Philosophy Now Forum

Although I am mighty...

The topic is 'the value of life'

Debatable. -Coughs.-

I was going with the idea of not conforming with simply following the stated topic title. Kind of just defeats the idea of Philosophy touching each subject when it never really consoles around a singular one. But who am I to judge. ;D

I feel this comment may spark a new topic. We shall wait and see. Cue the countdown music. >.>

We are in danger of touching upon a topic that all threads that live too long seem to eventually become, a topic which threatens to engulf all philosophy forums forever within its monolithic embrace:

The proper manner about which to conduct philosophy debates on a forum, especially in regard to the acceptability of going off-topic.

I am fed up with all these puerile debates in fact, and motion that we rename all threads 'wtf r we doing?'

I'll agree with that AND second the motion.

Of course, we could presume that philosophy was simple a "Way of life" something that existed more as an entity than an actual subject, seeing as it touches every subject individually in a different way.

As opposed to discussing it we are all capable of living it. -Shuts down the forum.- >.>

Then philosophy has run its course and we stand victorious, yay!

Fin

We have single-handedly (There are two of us so dual-handedly?) conquered the world of Philosophy and seeing as there is no-one around to argue this fact I will reap the benefits of our glory by treating myself to a cigarette.

Au revior world of peril and chaos, your master is in need of nicotine.

End~

I have two hands, I assume you do so that makes quad-handedly..

oh noes, could it be that there is more to dispute?

>.> Not really. Seeing as I will agree to the fact that I have two hands and seeing as you have admitted that you do aswell, it kind of still leaves us at a standstill.

After "much" debate it has been decided, Psychonaut and JustPersuasiveActions have QUAD-Handedly conquered the world of philosophy and are now going to share a moment in the art of nicotine to devise a plan to finally take over the world. Mostly probably involving pygmy monkeys and Oxytocin.

-Lifts his banner high and skitters off to enjoy the marvels of Tobacco.-

I am only in favor if it also involves beating people with large sticks.

Large pokey sticks included. I can live with that only on the sole assumption that you will be supplying a herbal remedy know to all to fuel my pokeyness? >.>

Poking sticks can work so long as we keep people in cages...

This topic has received few interesting replies, most from Psychonaut. Seems that I have finally found a really intelligent guy in these philosophy boards. Thanks for enriching my thread with your thoughtful answers, Psychonaut.

By the way, you have mentioned that there is a certain ambiguity in the way I expose my beliefs on life. This is a sure fact, because I believe that our condition as human beings is essentially ambiguous and contradictory. This is mainly due to the conventions and illusions our race has created in the course of its history. It could be described as a game in which we are allowed do believe that our existence has importance and meaning, as long as this does not affect or change anything. But everytime, at every moment of our lives, our emptiness and insignificance is revealed to us, as long as we are courageous enough to open our eyes and see. This feeling could be best described by this declaration from Octave Mirbeau:

You're obliged to pretend respect for people and institutions you think absurd. You live attached in a cowardly fashion to moral and social conventions you despise, condemn, and know lack all foundation. It is that permanent contradiction between your ideas and desires and all the dead formalities and vain pretenses of your civilization which makes you sad, troubled and unbalanced. In that intolerable conflict you lose all joy of life and all feeling of personality, because at every moment they suppress and restrain and check the free play of your powers. That's the poisoned and mortal wound of the civilized world. Octave Mirbeau, The Torture Garden,~"The Mission," Chapter 8

Ok, I know this quote is a bit off-topic. I just think Mirbeau described well our paradoxical situation in this world, as far as the social farce is concerned.

As for the suicide thing, it's funny that the moderation of the board I was banned from understood that I was 'advocating' the practice, when in fact I was just stating the obvious fact that suicide, besides being inevitable sometimes, represents just an acceptance of life's meaninglessness. I guess the mods of the board got me wrong purposefully, because they want to believe that the suicide is a 'weak' person who gives up while all the others go on fighting. How could I ever explain to them that in a certain sense the suicide is stronger than all of us, if they banned me outright in order not to be exposed to my 'disturbing' opinions?

I must admit, however, that their intolerance is very telling.

Perhaps our very 'civilisation' is the issue. The dichotomy of the human animal. We grasp but we cannot reach the 'ideal' we are fed from birth. We are animals attempting to be civilised human 'be' 'ings'. Civility has its costs which the individual must pay.

I'd like to reiterate a question, if you don't mind..

Do you use 'life's meaning' to mean only an objective sense, or also a subjective sense?

Would you, perhaps, use another term for those things within life that subjectively give worth to life, to continuance?

I guess I have already answered this question, tho you may have ignored the implications of my original topic.

Meaning, worth, significance, purpose, et cetera, are constructs of the human mind. They do not exist outside of our intellect. Once you decide to believe that you can atribute a 'meaning' to your existence, you'll believe it, and as I said, there's nothing I can do to prove you wrong/mistaken, especially because I know that most men can't live without such fictions. However, that doesn't mean that your life actually has a 'meaning', it just means that you believe that it does.

You can make an analogy with the situation of the religious believer. In his view, there is a god and an etenal life, these are undeniable facts. Yet, we cannot see or perceive a single evidence that such a being exists. A Christian may look at the universe as something created for him. And yet, now and forever, the universe will always remain indifferent to his existence.



Right there.