[...]... it And now, I think, the meaning of the evolution of civilisation is no longer obscure to us It must present the struggle between Eros and Death, between the instinct of life and the instinct of destruction as it works itself out in the human species This struggle is what all life essentially consists of and the evolution of civilisation may therefore be simply described as the struggle for life of the. .. to some of the more profound and influential insights offered by the so-called ‘existentialists’ in response to nihilism Let us start with the notion of angst angst, authenticity, freedom and meaningfulness You’re riding at high speed in the fast lane of the motorway On one side is the central reservation.7 Just a little nudge of the handlebars or a lean to the side and you’d go crashing into the barrier... species And it is this battle of the giants that our nursemaids try to appease with their lullaby about Heaven (Freud 1930: 122) Let us investigate the close link between the traditional biker image and sex and aggression leather, sex and violence: a day in the life of a biker? It seems to be a plausible hypothesis that the traditional biker image of the leather-clad rebel arose from certain films of the. .. to the nature of reality or human existence for it to be a philosophical area in its own right in the way that time, space and causation, possibility and necessity, logic and mathematics, thought and language, and right and wrong are Nevertheless, motorcycles are well-placed (unlike haemorrhoids) to illustrate profound philosophical ideas and the practice of motorcycling raises a host of important philosophical. .. thinking that life is, therefore, meaningless whether we are immortal or not Rather, I take it to be an argument for casting doubt on the application of the notion of meaninglessness to life itself Even to understand the question of whether life is meaningful or not we would have to be given conditions under which it would count as being meaningful and conditions under which it would count as being meaningless... managed part of the journey on it and whether we would want to be as positive about the rest of his life and legacy is not at all clear) In the film Heartlands (2002), which is relatively unknown but deserves more attention, a darts fanatic, Colin, travels across the Peak District from the Midlands to the northwest of England to save his marriage, while having his life transformed along the way – and all...pre.qxd 5/4/2007 4:02 PM Page x Image 0 Marlon Brando as Johnny, the leader of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, in The Wild One (1953) ch1.qxd 5/4/2007 4:03 PM Page 1 Neutral Gear Motorcycles and the meaning of life There is no such thing as the philosophy of motorcycles, any more than there is a philosophy of pizza or of haemorrhoids (think about that when you next tuck into your black... philosophical issues, such as the meaning of life and the significance of danger and death, individual freedom and the legitimacy of state interference, our obligations to humans, animals and the environment, and the boundaries of our concept of art In particular, it raises questions such as: Should I be punished for not wearing a helmet if I don’t want to wear one? Is it right to wear leather? Should we be more... many and varied and there is perhaps nothing harmful in it, in itself However, when people identify themselves with a particular kind of person and then try to excuse their behaviour by saying that that is just what people of this kind do, they are living inauthentically We all know people who play the rôle of the victim, who define themselves in terms of a bad thing that has happened to them and may... things about some of them Think of the Triumph Speed Triple duel at the end of the otherwise dreadful Mission: Impossible II (2000) Nevertheless, the occasional great film based on or enhanced by, motorcycles is sometimes released and I have cited some in this book That is, the part of the motorway that protects you from oncoming traffic I believe this is known as the ‘median’ in the US 7 016 ch1.qxd . ix Neutral Gear – motorcycles and the meaning of life 1 Morbid motivations: the death wish 3 Leather, sex and violence: a day in the life of a biker? 6 The will to (horse) power 10 Angst, authenticity,. motorcycling raises a host of important philosophical issues, such as the meaning of life and the significance of danger and death, individual free- dom and the legitimacy of state interference,. 0. Marlon Brando as Johnny, the leader of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, in The Wild One (1953) pre.qxd 5/4/2007 4:02 PM Page x 001 Neutral Gear Motorcycles and the meaning of life There is no