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This game is depressing and sad, but I actually felt hopeful and happy when I finished it. Harry is a train wreck, but he can try and change his life for the best, he can gain trust and friendship of an amazing person, he can let go of his traumatic break up, he can be forgiven by his colleagues, he can help people. And even in a place like Revachol a true miracle can happen.

Gart is a manager, not a bartender... he says so specifically, manages three different places.

"the historic opportunity for a revolution has passed. It will not come back any more. However hard I try, whatever I do." Goddamn, this level of unhappy consciousness is soul wrenching.

Disco Elysium: the heaviest shit I have experienced playing a game Also Disco Elysium: "Hi my name is Harry. I'm an ultra-liberal fascist moralist communist how are you"

Communard is an actual English word, not invented by the game. It's just what the communists of the Paris Commune called themselves

"The game likes to point out the egotistical fetish we have towards political identification today. The notion that someone is only as good as their "politics"." - this..... this really hit me. It's such an important line

I have the Whirling in Rags 8 am theme as an alarm clock. i literally flinched in the intro hahaha

Awesome video as always! I'd just like to add that the concept of a "lack" is pretty foundational to existentialism and absurdism as well. It's one of the main points of Sartre's 'Being and Nothingness', strongly parallels Camus' view of the absurd in 'the myth of Sisyphus', and is important in Simone de Beauvoir's 'Ethics of Ambiguity'. The Lacanian approach is definitely useful and well articulated here, I just wanted to add that part. Also I know this was a spoiler free video but I'd also like to add, without getting into specific spoilers, that this lack plays a big role in the metaphysics in the world of DE. The white pale in my opinion is a physical representation of the lack. Seeing as it appears to absorb matter, turning it into a void filled only with estranged glimpses of pure consciousness which drives the people who enter it insane (unless given the proper psychological training), and the fact it only appeared in the world once conscious humans appeared Great video as always, I just wanted to expand on it a little

Since my fields of interest are mainly Sociology and Political sciences, I interpreted Disco Elysium from a completely different perspective. I can confirm: It is just as magnificent from that perspective. A true masterpiece. Also, it made me cry about 50 times.

Disco Elysium is a video game through and through, its not more like a book than a video game. The medium it has most in common are table top role playing games, its probably the closest you can make a video game resemble a TTRPG. So yea, minuscule nitpick because im still salty after years of ''walking simulator'' debates, great video though, liked and subscribed.

This was incredible - the display of knowledge and sensitivity of the reading was another level. You've got a new patreon supporter in me. Thank you!

I mean Joyce is kinda morally abhorrent. She is not unpleasant to be around, hell, compared to Evrart she is downright lovely, but the problem here is: Joyce still works for a company that keeps Martinese how it is. She is aware of her position in the system, yet she still resigns herself to be a cog in the machine. Evrart I think, is her perfect foil, he is not a perfect person by any means, but despite his slimy demeanor, despite all his overt powerplays, despite all that, he has made Martinese livable, he keeps it running in a way that betters people lives. He gave a job, a basically esthetic job, to a person that wouldve shot him, if it was up to him, just to preserve a veterans pride, just because he knew Rene would struggle if he didn't had help, and he knew Rene wouldnt accept a hand out. Does he play dirty? Yes, absolutely, but in the end, do his actions benefit the community and make it a better place? I think so. I know I would prefer to live in a city ruled by Evrart then one run by Joyce.

That study that tried to conclude that neutrons firing before our actions proved lack of free will was disproven because the scientist involved used flawed research procedure I am a great fan of your channel …….right now I am in the middle of something really hectic …..I will be done in 2 weeks ……I can’t wait to start my journey into philosophy You sir have really motivated me ……can’t thank you enough

I really love that, for all the ribbing at communism's expense in the game, the game takes a proud and firm stance in its favor. Not just because a video game being proudly political is rare in itself, but that it demonstrates, carefully and systematically, how DE's world is crumbling beneath capital. That Revachol used to be a vibrant and beautiful city before the coalition, that it's now been exploited to such a degree by groups like wild pines that poverty is rampant, kids are getting high to escape their misery, and the most left wing org in the whole game is made of up a union pushing for social democratic restructuring, while being headed by cynical and mercenary businessmen.

There are only a few games where I cried when I finished them. Disco Elysium was the only one where I truly meant it. It genuinely felt cathartic.

first video I have seen of yours. I really loved Disco Elysium so that is how I found it. will def watch more of your stuff. I would love to hear more about Disco Elysium, maybe a spoiler full version.

Thank goodness someone has the guts to say free will is not a given truth. Every choice you make is impacted by your biology and experience. You and by extension your decisions are a product of these factors. As a child I thought free will was a given. 'I make choices, I mean I'm choosing to even consider this.' But as I got older and learned more about psychology, the impacts of trauma, neuroscience etc I realized every choice I've ever made has been a result of biology and experience. You got a new sub.

Philosophy + my favorite game of all time, hell yes

disco elysium was such a trip and so heavy. absolute masterpiece and totally original game that had me feeling funny for about a year. shook me to my core.

It would be awesome if you made a video analysis of Kentucky route zero. That game moved me like no other vg. Also Plancescape torment (which was the inspiration for Disco Elysium) would be interesting. I haven't played it in a long time, but I distinctly remember that each faction in the game world was basically a philosophical school in disguise.

a week after i finished the game? you are thee greatest

This is the best video about this game on KZfaq.

I would love to get your analysis on Planescape: Torment now! It’s one of the games that heavily inspired Disco Elysium. In fact, Harry’s arc is very similar to the nameless one (the protagonist of torment)

The “synapses fire in our brain before we come to a decision, thus free will is a myth” always seemed like the dumbest argument to me. Having a delay in time between decision and acting on that decision is not a lack of decision. The fact that you need to think of what you’re going to say before you say it doesn’t mean you didn’t choose what to say.

Awesome, I had no idea this was released btw despite ringing the bell, good 'ol youtube... Anyway, the first section on determinism, I always liked Marx's interpretation which basically summarizes what you present, that we make our own history but _not_ on our own terms. _"Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living."_

Great video! I'm in the middle of my first run through DE and it's one of the best games I've ever played, and probably the smartest game I've ever played. It's a game that I think about even when I'm not playing.

This is wonderful content. I'm so happy you talked about this game, it really gave me depth to the game to think about

Who else rebuilt communism in this game?

Amazing video Epoch! It's beautiful to see a video game tackle philosophy not with distant cynicism, but with sincere bravery. I feel there's so much potential in gaming for changing people's view of the world. It's an embodied practice, like writing, so touches a different part of our being. I hope we get more games that ditch the cold dead formulaic structures. But of course, by their nature, they can only come from minority cultures

honestly your really underrated

super moved by this video essay. it really proves (and inspires) my as-of-yet undetermined master's thesis and what I now know will be Freudian/Lacanian theoretical basis. thanks!

Wonderfully said.

good shit Epoch

This is fascinating. I'm definitely going to have to experience the game.

Gotta get this game

This is one of the best video essays on the game I've seen, criminally underrated.

Awesome video. The mispronunciation of Revachol got me every time, though. It’s RE-vah-shol

Excelente video

great video. thats the kind of video i want to make as well.... glad to see some philosophical examination on this gem

I've lost my memory because I was hopelessly poor - that was hilarious thought

Cool stuff! I enjoyed a lot of points, but I was confused at many parts.

i just finished the game and as a binoclard myself the constant references to hegel marx and even husserl/heidegger really tickled my brain so i’m glad to have stumbled across this vid, late as i am to it lol (also LESS THAN NOTHING!! PALE FIRE!!!)

Alright here we go! Been a while man

godly timing bought the game on sale a few days ago and finished it today and i srsly was thinking abt how someone might analyze it from a lacanian or zizek(ian?) pov

It’s an expression of pain

I understand no connected thesis from this essay. I wouldn’t call several musings “the philosophy of disco elysium just in video form.”. It is possible to explain the Lacanian aspects of the writing of the game as well as their connection to the politics of it in word form, as the youtuber Kybitzed did in a video sharing the title of this one a year ago.

I place this comment on the altar of youtube's algorithm

Completely disagree about New Vegas not putting it's politics at the forefront, the game very much wears it's heart on it's sleeve in that regard.

This game is a master piece! Style, content, thought provoking… and much more. Highly recommended but not for the quick pleasure seekers.

I think the free will vs mechanistic determinism argument is a bit dated in the 21st century. In particular, the twin concepts of neuroplasticity and adult neurogenesis put the nail in the coffin of mechanistic determinism. Neuroplasticity is the concept that the brain is both the seat from which our thinking, decisions, and reactions arise, but also is continually "plastic", unfixed, not static, but instead continually being reconfigured by our experiences, our thinking and outlook, our responses to our existence. If the brain is the mechanistic determinant of our consciousness, then its neuroplastic nature makes each of us the author of our brains. We exist in a continual loop of (present state, the sum of all our previous experiences and our interpretations of them) giving rise to reactions and then a (new present state where the new experience and our interpretations of it create a next state), or constantly evolving self. Neurogenesis is the growth of new neurons, not just neuronal connections. Studies have positively demonstrated that neurogenesis occurs throughout our entire lives; adult neurogenesis. It is not, as was previously believed, a phenomenon only that ends after adolescent development. I believe these new understandings of our conscious processes reveal that mechanistic determinism is an outdated philosophical hypothesis (polemic) based on a more primitive understanding of neuronal processes as a static state, or worse, one capable in adulthood only of degeneration. This is one case where I think the philosophers need to catch up to the neuroscience research. Consciousness begets agency and agency begets reflection and, thus, new consciousness. There is a nice pop-science overview of neuroplasticity laid out in Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain, by Sharon Begley (2007, Penguin-Random House). The science has advanced considerably in the intervening 16 years, but it's still a solid starting point. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/10781/train-your-mind-change-your-brain-by-sharon-begley/ Cheers! Oh, PS: DISCO ELYSIUM is a completely kick-ass game and should be de rigueur fodder for any philosophy, creative writing, or literature class. I couldn't agree more that it's philosophical commentary is richly presented through demonstration, rather than simple abstraction. Great stuff!

Video essay opens with quoting Zizek. this had better be good

25:47 that's a very dangerous thing to say and I surprised that someone who follows Zizek fell for a something like that. "Absurd authenticity", you are just romanticizing misery.

I love Kim 😍

Video games are a tough one for people to take seriously; disco Elysium was fantastic, in a very sort of zizek style. Reminded me of the humor and the sort of fun loving nature applied throughout the story. If you ever want another game to do a philosophy take on; “Cruelty Squad” is right up your alley. Probably the most deleuzean game out there, and steeped in continental philosophy.

Who else deliberately chose to never get rid of "the expression" and decided to go by Tequila Sunset?

I agree in the sense that Disco Elysium embodies some deterministic structure over existential - but I think within a story, or a game in this case - 'we the player' are not the counterpoint to this determinism. I would think it is more accurate to register the narrative itself as the determinism. The game presents 'choices' to a player - sure - but there are only so many. Regardless of which combination you make, many of the games' key sequences take place regardless, with your choices often making ripples in the story, rarely waves. Harry isn't aware of the player, any more than a protagonist of a novel is aware of the reader. Traditional RPG games often as you say, embody existential traits, where you shape a character from the ground up and choose their path through the world. Here your job is to aid Harry in dealing what was already there, what has gone before, and was was always bound to pass. I would say the sequence of wiping the steam from the mirror in the beginning is perhaps symbolic of the entire game; the fear, the inner discourse, the suffering, and the choice to go on regardless. Thanks for a great video on this amazing game that actual endeavours to go beyond just reciting the plot to me.

It's been on my list for a while but I still haven't gotten to playing it. EDIT: Am playing now. Got pissed off at losing a bunch of progress twice. EDIT 2 SPOILERS: Was expecting some cosmic event or at least a revolution to tie up the game. Can't say I wasn't disappointed when it actually ended after solving the case (and finding the phasmid). I didn't even get to attend my communist reading group a second time :(

wow i bought this three days ago and already clocked 20 hours and wanted to dive deeper into the whole thing and then i find this.... coincidences dont exist and the universe works in mysterious ways :)

shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit i moved to new zealand, what you would mostly think is great and these themes are growing and present. at least we have words for how we are all going to feel.

Yep

Hello, I hope you don't mind me asking, but what are your personal political beliefs ?

This is a great analisys, but I would like to point out the following: People don't talk about politics this freely in your country. In Argentina almost every conversation revolves around politics, even more so when there is something overtly political happening such as a strike or a "piquete" (when the routes are bloquaded due to measures of force by the people). And I believe that in most third world countries the normalization of political speech is more common than in first world countries: In ours, politics fuck us over daily; in yours, politics fuck US over daily also

May I ask what music in the begin? Showing SLAVOJ ŽlŽEK

I haven't even played the game yet but I watched some (the non spoiler section) of Jacob Gellars analysis of it and I feel like just even hearing some of the music from the game speaks volumes of it's phycological and philosophical framework. I remember seeing a screenshot of the many skills and couldn't help but also think of the archetypes in the collective unconscious that Carl Jung expounded on. I personally find I agree with Albert Camus existentialist subview, Absurdism. My daily thinking is highly influenced by Jung though, however I know the latter is a study of the psyche while the former is a view of existence. No matter, I definitely look forward to playing finally (downloading now).

thoughts on metamodernism?

❤

Can someone share a link or give the name of the music at first 30 seconds

In respect of videos games, role-play is widely misunderstood. The process of experiencing events (and the consequences of interactions) from a perspective other than one's own, is largely lost on most gamers. Some tabletop players can also completely miss the point but it's less frequent. Worse still, those that do not comprehend the true nature of role-play, stubbornly resist any and all explanation. This is being magnified because the largest and most commonly known studios, those that are presently associated with this "ganre", do not actually produce role-playing games. Dual polarised plotlines or straight-up adventure games, are therefore commonly misinterpreted as containing RP. The term is utterly ambiguous right now and that's unlikely to change until coding human interaction becomes viable.

A bit late but i think you would like nier automata, its also pretty philosophical

While I'm in no way a student of philosophy aside from passing knowledge of common ideas, I do think that the idea of people not having "free will" is absurd without a genuine explanation of *what would* be controlling us. So.. what would be if its not ourselves? To continue: I have seen the experiment where the brain impulses arrive fractions of a second before the muscles move, but can't that easily be explained away by the following: The brain sends the impulses. The brain houses all of your cognitive functions, conscious and sub-conscious. YOU are the brain. If it comes to physical action, the brain signal that tells the muscles what to do(contract, shift weight, extend, etc.) Is gonna take a bit of time, no matter how small. That's why reaction time is a measurable thing. Finally, to compare a videogame character to a real, physical human being in this sense seems a bit of blunder, don't you think? The game is pre-programmed. Responses and actions numbered and set in code. The detective physically cannot think for himself since he isn't real; he's a combination of pixels, a rigged model. Is it fair to compare a videogame avatar, a combination of pixels set on a set path, A to Z, to a real life human being with a conscious brain of his own?

26:03 Bad memories of your upper class upbringing, eh?

25:53 How do you know this?

Ngl, I finished Disco Elysium a while ago. It's... self-discovery. As much of the poor bastard as ourselves, in a sense.

The “existentialism” you refer to here is pop existentialism, no existential phenomenology. This game is extremely phenomenological

To paraphrase you: “No one in our real world so readily talks politics like this…” I honestly have to disagree there. Based on my real life experience, a lot of “normal” working class people actually do talks politics somewhat readily. Especially conservative working class men - whether you want to or not lol They even wear it openly on their clothes. The company you work for might also openly post anti union/pro individualist propaganda. Last year I had a fellow countryman I barely said hello to just suddenly and completely unprompted ask me what I thought of racism and classism in the US. Maybe it’s the worsening material conditions that have made people more openly political or maybe I’m a weird social chimera who people feel comfortable dumping their political takes on lol

Good stuff, I have yet to finish this game and interestingly maybe is that what I do remember vividly is finding Kim incredibly annoying lol seemingly always making excuses for the way the world is, but you've pointed out an aspect of him that I didn't consider and now that I'm conscious of is making me excited to look for when I finally delve back in.

Everyone needs a Kim

7 Days can't come soon enough :'(

I disagree with that kind of philosophy. Maybe the liberal context we live in biases us to adopt existentialist views but, and this may just be me seeing things that aren't there, this isn't a critique of existentialism itself and it just comes off as dismissal of existentialism because of that, the social context we live in. Personally i don't and probably can't know about the validity of determinism but so many times i see people just assume that it's the case, while we should really be doing the opposite, betting on the possibility of us having some freedom and control. Doomer-ism is itself a prison, it doesn't necessarily follow that we would be mentally stronger if we accept "hard truths" especially when those truths literally are that we have no strength at all. Neither does it concerns me personally what the true ontological nature of something is, why would it? All that matters to us, matters subjectively at the end of the day, there is no need to know the ontological nature of something unless you disagree with that. Of course this is just a reading of the game and a reading isn't less or more valuable than any other reading. But i still think it's a bit of a stretch and generally view the logic flawed.

"Free will is a myth. Religion is a joke. We are all beholden something greater: memes." - Monsoon (Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance)

HARDCORE

I completely agree with the last part, although I don't see the psychological interpretation from a psychoanalytical/Freudian perspective. Of course, I'm biased against it, but it was interesting to hear of nonetheless. Personally, I believe that the game takes a beautiful scientific approach within an artistic setting by using the anatomic and physiological branches of the nervous system. It was neuroscience at its core - from a medical point of view, it was transported directly from a neuroanatomy book to a video game story - and this is so well-thought and unexpected (perhaps, even unprecedented?). Taking this into consideration, along with the skills standing up for both paranormal AND neural correspondence, there is no need for psychoanalysis in its interpretation. Psychoanalysis, in the end, falls short, kind of. Now, the use of absurd modernism to describe the game, to me, seems accurate - there is no way such a game full of meaning and self-critique could belong to a post-modern, devoid of soul, cultural group. When you talked about love and relationships, you hit the nail on the head, sir. I'd go as far as point out how beautifully unbiased the authors were in depicting the political entities of this game. They are full of humanism and truth, something that post-modern ideology and politics is lacking (and I affirm this as a proud neoliberal). Having said that, there is no reason to believe the developers were pushing a political narrative, like many were worried about. It is a story so humane that even if you are a real fascist, you can find common ground with and affection for your moralist partner, Kim. All because human relationship transcends political and ideological views. Spot on, such a well crafted game that ultimately satisfies its purpose and gives a powerful ending.

casablanca is from 1942

Trying not to spoil the homoromantic undertones of the entire narrative at the end there, eh?

The glitching microphone makes it hard to listen.

Love from a Vaush and UrickSaladBar fan!

If you didnt play this game as a wacky, sober, communist ya got to play it again. If you did, just play it again anyway...

I was kind of hoping that it was a rival company that was pulling the strings at the last second but unfortunately that wasn't my thing. Trynna turf in, make moves, cause instability. Takeover by capitalism

How did you make this video?

The general atmosphere of this game touches on a lot of specific emotions that I didn’t realize anyone else shared. It’s such a cohesive whole that it’s unlikely that I’m just projecting onto the creators what I experienced playing it ( but it’s possible). That feeling of being hungover on a Sunday after a heartbreak on a cold January day. Good game. With that said, the whole story seems to make certain assumptions and limits the players in such a way that gives away the mostly liberal / democratic socialist views. It’s their game, their story/message, that’s fine but it feels a bit like false advertising when they will let you become an outright racist or anti racist, etc etc. as a Marxist Leninist, I feel undercut by having media out in the world that leads people to assume that social democratic views are the only alternative to capitalism ( from what I can tell, it seems that way to many living in the u.s. ). Of course they can’t represent every single nuance of every possible ideological or political position/ dialogue tree but it just seems quite biased. anyways, the game is touching but falls into these ideological assumptions and tropes that it’s seemingly trying to escape by being self aware but comes off as another piece of propaganda for the whole campaign/ zeitgeist promoting attitudes that embrace being anti tech or overly online, anti irony, and pro empathy ( which I assume is being inserted into the culture in order to deescalate the growing polarization and animosity between groups, especially so on social media. This all being a part of the crisis of democracy as the the economy in western countries will probably begin to shrink here in the near future).

The boys from Chapo are voice actors in DE

Never seen a video where someone didn't love Kim

Computer RPGs are designed to stroke your ego. The commercial idea behind them is that a teen who has had a miserable week at school would probably appreciate escaping to a world that literally revolves around them.

You may have referred to a good explanation of what you mean by Lacan’s framework, but i still have no clue what you mean by existentialism or by authenticity.

ChatGPT: "Hyperstition is a concept that was developed in the context of postmodern theory and speculative fiction, and it has been associated with both Hegelian and Marxist ideas in different ways. While there is no single, widely accepted interpretation of hyperstition, some theorists have suggested that it represents a synthesis of Hegelian and Marxist ideas. In this view, hyperstition could be seen as combining the idealistic and materialistic aspects of Hegelian and Marxist thought. On the one hand, hyperstition reflects Hegel's emphasis on the role of ideas and concepts in shaping reality, by suggesting that fictional or imaginative constructs can have a real-world impact. On the other hand, hyperstition also reflects Marxist ideas about the fundamental role of economic and social conditions in shaping reality, by suggesting that these conditions can be shaped by imaginative and fictional constructs. This synthesis of Hegelian and Marxist ideas could be seen as a way of resolving the tension between idealism and materialism in leftist thought. By emphasizing the role of ideas and concepts in shaping reality while also acknowledging the role of economic and social conditions, hyperstition could be seen as offering a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the relationship between ideas, reality, and social change. It's worth noting that the idea of hyperstition as a synthesis of Hegelian and Marxist ideas is a minority view within both Hegelian and Marxist circles, and it is not widely accepted by mainstream Hegelian or Marxist scholars. The concept of hyperstition is a relatively recent development in the history of leftist thought, and its relationship to Hegelian and Marxist ideas is a matter of ongoing debate and discussion. Hyperstition and metamodernism are both terms that have been developed in the context of postmodern theory, and they have been associated with similar ideas and themes in different ways. While there is no single, widely accepted definition of either term, some theorists have suggested that they are related or that they represent different aspects of a similar phenomenon. Metamodernism is a term that has been used to describe a shift in cultural, artistic, and intellectual trends that emerged in the aftermath of postmodernism. Some theorists have described metamodernism as a return to modernism, but with a critical awareness of the limitations and failures of modernist ideas and aesthetics. Other theorists have described metamodernism as a distinct cultural trend that transcends the dualistic oppositions of modernism and postmodernism. Hyperstition, as described earlier, refers to the phenomenon in which fictional or imaginative constructs can have a real-world impact, shaping the course of events and influencing reality in unexpected ways. In this sense, hyperstition could be seen as a manifestation of the ideas and themes associated with metamodernism, which emphasizes the fluid and dynamic relationships between art, culture, and reality. The relationship between hyperstition and metamodernism is a matter of ongoing debate and discussion, and there is no single, widely accepted interpretation of this relationship. Some theorists have suggested that hyperstition represents a specific aspect of the broader metamodern phenomenon, while others have suggested that hyperstition and metamodernism are related but distinct concepts. Regardless of the specific relationship between the two terms, both hyperstition and metamodernism reflect broader trends in postmodern thought that challenge traditional dualistic oppositions and emphasize the fluid and dynamic relationships between ideas, art, culture, and reality."

Why is this... so depressing. To point of being... Grim. Why life is like this?

no the gamer does not control Harry the game developers control the gamers' decisions 15:23 this is the part of 'philosophy' i always struggle with: pretense. Idea upon idea la la la. But factually: no gamer controls a character. The choices are limited by the technology available to the game developers. SO - still just a bi/tri/quad/nary decision tree that the gamer has to navigate. Fascinating game, i bought it but haven't played. not my style of play but the art is so unique i wanted to support the team. Thanks for the analysis. Philosophy is truly a pathology. Please discuss that. *i chose the wrong word: Philosophy is pathological. It is my opinion that those people who tirelessly weave loaded undefined words together in an attempt to define some new meta are simply pathologically definable as .. ? a kook? ADHD? On the spectrum? it is clearly a human tendency and over millenia these traits continues despite selective breeding. But for real man: philosophy is crazy people talk. Referencing former crazy people from 200 years ago doesn't make the contemporary crazy person sound less crazy. It's insane this method of academic pursuit is not more critically examined.

5 seconds? lol :P

honestly this video is what hapens when you make too much reasearch, just listen to the art and see what it tells you, you dont need to always conect it to some grand theory, the artist while defgently inspired by diferent phylosophies but he is tryng to tell you his own and by tryng to fit it in with some other establish philosophy is a disservice in my opinion, disco elysium inst about determinism in my opinon is more nihilistic in the sence that is not that you dont have free will to make choises is more like your choises make little diference on your outside world, and i dont think the thoughts are actualy harry tring to infleunce you, this is an rpg you are harry, execpt in this game isntead of controling the caracter body you control his mind, then you can listen to his thoughts and feelings. in the end i defenetly think it says that you cant escape you past, but it also says that your scars dont have to ruin you and there is always a way forward and one of the most important messages is that you dont have to let your thoughts or traumas control your choises (ex: miss orange disco dancer).