Finding Heroic Meaning Like Stories Of Old - Tom Van Der Linden

Tom Van Der Linden is a YouTuber, video essayist and Creator of Like Stories of Old. Finding meaning in modern life is hard. What glory is there to achieve when all of your existence has been made ultimately convenient by technology? Heroic narratives still exist in movies and books, but can we apply these lessons to the real world? Expect to learn how to tell the difference between serving ourselves and serving others, why watching a heroic movie can skew our expectations of life, why it's difficult to ever truly know another person, what Albert Camus can teach us about enduring suffering, why David Foster-Wallace called adult life "the day to day trenches" and much more… Is Like Stories Of Old a good explanation for what’s going on? Sponsors: Join the Modern Wisdom Community to connect with me & other listeners - https://modernwisdom.locals.com/ Get 15% discount on Craftd London’s jewellery at https://bit.ly/cdwisdom (use code MW15) Get 20% discount on the best quality Kratom from Super Speciosa at https://getsuperleaf.com/modernwisdom (use code: MW20) Get 83% discount & 3 months free from Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/MODERNWISDOM (use code MODERNWISDOM) Extra Stuff: Subscribe to Tom's YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/LikeStoriesofOld Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom #likestoriesofold #philosophy #meaning - 00:00 Intro 03:49 The Problem with Hero Stories 12:50 Making a Difference or Inflating Ego? 20:42 Understanding Oneself Deeply 28:57 How to Develop True Empathy 40:49 Lessons from Albert Camus 51:53 Analysing ‘Don’t Look Up’ 59:31 The Convenience of Present Culture 1:08:23 Tom’s Recommended YouTubers 1:14:52 Where to Find Tom - Join the Modern Wisdom Community on Locals - https://modernwisdom.locals.com/ Listen to all episodes on audio: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Tom van der LindenguestChris Williamsonhost

May 13, 20221h 16mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Finding Heroic Meaning Amid Absurdity, Ego, and Infinite Complexity

Chris Williamson and Tom van der Linden (Like Stories of Old) explore how modern films, stories, and online culture reveal our search for meaning in an absurd, often overwhelming world. They examine heroic narratives, the fine line between genuine purpose and ego-driven grandiosity, and the pervasive performative nature of morality in the age of social media. Drawing on Camus, David Foster Wallace, Ernest Becker, and Interstellar, they discuss mortality, loneliness, rationalism’s limits, and whether a “true self” even exists. The conversation closes with reflections on media consumption, slowing down, and building more grounded lives and communities.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Heroic narratives easily feed our natural self-centeredness.

We instinctively cast ourselves as the hero of every story, and modern heroic media can inflate unrealistic expectations about our lives and importance, especially in a social-media-driven culture of self-presentation.

There’s a razor-thin line between heroic purpose and egoic grandiosity.

Many ostensibly altruistic actions can both help others and flatter our ego; the only reliable safeguard is continuous self-awareness of our emotional motives, biases, and hidden ideological commitments.

Performative empathy is shallow, but not entirely worthless.

Virtue signaling—like publicizing charity or eco-concern—can be hypocritical and image-driven, yet it still produces some real-world good and may inspire others; the net effect can be positive even if motives are mixed.

Rational knowledge doesn’t make us rational beings.

Even world experts on cognitive bias and decision-making admit they’re not much more rational in daily life, underscoring that emotions, unconscious drives, and “the elephant” still overpower the tiny rational rider.

Existential freedom lies in rebelling against absurdity, not escaping it.

Following Camus, our condition is Sisyphus-like—fully aware of a repetitive, finite, death-bound life—yet we can still choose to affirm it, extract moments of joy, and symbolically “flip off” a universe that tells us we’re insignificant.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

We know there's some part of existence that's fundamentally strange.

— Tom van der Linden

It's such a balancing act between wanting to do good and not having that impact overly inflate your ego.

— Tom van der Linden

If more knowledge isn’t necessarily the solution, then it is something else.

— Chris Williamson

Everything about the universe screams to you that you’re insignificant, and then to say, ‘I’m going to make this have meaning anyway’ is a very powerful act.

— Tom van der Linden

You’re a paradox living inside of a paradox: a finite creature surrounded by infinite complexity, with infinite depth inside yourself.

— Chris Williamson

Heroic stories, ego, and the danger of grandiosityPerformative empathy, virtue signaling, and moral signaling onlineLimits of rationalism and the power of emotion and loveExistentialism: Camus, Sisyphus, absurdity, and meaning-makingLoneliness, inner depth, and the impossibility of fully knowing othersModern anxiety: information overload, fragility of systems, and x-riskReconnecting with slowness, seasonality, and embodied, practical life

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