We begin with a realization: There is no external authority on what is true, good, or worth pursuing in life. We have no objectively right goals or monolithic instruction manual, and human life is without intrinsic purpose or meaning.

In itself, this isn't a problem. But add in irrational human beings, a deep longing for meaning, and thousands of years of religious culture providing it, and this realization can be like a psychological bomb.

We're left with the question, where do we go from here? And several different schools of thought formed around this question - namely nihilism, absurdism, and existentialism.

- Read the blog post with the full transcript: designingthemind.org/blog/existential-optimism

- The Book of Self-Mastery (free paperback): designingthemind.org/free-paperback

- Become Who You Are: designingthemind.org/become-who-you-are

- Join the community of psychitects: designingthemind.org