Saturday, April 4, 2009
A quick thought
Happiness is an abstraction. Not a just a simple, shallow idea. There is a problem with trying to understand happiness. For people to understand it they have to first convert it into something they can comprehend something finite. Yet happiness is far from finite. Example) A man is happy because he has a good life. A man could be happier though if he has a better life. And a man could still be happier if he has an even better life. In this example I show there is a state where man can become happier and that means happiness cannot be finite. There is no ultimate level of happiness which one could reach and not go beyond it. With that laid out, how can we convert happiness into a finite idea and explain it? I don’t think we can, though we do try. I have a major problem with people trying to convert infinite abstractions into finite things. A few other examples are, God and love. With that said I do not think it is impossible to define these abstractions but I do think it may be impossible to ever fully understand them. Example) Infinite, we define it as endless or limitless .But could we fully understand it? Can we imagine an infinite amount of numbers? I believe not.
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There are some people who go through life with the driving need to understand things around them. These people put every effort, whether wasted or not, into finding these so called "definitions of life". These few people in this world, drive themselves mad to the point of sleeplessness to define and answer these unknown "truths". Rather than enjoying life as it is, questions which no one can answer are sought after. These Faustian individuals are never satisfied with the knowledge they possess. They rack their brains on pointless questions in life. Like the understanding of happiness for example. Happiness will never have a universal definition. Happiness to one is misery to another. Only a individual understanding of happiness will exist. Same goes for the word finite. Only in a individuals mind will they understand life and to others this definition will not be fully understood. So the real questions is, are you satisfied with your personal definition of love, happiness, finite, God etc... If so, will others explanations of these words be criticized by your view?
ReplyDeleteI see no purpose in defining or criticizing a view which I know myself cannot be universally defined. I do see a point in making it known that it cannot be universally defined, and maybe even a point of defining under specific assumptions. Also, as to your view of driving yourself crazy and not enjoying life...did you ever think some people enjoy pondering on the unanswerable questions. I know I can only speak for myself, but I enjoy pondering things that may be "unknown truths" and I like never being satisfied it makes me strive to be a better person (if only in my personal definition of better). I guess I will end with a quote I really like (the unexamined life is a life not worth living).
ReplyDeleteVery simply put, this driving need to understand these abstractions is what separates us (as Feuerbach would say) from the brutes. These abstractions are mediated into objects; essentially we are nothing without an object. The concepts of love, reason and will become what it means to exist and be human, to not explore their infiniteness is to neglect your own nature. Even Hegel knew that the cognition of an idea left the individual towards the surrounding otherness known as Nature, there it was to be perceived and returned to the individual in it’s perception as the Spirit. But this is just living.
ReplyDeleteXaos, I apologize if my comment has upset you. I am not attacking one's desire or ability to quench their thirst for knowledge or wisdom. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge, is my interpretation of your view with life and its unanswerable questions. Life has a cruel and unusual way of dividing certain persons from others. Those with knowledge have the power to influence, control or even manipulate the masses. Those ignorant to the true intentions of these individuals are in the deepest trouble Ignorance is bliss. But too much ignorance could cause one's own inner self to whither and fade. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happieness is so cliche. What about the pursuit of ignorance? Why must we be sent to scaffold if we are content with what little knowledge we possess? If one is aware of what little they know then why persecute these people? For they have chosen a path mediocrity and will blend with the masses. And you, you my friend will impress the world with the amount knowledge you have devoured and you will look back on your life with great sadness because in the end you realized it didn't matter. All the knowledge in the world will not prove who you are as a person. For it will only show the understanding of others' knowledge and discoveries, but none of your own.
ReplyDeleteNo apologies needed, I enjoyed your comments (and believe me I am not easily offended and I am a fan of all criticism). I really like what you said, but as far as looking back at the end of my life and being saddened... I am not sure of that. Let me say I believe it is ones place to examine life and learn as much as one can but I know that this isn't everybody's place. The purpose of life in my opinion is what ever one makes it. It can be knowledge, pleasure, god, etc. In my personal case it is a combination of knowledge, living life, exercise, becoming what I believe is a better person, and enjoyment. With that said, I am already under the impression there is no real point other than the ones we create for ourselves. Also, I am very young and my views may change but if they don't I do hope that I just don't reiterate others idea but eventually create and share my own. Also, to comment on something I said earlier about never being satisfied, it may have been taken out of context. I didn't mean I am never happy. I meant that I enjoy the action of improving. (For example, I am a track runner. I love running, but even when I run a personal best, I enjoy finding a way to run faster, whether it be by new training or a different approach to my race.) This is what I meant by never being satisfied. I would enjoy it more to become better than to just stay the same. To conclude, I would like to reiterate that I really enjoyed your comments and write what ever you feel without worrying about offending.
ReplyDeleteI agree that when people try to understand the depths of infinity they will always fail. And the same goes for love, happiness, etc. However, to not examine these ideas at all, in my opinion, is just as foolish. Questioning the world around you is a vital part of living one's life. I look at these questions as a more basic desire to know things. When we as people are first brought into this world and begin to learn language our thirst for more knowledge is unquenchable. Children want to know everything there is to know about everything. When we grow older this need affects us less and less. Somewhere along the way people forget the joy of learning because now they have to work for it instead of being spoon fed. And it is a wonderful thing that there is no end to the amount of knowledge you can gain. If there were imagine how depressing it would be to know everything. There would be nothing new or unknown. You could never feel surprise or anticipation. The accumulation of knowledge is one of the most basic and important needs of man.
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