The Philo-Practice Agora
Electronic library for philosophical practitioners from around the world

TOPIC: SOLITUDE

  What is the value of solitude?

Lonely seagull 2.1- I am going away for several weeks. I need some solitude.

- Solitude?! Why would anybody choose to be lonely?

- Is SOLITUDE the same as LONELINESS?

- Mmm… Maybe not. Solitude is being alone, far from people. But this doesn’t mean that you feel lonely.

- Exactly. Loneliness is a feeling: You feel disconnected, abandoned, sad. But you can be alone, in solitude, without feeling lonely.

- I see. So being alone and being lonely are not the same. I sometimes feel lonely even in the middle of a crowd of people.

- And I am sometimes alone without feeling lonely. On the contrary, I feel liberated and peaceful.

- So is solitude a good thing?

Powys (1872-1963)

JOHN POWYS  Inner Solitude John Cowper Powys (1872-1963) was a British thinker, lecturer, novelist, literary critic, and poet. He was born to a family with several poets and writers, and stu...

Continue reading

Zimmermann (1728-1795)

JOHANN GEORG ZIMMERMANN   Solitude elevates the mind Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann (1728-1795) was a Swiss philosopher and medical doctor. He was born to a noble family, studied at the ...

Continue reading

Marías (1914-2005)

JULIÁN MARÍAS . 1. SOLITUDE 2. PHILOSOPHIZING INCLUDES ITS HISTORY      3. THE EXPERIENCE OF LIFE4. TRUTH  5. AUTHENTICITY . TOPIC 1.  SOLITUDE Solitude as a fo...

Continue reading

Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

    SØREN KIERKEGAARD    ATTITUDESOLITUDE    The aesthetic versus the ethical Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a Danish philosopher who is regarded as one of the two “fa...

Continue reading