Party Like It's 1999: Prince, Doom, and the Philosophy of Living Anyway

Let’s go back to October 27, 1982 when Prince released 1999. During this time period, nuclear war feels like a real possibility. The news is terrifying. And Prince’s response to all of it was to write a banger and tell everyone to dance. Which raises a genuinely interesting question: When the world feels like it’s falling apart what’s the right way to live? This isn’t a lecture. There’s no homework (except listen to the song 1999 by Prince if you never heard it and review the lyrics) Nobody is going to use words you need to Google afterward. This is just a group of curious people sitting down to wrestle with something that actually matters. Because here’s the thing October 27, 1982 might as well be today. Climate change, political chaos, AI taking jobs, endless bad news on your phone. The doom is different but the feeling is the same. So what do you do with that feeling? Do you party through it like Prince? Do you unplug and ignore it? Do you fight it head on? Do you quietly fall apart? We’ll talk about: • Whether joy in dark times is brave or just a way of avoiding reality • Why some people thrive under pressure while others shut down • Whether living for today is wisdom or just a really good excuse • What “a good life” even looks like when the future feels uncertain. The one question we’ll keep coming back to: Is dancing through the apocalypse the most human thing we can do or are we just lying to ourselves? Let’s discuss one of the great modern philosophers of our time Prince!