In the next three episodes, I look at different ways we might respond and choose to experience suffering we encounter in our lives. ·There are a few guiding texts which I'll use for my discussions over these shows: primarily Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning; Shakespeare’s Macbeth; Bessel Van De Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score, Brene Browne’s lecture series, The Power of Vulnerability, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World; comments by the German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche on this theme, and the Bible's Book of Job.

This episode looks at the the tactic of avoiding suffering: ways that we attempt to dissociate from, or numb ourselves out to, the suffering in our lives.

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In this episode, we consider the role that suffering and pain play in the philosophical life. Suffering and pain can cause us to "hit a bottom", propelling us to live differently as a result. We consider this topic through a discussion of Boethius's consolation of philosophy, also considering a diversity of resources from Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, an opinion piece by David Brooks in the NYTimes, Terrence Malick's film A Hidden Life, and the biography of Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Let this quote from Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning guide our reflections:
"The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity—even under the most difficult circumstances—to add a deeper meaning to his life. It may remain brave, dignified, and unselfish. Or in the bitter fight for self-preservation he may forget his human dignity and become no more than an animal."

In the first episode of the podcast, I outline goals of the podcast, address the question of why anyone would want to live philosophically in the first place, and explain the name of the podcast - the Heart and the Head.