The Philosophy of Disco Elysium: Psychoanalysis, Ideology, and Absurd Modernism @epochphilosophy

Uploaded August 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

Disco Elysium, an award-winning game from developer ZA/UM, created what I would consider one of the most brilliant pieces of interactive literature in recent memory. For this, we explore its foundational philosophy and narrative(s) throughout.

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Timestamp:
Intro: 0:00
Determinism: 2:53
Psychoanalysis of Harry: 9:01
Elysium as Honest Reality: 18:20
Absurd Modernism: 23:22
A Message: 32:55

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$The Death of OpenAIs Whistleblower Makes No Sense: What Happened to Suchir Balaji? *This is a re-upload. YouTube demonetized the prior video and Ive had to censor far more areas in the video than anticipated. Consider checking our Patreon and website for the less censored, full video.* Ad-free and less censored video available below: https://www.patreon.com/epochphilosophy https://epochphilosophy.com Suchir Balaji was an AI researcher at OpenAI working on ChatGPT. After believing the company broke copyright laws, he quit and went to the NYT to share his experience. A month later he was found deceased in his San Francisco apartment. Updates/clarifications: 1.02:09 Suchir did not have a M.S., he had a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science. 2. There was no sign of forced entry into Suchirs apartment. 3. There was no cameras present on Suchirs floor. (4th floor.) And the camera was disabled on one of the elevators. However, (as seen in the video) the main, first floor had one camera present. 4. 16:30 Suchir had a maxillary fracture, not an explicit skull fracture, along with a puncture on his tongue. Further substantiating the fear a second shot may have occurred. 5. 12:01 Mistake on my end. Wellbutrin doesnt contain any amphetamine. According to the Crime Reconstruction Report, its stated Prescription bottles of D-Amphetamine (generic for Adderall) were found in the (Suchirs) apartment. This is the likely source of the Amphetamine in his system. So, Suchir also had a prescription for a generic Adderal (along with Wellbutrin). Which I confused the two. A note on sources: As much as I would like to include a long list of sources used in these videos, some (including the private reports from pathologists, radiologists, etc.) contain extremely sensitive information. Almost every supporting document in this video is not able to be released to the public. In the meantime, here are a few resources: Suchirs AI Fair Use write-up: https://suchir.net/fair_use.html NYT Interview: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/23/technology/openai-copyright-law.html Socials: Bluesky ► https://bsky.app/profile/epochphilosophy.bsky.social Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/EpochPhilosophy/ Music: Looplicator: Looppelganger Midwhich Music: Brief Calm drackfreeee: Living Nightmare Luba Hilman: Forsaken Survival Spheres: Forbidden Trip Survival Spheres: Gaslight Timestamp: 0:00 I. The Backdrop 1:56 II. Who was Suchir Balaji? 5:47 III. Arriving on the Scene 7:22 IV. Oddities 13:42 V. The Site 17:04 VI. Circumstances 26:09 VII. Questions 32:38 VIII. A Message$