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    Default Philosophical questions

    Post key questions you frequently think about, and attempt to answer the various questions in this thread!

    I've written some in a particular order, and may attempt to answer them at another time. Of course there are various related questions, but I expressed them broadly.

    1) Must there be a purpose in life, and must this be a common purpose?
    2) Does the question of whether existence is ultimately eternal, matter?
    3) Is the apparent inevitable decay of the universe a reason to be pessimistic?
    4) Does my subjectivity mean I should live my life according to some external determiner of values, or must I always be the ultimate judge?
    5) Do I live in accordance with my views on the above questions?

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    My question: Would living forever be boring?

    Quote Originally Posted by Subteigh View Post
    1) Must there be a purpose in life, and must this be a common purpose?
    2) Does the question of whether existence is ultimately eternal matter?
    3) Is the apparent inevitable decay of the universe a reason to be pessimistic?
    4) Does my subjectivity mean I should live my life according to some external determiner of values, or must I always be the ultimate judge?
    5) Do I live in accordance with my views on the above questions?
    1) It's not about must, it's either yes there is or no there isn't.
    2) Yep, cause we need to adjust our lives according to it.
    3) Nah, be grateful your/everybody else's ass gets obliterated sooner or later.
    4) Both is good. See socionics concept of base + creative function.
    5) Doesn't matter unless it throws you into cognitive dissonance which is bad for you.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Chae View Post
    My question: Would living forever be boring?
    I would imagine that if that was possible, the universe I would be living in would also be infinite in scope. Perhaps being omniscient + immortal would be boring. I would hope that in such a situation, I would have the choice to die, but that may be cheating. If everything is eternal, nothing would ever be lost.

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    1) Must there be a purpose in life, and must this be a common purpose?
    I can only consider the ultimate good as being Happiness, both for myself and for everybody in general. I think attempting to define the ultimate good as being the purpose or the meaning of life is an unnecessary complication: it would be better to say that attempting to achieve greater Happiness is the goal in life, and Happiness is the ultimate good.

    2) Does the question of whether existence is ultimately eternal, matter?
    If the question was answerable, it would matter. However, I'm sure it is unanswerable. I think also it will never be of pressing concern to us practically. If we are eternal beings, it makes no difference to us. If existence is transient, that is unprovable. In the case of Death, we see this as undesirable and try to avoid it, true, but this has no actual bearing on whether existence is ultimately eternal.

    3) Is the apparent inevitable decay of the universe a reason to be pessimistic?
    It may be disheartening, but it is merely based on our current understanding, and has no bearing on how we should live in the near future. We hardly know our own bubble, nevermind the nature of what is outside it.

    4) Does my subjectivity mean I should live my life according to some external determiner of values, or must I always be the ultimate judge?
    It would be fundamental wrong to allow someone or some external system to determine which values I should live by. If you cannot trust your own perception, you certainly cannot trust the values of someone else.

    5) Do I live in accordance with my views on the above questions?
    No.

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    I think of these as frequent implied goals or impulses in my thinking, not actual questions. If I set up a central question, it kills my ability to look at it.

    1) Is suffering the only constant, or are there configurations where suffering is an aberration rather than the rule?
    2) Are all humans capable of sustained and non-limiting meaning?
    And lately:
    Where is my shadow side, why can't I see it, why do most definitions of the shadow seem extremely narrow and insufficient to answer questions about the darkness in personalities?

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    Quote Originally Posted by akash View Post
    I think of these as frequent implied goals or impulses in my thinking, not actual questions. If I set up a central question, it kills my ability to look at it.

    1) Is suffering the only constant, or are there configurations where suffering is an aberration rather than the rule?
    2) Are all humans capable of sustained and non-limiting meaning?
    And lately:
    Where is my shadow side, why can't I see it, why do most definitions of the shadow seem extremely narrow and insufficient to answer questions about the darkness in personalities?
    1. Suffering is subjectively experienced, which means its as constant as an opinion.
    2. Define capable. If life is the rubric, no. Meaning is difficult, not many people are capable of making the sacrifices necessary to be accomplish it. If were talking capacity, who knows? Thats not in our purview to know.
    3. Its visible when you look away from the illuminated direction. Metaphor points.
    Projection is ordinary. Person A projects at person B, hoping tovalidate something about person A by the response of person B. However, person B, not wanting to be an obejct of someone elses ego and guarding against existential terror constructs a personality which protects his ego and maintain a certain sense of a robust and real self that is different and separate from person A. Sadly, this robust and real self, cut off by defenses of character from the rest of the world, is quite vulnerable and fragile given that it is imaginary and propped up through external feed back. Person B is dimly aware of this and defends against it all the more, even desperately projecting his anxieties back onto person A, with the hope of shoring up his ego with salubrious validation. All of this happens without A or B acknowledging it, of course. Because to face up to it consciously is shocking, in that this is all anybody is doing or can do and it seems absurd when you realize how pathetic it is.

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    1) Must there be a purpose in life, and must this be a common purpose?

    There has to be purpose in life, otherwise no one would stay in bed, and also no one would get out of bed, and that would be impossible. But I don't think there's a purpose, because a purpose, whenever I hear it, means something like a goal you move towards. After you get to the goal, then what? After that it's meaningless, since there's no further meaning to contain that in (like building something on the wind), so there was no reason to go after the goal in the first place. But if there's a goal that you can never reach, is that really a goal at all? There's no meaning to that either, since that's like stopping a clock, using it as a decoration, and claiming it still functions as a clock since that's what it was intended for. A stopped clock can make a fine decoration, but it's not really a clock anymore at that point, but an ex-clock that has become a decoration. So I actually think life having a singular purpose and having meaning are mutually exclusive. Meaning only exists with continuous action and renewal, which are not characteristic of purpose. In that case, there must not be a purpose in life.

    I figured out that's how it works logically long ago, and was rather happy when I found others repeating the idea, since too many people seem unable to conceive of why meaning has to be continuous, or how that even works (which can also cause alarm in some people). How it works is a bit complicated though.


    2) Does the question of whether existence is ultimately eternal, matter?

    Yes, but it's also clear that it is eternal if you really think about it. The fact that you can say things like "Einstein is dead" implies that Einstein is. That seems trivial, but really looking at your own perceptions (and I think the biggest problem in today's world is that people are cut off from their own perceptions, not necessarily their thoughts, or feelings, or values, just the perceptions themselves, which tends to especially cripple intuition, and I've sort of wanted to write a post on how to get more in tune with them, but it ends up sounding like the most eccentric thing I've ever said every time even if it's rather simple) shows the nature of things more. For one thing, you don't perceive time and space at all like how most people think your perceive time and space (e.g. videos, photographs, sound recordings), although when I realized that firsthand it brought me right back to this very question and made me start to panic about my own mortality and that of the cosmos in general (and that took a somewhat long time to resolve, so be careful).

    3) Is the apparent inevitable decay of the universe a reason to be pessimistic?

    I don't think so. I don't think we know enough about the universe to say that the apparent end of the universe signals the end of everything, since compared to what is possible or imaginable, what we can see is so little, and our science seems rather puzzled on all the big questions to the extent I think it doesn't know much anything in these areas. It seems as unlikely to me that the apparent end of the universe signals the end of everything as it seems likely that the ground will break beneath my feet when I take a few steps and I'll get buried alive under a pile of dirt. Really, it seems even less likely than that. I mean, what are "dark matter" and "dark energy" anyways? No one has a clue. And then there are all the endless multiverse, Big Crunch, etc. arguments that no one can do anything about, which are even worse than dark matter and dark energy.

    4) Does my subjectivity mean I should live my life according to some external determiner of values, or must I always be the ultimate judge?

    You must always be the ultimate judge. All external determiners of values are basically just a form of projection, since you're the one who decides whether or not to follow them. Any book, any dogma, any words from another person are ultimately subjectively interpreted, and would mean nothing without a subject interpreting them, like how there are no signs without signifiers, and no signifiers without signifying something to someone. So I think it's actually impossible to use them at all except for what they mean to you.

    5) Do I live in accordance with my views on the above questions?

    Yes, and often it does me no good, but it's impossible at this point for me to do otherwise.

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    question: why does lettuce make you sleepy

    1) no
    2) no
    3) no
    4) no u
    5) if u want

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    1) What is life?
    2) Why is life depressing?
    3) What are friends?
    4) What is money?
    5) What would you do if you had a million (or billion) dollars?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Singularity View Post
    1) What is life?
    2) Why is life depressing?
    3) What are friends?
    4) What is money?
    5) What would you do if you had a million (or billion) dollars?
    1. Life
    2. Philosophically, attitude. Scientifically, behavior that favors dopamine releases over serotonin.
    3. People who dont matter as much as family, but matter more than other people. Like, Jeff.
    4. A substitute for hunting and gathering.
    5. Provide.
    Projection is ordinary. Person A projects at person B, hoping tovalidate something about person A by the response of person B. However, person B, not wanting to be an obejct of someone elses ego and guarding against existential terror constructs a personality which protects his ego and maintain a certain sense of a robust and real self that is different and separate from person A. Sadly, this robust and real self, cut off by defenses of character from the rest of the world, is quite vulnerable and fragile given that it is imaginary and propped up through external feed back. Person B is dimly aware of this and defends against it all the more, even desperately projecting his anxieties back onto person A, with the hope of shoring up his ego with salubrious validation. All of this happens without A or B acknowledging it, of course. Because to face up to it consciously is shocking, in that this is all anybody is doing or can do and it seems absurd when you realize how pathetic it is.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Subteigh View Post
    Post key questions you frequently think about, and attempt to answer the various questions in this thread!

    I've written some in a particular order, and may attempt to answer them at another time. Of course there are various related questions, but I expressed them broadly.

    1) Must there be a purpose in life, and must this be a common purpose?
    2) Does the question of whether existence is ultimately eternal, matter?
    3) Is the apparent inevitable decay of the universe a reason to be pessimistic?
    4) Does my subjectivity mean I should live my life according to some external determiner of values, or must I always be the ultimate judge?
    5) Do I live in accordance with my views on the above questions?
    1)Nope, and hell I'd argue there is none at base. No "Ultimate" or "common" meaning to all this. I'm with the existentialists on this one. There is no meaning save what you create/give to your own.
    2)Nope. Eternity/infinity is ultimately beyond our comprehension as finite beings. Thus, not really worth the effort worrying about it.
    3)Nah, it's only decaying based upon our current level of knowledge and observation. Besides, the "heat death" is billions of years out, plenty of time to solve the problem so also not worth worrying about.
    4)Well, without an external determinant of values and/or a self-developed moral code that de facto acts as one you run the risk of falling into monomania, narcissism, and solipsism. So there's that.
    5)Everyone pretty much does whether they know/like/admit it or not. You're gonna do it either subconsciously or consciously, no way to avoid it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Subteigh View Post
    Post key questions you frequently think about, and attempt to answer the various questions in this thread!

    I've written some in a particular order, and may attempt to answer them at another time. Of course there are various related questions, but I expressed them broadly.

    1) Must there be a purpose in life, and must this be a common purpose?
    2) Does the question of whether existence is ultimately eternal, matter?
    3) Is the apparent inevitable decay of the universe a reason to be pessimistic?
    4) Does my subjectivity mean I should live my life according to some external determiner of values, or must I always be the ultimate judge?
    5) Do I live in accordance with my views on the above questions?
    1. Define must. Shall or should?
    2. No. If you recieved the answer, what would change?
    3. Yes. Granted, It wont effect you or humanity in general, but attitude is a choice. Anything can be a reason. A popsickle can be a reason to be optimistic. Its just, what do you want out of life that matters.
    4. If happiness is the goal, it should always be you.
    5. Everybody does and doesnt. Its the human condition.
    Projection is ordinary. Person A projects at person B, hoping tovalidate something about person A by the response of person B. However, person B, not wanting to be an obejct of someone elses ego and guarding against existential terror constructs a personality which protects his ego and maintain a certain sense of a robust and real self that is different and separate from person A. Sadly, this robust and real self, cut off by defenses of character from the rest of the world, is quite vulnerable and fragile given that it is imaginary and propped up through external feed back. Person B is dimly aware of this and defends against it all the more, even desperately projecting his anxieties back onto person A, with the hope of shoring up his ego with salubrious validation. All of this happens without A or B acknowledging it, of course. Because to face up to it consciously is shocking, in that this is all anybody is doing or can do and it seems absurd when you realize how pathetic it is.

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    What is "love"?
    Heart > Head > Gut >
    Soul
    LIE-Ni (mongoose-unicorn-leopard-eagle mix)) EII-Fi (dolphin) SEE-Se (dragon) ILI-Te (phoenix)
    4w3 (swan) 5w6 (owl) 8w9 (bear) 9w1 (griffin)
    sx/sp (tiger) sx/so (dragon) so/sx (cockatrice) so/sp (dog)
    Neutral Good True Neutral Chaotic Evil P Chaotic Neutral
    ELVF LEVF FVLE VLEF
    INFP. INTJ ENTP ISTP
    C N H D

    additional*: Supersoul = SLI-Si 6w5 sx/so LVFE Lawful Neutral - H - INTP
    quintype: 4-5-8-9-6 (Panther)

    Priority (default) 1-heart, 2-head, 3-gut- 4-soul 5-supersoul. This priority orden can vary both inmanently and situationally (enneagram)

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    Quote Originally Posted by Vespertine View Post
    Questions on the topic of Art:

    1.) Is art deserving of exemption from censorship law?
    2.) Does art perform any function on the societal level?
    3.) Must art be defined by certain limitations, or is art only what is designated to be such?
    1) Maybe, but it's also not exempt from criticism
    2) Yeah, but it's pretty minimal, like it only affects people indirectly
    3) No limitations

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    Quote Originally Posted by Vespertine View Post
    (I don't have original answers for any above questions unfortunately!)

    My questions are nothing too significant... Questions such as "Do I have a soul?" & etc are not especially interesting to me - they are not relevant to my life and probably unanswerable anyhow.

    1.) Does hate have a functional purpose in everyday life?
    2.) Is everyone equally deserving of love?
    3.) Am I more similar than I am different to others?
    1. Yes. For some it alleviates identity issues. For others, its motivation to improve. Every emotion has a purpose, as emotion drives you forward. I use it to act aginst values that inhibit mine.
    2. No. Dahmer deserved no love. A baby deserves alot.
    3. Hard to measure either without both. Theyre intertwined in reality, fragmenting them conceptually is a distraction.
    Projection is ordinary. Person A projects at person B, hoping tovalidate something about person A by the response of person B. However, person B, not wanting to be an obejct of someone elses ego and guarding against existential terror constructs a personality which protects his ego and maintain a certain sense of a robust and real self that is different and separate from person A. Sadly, this robust and real self, cut off by defenses of character from the rest of the world, is quite vulnerable and fragile given that it is imaginary and propped up through external feed back. Person B is dimly aware of this and defends against it all the more, even desperately projecting his anxieties back onto person A, with the hope of shoring up his ego with salubrious validation. All of this happens without A or B acknowledging it, of course. Because to face up to it consciously is shocking, in that this is all anybody is doing or can do and it seems absurd when you realize how pathetic it is.

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