I often have dialogs in my head that self-serve as a sort of Socratic Method of formulating or discovering the philosophies that resonate with me. I want to post one recent dialog and get feedback on the logic. Now, it’s not finished, but I am looking for new angles and perspectives so that I can forge a more in-depth dialog. Even if one is opposed to the idea of God, I think there are numerous inferences that can be critiqued. Any feedback is welcomed. Thank you …
“Suffering is optional …”
“Is it? … Really?”
“Yeah … suffering is optional.”
“I see. Tell me, how long have you held this view friend?”
“I don’t know … I guess for about 15 years.”
“And in all those years have you never suffered?”
“Well, yeah … I have.”
“So then, you opted for, or chose suffering? Why? You said to yourself, ‘I’m going to go ahead and suffer now,’ and poof, you suffered?”
“No, no, that’s not how it works.”
“Tell me then, how does it work?”
“Well, it means that I chose something that hurt me, or that I refused to let go of something that was hurting me; or I guess that in my self-will, I refused to turn to God. So I chose suffering.”
“Ok … that something that you chose, and therefore got hurt by, did you know it was going to hurt you?”
“No … I guess not.”
“So how does choosing something you didn’t think would hurt you, but did, and the notion that suffering is optional, meaning chosen, relate in any rational manner?”
“I guess it doesn’t in that case … hmm. Well … I can think of times where I did choose something knowing it would hurt me.”
“If you knew it would hurt you, then why on earth chose it?”
“I’m not sure ….”
“Could it be that what you chose was an immediately sense of gratification for the sacrifice of future peace?”
“How do you mean?”
“Say you ‘choose’ something that will destroy your life in the future, but that before it does so, it will make you feel bliss …”
“Ok, well I can certainly relate to that. Yeah, that’s what I mean, but that’s just a foolish choice I made; or maybe I’m just insane!”
“I’ll speak on foolishness later, but ‘insane?’ … Can the insane be held accountable for their actions? They must be dealt with, the insane, but can they truly be held accountable? Do they not lack the properly proportionate perspective of reality, and therefore cannot be expected to make sound decisions?”
“No, and yeah, I guess so …?”
“So tell me, how, in this case, can someone say they choose suffering?”
“I see your point …”
“On your second point, that you refused to let something go, and therefore suffered; did you realize that which you held onto was hurting you?”
“Actually … yes I did.”
“Why would you choose to hold onto that which is causing you suffering?”
“I guess I thought I could make it work out, or that it would change.”
“So you thought that the pain was worth it because there would be some sort of redeeming end?”
“Yeah …”
“Therefore my friend, you were not choosing suffering, you were making a noble sacrifice hoping for the best. That does not sound like one whom is choosing suffering; rather, it sounds like a man whom endures the painful process of a surgery, because he knows it will be for his benefit in the long run.”
“Well, yeah I see that point, but what about when it was because I was blind, or delusional, and just couldn’t let go because I was being foolish, or willful.”
“ … ‘I was blind or delusional’ … if a man can’t see, can he be faulted for not catching a baseball that was beamed at his head? Did he choose for the ball to hit his head?”
“No”
“If a man is delusional, can he be faulted for not being able to discern reality? Is he choosing to not perceive reality?”
“No … insane, delusional … yeah I see that now.”
“… A fool …? A fool is a person who lacks good sense or judgment. Can a person who lacks, be held accountable for not having what he lacks; namely, good sense or judgment? Is he choosing to not have good sense or judgment?”
“I’ll have to think about that one… well he should have taken care earlier in his life, to have good sense.”
“Well perhaps you are right, but that makes no difference now in the only moment that matters, does it?”
“No”
“So now, in the only moment that matters, is he choosing to not have poor sense and judgment?”
“No … I guess not.”
“Yet … my good friend … in each of these cases, pain or even suffering is the unchosen reality. Correct?”