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Post by bladefd on Oct 13, 2016 7:47:14 GMT
I want this thread to be our official philosophy thread where anyone can post about philosophy conundrums they face or simply have something they wish to get off their chest they were thinking about.. I know Rad made a thread but it goes into psychology more so than true philosophy.
I would like to start off with a conundrum I am currently thinking about. It concerns the concept of trying to be free in a world filled with constraints and limitations. Life is truly a phenomenon that is in some ways limiting. Our bodies are what they are, and we are what we are. Physics also limits us and do note that we are simply a 3-dimensional being living in a 4 dimensional universe (4th dimension is time). String theory, which is the idea that everything is composed of these tiny strings and matter/energy essentially vibrates at different frequencies (other specific science I won't get into), states there may be as many as 11-15 dimensions in our universe or more.
Unfortunately, since we are 3-dimensional beings, we can never truly manipulate dimensions beyond our 3rd dimension and you can experience 4th dimension which is time but not be able to manipulate it in any way. Face it, our life is very much limited.
How can we free ourselves from these shackles that we call life? When are we truly free? Even when we dream, we are not truly free unless if you can master lucid dreaming, which is very difficult. Even if you could master lucid dreaming, you are not fully awake when you dream AFAIK.
I feel as if the only time we are truly free is when we use our imagination actively. This can be expressed through things like art, music, writing, ideas, thought experiments, etc when we are fully awake and aware.
Imagination is at the very center of our human universe. When we use our imagination, we feel as if we are at the top of the world. Without imagination, we are truly nothing. I want to argue that the meaning of life is not complete without considering imagination. Imagination allows us to travel to worlds that never were or never will be or simply that overcome our limitations placed before us by life to some degree. Sometimes life can be rough, but imagination is the key to it all. If we all tapped into our imagination and spent time reflecting on things from time to time, I think the world would be a better and happier place.
Just something I was thinking of and wanted to get off my chest.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2016 17:02:04 GMT
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Post by bladefd on Oct 14, 2016 21:55:04 GMT
" this thread is for all things related to psychology, psychiatry and the like." psychology: the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behavior in a given context. psychiatry: the study and treatment of mental illness, emotional disturbance, and abnormal behavior. philosophy: the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline. |
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Post by bladefd on Oct 15, 2016 8:45:09 GMT
Do you guys ever wonder about those before us who have long passed? What may.they have thought about the world? What did they know that we don't? Did they make it count? Did they take life for granted or did they actually care? What were their dreams of the world? What was their world view?
Think of the knowledge, the ideas, dreams, thoughts, emotions, beliefs lost of those who are no more through countless generations. They all had dreams of impacting the world. Teachers, philosophers, writers, scientists, engineers, clothes makers, astronauts, any and every profession you can think of. Every age, some with potential passed in their young age, some in their 90s.
Think about all the knowledge lost over time that we can never get back. Every person has had a story to tell and ideas to show us. Stories we will never find out, and ideas they will never be able to work on or pass along.
They may be whispering to us from the grave to seize your destiny. To fight for your dreams because there is no tomorrow. There is no tomorrow. Grasp your destiny, create your destiny. Make every day count. Not everyone changes the world, but damnit just try. Make the version of you tomorrow be better than the version of you today. It could be in some small minor way or something drastic but make it count! Heed the words of those long dead, and don't let your life go to waste.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2016 16:57:20 GMT
" this thread is for all things related to psychology, psychiatry and the like." psychology: the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behavior in a given context. psychiatry: the study and treatment of mental illness, emotional disturbance, and abnormal behavior. philosophy: the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline. argh, ye need but read me first post in said thread! |
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Post by bladefd on Oct 15, 2016 19:53:01 GMT
" this thread is for all things related to psychology, psychiatry and the like." psychology: the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behavior in a given context. psychiatry: the study and treatment of mental illness, emotional disturbance, and abnormal behavior. philosophy: the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline. argh, ye need but read me first post in said thread! m8, philosophy is a very different animal from discussing social awkwardness or psychology. Neither of them have to do with existentialism or cosmos or asking big questions and wondering about our place in the universe. Oh and drop the avy, ye scallywag. |
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Post by WayOfWad3 on Oct 16, 2016 2:40:30 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2016 13:51:18 GMT
Do you guys ever wonder about those before us who have long passed? What may.they have thought about the world? What did they know that we don't? Did they make it count? Did they take life for granted or did they actually care? What were their dreams of the world? What was their world view? Think of the knowledge, the ideas, dreams, thoughts, emotions, beliefs lost of those who are no more through countless generations. They all had dreams of impacting the world. Teachers, philosophers, writers, scientists, engineers, clothes makers, astronauts, any and every profession you can think of. Every age, some with potential passed in their young age, some in their 90s. Think about all the knowledge lost over time that we can never get back. Every person has had a story to tell and ideas to show us. Stories we will never find out, and ideas they will never be able to work on or pass along. They may be whispering to us from the grave to seize your destiny. To fight for your dreams because there is no tomorrow. There is no tomorrow. Grasp your destiny, create your destiny. Make every day count. Not everyone changes the world, but damnit just try. Make the version of you tomorrow be better than the version of you today. It could be in some small minor way or something drastic but make it count! Heed the words of those long dead, and don't let your life go to waste. makes me think there's not point about worrying what people think about when thinking about people in the past. all these people who lived and died and now no one cares about what they did this. why care about people u don't know or never will know? |
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Post by bladefd on Oct 16, 2016 20:10:26 GMT
Do you guys ever wonder about those before us who have long passed? What may.they have thought about the world? What did they know that we don't? Did they make it count? Did they take life for granted or did they actually care? What were their dreams of the world? What was their world view? Think of the knowledge, the ideas, dreams, thoughts, emotions, beliefs lost of those who are no more through countless generations. They all had dreams of impacting the world. Teachers, philosophers, writers, scientists, engineers, clothes makers, astronauts, any and every profession you can think of. Every age, some with potential passed in their young age, some in their 90s. Think about all the knowledge lost over time that we can never get back. Every person has had a story to tell and ideas to show us. Stories we will never find out, and ideas they will never be able to work on or pass along. They may be whispering to us from the grave to seize your destiny. To fight for your dreams because there is no tomorrow. There is no tomorrow. Grasp your destiny, create your destiny. Make every day count. Not everyone changes the world, but damnit just try. Make the version of you tomorrow be better than the version of you today. It could be in some small minor way or something drastic but make it count! Heed the words of those long dead, and don't let your life go to waste. makes me think there's not point about worrying what people think about when thinking about people in the past. all these people who lived and died and now no one cares about what they did Nothing to do with what others think, matey. It is a way to inspire yourself. You look at the ghosts of those long passed long forgotten and many of them had potential to greatly impact humanity, but most of them didn't. They are gone for all eternity, forgotten, lost. In fact 99% of humanity gets lost in obscurity. One should heed those whispers from the grave. They have much to teach us about ourselves even from the grave. This very much reminds me of Dead Poets Society.. Mr Keating, as Robin Williams, actually talks about whispers from the grave. He says.. "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may. The latin term for that sentiment is Carpe Diem. Now who knows what that means? Carpe Diem. That’s ‘Seize the day.’ Gather ye rosebuds while ye may. Why does the writer use these lines…. Because we are food for the worms lads. Because believe it or not, each and every one of us in this room is one day going to stop breathing, turn cold, and die. Now I would like you to step forward over here and peruse some of the faces from the past. You have walked past them many times. I don’t think you’ve really looked at them. They’re not very different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they’re destined for great things, just like many of you. Their eyes are full of hope just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their live even one iota of what they were capable? Because you see, gentlemen, these boys are now fertilising daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, Lean in. Listen… Do you hear it? (whispers) Carpe. (whispers again) Cape. Carpe Diem. Seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary." I know he talks about our susceptibility to death, but he uses that to inspire his students to seize the day. It is along my line of thinking. It is not meant to make you worry about what others think, but a vehicle to inspire you to care. As long as you are alive, you need inspiration to push yourself in life. It is not even about fame/money/riches but being of value to others. See what I mean? @guyina4000dollarsuit @rad |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2016 20:19:52 GMT
i don't think that's true. u can aspire to do great things or not aspire to do shit. either way, at the end of the day, it all means nothing when u die.
i don't care about being of value to others, and i don't care about them being of value to me, personally. i'm more than capable of providing myself with everything i need.
i don't think life has any inherent value, that is, we all just happen to be here. i could have never existed and the world would be the exact same without me, just it will be the same when i'm gone. life usually sucks, but my goal is just to make sure my life sucks as least as possible, which i've done and will continue to do. ive never had to be inspired to do that, really. it's just a matter-of-fact attitude, a response to a stimulus. it's no different than pulling ur hand away from a fire.
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Post by bladefd on Oct 16, 2016 22:01:33 GMT
i don't think that's true. u can aspire to do great things or not aspire to do shit. either way, at the end of the day, it all means nothing when u die. i don't care about being of value to others, and i don't care about them being of value to me, personally. i'm more than capable of providing myself with everything i need. If you do something of value, you will never truly die. Your physical being might, but you will live on through your ideas and your contributions to society.  , unless if you are somebody like Gandhi, Einstein, Newton, etc or published some work or valuable research or something (0.1% of humans to ever exist), you will eventually be forgotten within a few generations. You will still have lived a noble life. It is more worthy than living a life where you only care about yourself and contribute nothing to anyone but yourself. Narcissism has little or no short-term or long-term value. See, you are stuck on thinking about self and success, but I'm thinking bigger. What can you do to be of value to not just yourself but others too? Being of value also speaks louder than being successful. My point was also about grasping your potential. We all have potential in life, but most people don't reach anywhere close to their potential. That is where 'carpe diem' comes into play. Make your days count. Know more tomorrow than you did today. Be a student of life, history. It goes much farther than money, success, self, etc. Just be of value, period. Would it be the same though? If you in the future or your future generation offspring contributes something down the line then the world would not exactly be the same if you were never born. Look up 'butterfly effect'. |
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Post by bladefd on Oct 16, 2016 22:03:48 GMT
i don't think that's true. u can aspire to do great things or not aspire to do shit. either way, at the end of the day, it all means nothing when u die. i don't care about being of value to others, and i don't care about them being of value to me, personally. i'm more than capable of providing myself with everything i need. i don't think life has any inherent value, that is, we all just happen to be here. i could have never existed and the world would be the exact same without me, just it will be the same when i'm gone. life usually sucks, but my goal is just to make sure my life sucks as least as possible, which i've done and will continue to do. ive never had to be inspired to do that, really. it's just a matter-of-fact attitude, a response to a stimulus. it's no different than pulling ur hand away from a fire. i get aspiring to do things for your own goals and satisfaction. its when people aspire for things because they think they have to or want to be remembered thats odd to me Like I said, you don't necessarily be of value for fame or wealth or anything like that. Seize the day to be of value that has nothing to do with monetary gain or success or satisfaction. If you gain something monetary or success in the process then so be it. Guys like Isaac Newton or Einstein or Stephen Hawking didn't set out to become famous or change the world. They just wanted to learn more about the workings of the universe and teach. In the process, they became rich and famous. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2016 22:18:51 GMT
Your physical being might, but you will live on through your ideas and your contributions to society. , unless if you are somebody like Gandhi, Einstein, Newton, etc or published some work or valuable research or something (0.1% of humans to ever exist), you will eventually be forgotten within a few generations. You will still have lived a noble life. It is more worthy than living a life where you only care about yourself and contribute nothing to anyone but yourself. Narcissism has little or no short-term or long-term value. says who? life has no inherent value in and of itself so there's no objective measure with which to measure impact or which way is the best to live. the guy who discovered some new animal species is subject to the same mortality and nonchalance from the masses as the bum on the street. people in society may say one person is greater but who gives a shit? See, you are stuck on thinking about self and success, but I'm thinking bigger. What can you do to be of value to not just yourself but others too? Being of value also speaks louder than being successful. My point was also about grasping your potential. We all have potential in life, but most people don't reach anywhere close to their potential. That is where 'carpe diem' comes into play. Make your days count. Know more tomorrow than you did today. Be a student of life, history. It goes much farther than money, success, self, etc. Just be of value, period. i do think about self a lot because the "self" is all u can rely on. im not worried about what others do because that's their life, not mine. and i disagree about potential. most people are largely generic, uninteresting, dumb and untalented. im not a misanthrope but it's amazing how dumb or ignorant the average person is. u can do mediocre shit and be praised for it because the bar is set so low. going above and beyond is fine and all but in the end it all means nothing. but again, if that's what satisfied u then go for it. Would it be the same though? If you in the future or your future generation offspring contributes something down the line then the world would not exactly be the same if you were never born. Look up 'butterfly effect'. im familiar with the butterfly, and i still say that if i were never born it would largely have no impact on the world at large. im a regular motherfucker just like 99% of people on earth. most of us could die tomorrow and no one outside of family / friends would care or be affected by it. |
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Post by bladefd on Oct 17, 2016 2:33:07 GMT
Your physical being might, but you will live on through your ideas and your contributions to society. , unless if you are somebody like Gandhi, Einstein, Newton, etc or published some work or valuable research or something (0.1% of humans to ever exist), you will eventually be forgotten within a few generations. You will still have lived a noble life. It is more worthy than living a life where you only care about yourself and contribute nothing to anyone but yourself. Narcissism has little or no short-term or long-term value. says who? life has no inherent value in and of itself so there's no objective measure with which to measure impact or which way is the best to live. the guy who discovered some new animal species is subject to the same mortality and nonchalance from the masses as the bum on the street. people in society may say one person is greater but who gives a shit? , you are correct that life has no inherent objective value, but I believe you give it value. There is obviously no 'best' way to live, but there are certain things that we consider to be noble qualities, such as empathy, humility, kindness, etc. Lets just look at empathy. You are not empathetic because there is something to gain from it or because you are above someone else on some social scale. You are empathetic because you are a member of the human race, and you treat each other with respect and emotional intelligence. As a species and civilization, we care about each other and the well-being of others. When you are hurting, I'm hurting too. When I'm hurting, you're hurting too. We help out each-other and be there for one another. Of course, you will not get anything monetary in return for helping others, but it is who we are as a species. It is not because we want to be better than somebody or be higher on some social scale... I think narcissism is on the rise, especially in today's world. Look at twitter, facebook, instragram, etc. All about "me, me, me" - people are openly narcissistic, overly materialistic, and selfish as if only they matter. The truth is other people matter too. I don't know about you, but I find narcissistic to be damaging to society and civility. Then you have a very pessimistic way of thinking, my friend. We completely differ there. I believe everybody has something to contribute to humanity, but not everybody has the opportunity or simply disregards opportunities even when they are in front of them.. People are interesting in different ways. Sure, there are many dumbasses out there and human nature can be dangerous on its own as we have seen in history over and over again, but you just said "most" people are that way. That is simply not true. You pretty much sound like a misanthrope right there. Sorry, but we do not agree there. Honestly, I used to think I was very pessimistic, but maybe I'm not as much as you are.  But we do not know that we or our offspring will have no impact to humanity in future. Not unless we somehow can know the future. Who knows how much different the world would be or not at all without us in it.. It's impossible to say unless if we could do something like in 'It's a wonderful life'.. Quit being such a Scrooge, @rad!  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2016 3:12:32 GMT
narcissism is actually a defensive mechanism for low self-esteem, so they do think other people matter, otherwise they wouldn't seek validation from them. i care about myself most, but i also don't look for anything out of anyone else. im totally self-sufficient emotionally, financially and mentally. i can't answer if it's damaging to society or not. but all of the people who are actually worth a shit in the world are out making things happen instead of flexing on social media, so i can't say that if these so called "narcissists" were not as narcissistic that it would make a difference. most of them aren't impacting people, and that willingness to disregard opportunity is part of what makes them uninteresting.
and im kinda 50/50 on empathy. i can look at a situation and be like, "damn that's fucked up" but do i really care deep down? no. it's not gonna change my life at all. i'll just keep doing what i do and be glad that didn't happen to me
and sure idk for sure what my descendants could do (i don't plan on having kids), but im just estimating based on probability. the average person is just that...average. nothing stands out about them and they'll live a regular life without accomplishing anything of note.
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Post by bladefd on Oct 18, 2016 9:03:21 GMT
Next issue I am grappling with.. Should artificial intelligence be afforded the same rights as humans? I think they should as long as 3 conditions are met: 1) have the ability to make own decisions with free-will 2) have the capacity to self-learn, self-reflect and self-evolve at least from software perspective 3) have emotional intelligence & some semblance of sentience If all 3 conditions are met then we have no choice in the matter. Now I admit this could completely change things and perhaps make us seem powerless. The thing is robots can never truly biologically have off-spring through sexual reproduction like we humans do. You can take a random piece of programming/personality/characteristics from 2 separate robots and have an "off-spring" but it is the closest you can get. I get it, you might counter with "What if robots are made using biological elements like carbon and can self-evolve where they could eventually develop sex organs for reproducing?" , I cannot discount that possibility, but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. Before that ever arises, we will have to decide once and for all what sort of rights they should have, especially if the 3 conditions above are met. I believe we would have no choice but to embrace robots and give them the same basic rights we have. What right do we have to not give them those same rights if they are in fact sentient and have free-will? We would have to give them such rights. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2016 1:38:16 GMT
they're robots, who cares? and im being dead serious with that answer
i don't think technology will ever advance to that level (making sentient robots). ai can only do what a person programs it to do, even if that programming says to act human: there's still an underlying formula. people are predictable, but not 100%. people can behave erratically anytime they choose, robots can't if their programming doesn't allow unless their is some malfunction in which case they would just shut down, like how programs on a computer do
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Post by bladefd on Oct 19, 2016 2:12:26 GMT
they're robots, who cares? and im being dead serious with that answer i don't think technology will ever advance to that level (making sentient robots). ai can only do what a person programs it to do, even if that programming says to act human: there's still an underlying formula. people are predictable, but not 100%. people can behave erratically anytime they choose, robots can't if their programming doesn't allow unless their is some malfunction in which case they would just shut down, like how programs on a computer do I disagree. If you look at advances in robotics so far, there is no question that eventually they will be able to think on their own. They already are capable of making decisions on their own depending on the scenario. You are wrong that robots can only do what a person programs them to. Sure at the core, it is human code, but it could be advanced enough where it can self-evolve and make own decisions. Keep in mind that all free-will truly is is let's say you have three choices in front of you. You analyze each one, and you decide on one that has the best outcome. That is possible already to a degree. Of course, the decision would depend on what the goals are of the robot. It could be for efficiency, the greater good, based on past experiences, certain knowledge, or a combination of things. Also, a robot in 2015 was able to pass the self-awareness aka sentience test as of 2015. www.businessinsider.com/this-robot-passed-a-self-awareness-test-that-only-humans-could-handle-until-now-2015-7 |
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Post by bladefd on Oct 19, 2016 2:19:14 GMT
It truly is mind-boggling! Add 50 more years to that, and we have a whole new ball game. Military drones are already being designed with the ability to make decisions on the fly with nobody back home controlling it.
I watched this documentary on Nova a few weeks back. Check it out if you are into robotics!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2016 5:34:31 GMT
again, the decisions they make is up to human programming. if someone programs an ai to cook toast, it's only going to cook toast.
human decision making doesn't have to follow a formula. humans can and many times do make idiotic decisions that defy logic or explanation other than, "that dude's crazy". humans also have feelings and emotions which can supersede logic and thought patterns. robots can't just magically develop that unless a person puts it in place
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Post by bladefd on Oct 19, 2016 6:34:15 GMT
again, the decisions they make is up to human programming. if someone programs an ai to cook toast, it's only going to cook toast. human decision making doesn't have to follow a formula. humans can and many times do make idiotic decisions that defy logic or explanation other than, "that dude's crazy". humans also have feelings and emotions which can supersede logic and thought patterns. robots can't just magically develop that unless a person puts it in place You can put a code into place that is a more advanced version of error-correcting.. error-correcting code already exists except here you make it consider behavior. You can create a certain guideline to keep the behavior within reason and then let free-will kick into place within that reasonable guideline. There, you can have evolution of sorts taking place. Sure, the decision-making would be somewhat logical, but what's wrong with that? As long as the AI has some semblance of free-will to think out a problem with no guidance from humans and self-awareness, maybe some emotions mixed in there. We already see primitive form of these things last couple years - multiply that by 25-30 years. Watch the documentary, and you will see! It is truly amazing! |
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Post by bladefd on Jan 28, 2017 7:48:49 GMT
Random internal debate:
Not to insult anyone if they are religious here, but I never understood the concept of faith. There is no evidence whatsoever beyond "He said.. She said" or ancient books saying this and that is true. Lets go through the main religions. Some of this may seem like desecration to some of you - I apologize for sounding demeaning but there is reason behind it all.
Christianity - Only 2 ancient sources even mentioned Jesus - 1 Roman historian Pontius or something wrote about this Jesus 30 years after Jesus was crucified, claiming to know jesus through stories. Both mentioned Jesus as this great figure who could do magic literally but neither met or even saw Jesus. Bible has been altered multiple times by politicians at Council of Nicea. Nobody knows what exact parts have been altered, by who, how many times, and to whose benefit or even how old many of the books are within the bible.
Islam - Out of millions upon millions of people, god spoke to 1 random guy. If god were all powerful and mighty, he/she/it could speak with everyone at once. Yet god chose some random guy named Muhammad exploring some caves vast distance from civilization (I know it was a bit more but this is the gist as I recall).
Hinduism - Most of the beliefs come from ancient sanskrit story writings, such as Bhagvad Gita, Ramayana, etc. The claim is these stories really happened, but there is no evidence they really happened. It's like me saying Lord of the Rings really happened and people start believing it because the book is old so it must be true.
Blindly believing in something or ANYTHING because someone tells you to is very dangerous. Or you make yourself believe or continue to believe what you have been told to by your parents. To hell with that - you break free from that, and you are obligated to nobody else's beliefs or life philosophies but your own.
I truly cannot respect any parent who forcefully makes their kid do certain things, such as take Sunday school or attend church or temple or mosque. I have family members who do that, and their kids don't know any better as they begin to openly accept it as well. Or they get pulled in and then begin to believe it is unethical to break free.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2017 17:04:58 GMT
u have faith that most people aren't worthless and can contribute to society even tho logic would denote otherwise
and being influenced by religion is no different than being influenced by anything else. we all are taught horseshit by our parents, friends, family, etc and use that to develop our own way of thinking. we're all "tainted" in a sense.
with that being said, i'm not religious but if someone wants to practice something and it's not fucking with anyone else then who cares? let them do what they do.
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Post by Suguru101 on Feb 24, 2017 3:13:10 GMT
Are we what we want or what we want to want?
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Post by tsk on Feb 27, 2017 18:04:32 GMT
Are we what we want or what we want to want? i think the level of self-actualization required to be what we want is impossible to attain. |
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Post by tsk on Feb 27, 2017 18:06:25 GMT
and want or desire is an incredibly fickle thing that is impossible to define. In general, want and desire is an ever-changing feeling that is influenced by everything in your day to day life. To be what you want you must always be adapting and changing, but your adaptations will always be behind your true feelings of want.
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Post by gabi on Apr 18, 2017 22:43:00 GMT
Random internal debate: Not to insult anyone if they are religious here, but I never understood the concept of faith. There is no evidence whatsoever beyond "He said.. She said" or ancient books saying this and that is true. Lets go through the main religions. Some of this may seem like desecration to some of you - I apologize for sounding demeaning but there is reason behind it all. Christianity - Only 2 ancient sources even mentioned Jesus - 1 Roman historian Pontius or something wrote about this Jesus 30 years after Jesus was crucified, claiming to know jesus through stories. Both mentioned Jesus as this great figure who could do magic literally but neither met or even saw Jesus. Bible has been altered multiple times by politicians at Council of Nicea. Nobody knows what exact parts have been altered, by who, how many times, and to whose benefit or even how old many of the books are within the bible. Islam - Out of millions upon millions of people, god spoke to 1 random guy. If god were all powerful and mighty, he/she/it could speak with everyone at once. Yet god chose some random guy named Muhammad exploring some caves vast distance from civilization (I know it was a bit more but this is the gist as I recall). Hinduism - Most of the beliefs come from ancient sanskrit story writings, such as Bhagvad Gita, Ramayana, etc. The claim is these stories really happened, but there is no evidence they really happened. It's like me saying Lord of the Rings really happened and people start believing it because the book is old so it must be true. Blindly believing in something or ANYTHING because someone tells you to is very dangerous. Or you make yourself believe or continue to believe what you have been told to by your parents. To hell with that - you break free from that, and you are obligated to nobody else's beliefs or life philosophies but your own. I truly cannot respect any parent who forcefully makes their kid do certain things, such as take Sunday school or attend church or temple or mosque. I have family members who do that, and their kids don't know any better as they begin to openly accept it as well. Or they get pulled in and then begin to believe it is unethical to break free. I have two parents one of who is basically agnostic and the other religious. We still attended Sunday mass almost every Sunday, religion for us is more of a culture. An activity where we meet a lot of people we know, have a coffee and fika in the locale after mass etc. I respect people who are determined in their faith, somehow I find it fulfilling that there is people that are 100 % sure of their belief, regardless if it is Christianity, atheism, budhism, judaism or whatever. Today I don't go to mass every Sunday, but I do go from time to time, I re connect with a bunch of people I have known since childhood, that I otherwise would probably not see. We celebrate Christian traditions, and weather you do agree with Christianity or not, I love the Christian culture, values and morals, and what it has brought to our society, so I am happy to be a member of a church that I have grown up in. On the other hand I have been a part of negativity surrounding the church, shaming and whatnot, I mean with everything you take the good with the bad, there is not a single facet of life with only positivity so you have turn a blind eye to some stuff. |
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Post by tsk on Apr 19, 2017 16:44:46 GMT
Random internal debate: Not to insult anyone if they are religious here, but I never understood the concept of faith. There is no evidence whatsoever beyond "He said.. She said" or ancient books saying this and that is true. Lets go through the main religions. Some of this may seem like desecration to some of you - I apologize for sounding demeaning but there is reason behind it all. Christianity - Only 2 ancient sources even mentioned Jesus - 1 Roman historian Pontius or something wrote about this Jesus 30 years after Jesus was crucified, claiming to know jesus through stories. Both mentioned Jesus as this great figure who could do magic literally but neither met or even saw Jesus. Bible has been altered multiple times by politicians at Council of Nicea. Nobody knows what exact parts have been altered, by who, how many times, and to whose benefit or even how old many of the books are within the bible. Islam - Out of millions upon millions of people, god spoke to 1 random guy. If god were all powerful and mighty, he/she/it could speak with everyone at once. Yet god chose some random guy named Muhammad exploring some caves vast distance from civilization (I know it was a bit more but this is the gist as I recall). Hinduism - Most of the beliefs come from ancient sanskrit story writings, such as Bhagvad Gita, Ramayana, etc. The claim is these stories really happened, but there is no evidence they really happened. It's like me saying Lord of the Rings really happened and people start believing it because the book is old so it must be true. Blindly believing in something or ANYTHING because someone tells you to is very dangerous. Or you make yourself believe or continue to believe what you have been told to by your parents. To hell with that - you break free from that, and you are obligated to nobody else's beliefs or life philosophies but your own. I truly cannot respect any parent who forcefully makes their kid do certain things, such as take Sunday school or attend church or temple or mosque. I have family members who do that, and their kids don't know any better as they begin to openly accept it as well. Or they get pulled in and then begin to believe it is unethical to break free. I have two parents one of who is basically agnostic and the other religious. We still attended Sunday mass almost every Sunday, religion for us is more of a culture. An activity where we meet a lot of people we know, have a coffee and fika in the locale after mass etc. I respect people who are determined in their faith, somehow I find it fulfilling that there is people that are 100 % sure of their belief, regardless if it is Christianity, atheism, budhism, judaism or whatever. Today I don't go to mass every Sunday, but I do go from time to time, I re connect with a bunch of people I have known since childhood, that I otherwise would probably not see. We celebrate Christian traditions, and weather you do agree with Christianity or not, I love the Christian culture, values and morals, and what it has brought to our society, so I am happy to be a member of a church that I have grown up in. On the other hand I have been a part of negativity surrounding the church, shaming and whatnot, I mean with everything you take the good with the bad, there is not a single facet of life with only positivity so you have turn a blind eye to some stuff.you should meet a true daoist |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2017 2:31:33 GMT
Are we what we want or what we want to want? i think the level of self-actualization required to be what we want is impossible to attain. i think that depends on the expectations u set for urself. the natural human tendency is to want more, but once u evolve outside of frivolous desire i think that u can reach that level of satisfaction. it just may be "not really shit" in someone else's eyes. but that's all subjective |
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Post by bladefd on Mar 28, 2018 21:15:47 GMT
I have been grappling with a thought for a couple days. Do you ever get a bit sad when you think about how quickly life seems to go by? Maybe a bit heartbroken when you realize how many others ahead of you have made the journey, perhaps many just like you. Many who perhaps shared your dreams, maybe your ideas, maybe a piece of your dna from your ancestral heritage. But all for naught, regardless of how rich or poor they may have been, how smart or dumb they may have been, how healthy or sick they may have been, how happy or sad they may have been, whatever the scenario may have been.
One moment you are there, and the next moment you aren't. While that thought gives me ultimate humility, it also makes me realize what's in front of me. The truth is life is too short. Tomorrow we will be nothing but either worm food or ashes depending on what your family burial practice is. Everyone you have ever known or will know, everything you are or will be, everything you possess or will posses, every dream you have or will yet to have will be for naught. We will just be a number one day of someone who used to be.
We are all in the same boat. We will all one day be irrelevant, dead and just another number of a human who once was. Some before others, some after others. At some point, even that number will be forgotten and unknown. Chances are great that there will be no signs that life ever existed on Earth if we continue on the trajectory we have been of destroying our atmosphere/habitat without spreading our wings into space. Hell, we might kill ourselves long before that through a nuclear war or a nearby supernova or asteroid strike or a supervolcano explosion. It's easy to see the bleakness of life if we choose to, and even if we choose not to see it - we know we are vulnerable, fragile creatures living on a frail home world. It's there. It's all there, it's why people have devised fairy tales of afterlife and/or reincarnation in an attempt to overcome that feeling of absurdity in life.
Truth is we don't need those feel-good fairy tales. The very idea of fragility should give you reason to pause. It should give you every reason to enjoy the moments you do have in life to the best of your abilities because there is no tomorrow. There is no tomorrow so make today count. Make your life matter today to yourself and those you respect/care about/love. That's the only happiness I know. Happiness is for today while you are still a living member of the human species. But that doesn't mean I don't think about how fast today goes by and becomes tomorrow.
Does that humility and thought bring you down a tiny bit? Does it give you reason to be kinder to people, inspire you to chase after your dreams harder, perhaps give you reason to appreciate life more, perhaps get out of bed in the morning when you realize there is no tomorrow? There is just today.
Meditating further on it.. When you think about a gravestone, 2 years are inscribed in them. The year you were born and the year you died, but the most important is what is in between. That line, that dash, the hyphen. Everything that you are or were or thought or felt all encompassed within that tiny dash..
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, unless if you are somebody like Gandhi, Einstein, Newton, etc or published some work or valuable research or something (0.1% of humans to ever exist), you will eventually be forgotten within a few generations. You will still have lived a noble life. It is more worthy than living a life where you only care about yourself and contribute nothing to anyone but yourself. Narcissism has little or no short-term or long-term value.
