Let’s workshop this poem about the delusion, peddled too often in philosophy-lite podcasts, that—to speak by analogy—solving our financial problems is as simple as redefining one dollar as a million.
"Deflection from the Existential Stakes" critiques the philosophical tendency to shift discussions of free will into historical or conceptual abstractions while neglecting the core existential implications. The poem begins by referencing Spinoza’s rejection of free will, framing it not as a timeless philosophical insight but as a critique tied to specific cultural and historical constructs—capitalism, private property, and Christianity’s confessional practices. These systems, the poem implies, shaped and codified notions of individual autonomy in ways that may not align with the metaphysical "truth" of free will. However, the poem challenges attempts to dismiss Spinoza’s critique by reframing free will as a historically contingent idea. Such deflections, while academically sophisticated, fail to address the existential stakes: whether our actions are genuinely "up to us." The poem highlights the futility of linguistic or conceptual maneuvers in mitigating the practical implications of determinism, a reality that remains unaltered by intellectual reconfigurations. The closing lines suggest that the essential question of autonomy and agency cannot be dissolved into word games, no matter how complex the discourse around them.
"Deflection from the Existential Stakes" critiques the philosophical tendency to shift discussions of free will into historical or conceptual abstractions while neglecting the core existential implications. The poem begins by referencing Spinoza’s rejection of free will, framing it not as a timeless philosophical insight but as a critique tied to specific cultural and historical constructs—capitalism, private property, and Christianity’s confessional practices. These systems, the poem implies, shaped and codified notions of individual autonomy in ways that may not align with the metaphysical "truth" of free will. However, the poem challenges attempts to dismiss Spinoza’s critique by reframing free will as a historically contingent idea. Such deflections, while academically sophisticated, fail to address the existential stakes: whether our actions are genuinely "up to us." The poem highlights the futility of linguistic or conceptual maneuvers in mitigating the practical implications of determinism, a reality that remains unaltered by intellectual reconfigurations. The closing lines suggest that the essential question of autonomy and agency cannot be dissolved into word games, no matter how complex the discourse around them.
Spinoza, free will, determinism, existentialism, agency, autonomy, capitalism, private property, confession booths, historical constructs, philosophical critique.