Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/history
Aristotle's Rhetoric: http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/rhetoric.html
Leviathan by Hobbes: http://www.uri.edu/personal/szunjic/philos/leviathan.htm
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This requested video comes from a switched-on young man living in flyover country.
We'll keep things vague.
If you have a requested video, whether it's personal advice on life, on the military, or philosophical questions, anything else that you would like me to answer, you can go to the Arene's Insight page on stairsoffeworld.com.
Link down below.
Yes, I will charge you, but no complaints thus far.
Everybody's been very satisfied.
So, the question goes as follows.
Hello, Arene.
I discovered you through Aaron Clary's YouTube channel.
Cheers, Aaron, and have been a subscriber for quite some time.
You and Aaron have both inspired me to get off my lazy ass, study hard, and work out.
Glad to hear it, folks.
Every single day that passes, if you are not improving yourself, you are falling behind.
Now, we all need to take a break once in a while.
We all need to relax and get a bit of time off.
But seek out self-improvement, seek out to challenge yourself, always be getting bigger, stronger, faster, better.
So, glad to hear that.
Now, as for my predicament, I'm a 17-year-old homeschooled farm boy from flyover country.
I was raised a Protestant and am currently studying calculus and grammar, the latter of which I admit is poor.
First of all, absolutely brilliant that you're studying calculus and that you're homeschooled.
You're probably much better educated than the typical people out there.
And folks, if you haven't studied calculus, calculus is real math, okay?
It's all this arithmetic and all this garbage that you start with.
That's boring.
Calculus is where you really get into the core of what math is all about, the soul of mathematics.
And grammar, glad to hear it.
If you ever get a chance, study Latin.
You know, understanding the basic structure of language forces you to understand how your thoughts are formed.
So, Ari, this guy is very switched on.
I will be joining the U.S. Navy once I receive my homeschool diploma, and I've also received training for firearms and maneuvering from sheriffs and former U.S. Marines since I was 13.
I know the military is for me.
Very glad to hear that.
One comment, though.
Now, I was at Aaron Clary's birthday party.
I was privileged to meet one of his friends who is an officer in the Navy.
And Aaron and I were talking to him about our advice for young people in joining the military.
I absolutely loved my time in the military.
Especially if you're a young man, it will really make a man out of you.
You will learn a whole bunch of valuable skills.
You'll be challenged.
You'll have opportunities for leadership, for advancement, and the pay's not bad either.
That said, however, America's involved in a lot of very foolish wars right now that aren't really serving the national interests.
If you sacrifice your life fighting the Nazis, that's worth it.
Okay, that's a noble death.
over like it's it's an absolute mess right now you know we're overthrowing governments and like relatively you know saddam was it saddam was an asshole um America had every right to go to war against him.
But there were no victory conditions.
We just handed that country to ISIS.
You know, and now they're murdering Christians.
And, you know, I don't want to be responsible for any of you young men getting injured or getting, you know, your legs blown off or even worse.
And so the the naval officer was saying, you know what, there's.
There's another choice.
There's another type of military in America that you can join, and it's called the Coast Guard, where you're not going to go get involved in some stupid foreign war where you get the same sort of benefits, and you will be protecting America's interests by doing that.
So possibly consider the Coast Guard.
However, if you're called to do this, believe me, brother, I know the feeling.
It doesn't matter how stupid the wars are, I needed to join the military because that's what you do as a patriot.
So just something worth considering, possibly joining the Coast Guard.
And one more thing, the fact that you're studying calculus.
Now, my background is Army, but the artillery guys, they use a lot of math doing what they're doing.
And so with the Navy, I would presume that many of the naval weapon systems are very similar to artillery and that there's going to be a lot of math involved.
You're going to need to be a smart cookie to do that sort of stuff.
There's also, you can become an engineer with the Navy.
There's a lot of skills there.
But if you're really called to do combat arms, if you want to be carrying an AR-15, M-16, or whatever, whatever the branch is using, make sure that you also get other qualifications.
Get a radio course under your belt.
Make sure you have useful skills that transfer into the civilian marketplace.
There's a great joke on...
Oh, I forget the name of the webcomic, but I'll link it down below.
It's about being in the Marines about how infantry soldiers have no employable skills aside from mall security guard.
So make sure you get other skills under your belt.
Take advantage of the educational opportunities that are provided to you.
So on and so forth.
Like, look, do it because this is where you belong, but also look down the road.
Look 20 years down the road and ask, what can I do to benefit me then?
Always keep yourself covered.
Always have a plan.
Don't sacrifice your entire life out of blind patriotism.
Be a patriot, but also have a plan.
Anyway, now this is the actual advice.
One, you mentioned philosophers such as Aristotle and several others.
Where do I start with this?
I'm a southern boy, and all I've read in terms of that is the Bible.
What books do you recommend because I'm lacking in that area of my studying?
All right, first off, one of the problems that you're going to run into when you're trying to read philosophy is that you already know the plot.
Let me try and explain this a bit.
You see, there's a movie called Aragorn that, like, I haven't seen it, but it was very popular amongst kids when it came out, I think, five years ago or so.
And I saw a review of it that said the reason it's so popular is because it's Star Wars.
It's the exact same story as Star Wars told, but this time it's in a fantasy realm with dragons or something like that.
Now, let's say that you grew up watching Aragorn, you absolutely loved it, and then you watch Star Wars.
Star Wars is not going to have the same impact on you that Aragorn did.
You know, not the same impact that it had on me when I was young, because you've already seen the story.
And the mind-blowing special effects of, you know, what, 25 years ago are no longer quite so mind-blowing.
So with most of the ancient philosophy that you're going to run into, it's you're already going to know this stuff.
You know, it's kind of like this stuff has been filtered into everything that you've been reading from day one.
Even like the basic Christian theology is heavily inspired by both Plato and Aristotle.
So if you've been doing a decent study of the traditions and theologies of the church, then you will already know a lot of this stuff.
And this is what makes it difficult to read, because you feel like you're reading a very long, detailed text explaining something you know already.
That said, I'm going to try and point you to a few books that are really worth reading.
But before you do that, it's important to understand the historical context all of this is coming out of.
You see, like, this is the Western tradition.
Like, there's been a philosophical, theological creation that the West has been engaged in for millennia.
And it all builds upon the past.
Philosophies aren't just.
It's not like fashion.
You know, it's not something that changes, whatever.
It doesn't matter.
Now orange is in style, now green is in style.
It builds upon itself.
Whereas fashion is quite arbitrary.
So I would highly recommend to get a basic grasp of history, you go to Khan Academy, and you take their broader historical courses that just give you an overview of European history so that you understand how all of this fits together.
You know, so if you put something in, this was written then, you understand what was going on.
And just to give you an example of this, and to also recommend the first book, let's talk about Plato.
Plato is really the guy that nailed down logic, you know, logical thinking, you know, if, then, those type of statements.
Girl, don't knock over the tripod.
Girl, get over here.
Get over here.
So she's got a fat tail.
So Plato was writing at a time when superstition was rampant, you know, where people were begging the gods for favors, where it was a very feminine sort of society.
And Plato was the guy to really nail down logic.
Now, in our present era, one of the frustrations trying to explain things to modern people is that we are far, far too left-brained.
We are far, far too logical without any holistic understanding of things.
You know, like we've trapped ourselves in a little box of logic that actually doesn't make any sense and doesn't really take us anywhere positive, but it affirms itself constantly.
So Plato is not going to be that beneficial to you because we're all of us too logical already.
So what I would recommend is Aristotle, who was writing kind of a right-brained response to Plato, saying that, like, yes, like we need to start with logic, with grammar, with mathematics, but we also need to have a holistic understanding of how everything fits together.
And so, the book I would particularly recommend by Aristotle is Rhetoric.
You can find that for free online.
I provide a link below, but plenty of versions of it that you can get for free.
Very profound book about how, you know, art is not something that you can define using logic.
You know, beauty is not something you can really nail down and come up with a scientific explanation for, but that doesn't mean that it's not valuable in and of itself.
I'm a huge fan of Aristotle.
Next book, Political Treaties from, you know, I believe it's the 19th century.
I could be wrong on that.
I'm working my way through it right now.
Actually, I believe it's 18th, regardless.
Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes.
Now, I'm going to warn you right now: this is an absolutely foul work.
It's depressing and negative, and this is exactly why, if you read this after Aristotle, you will see how Hobbes is just, he's like this autist that does not, this spur that doesn't get beauty, doesn't get principle.
And so, his only solution to having a functional government is to have an absolutely tyrannical state where we all put faith in the state.
You can draw a very straight line between what he's advocating and the modern democratic socialist tyrannies that we're building for ourselves.
Again, a very ugly book, but you'll start to see the patterns, especially contrasting that to Aristotle.
And two more books that you should read, just generally.
These are kind of more, these are modern books, okay?
These are written in the 20th century.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
In fact, that might not be a bad place to start because it's a very enjoyable, easy read that will kind of induct you into what philosophy is really all about.
It's got some great insights on the valuation of things, the importance of beauty.
Again, it's very Aristotelian in nature.
And the other is Evola.
You know, I'm working on his Eros and the Mysteries of Love right now.
He talks about metaphysics, about patterns, about, in fact, he flips the modern understanding on its head.
For instance, evolution is typically understood as the lesser building into the higher.
And so the higher, we try and take the human mind and break it down into individual components.
You know, evolutionary psychology, you know, instincts, hormones, chemical imbalances, etc.
Whereas in his metaphysical view, what's actually happening is that there are higher ideals that the lower is trying to achieve.
The lower is being kind of pulled up on a metaphysical level to these higher valuations.
And so the nature of humanity, the nature of the two sexes, is not just arbitrary.
As he argues, the higher something is on the evolutionary chain, the more it becomes two sexes, that the two sexes are actually foundational nodes of reality.
Heck, you can even compare them to chiral molecules, like left hand, right hand.
These are very foundational aspects of the metaphysics of our universe.
It's very refreshing from the simple materialism that you get everywhere nowadays.
So I've linked those books down below.
Two of them you can get for free, the other ones you'll actually have to pay for.
That would be a really good induction into philosophy.
That will set you up with the basics, so now you know what you're doing.
And after that, you really just got to pursue your own interests.
Like I said, one of the challenges with all of this is that with a lot of it, you're going to feel like you read it already.
Because you have.
These books are so influential and so widely cited that you have read most of them.
So you know what?
If it's really boring you, don't kick yourself if you decide to skim or move forward a little bit faster because you do know a lot of these ideas.
Which is why you also want to put them into the historical context.
Understand why it is that this book was being written in this era or that that book was being written in that era.
You want to understand the history and the development of the whole thing.
Now, next question.
Most of the social interaction I get is through church or going to ball games with some friends.
I find it very mind-numbing talking to people in my age range.
They can't hold conversations on anything except sports and video games.
The moment you mention anything to do with economics, they are immediately disinterested and bored.
My question is: should I bother forming bonds with this community if I'm leaving in a year and a half?
Well, that's a bit of a difficult question to answer.
Just from reading your email, your diction, I would say you're definitely in the top 5% of the population IQ-wise, if not a lot higher than that.
So growing up in a small town, it's going to be very hard to find people that are operating on your level.
In theory, I love small towns.
In practice, I need to be in cities because finding peers to hang out with, finding people that are working on my level is just bloody near impossible in a small town.
So you belong in a city, quite frankly.
To find people that are operating on your level, you're going to need to move to a city.
Even though there's obviously the downsides of living in a city, which I don't even need to go into.
So yeah, you are going to be very lonely.
And unfortunately, on top of that, like it's absolutely clear, you're homeschooled, you're studying math, you're studying grammar, you know, you are intellectually curious.
We are living, like we have garbage people these days.
People aren't challenged growing up.
You know, everybody gets a trophy.
Everybody feels self-important.
It's a narcissistic world out there.
And narcissists, they're not interesting.
They're not fun to be around.
They're all style, no substance.
And you're going to find a lot of people like that.
On the one hand, you know, it is good to get out there and meet people.
And, you know, you need to learn to accept people for what they are.
And one thing I do think you'll find in the Navy is that you'll be working with people that aren't necessarily as intelligent as you.
You know, they're not as well-read, they're not as intellectually curious.
And yet, you'll get along very well with them because they're hardworking, because they've earned their stripes.
You know, that's literally a military saying, that you've that double chevron on your shoulder, that you earned those stripes.
And so those sorts of people, those accomplished, hardworking, maybe not, you know, scholarly, not super intelligent, but hardworking, decent.
They have a lot of common sense.
They have a lot of responsibility.
And they are very good people, very positive people.
I mean, you might need to dumb down your interests a little bit with these people, but you'll find that they actually make very good companions because they're not narcissists.
So I would question: is the problem with the people in your town that they're unintelligent, or is it that they're narcissists, that they're phonies, man?
To go all holding Caulfield on you, they're all a bunch of phonies.
I kind of suspect, I kind of suspect it's the latter is more of the issue.
So, you know, take the people as they are, but don't waste your time hanging out with a bunch of losers and smoking pot.
There is a better world out there.
There are better people out there.
There are, you know, it's.
And this is something Aaron has said.
It is so hard.
Like, the hard part about actually living a good life is that so few people want to live a good life.
You know, it's hiking up the mountain and being the only one up there.
You know, the interesting thing is when you are hiking up a mountain, when you're doing something like that, everybody you meet on the hiking trail is just a really cool person.
You know, it's like you can just see instantly, like, I could be really good friends with this person.
They're switched on.
And it sounds like you don't have people like that in your life.
So if that's the case, don't worry about it.
I mean, like, be social, hang out with people.
You know, you don't want to, like, you don't want to hate the world.
You got to take it for what it is.
You want to go out and have as much fun as you can.
But ultimately, it's going to be, you know, you're going to meet great people in the military.
If you move to a major city, you're going to meet really cool people in that city.
You know, you're going to find your niche.
I really wouldn't worry about it too much.
There's a couple of people I still talk to from high school, but it's, you know, high school is just wherever your parents decide to live.
You're going to find your real friends in your 20s.
So don't worry too much about it.
If you meet somebody good, don't be antisocial, you know, but at the same time, don't worry about it too much.
You will meet interesting people down the line.
So, although you will have to get out and find these people.
So, and that's good lord.
You'll meet good people in the military.
It's easier when you're younger, especially if you do some college, if you do some university, you'll meet some really good people there as well.
You'll meet a lot of idiots, but you'll meet some good people.
Just generally try and get out and do stuff.
And a lot of it's online right now.
There's meetup groups, you know, the meetup hiking, meet up whatever.
You know, dancing, is dancing something I've been wanting to get into?
Lots of different things there.
Just make sure you do work on your social skills and get out and learn how to get along with people.
So do it once in a while.
Just don't worry about it too much.
Now, three, should I bother with girls?
I don't see the point of trying.
If I screw one of the girls for my church and she squeals later if she's unhappy, you know, I'm fucked.
I'll be ostracized by my church and my family.
I don't like putting that sort of power into a 15 to 16 year old girl's hands.
I'm not one of those MGTOWs that doesn't even try, but chastity, I'm not sure I can uphold that with my faith.
All right, so several things in this question.
First of all, let me start with the chastity thing.
If you've managed to be chased this long, It might be worth holding on to that.
Now, the problem, like the reason it's so tempting to be unchaste is because most women are garbage.
Like I said, most people are garbage, but most women, they're narcissists.
They want something when they want something.
They've got no personality.
They've got no inner valuation.
And they might be fun to flirt with, fun to take on a date, but they're really not good for anything but short-term flings.
There's no relationship potential in them.
And the Man of Spirits written reams about this.
You've read it already.
Generally, yeah, most women are trash.
Not all of them, however.
And I've said this in the past.
I find Anne Barnhart, I find her absolutely inspirational.
She is such an amazing individual, such a righteous lady.
And to me, somebody like her, a woman like that, of such moral conviction, of such integrity, I would.
I am trying to be the sort of man that deserves a woman like that.
And, you know, if you're traipsing around with tramps all the time, do you deserve a woman like that?
Something worth considering.
You know, like, do you want to have all this baggage that you need to make up for?
But, you know, I'm not your daddy.
Just something worth thinking about.
It might be worth holding on to, particularly if you can find a decent woman at some point.
Next.
Now, what is this about your family ostracizing you if she squeals?
Like, that really worries me.
So let's say you go on a date and you have a little roll in the hay.
First of all, if you're playing your cards right, like, don't be pushy.
You know, if you're playing your cards right, there really isn't too much to worry about.
Okay, not with these country girls, really.
At least I wouldn't think so.
The women you worry about are the feminists, are the social justice warriors.
And so I guess, you know what?
If she's really, I want to say political, I don't mean like she reads a lot of politics because obviously nobody does that in your town.
But if she's the sort of woman that is constantly manipulating people, if she's a mean girl, you know, if she's gossiping and lying about people and she's really catty, stay away from that one.
All right?
But if she's just typical, shallow, but honest, and you have a roll in the hay with her, you really don't have that much to worry about.
I mean, you use a bloody condom.
You don't want to knock her up and get stuck with that.
But, you know, it strikes me that it seems to me like you're worrying too much about her squealing.
But also, if she squeals, if she says, like, you know, we had premarital sex, and I take it there's an expectation in your community that you shouldn't, why would they be blaming you exclusively?
Why would you be the one alienated?
If your church is that infected with feminism, why do you care if you're alienated from that church?
And the idea that your family would just be just furious with you for this.
I mean, this is good lord, sexual infidelity is one of the, you know, chastity is one of the hardest things in our species, okay?
You know, it's nothing new.
It's been happening for centuries.
It's a venal sin, not a cardinal sin.
Not saying you should do it.
You know, you really might want to hold out for a decent woman.
They are out there, and they're a lot easier to find if you are chaste.
But if all these people are going to alienate you, exclude you, and hate you for this, well, first of all, are you sure that they would?
Or is this just your impression?
And second, if they would do something like that, we're not talking about how you tortured a house cat or murdered somebody.
We're talking about premarital sex for crying out loud.
It's been happening for freaking centuries.
You know, half the popes were married when they weren't supposed to be.
You know, like that.
It really bothers me that you're worried about this.
And if you are, I think you need to find people in your life that won't be so harsh, won't judge you so harshly, that won't despise you based upon behavior, not morals.
Okay, like, I mean, it's one thing to get a girl drunk and take advantage of her.
It's another thing to have a friendly role in the hay.
And I presume you're talking about the latter.
So that kind of suggests to me that you're worried about it.
That sounds like a lot of controlling behavior, a lot of judgmental behavior.
A lot of people acting like Pharisees.
So that might be something worth considering.
Are you codependently involved with people who are very controlling and very manipulative?
You know, definitely be paranoid around the feminists, be paranoid around the mean girls.
But if you're more worried about the church and your family excluding you over this, that says a lot more about them.
You know, on the one hand, who cares what they think if that's how they're going to behave?
At the same time, you probably don't need that BS.
You know, it'd be better to have your family liking you so you can get them to, you know, loan you money and whatever.
So really, go out on dates, okay?
Go have fun with girls.
You know, learn how to flirt with them, dance with them, whatnot, but keep it cool.
That would be my advice.
And, you know, it's probably a good idea to stay chased until you find a woman that's actually worth your time.
But go on a lot of dates so that you know a lot of women so that you understand what women are like.
If you see what I'm saying.
That way you won't get sucked in by some manipulative psycho that just wants your benefits.
Anyway, I hope that was all useful information for you.
It sounds like you got your head on straight and that you're moving in the right direction.
Thank you for your support.
And again, folks, if you have your own request, go to Arena's Insight.
Yeah, I'm going to charge you, but I try and make sure the answers are good and useful.
