Welcome to Dreyfus Digest
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
The study of philosophy is not a pursuit for the passive mind. It demands engagement, attention, and the willingness to let ideas shape and reshape the way we understand ourselves and the world around us. Hubert Dreyfus, the great American philosopher, understood this deeply. His teachings, rooted in existentialism, phenomenology, and the works of Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty, offer profound insights into the complexities of human existence and the modern world. Through this Substack, I aim to carry forward the essence of his work by providing thoughtful, in-depth summaries and reflections on his lecture series.
What You Will Find Here
"The question of what it means to be human has never been more urgent."
— Hubert Dreyfus
This space is dedicated to unpacking the dense and often challenging ideas Dreyfus presented in his extensive body of work, with a particular focus on his major lecture series. The goal is to make these philosophical concepts accessible, engaging, and relevant for those who seek to explore them. Through these summaries, I hope to bring you closer to the heart of his thinking and allow his interpretations of figures like Heidegger, Dante, Nietzsche, Dostojevski, Sartre, Kierkegaard, Pascal, Virgil, Melville and Merleau-Ponty to come alive.
I will begin with Man, God, and Society in Western Literature, and will follow this series with other courses Dreyfus taught . Each series will be explored in depth, offering you an opportunity to engage with philosophy through detailed and reflective analysis.
Here’s what you can expect:
Man, God, and Society in Western Literature – From Gods to God and Back
This course will compare and contrast the Greek, Medieval, and Modern worlds as expressed in their greatest literature. We will follow in detail how, in the West, polytheism gradually became monolithic until everything was understood in relation to a single God. We will then explore how this synthesis unraveled, leaving our culture with a stark choice between nihilism and a return to polytheism. The goal of this course is not only to teach you how to approach and interpret difficult texts but also to give you a deeper understanding of the cultural paradigms that shape our shared beliefs and practices.
Readings: Homer, Aeschylus, Virgil, Dante, Pascal, Melville.
Existentialism in Film and Literature
This course tackles the existential crisis that arises when neither God nor Man can serve as the ultimate ground of meaning. It examines whether meaning can be found without reliance on a Supreme Being or autonomous humanism.
Readings: Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche.
Later Heidegger
Delve into Heidegger’s later works, focusing on themes of language, art, and technology. This series highlights Heidegger's shift toward understanding being through poetry and dwelling.
Being and Time
A breakdown of Dreyfus’s analysis of Heidegger’s Being and Time, focusing on existential concepts like Dasein, temporality, and being-toward-death.
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Explore Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of perception and embodiment, showing how our bodily engagement with the world shapes our experience.
Why Subscribe?
"The unexamined life is not worth living."
— Socrates
By subscribing, you will receive:
In-depth summaries of Dreyfus’s lecture series, presented in a way that’s both accessible and thought-provoking.
Philosophical essays that extend Dreyfus’s ideas to contemporary issues like technology, artificial intelligence, and modern society.
Reflections on existential themes that continue to shape our understanding of the human condition.
Whether you are a seasoned philosopher or a curious beginner, these writings will offer something of value. I aim to foster a community of thinkers, learners, and readers who are inspired by Dreyfus’s commitment to philosophy as a way of life.
The Road Ahead
"We do not think good philosophy, we live it."
— Hubert Dreyfus
As we explore the work of Hubert Dreyfus together, my hope is that these writings will serve as more than mere summaries. They are an invitation to think more deeply, to question the world around us, and to live more authentically. Join me in this intellectual journey, and let’s see where it leads.
