On Maxxing (In-Person)

What does the scientification of life lead to?

From sleep tracking and fitness goals to productivity hacks and self-improvement routines, we increasingly use science and data to optimize our lives. But what happens when we begin to treat life itself as a problem to be solved?

The writer, Hakon Evjemo, examines the rise of maxxing - the attempt to optimize different aspects of ourselves in pursuit of a better life. Drawing on the existentialist philosopher Gabriel Marcel, Evjemo argues that our desire for optimization can encourage us to view ourselves as collections of problems, functions and measurements rather than as people living through an experience that cannot be completely quantified or controlled.

Marcel distinguishes between a problem, which we can step back from and attempt to solve, and a mystery, something we cannot separate ourselves from because we are participants in it. Life, in this sense, may be less like a problem awaiting a solution and more like a mystery that must be lived.

For our discussion, we'll consider the benefits and limits of approaching life as a series of problems to be solved. When does trying to improve ourselves become an attempt to optimize and engineer ourselves? Are there parts of human life that resist measurement and problem-solving? And can we use science to improve our lives without reducing the good life to something that can be optimized?

Join us for a stimulating conversaton as we drink and dine at Tustin Brewing Co.

Suggested reading:

https://psyche.co/ideas/maxxing-treats-life-as-a-problem-when-its-a-mystery