2013-06-09
Explanation
This comic features a philosopher delivering a grand existential monologue about the meaning of life. He declares that he has read a great deal of philosophy about what we are, why we are, where we are, and where we are going, and the only conclusion he can reach is that although it is all pointless, evolution has accidentally given us the ability to perceive our own existence and the awareness that there are things we like. He argues that between those two facts, you can form a cogent loop of humanistic reasoning.
He then builds to his passionate thesis: if you accept this notion, there is a clear conclusion -- we must embrace humanness, embrace high pleasure, embrace low pleasure, embrace love, be afraid, be brave, be a little bit bad. It is a sweeping, optimistic humanist philosophy that essentially says: since existence is meaningless but we are here anyway, we should embrace every aspect of the human experience.
The punchline comes when someone asks the philosopher, "So what are you doing today?" and he answers, "Grading essays on Kant." The follow-up question, "Embracing the hate then?" gets the reply, "Bingo." This undercuts his lofty philosophy with the mundane and miserable reality of academic life -- grading student essays is the very opposite of the joyful, life-affirming existence he just advocated for.
The votey panel shows a cheerful stick figure with the text "Hatred is just a smile on your forehead," a nonsensical pseudo-inspirational platitude that parodies the kind of vapid motivational slogans that oversimplify complex philosophical ideas.