Seth Andrews

Depression, Suicide and the Secret to Happiness

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US, and the trends are on the rise. There seems to be a question about whether or not life is worth living that very few are talking about. On October 2nd, 2018, The Thinking Atheist published an episode titled “A Secular Perspective on Suicide,” which, in our estimation, offered little hope. But does Christianity offer a higher calling for suicidal people, or is it actually a contributing cause of their anguish? Is life worth the effort it takes to endure the pain? Is there any hope for people struggling with severe depression or suicidal ideation, or are cliches and slogans the best we can offer? Perhaps happiness is better obtained as an accidental byproduct rather than the chief end of a well lived life.

Tolstoy: What Can Beauty Teach Us? (3/4)

There are brief moments in our lives where we are thrust out of ourselves and granted to see life as exceptionally magnificent, but also too close to touch, and impossible to fathom. For some people, it is love, poetry, friendship or maybe a film which causes us to see our world as a beautiful and cohesive whole for a fleeting and mysterious moment. For Andrei, it is the sky over a battlefield, a few notes in a song, and the cold grip of death. What do these moments of profound insight and deep emotion show us about life?

Tolstoy: Can We Find The Meaning of Life? (2/4)

Pierre Bezukhov searches for meaning in high society, sacrifice, relationships and religion, but ultimately he finds these things purposeless. Seth Andrews, host of The Thinking Atheist, says that the question of meaning is a bad question. Jordan Peterson says that personal responsibility provides an adequate foundation for meaning. St. Augustine says our hearts are restless until they find God. Leo Tolstoy says we have the whole question backwards.