South of Reason

Stoic principles and historical insights to understand today's world and navigate its challenges with clarity, reason, and strength.

Hi. I’m Dave.

I’m an Engineering Leader from Dublin, Ireland. Aside from a few early stop-offs and a formative stint in Amsterdam during my early twenties, I’ve lived here all my life.

I’m a product of The Digital Age; I grew up with technology, and it with me. As a child I would sit at the family computer running programs from floppy disks and command prompts. I would eventually graduate to building websites — these were the first, tentative steps towards my future career. I went to college in Dublin City, where I learned the ropes of business and software engineering, two skills I would eventually parley into my role as an Engineering Manager.

I’ve dabbled in many pursuits over the years — music, filmmaking, and writing, to name a few. But like my career, none have given me what I’ve always sought: a life of meaning and purpose — one I was “meant” to live, whatever the hell that means.

It was during a particularly dark Winter in 2017 when my father introduced me to the teachings of Stoicism. It hit like lightning. Nestled almost secretly in the writings of ancient philosophers, I found the tools to build the life I had always wanted. I read, and I read, and I read… I read until I convinced myself I was cured. It took years of dipping in and out of the teachings to finally realize that philosophy is a discipline, not a destination — not something to master, but something to live. Something to practise.

That’s why I decided to start South of Reason: to practise, to reflect, to explore the world; to look at humanity, our history, the challenges we face — and the timeless strategies that might help us meet them with clarity and strength, with resilience and reason. I’ve had to relearn these lessons many times already, and no doubt I’ll need to relearn them again before long.

Until then, I’ll keep writing — about philosophy, history, and the events of today — in the hope that I don’t soon forget the importance of this practice. After all, reason lies to the north — and we’ll forever be a little south of it.

And who knows? If you’re reading this then maybe — just maybe — you’ll find some insight to help you navigate your own challenges in this modern world of ours.

Good luck out there.

- Dave