Philosophy Now Forum

There helplines in some countries.
In a novel UK Listeners are mentioned. Do they really exist ?

It can be draining to listen to people who are unhappy and need someone to talk to about it.
It is a kind of anonymous psychotherapy.

Has anyone here made personal experience with it ?

If one is interested in something (inter-esse = inbetween-be) one is involved and in action and alive. The opposite is detachment. (And yet buddhists crave detachment as a means to overcome the tragedy of life. Interesting, isn´t it ? :) Sorry, I couldn´t resist this one.) One way to become involved...

An artist like a sculptor leads an interesting life because they create something new.
A secret agent is excited by the circumstances of their work.

A normal person is more challenged if they wish things to happen in their lives.

I see the point, tonterias, and I agree. One can also need a break from people or books. After a while one is happy to resume the relationship, sometimes on a higher level because in the meantime one was able to grow a bit. It happens often to me that I stop reading a good book (who has developed in...

Another example: clinical depression. Only those who experienced it personally, for a day or longer, have an idea what it is, while being sad can be enjoyed of course, feeling like a romantic heroine or hero in a melodrama. Can one enjoy clinical depression somehow ? If you know that it is going to ...

Another kind of misery I can think of, especially on a discussion forum like this one, is not getting enough attention.

Is it possible to enjoy it somehow ?

One could compare oneself to victims of stalking and feel happy by comparison but this is probably a cheap trick.

I mean one´s own cancer.

You are good at smiling though, I saw your picture somewhere here. Sunshine on wuthering heights.

Let me try to illustrate the point Dattaswami makes by some examples: I get cancer (let us not shy from serious misery). Could I somehow watch the progress going on in my body, like a child would, and see how interesting it is ? In case of physical pain there are pain-killers. Or one has gangreaned ...

Whatever happens to us and whatever we do should add up to something meaningful.

If my suffering makes sense because I need to pay for crimes in my previous life (some religions see it that way) then the suffering is necessary and bearable.

Yes, you are right. I was talking of sadness or melancholy. What clinical depression feels like I can imagine though, because I feel like it while I am having a migraine. I know it will stop after 24 hours so I don´t do anything about it. The question that comes to my mind when having the migraine i...

Dear Mr or Ms Dattaswami. Perhaps you are a good person who wishes to make the world a better place. But you would get more attention if you formulated your messages in short succinct sentences, if I may suggest with all due respect. Peace. If you can enjoy misery just like happiness then you will ...

People are shy about their pics and I can understand. However, a pic does not express the soul of a person. What expresses the soul of a person is the voice. How about posting mp3 recordings of our voices ? A simple mp3 player can register a short spoken text. Then it could be uploaded here. And if ...

Hygiene is an important issue and can decide about life and death. Monk probably never thought of the danger of frequent hand washing. Skin needs a layer for protection against germs and this layer gets destroyed when you wash your hands. Some people washed their hands too much because of corona and...

What´s the point of asking a novelist or a script writer about one of their characters ????

It´s for the audience or public to figure out for themselves.
This can happen by discussing it together in a polite way.

Mr Impenitent

I don´t know the actor, does he play any other roles ?
Never thought of checking wikipedia for a fictional character.

My guess was that the director and script writer wanted to show that certain people who seem "strange" have their good qualities.