If self-love is experienced properly, as motivation for industriousness, enlightenment, responsibility and self-respect, then I can agree. The problem is, self-love can take any turn. The subject is self-love's own affirmator. Overall however, I do agree that without self-focus and self-awareness, striving to harmonize and assist is futile.Nevertheless your response got me to thinking, that this notion of ' spreading the love' in, say, a universal Greek style ( phila, philautia, ludus, agape, etc.) perhaps, might go a long way in achieving that end goal of interconnectedness and purpose. — 3017amen
Its not asking for improvement plans, its giving the scenario. — schopenhauer1
If you've only got two choices you have to take one of them, that's what only having two choices means, is that what you wanted people here to confirm? — Isaac
I can subscribe to this. However, most people, including me, also need a sense of potency to pursue an idea. In the face of life's factors, a person may decide that empathy and enlightenment is futile. I can subscribe to love anyway, because it doesn't really require affirmation of successful outcome to be practiced.This is the solution. Well, half of it: the other half is learning and teaching. Let both goodness and truth flow into you and out of you, through you, and you will become meaningful to the world and it will become meaningful to you. — Pfhorrest
Its the implication for thise living in that binary choice... — schopenhauer1
I didn't mean to overcome discomfort through self-improvement, but to suffer through discomfort resiliently (as if stoically, but not really.) In other words, a possible solution is a non-solution.A lot of people think that by enduring this, that it enriches their life when they make it through. I don't know, for me, it just dulls life that much more that on top of the everyday dealings with other people, BS in general, societal maneuverings of the daily kind, there is the pain and suffering of being struck by enduring illness, injury, and the like. — schopenhauer1
I offered love as motivation, not relief. To remedy the sense of purposelessness, not the sense of helplessness. Love will definitely increase the actual hardship many-fold.As far as romantic love, how does this ameliorate anything? Building a loving relationship, and keeping one, are even more difficult these days than back in the day when it was an expectation (though leading to much unhappiness for staying in bad relationships). Besides, even the best of relationships can lead to pain from differences in expectations. — schopenhauer1
I agree. This probably steers into a politically and culturally focused topic, but indeed, people appear to be living isolated. I suspect that there are far reaching consequences - lack of empathy, no sense of responsibility, etc. But I may be over-dramatizing. It certainly doesn't apply to everybody.But anyways, in this more recent climate of shallowness, self-absorption, and short-sightedness, intimate partners are harder to come by these days. The whole caring about someone who is particularly special to you and you to them is diminishing as the years move forward. Increasingly, you're on your own in sickness and health, except for perhaps your immediate family (if they are still alive and well and in communication). — schopenhauer1
If you are a nice, caring, friendly, person but openly criticize the premises of life, even if you are "contributing" you are deemed as unworthy. It doesn't matter your character, how you treat people. — schopenhauer1
So barring cliched suicide responses and an appeal to therapy, is there any philosophical insights for people who simply dont like the premises of life? — schopenhauer1
I was looking for some interesting conversation on the conundrum rather than disdain for the idea itself — schopenhauer1
So what if some people don't want to die, but don't want the dealing with either?... I was looking for some interesting conversation on the conundrum rather than disdain for the idea itself — schopenhauer1
So what if some people don't want to die, but don't want the dealing with either? Yes, there are coping strategies, but having to do any of it, improvement regimes or otherwise, are not wanted to be entered in. Of course one is shit out of luck. That is the conundrum for someone who doesn't want any of it.
I was looking for some interesting conversation on the conundrum rather than disdain for the idea itself which I'm well aware people on the forum have a biased against. — schopenhauer1
Yes. That's right. That is correct. You have correctly identified the nature of life. Well done. You can write that down in your book of 'things that are the case'. Honestly, what more is there to discuss. It's a brute fact. You're not prepared to entertain any suggestions of anything you can actually do about it, or even think about it, so what else is there other than agree that it is indeed the case? — Isaac
Are those things really inescapable? Do they really result in death when they are lacking? Or is this what our perceptions, mostly influenced by the sort of society we live in, are pressured into believing? — Tzeentch
But what more can really be said other than, "you're shit out of luck"? The premises of life are already present, you're already caught up 'playing the game'. If suicide is off the table (why?), then there is no option but to continue coping with and dealing with. The conundrum is essentially, "I don't suffer enough to lethally harm myself, yet enough to where I don't enjoy living". Well yeah, then you're fucked. You could find a distraction. Gaming? Gambling? Sex? Get a girlfriend? Fry your brain with drugs? Rig up some contraption that feeds you and toilets you? But you don't want suggestions on coping methods, so I'm not sure what's left to say. It's a terrible situation. — Inyenzi
Yes, it has a lot of implications. Politically it means we are not really "for" ourselves as the only choice we can make is moving up or down a spectrum of (for the pessimist) unwanted realities. — schopenhauer1
Are those things really inescapable? Do they really result in death when they are lacking? Or is this what our perceptions, mostly influenced by the sort of society we live in, are pressured into believing? — Tzeentch
So how aren't they? — schopenhauer1
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