"The Signifiers of Suffering" (Patreon)

Patreon Exclusive. The Minimalists are joined by philosopher Peter Rollins to discuss signifiers, suffering, the “death of God,” desire, happiness, and wisdom, and they answer the following questions:

What is the “discourse of the analyst”? (02:44)

What are Jacque Lacan’s four discourses? (03:04)

What purpose does a psychoanalyst actually serve in therapy? (05:30)

What are the two kinds of suffering? (06:59)

What is “unenjoyable enjoyment”? (11:13)

What are “signifiers”? (12:06)

Why does the attainment of products never satisfy us? (15:22)

What is “fort/da”? (18:18)

How do you define “trauma”? (21:42)

What is “original sin”? (22:53)

What is the difference between coffee without cream and coffee without milk? (25:12)

What did Freud consider the difference between the problem and the solution to the problem? (33:44)

What is the Diderot effect? (37:22)

What is the difference between determinism and freedom? (41:04)

How is all sex abnormal? (44:43)

What does being a Christian mean for Peter? (48:19)

What does Peter consider the goal of his work? (53:02)

What is the difference between obsessives and hysterics? (55:37)

What are religions of nihilism, hedonism, and the absurd? (1:01:58)

How does the pleasure principle compare to the reality principle? (1:03:08)

What is “pyrotheology”? (1:05:51)

What is the value of lack? (1:07:30)

How is the phrase, “On a long enough timeline, none of this matters,” a net positive that won’t lead people down a destructive path? (1:11:16)

How did Gabriel Marcel view a problem versus a mystery? (1:15:22)

LINKS

Article: Strategies to Avoid Suffering

Book: Fight Club

Book: Love People, Use Things

Book: Missing Out

Instagram: Mallory French

Instagram: Jordan Moore

Instagram: Podcast Shawn

Instagram: Danny Unknwn

Patreon: Peter Rollins

Podcast: The Fundamentalists

Resources: The Minimalists

Subscribe: The Minimalists

Text: 937-202-4654

Tour: The Minimalists

Website: Beulah

Website: Peter Rollins

MAXIMS

“We can tell what we want to hear based on who we solicit for advice.” —Peter Rollins

“The most radical knowledge is not the stuff we don’t know, but the stuff that we know but we don’t want to know that we know.” —Peter Rollins

“The trauma that we cannot speak always finds a way to speak.” —Peter Rollins

“Symptoms are prophets that speak the truth—they tell us the truth we cannot speak.” —Peter Rollins

“If there’s no meaning of life, there’s still meaning in life.” —Peter Rollins

“A meaningful life resides at the intersection of devotion and love.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

“No one hears the sermon—they overhear the sermon.” —Peter Rollins

“The pursuit of happiness is the path to misery.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

This Maximal episode corresponds with Minimal episode 323.