Hey, this is the Partial Examined Life. You're listening to Episode 362 on Ecclesiastes

Part 2 here with our bud Jesse Peterson talking about his book, talking about the book itself. I think we're going to really get

into quotes. If folks want to get the 11-page version that we have linked to, that might even be

fun for you. But it's not going to be a straight, close reading. I'm sure we're still going to do

our normal thing. We're still in chapter one talking about all the things that are Hebel.

Oh, what do people gain from the toil? It's just a bunch of bullshit. The sun rises and goes down. The wind goes round and round. All streams run to the sea, but the sea's not full. It's just all, it's all wearsome. Even seeking wisdom. All right. So somebody read from verse 12 there. Okay. I, the teacher,

when king over Israel and Jerusalem, applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that

is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with.

I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun,

and see, all is vanity and chasing after wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight,

and what is lacking cannot be counted. I said to myself, I have acquired great wisdom,

surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind

has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge, and I applied my mind to know wisdom and to

know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a chasing after wind, for in much

wisdom is much vexation, And those who increase knowledge increase sorrow.

This should be something familiar to anyone who's studied philosophy for any length of time.

I'm just going to say.

Yeah, and sounds like sextus.

The end sounds like skepticism in much of wisdom as much vexation.

Those who increase knowledge, increase sorrow, right? Just

bringing up questions, they unsettle you. And all the important questions are going to be

unanswerable. So isn't it better to just issue wisdom altogether? He later says, you know,

...