Deriving an ought from an is

[Grendel]

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Is
We are born, we live, we die. There is no supernatural, no rebirth, no reincarnation, no afterlife, no soul, no God, no judgment. We are born have a short life then cease to exist. [some people may disagree with this, this post is not for you then].

Ought
This being true we ought not to waste this short existence and live life to the full. We should sail every sea, climb every mountain, walk every desert, drink every drink, swallow every drug, we should make love wildly and lie naked in stone circles gazing at the moon, we should lie and cheat, and love and give generously, we should endulge every pleasure and avoid every pain, we should experience every debourchery and try every virtue. You can only really die, if you have been alive in the first place.

[ForgedinHell]

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Is
We are born, we live, we die. There is no supernatural, no rebirth, no reincarnation, no afterlife, no soul, no God, no judgment. We are born have a short life then cease to exist. [some people may disagree with this, this post is not for you then].

Ought
This being true we ought not to waste this short existence and live life to the full. We should sail every sea, climb every mountain, walk every desert, drink every drink, swallow every drug, we should make love wildly and lie naked in stone circles gazing at the moon, we should lie and cheat, and love and give generously, we should endulge every pleasure and avoid every pain, we should experience every debourchery and try every virtue. You can only really die, if you have been alive in the first place.

How ironic it would be if someone died early by doing the dangerous things on their bucket list?

Seriously though, how is your description of life appropriate? What if someone really does go in for the quiet life and wants to die in their bed at 80? Can we really say they have not lived?

[John]

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Is
We are born, we live, we die. There is no supernatural, no rebirth, no reincarnation, no afterlife, no soul, no God, no judgment. We are born have a short life then cease to exist. [some people may disagree with this, this post is not for you then].

Ought
This being true we ought not to waste this short existence and live life to the full. We should sail every sea, climb every mountain, walk every desert, drink every drink, swallow every drug, we should make love wildly and lie naked in stone circles gazing at the moon, we should lie and cheat, and love and give generously, we should endulge every pleasure and avoid every pain, we should experience every debourchery and try every virtue. You can only really die, if you have been alive in the first place.

It would be rather difficult to indulge every pleasure and experience every debauchery without, as a consequence, preventing others from doing the same.

Besides, you probably couldn't do much in your list if you avoided every pain.

[reasonvemotion]

Balance is a key element of a happy life.

[Grendel]

Balance with what?

[ForgedinHell]

Balance with what?

I understand what you are saying, about not squandering life. It's just that I am not convinced that the average person is squandering their life.

[RickLewis]

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Is
We are born, we live, we die. There is no supernatural, no rebirth, no reincarnation, no afterlife, no soul, no God, no judgment. We are born have a short life then cease to exist. [some people may disagree with this, this post is not for you then].

Ought
This being true we ought not to waste this short existence and live life to the full. We should sail every sea, climb every mountain, walk every desert, drink every drink, swallow every drug, we should make love wildly and lie naked in stone circles gazing at the moon, we should lie and cheat, and love and give generously, we should endulge every pleasure and avoid every pain, we should experience every debourchery and try every virtue. You can only really die, if you have been alive in the first place.

I'm certainly in favour of living life to the full. However, your "ought" doesn't follow from your "is", except in the sense of being immediately after it in your post. You can't derive this "ought" purely from an acceptance of the truth of the "is". This is shown by the fact that I could accept your "is" and not accept your "ought". If I do accept your "ought" then that would be my free choice, and would not be forced on me by the logic of your argument.

I could accept the truth of your is and then say "we ought to go to live quietly in Bournemouth." That is some peoples' idea of a good time, after all.