Armchair Vertigo

Anything’s Possible: Cartesian Epistemology Is Behind Conspiracy Thinking.

One day during the era of COVID-19 and Trump 1.0, my then-girlfriend, Kelly, and I hiked the Neahkahnie Mountain trail on the Oregon coast. We needed a…

Jun 8 • David J. Frost

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What a Beautiful Earth-Turning Tonight!

An introductory path into the theme of the Armchair Vertigo newsletter, namely truths we know but do not believe.

Jun 4 • David J. Frost

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May 2026

Derrida on Islam and Western Democracy, a Book Review

On the very day he learned he had contracted pancreatic cancer, Jacques Derrida participated in a deeply personal discussion with Mustapha Chérif.

May 25 • David J. Frost

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For my students: "Nobody can build the bridge for you to walk across the river of life, no one but you yourself alone," Nietzsche wrote.

On Nietzsche's essay "Schopenhauer as Educator"

May 18 • David J. Frost

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Rilke: "You must change your life." But wait, why?

Why is dissatisfaction assumed?

May 12 • David J. Frost

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The Italian Alps in High Resolution

Can you find the ant-sized hikers and their tiny shadows all in a line?

May 4 • David J. Frost

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April 2026

Essays on the Scientific Revolution

Especially the significance of the Scientific Revolution for happiness studies. Never thought of that, didcha?

Apr 15 • David J. Frost

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On the Genealogy of Happiness

Happiness as good fortune, as virtue, and as pleasure; plus the origins of relativism [Premium post now free]

Apr 1 • David J. Frost

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March 2026

Not, "Is there no free will," but, "What if there weren't? What would that be like?"

Scott Galloway called free will denial "a movement." I call it "armchair vertigo."

Mar 16 • David J. Frost

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February 2026

Halfway Twice is Not Yet Once

When we were 13 years old, my best friend, Matt, introduced me to punk rock. The year was 1987...

Feb 2 • David J. Frost

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January 2026

The Dangers of Credulity

On January 6th, we witnessed the extraordinary danger credulity poses to democracy.

Jan 6 • David J. Frost

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December 2025

Pre-Galilean Ballistics Drawings

The full version of my essay which was excerpted earlier

Dec 15, 2025 • David J. Frost

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