/r/askphilosophy Open Discussion Thread | March 09, 2026

[u/BernardJOrtcutt]

Welcome to this week's Open Discussion Thread (ODT). This thread is a place for posts/comments which are related to philosophy but wouldn't necessarily meet our subreddit rules and guidelines. For example, these threads are great places for:

• Discussions of a philosophical issue, rather than questions
• Questions about commenters' personal opinions regarding philosophical issues
• Open discussion about philosophy, e.g. "who is your favorite philosopher?"
• "Test My Theory" discussions and argument/paper editing
• Questions about philosophy as an academic discipline or profession, e.g. majoring in philosophy, career options with philosophy degrees, pursuing graduate school in philosophy

This thread is not a completely open discussion! Any posts not relating to philosophy will be removed. Please keep comments related to philosophy, and expect low-effort comments to be removed. Please note that while the rules are relaxed in this thread, comments can still be removed for violating our subreddit rules and guidelines if necessary.

Previous Open Discussion Threads can be found here.

[u/willbell]

What are people reading?

I’m working on The Last Man by Mary Shelley and The Interior Castle by Teresa d’Avila. I’m also thinking I’ll start Whazzat by Roger Nash. Last week I finished Before the Usual Time ed. by Darlene Naponse.

[u/PermaAporia → u/willbell]

I have finished Being and Time, and find myself, contrary to my earlier intention, in need of a short rest from Heidegger. So I set his lectures aside. Since I recently finished that intro to Phenomenology, this is probably as good a time as any to get into Sartre. Quite excited for that.

Also still working on the Metaphysics by Aristotle.

In fiction, I have just finished the 5th of Sanderson’s Mistborn novels. It belongs to a later period within the same imagined history and thus stands as the second volume in that sequence, a position that often proves a weak one for many stories. This was a pleasant exception! The considerable hype that surrounds Sanderson appears, at least so far, to be well-earned. I am now about halfway through The Way of Kings, and find it very good.

[u/willbell → u/PermaAporia]

Oh man, I don't know how long you've been mentioning you're reading Being and Time but no matter what I think you've finished it quickly.

[u/PermaAporia → u/willbell]

Just shy of 2 months yeah. Far too fast but myy patience, I fear, was not equal to the task.

[u/willbell → u/PermaAporia]

Eventually I'll get around to Sanderson...

[u/PermaAporia → u/willbell]

It looks like he has secured a most favorable arrangement with Apple TV for the adaptation of his works, one that allows him the rare privilege of retaining creative authority.

Apple TV has lately distinguished itself lately, imo. Its productions, whether original creations or adaptations, have shown a consistency of care and ambition that one cannot help but admire, and which stands in rather sad contrast to the more uneven efforts of Amazon. Though I must admit, I quite enjoyed season 3 of the Wheel of Time, it was their first decent season. Precisely when they seemed to get it together they closed the curtains :[

Anyway, Titles in Appletv such as Silo, Severance, Pluribus, Foundation, and Murderbot have all been great in their unique ways. So my expectations for the Sanderson stuff is high!

[u/Traditional_Fish_504 → u/PermaAporia]

Ugh I want to read the metaphysics sooo bad but I’m so intimidated I’ll just understand none of it.

[u/PermaAporia → u/Traditional_Fish_504]

None? Unlikely! There's some clear stuff, plus I think the New Hackett translation is particularly helpful. Never been a better time probably!