. I was a literature masters and inwas influenced by camus and existentialists. I was abrank student so i knew i would get a teachers job.later i did years of behavioral training where i learnt about authenticity. We live in a materialistic world where the only wrongly authentic peoplee are thrjihadis who and putins soldiers dpilling blood in wars. We need a new writer like Tolstoy to bring the eorld to face these realities and make us more human.thank you for your video. Yes one can make the aithentic step and be satisfied not totally fulfilled
It started in 2014 with Maidan and glowies in DC.
Life doesn’t matter and nothing you do does ❤
Who cares about life it is meaning less
Thinking to improve your life, and overthinking to ruin it. How do you find balance?!
Hey Joe, your Valentine's video got me interested in obscure philosophers and writers and so i was wondering if you'd be interested in making a video about Philipp Mainlander. He's a german pessimistic philosopher whose one and only book "The philosophy of redemption" recently got translated into English. Also if you do end up making a video would you mind just crediting me for the idea. Anyways great video as always.
Ah I'll have a look! And I'll credit you with the idea if I do make a video on him
@@unsolicitedadvice9198 Much appreciated mate, and have a wonderful rest of your day!
Would you consider doing a review of Boethius's The Consolation of Philosophy?
No Longer Human is more psychology than philosophy, but I'd love to hear you discuss that book.
Leo Tolstoy is an amazing Russian author. It would be wonderful if you can read confessions
It's different for everybody. This assumption that death is so horrible a thing to intake emotionally assumes that everyone finds life a riveting adventure, they're comfortable in their own skin, that they're not just living the same way that someone lives in a waiting room. I mean this video just completely overlooks the fact that a ton of people not only don't fear death but induce it.
I never r really found a way to appreciate life enough to care so much. It is not that I hate life, I just Don't feel it has the significance we often give it.
no joke this time, the first 23 seconds hit hard
Basically Aristotle had already talked about some of these then, that you cannot have happiness by wealth, honor/recognition from others, and pleasures--which very well what our living generations had been doing more so than the previous ones.
Edit: by the way can you make a video about that topic of Aristotle? particularly our difference from plants and animals and his eudemonia? it'd be interesting to see your take on it, especially with your wide knowledge of most recent literatures
Ah funnily enough it should be my next video (or the one after that). It is near in the pipeline
In college I wrote a 100% A paper on this short story for English. I stayed up all night for it. At the time after reading it it became my favorite novella. My theme was how Ivan spent his life on vanity chasing the three main passions of lust for pleasure, possessions and position and had neglected true life in obedience to God and caring for his eternal soul.
"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." - 1 John 2:15-17
I am surprised you neglected the ending where Ivan takes the Holy Eucharist and then experiences a blessed death free of pain and fear. It was a powerful and beautiful ending which stuck with me all these years. Perhaps you didnt want to spoil the ending. In the Orthodox Divine Liturgy, we pray for 'A Christian ending to our life, painless, blameless, peaceful, and a good defense before the dread judgment seat of Christ." Sadly Ivan let hatred reappear for his wife after the Holy Eucharist, but he did experience the blessed death we pray for. The Apostle Paul says to the Corinthians that death will be swallowed up by immortality at the resurrection of the dead. "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin...". An onlooker says to him "It is finished", the final words of Christ on the cross. The ending is a Paschal victory which the Holy Eucharist brings us to when we partake of Christ Who trampled down death by death.
"He sought his former accustomed fear of death and did not find it. “Where is it? What death?” There was no fear because there was no death.
In place of death there was light."
Unfortunately for Tolstoy he died outside the Orthodox Church. He wanted a priestmonk from Optina monastery to come to him but he was too weak to go. He sent a few other priestmonks in his stead but his companions would not let them through to see him.
Basically you can summarize this story with a quote from Dostoevsky: - Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.
so many of our choices come down to picking between coke and pepsi. and even then most places serve only either coke or pepsi.
Yes.
Awesome
Thank you!
came at the roight time. i was just thinking if i'm wasting my life rn by being modest and not too out there at 3 am (+63), and this might help me arrive to a small conclusion before i go to bed
the comment about making the sign of the cross never going wrong made me cackle
This is why EGO is so important, "I" is superior then "us"; desire is more better.
Everything Ivan Ilyich did wrong was due to his ego. He allowed himself to follow the guidelines given by other people, yes, but much of his issue was his own ego.
Ego's not much of a solution here. While 'everyone else" is aligned with eachother about what is an important want to live, it all derives from the individual ego. "It's good to be powerful, and have material sucecss, etc" This is what the group says, but it is also what the ego is constantly telling the individual.
Ayyy!!!! I love these videos!
Thank you! I am so glad you are enjoying them
Hell is other people
-Sartre
In our search for identity we are quick to forget that much of what makes us our selves is borrowed or forced onto us from others
Can you make a video on how one can apply these philosophies into their daily life? I myself am trying various methods such as journaling, and talking to people about their interpretationa, but i guess i require more assistance. Some tips from you might help
Ah that is a very good idea! I'll have to have a think as to what else I do to incorporate them
The Orthodox Church Fathers wrote volumes about the remembrance of death and other spiritually beneficial topics like acquiring self-knowledge and being mindful and watchful over our thoughts.
As an Unhappy Indian Engineer, I can confirm this part 5:53
Brother, there are different translations of death of Ivan ilyach. Can you please suggest best version to read. I'm from India by the way.
its rather funny actually as people often call me depressing but in fact its just me ever so often reminding myself that death is never far.its not here yet.but it will be and only once it gets closer will we constantly feel its grip around us.well….for most of us i live each day within reason but also strive to make it my own and id advise everyone to do the same.