Is there any point in living?
I was thinking about this a couple of days ago and am very curious as to what response people will give.
Life how I see it is all about fulfilment. Whenever you fulfil one of your goals you feel a sense of joy, relative to each individual person. However some of us set our sights too high, (ie instead of getting an A getting a C grade) and so become less happy than others (or in many cases get depressed).
While I'd say most are happy with living I'd say a big minority would say they are currently unhappy with life or have been for an extensive amount of time. I know several people who just feel they are slaves in the giant economic machine. No matter how hard these people try they are stick in the same cycle of depression + depression = more depression. This doesn't occur just occur economically but to those who essentially don't get what they want.
Why do these people live? I know this a big question but is there some sort of survival instinct within us to carry on, no matter what happens? Are we too afraid of killing ourselves? Why should we live?
I'm asking about the select few "warriors" in society who carry own with living despite having a bad life, and no matter how hard they try never fulfil their goals.
I also don't believe in this argument that we should live because it'd make others unhappy. We should be living because we are happy ourselves.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Life how I see it is all about fulfilment. Whenever you fulfil one of your goals you feel a sense of joy, relative to each individual person. However some of us set our sights too high, (ie instead of getting an A getting a C grade) and so become less happy than others (or in many cases get depressed).
While I'd say most are happy with living I'd say a big minority would say they are currently unhappy with life or have been for an extensive amount of time. I know several people who just feel they are slaves in the giant economic machine. No matter how hard these people try they are stick in the same cycle of depression + depression = more depression. This doesn't occur just occur economically but to those who essentially don't get what they want.
Why do these people live? I know this a big question but is there some sort of survival instinct within us to carry on, no matter what happens? Are we too afraid of killing ourselves? Why should we live?
I'm asking about the select few "warriors" in society who carry own with living despite having a bad life, and no matter how hard they try never fulfil their goals.
I also don't believe in this argument that we should live because it'd make others unhappy. We should be living because we are happy ourselves.
Posted from TSR Mobile
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But what happens when you get what you want, when you achieve your goal, when the happiness of achievement wears off? You want more, of course, or at least more of something else. I think that's just human nature, though, and the only point in living, biologically, is to pass on your genes. Philosophically, it can be anything you want. I do think there needs to be more done for people with depression, as it's a such a vicious cycle. It's just not in our nature to kill ourselves. That's why I always think people who do commit suicide are incredibly brave, however sad the circumstance. Depression isn't a character flaw but rather more of a chemical imbalance. It's not something you can just snap out of.
Some people are incredibly miserable and depressed but they'd rather carry on living because the thought of death is scarier. One of my undergrad students was very depressed and had thoughts about ending her life all the time. She was a high achiever, had friends, had a boy friend and a supportive family but was still very depressed and miserable.
People get this way by various reasons but for her it was because she thought that she has nothing to live for. She stuck at it though and finished her degree, has a very promising career and is happier than she has ever been. Sometimes people just need to persist, the biggest factor is motivation / hope... just got to stick with it
I've never been depressed so I cannot fathom what it must feel like but it just seems like a mixture of boredom and sadness.
People get this way by various reasons but for her it was because she thought that she has nothing to live for. She stuck at it though and finished her degree, has a very promising career and is happier than she has ever been. Sometimes people just need to persist, the biggest factor is motivation / hope... just got to stick with it
I've never been depressed so I cannot fathom what it must feel like but it just seems like a mixture of boredom and sadness.
Happiness. There are two kinds of happiness,I think.
1. Conditional happiness
2. Unconditional happiness
I have already experienced the first. I'm now seeking the second.
Posted from TSR Mobile
1. Conditional happiness
2. Unconditional happiness
I have already experienced the first. I'm now seeking the second.
Posted from TSR Mobile
There are things;
1. We want to do
2. We can do
3. We need to do
Often what we feel we need to do (get GCSE'S, to get A-Levels, to get a degree, to go to uni, to get a job ect.) is not what we want to do. And in the midst of that confusion we forget what we want to do but most importantly what we can do.
1. We want to do
2. We can do
3. We need to do
Often what we feel we need to do (get GCSE'S, to get A-Levels, to get a degree, to go to uni, to get a job ect.) is not what we want to do. And in the midst of that confusion we forget what we want to do but most importantly what we can do.
Original post by MrJAKEE
I'm asking about the select few "warriors" in society who carry own with living despite having a bad life, and no matter how hard they try never fulfil their goals.
I'm asking about the select few "warriors" in society who carry own with living despite having a bad life, and no matter how hard they try never fulfil their goals.
Which sounds quite like Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses.
Genuinely loveable and sensitive to those he knows well, a charming rogue to those he's only just met, and not very understood by left wing council types who don't understand hard graft and family going together.
I personally think that a toxic combination has occurred.
The brolly carrying type right wing intellectuals have been unfairly painted as 'old suburban-like middle class' dinosaurs not even necessarily welcome in universities.
The right wing tribes of the past such as punks have been hijacked by pretend middle class punks in love with capitalism (whether they admit it or not), in the towns and cities and those older punks who don't still tolerate living there have presumably moved to bigger cities or country towns to reinvent themselves as examples of now-traditional Englishness.
So Nigel Farage, who has some perfectly good ideas, is regarded as a caricature of old, suburban, right wingedness, tolerated in the British way that a pantomime dame would be, whereas anyone else is regarded as part of a lost, oily, working class world that supposedly needs to be slowly dragged up to being part of the 'new middle class'.
It was Thatcherism that actually accelerated the most depraved aspects of socialism and anti-socialism at the same time.
Depraved in that she increased unempolyment and didn't tackle the worst aspects of socialism - over-reliance on welfare and the idea that everybody going to university was a good idea for fairness.
Anti-socialism in that consumerism rather than making stuff was the main thing. If you made stuff, great- as long as you could sell it for a vast amount.
I'm a bit late to this party but about 4 years ago I was very concerned with this question. I couldn't find an answer and it made me fairly miserable. I thought life was probably pointless and that belief shaded everything with a tint of grey.
I did, however, find an answer to the question. I think there is meaning to be found in life, but to get there I had to think hard about it for several months. I think that even though there might not be a point to life in-and-of itself, there are nevertheless other people, who exist regardless of whether oneself exists. Their well-being is important, and therefore it's meaningful to use one's own life to benefit others.
Fast forward to the present day and I have a fairly detailed and robust philosophy that I live my life by, and I exist knowing my life is meaningful and I get a lot of satisfaction from it.
As for why others continue to live if they are unhappy, I expect some are like me: they continue, in the hopes that one day they'll find an answer, or a source of happiness. For the others, I imagine they feel trapped.
I did, however, find an answer to the question. I think there is meaning to be found in life, but to get there I had to think hard about it for several months. I think that even though there might not be a point to life in-and-of itself, there are nevertheless other people, who exist regardless of whether oneself exists. Their well-being is important, and therefore it's meaningful to use one's own life to benefit others.
Fast forward to the present day and I have a fairly detailed and robust philosophy that I live my life by, and I exist knowing my life is meaningful and I get a lot of satisfaction from it.
As for why others continue to live if they are unhappy, I expect some are like me: they continue, in the hopes that one day they'll find an answer, or a source of happiness. For the others, I imagine they feel trapped.
Everything Is Meaningless
1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
3 What do people gain from all their labours at which they toil under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north;
round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from, there they return again.
8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.
11 No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.
Wisdom Is Meaningless
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!
14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.”
17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief.
One of my fav bible chapters asking the same question, one that has been asked time after time - just what is it all about?
1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
3 What do people gain from all their labours at which they toil under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north;
round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from, there they return again.
8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.
11 No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.
Wisdom Is Meaningless
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!
14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.”
17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief.
One of my fav bible chapters asking the same question, one that has been asked time after time - just what is it all about?
There is a point to living.
Life is hard but we can make our dreams a reality.
http://bitly.com/1ARIGPz
Life is hard but we can make our dreams a reality.
http://bitly.com/1ARIGPz
Life is like one of those open world games where you're not given any objectives or a tutorial and you're just left to your own devices.
Well not really but that doesn't matter. If anything it's liberating.
Original post by Prota~
Life is a game, learn to play it~!
Original post by Prota~
Life is a game, learn to play it~!
It's less a single game and more an infinite number of simultaneous games that had different start dates and have different end dates.
As such, unless there is an overarching game that all the other games must participate in, then life is nothing but an anarchy with people only choosing to appear somewhat submissive because it suits their ego to do so (as people prefer not to lose something than they prefer to win to something. To lose something means potentially losing what time and memories you've invested in it. To win something means starting a new relationship with all its uncertainties).
So you either choose to believe in God or admit to yourself that. no matter how proper you present yourself, you exist in an anarchy and all your actions are in fact a kind of anarchy themselves because, if there's no God, nothing objectively says that you must play one or more of the infinite number of games or add to their number. To be in a Godless world would mean being somewhat anarchic for everything that you do or don't do could affect some other game for good or bad, regardless of whether or not you are operating within the rules of one particular game.
In short, if you choose not to believe in God, then you might be right but, to be truthful to yourself and others, you would say that life is essentially anarchic and then admit when you struggle against that and when you embrace that and why some of your choices have far more exciting or comforting consequences for yourself or others than some other do.
The anarchy contains set physical laws, certain shared memories, certain beautiful, longlastiing structures, whether physical or emotional, giving the appearance of a singular kind of game.
But a game would have far more set rules, even in its instances of chance. At the start position, it would give all players more or less the same chance of winning , rather than endowing some with greater wealth, education etc and all the players would start at the same time.
If life is Godless, it is closer to an anarchy than a game and only the disguised force of anarchic power in the likes of ownership and controlled behaviour makes it appear not anarchic.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by MrJAKEE
I was thinking about this a couple of days ago and am very curious as to what response people will give.
Life how I see it is all about fulfilment. Whenever you fulfil one of your goals you feel a sense of joy, relative to each individual person. However some of us set our sights too high, (ie instead of getting an A getting a C grade) and so become less happy than others (or in many cases get depressed).
While I'd say most are happy with living I'd say a big minority would say they are currently unhappy with life or have been for an extensive amount of time. I know several people who just feel they are slaves in the giant economic machine. No matter how hard these people try they are stick in the same cycle of depression + depression = more depression. This doesn't occur just occur economically but to those who essentially don't get what they want.
Why do these people live? I know this a big question but is there some sort of survival instinct within us to carry on, no matter what happens? Are we too afraid of killing ourselves? Why should we live?
I'm asking about the select few "warriors" in society who carry own with living despite having a bad life, and no matter how hard they try never fulfil their goals.
I also don't believe in this argument that we should live because it'd make others unhappy. We should be living because we are happy ourselves.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Life how I see it is all about fulfilment. Whenever you fulfil one of your goals you feel a sense of joy, relative to each individual person. However some of us set our sights too high, (ie instead of getting an A getting a C grade) and so become less happy than others (or in many cases get depressed).
While I'd say most are happy with living I'd say a big minority would say they are currently unhappy with life or have been for an extensive amount of time. I know several people who just feel they are slaves in the giant economic machine. No matter how hard these people try they are stick in the same cycle of depression + depression = more depression. This doesn't occur just occur economically but to those who essentially don't get what they want.
Why do these people live? I know this a big question but is there some sort of survival instinct within us to carry on, no matter what happens? Are we too afraid of killing ourselves? Why should we live?
I'm asking about the select few "warriors" in society who carry own with living despite having a bad life, and no matter how hard they try never fulfil their goals.
I also don't believe in this argument that we should live because it'd make others unhappy. We should be living because we are happy ourselves.
Posted from TSR Mobile
There is SO MUCH point in living. And I'm not just saying that personally, you hold value to yourself. You do. But you, indirectly, are very important to so many people because of the Butterfly Effect. Imagine a building. Suppose a student enrolled in tutoring program at the building needs to take medicine for a heart condition. However, the medicine is banned in the building. She discovers that the Janitor's closet is left open. If you were the Janitor, it's very important to the life of that girl that you continue to ignore protocol and leave the door unlocked. If you left it locked, that girl might be in danger of death. All of us are connected. It's not only to ensure happiness of others, but simply their LIFE. Living is self-reliant. And there are so many purposes for that building. Some view it as a tutoring service, whereas others see it as a place to sell things or a place to do art. Life has so much purpose, we prefer to just say that it has none at all. It's easier. So be proactive, and look a bit closer at life. It has so much purpose that it's almost wasteful what point it has.
Also this.
(http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/show...9#post58451959)
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Prota~
Life is a game, learn to play it~!
Life is game. Play game of life and enjoy it.
Original post by MrJAKEE
I was thinking about this a couple of days ago and am very curious as to what response people will give.
Life how I see it is all about fulfilment. Whenever you fulfil one of your goals you feel a sense of joy, relative to each individual person. However some of us set our sights too high, (ie instead of getting an A getting a C grade) and so become less happy than others (or in many cases get depressed).
While I'd say most are happy with living I'd say a big minority would say they are currently unhappy with life or have been for an extensive amount of time. I know several people who just feel they are slaves in the giant economic machine. No matter how hard these people try they are stick in the same cycle of depression + depression = more depression. This doesn't occur just occur economically but to those who essentially don't get what they want.
Why do these people live? I know this a big question but is there some sort of survival instinct within us to carry on, no matter what happens? Are we too afraid of killing ourselves? Why should we live?
I'm asking about the select few "warriors" in society who carry own with living despite having a bad life, and no matter how hard they try never fulfil their goals.
I also don't believe in this argument that we should live because it'd make others unhappy. We should be living because we are happy ourselves.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Life how I see it is all about fulfilment. Whenever you fulfil one of your goals you feel a sense of joy, relative to each individual person. However some of us set our sights too high, (ie instead of getting an A getting a C grade) and so become less happy than others (or in many cases get depressed).
While I'd say most are happy with living I'd say a big minority would say they are currently unhappy with life or have been for an extensive amount of time. I know several people who just feel they are slaves in the giant economic machine. No matter how hard these people try they are stick in the same cycle of depression + depression = more depression. This doesn't occur just occur economically but to those who essentially don't get what they want.
Why do these people live? I know this a big question but is there some sort of survival instinct within us to carry on, no matter what happens? Are we too afraid of killing ourselves? Why should we live?
I'm asking about the select few "warriors" in society who carry own with living despite having a bad life, and no matter how hard they try never fulfil their goals.
I also don't believe in this argument that we should live because it'd make others unhappy. We should be living because we are happy ourselves.
Posted from TSR Mobile
People have instincts to not die. Blame evolution for that.
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