The Torch
A metaphor for an intergenerational understanding of human life and existence
This month at The Portal we focus on the concept of Futures, see here: The Portal.
The next course at Philosophy Portal focuses on Christian Atheism and starts October 20th. See here: Christian Atheism.
Last spring I hosted a discussion with Arran Rogerson to focus on a concept he has been developing for years now, The Torch. Rogerson also writes a substack of the same name, which you can find linked below. Throughout our discussion we focus on concept of The Torch as a metaphor for an intergenerational notion of human existence and life.
Arran Rogerson is a writer and creator interested in men’s work and the meaning of life. In his work he helps creators, entrepreneurs, and seekers of all types to develop their ideas, increase their productivity, bring clarity to their purpose, and make better decisions by exploring the most important questions. He writes on substack and you can find links to all of his work below.
Throughout the video we discuss:
The Torch as a metaphor and ground for an experimental philosophy of what humans do, how humans make choices and value things across time
The basis of the metaphor is as a continuous form of life that transcends us, both as past and future, and it is our job to participate and keep carrying it forward
Our culture today tends towards solipsism, narcissism and extreme individualism; The Torch attempts to flip that narrative without going into extreme collectivism
Moving towards intergenerational existence requires recognising and working with libido socially and temporally
Shadowlands is a core metaphysics of The Torch, expressing a deep spiritual darkness many feel today, inclusive of the possibility to come back into light
There is a biological and cultural aspects to The Torch, life is not just about having kids, and not just about cultural creativity, but their interwoven package
It is difficult to live both a creative life and still be tapped into biological torch bearing; at the same time: it is not a challenge we can turn away from
Our historical time period is structured by living inside this weird technological machine created by humans, but now controlling or overdetermining humans
The similarities between The Torch and Christianity: may be replacing God with The Torch, and Christ with the Torch-bearer
The collapse of birth rates is alarming, especially in Asian countries, what does it mean? There is a real crisis going on: people are no longer bearing The Torch
We are seemingly entering a bifurcation between fully woke people (progressive liberals) and people having children (traditional conservatives)
At the same time we cannot go back to the old world, our world has changed, and The Torch is an attempt to articulate a philosophy that can help us meet it
To find out more about Arran Rogerson’s work, see: