Issue 001

Editor’s Introduction: For the Love of Wisdom

Cate Otto

The world is full of people who don’t even realise that they are philosophers, and the purpose of SideQuests is to give such people a chance to share their wisdom with – well, everyone.

Affirmation, Irony, and the Algorithmic Hug

Zamangwe Mazibuko

Hopecore arises in response to constant online pressure, offering small doses of reassurance for viewers navigating social comparison, burnout, and anxiety.

Apocalypse Dao: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Trying Times

Gisela Zipp

We shall look eastward to the Taoists of ancient China. Here, you may find that you have a lot in common with the ancient Daoist philosopher, Lao Zi.

Tarot as Epistemology: The Philosophy Behind the Cards

Mark Oppenheimer

Tarot, stripped of its supernatural assumptions, may serve as a rich tool for philosophical reflection, creative inquiry, and self-understanding.

Dangerous Lines: Deleuze and Guattari’s Psychedelic Maps of Knowledge

Aragorn Eloff

Each of us – as well as the larger social and political formations we form part of – are composed of various lines that define the unfoldings of our lives.

Becoming Through Change: How Many Lives Fit into One?

Gabrielle Chabuda

When you think of the self, the constant analysis of the self as being tied to one identity is wrong. We can avoid anxiety by acknowledging that we are made up of many versions of ourselves.

A Call to Embrace Acting in Ambiguity

Kayleigh Timmer

It’s important for us to examine the easy answers, to explore every ‘what about’, to consider the different and contrary views in every situation, about everything.

Thoughts on the Butlerian Jihad

Gregory Swer

The Butlerian Jihad, as Herbert originally described it, was a war against ‘the god of machine-logic’.

When Academic Culture Rewards the Mask: A Reflection

Natalie Schellack

Sometimes, the greatest challenge is not the workload itself, but the emotional labour of maintaining the mask.

The Unbearable Lightness of Design

Rozina Vavetsi

Design has a transformative role that is inseparable from ordinary life.

The Uncritical Murder of Progress

Nathisvaran Govender

A case of epistemic closure in the South African higher education sector and call to ensure the decolonial project is done in a manner that maximises the possibility of emancipation.

Book Review: George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four

Asheel Singh

Over the last decade, many have warned that current trends are reminiscent of the dystopian future of Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), George Orwell’s chilling reflection on totalitarianism.