Benjamin Cain
2 min readJun 1, 2021

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I am indeed trying to figure out the cornerstone of philosophical truth for the edifice of a worthy future society. This is the Nietzschean quest. I've worked out what I think is a coherent way of looking at the world that synthesizes various sources of information from religion, science, philosophy, history, and art.

But this is little more than a hobby. I'm only telling it like I see it. Anyone can do the same now, putting their thoughts out there on the internet. Prophecy is no longer a big deal. As Ned Beatty's character says in Network, "The world is a business, Mr. Beale."

Knowing that writing now is trivial as far as the wider neoliberal world is concerned, I write mainly for me. My writings amount to a giant gallery of artworks. There will be no society that reveres them, like in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure." If any great art becomes popular, that can happen only by accident. When accident isn't involved, the art that succeeds must be inferior and compromised.

Subcultures can form, as they do in the informational silos across the internet. We look for reflections of ourselves to avoid challenging our assumptions. Birds of a feather flock together. When these clubs become sufficiently popular, they succumb to temptation and sell out. There are no superheroes. Anyone with the power to improve the world will swiftly become part of the problem. As Lord Byron said, sorrow is knowledge: those who know the most mourn the deepest over the fatal truth, the Tree of Knowledge is not that of Life.

But it sounds like you're inclined to be a constructive optimist. As I said, I'm happy to help when I can, but I'd rather not be overloaded, which would leave me little time to write. My art matters to me.

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Benjamin Cain
Benjamin Cain

Written by Benjamin Cain

Ph.D. in philosophy / Knowledge condemns. Art redeems. / https://benjamincain.substack.com / https://ko-fi.com/benjamincain / benjamincain8@gmailDOTcom

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