Daniël Busser - Rapper Turned Philosopher
Has Belgian rapper Daniël Busser decided to become a philosopher!?
In a recent Instagram post, Daniel Busser shared his Principles of Happiness that he had written after having a nightmare. While Busser is a rapper, his thoughts are very philosophical. Furthermore, he even had his revelation in the most philosophy way ever: in a dream. This manner of receiving knowledge was made famous by Russian philosopher Nicholas Berdyaev who had cited his dream in a footnot in The Divine and the Human.
Since Daniel Busser's principles are written in Dutch, I have provided a translation below:
- Enjoy the process and don't place too much value on the goal/result. These will come eventually.
- Be nice to yourself as you are with others. You're a person too.
- Always be in the moment. That's where focus, peace, and happiness are.
- Don't ever be discouraged by results or outcomes. Do something because YOU like doing it.
- Know what you have before you lose it. However what you lose always comes back in another form.
- It is always the right time to start.
- Your create your environment/situation by having control over your own experience and reaction to life.
- You only have control over yourself. Let go of the rest.
- You only have yourself.
- There are millions of versions of you. You yourself choose which one you are and want to be.
What I particularly enjoy about the Principles is that they are very Stoic. For example, Stoicism says that one should develop a healthy mental state by being virtuous. In principle two, we see that the virtue generosity is being emphasised. Generosity to all people, including yourself, is required to be happy. Principle nine emphasises the virtue of self-sufficiency, and principle eight is about limiting mental disturbances by not worrying about things you do not have control over.
Principle eight is also very similar to what Stoic philosopher Epictetus (c. 50-135 CE) says:
"Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions."
I'm not sure if Daniel Busser has ever read any Stoicism, but if he hasn't, it seems like he is already well on his way to living the good life.
Do you think that Daniel Busser makes an amazing philosopher? Do you agree with his Principles of Happiness? Let me know in the comments below!
Comments ()