Perennial Wisdom

Updated: 08 Nov 2025 • 259 episodes
perennial.substack.com

Perennial Wisdom is a podcast for seekers and curious minds. Join the search with J.W. Bertolotti to discover universal truths and enduring ideas from philosophical and spiritual traditions. Learn more at perennial.substack.com.

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📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribe In this episode of Perennial Wisdom, we enter the world of Arthur Schopenhauer—the philosopher of pessimism, and, unexpectedly, a teacher of compassion. Schopenhauer believed that happiness cannot be found by escaping suffering

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📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribe In this episode of Perennial Wisdom, we sit down with Søren Kierkegaard, the 19th-century Danish philosopher often considered the father of existentialism. Specifically, we explore insights from his book Either/Or, which address

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📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribe In this episode of Perennial Wisdom, we explore the moral and psychological depth of Fyodor Dostoevsky, one of the greatest novelists and spiritual thinkers in history. From his near-execution in 1849 to his rebirth in the priso

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📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribe In this episode of Perennial Wisdom, we explore the life and thought of Immanuel Kant through the lens of three enduring philosophical questions: “What can I know?” “What should I do?” “What may I hope?” Drawing on Kant’s ground

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📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribe In this episode of Perennial Wisdom, we turn to the provocative thoughts of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844—1900) to explore one of the most overlooked yet essential inner struggles: the fear of change. Building on the previous episod

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📮 Want tools for the art of living? Sign up here: https://perennial.substack.com/subscribe In this episode of Perennial Wisdom, we explore a hidden but deeply human struggle: the fear not of failure—but of greatness. Drawing from Abraham Maslow's insights, we consider what it means to avoid our potential and why many

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