Hey guys. So I was just sitting around thinking some thoughts and I opened up a notepad and started writing them down. It's a bit muddled around the middle but towards the end I think I establish a pretty decent rationale for why life is inherently good. Check it out and lemme know what you think! ----------------------------------------------- Thus far I have not lived a life in which I have experienced many bad things. There are negative experiences, sure, but nothing that I think could possibly be comparable to the worst things that be experienced in life - the death of one's child perhaps, or the feelings that must accompany the knowledge that there is nothing that one can do to stave off the suffering of his or her loved ones. To experience such things would likely make me change my tune. Yet, these bad things are in no way inherent in the human experience. I mean to say that, given the resources humanity has access to at this point in our history, the death of one's child or the true suffering of one's loved ones need not take place in anything more than rare frequency. For the latter, I am referring to REAL suffering, and by that I am referring to excruciating pain, to hunger, to thirst, etc. Perhaps this is crudely worded but what I am trying to get at is that all the good things that I have had the fortune to experience in my life can be MADE to be inherent in the human experience by the work of our own species on this planet. I feel that this potential for bliss trumps in a very significant way the potential for pain. For this reason I believe that life is an overpoweringly beautiful, wonderful thing. If we are to label the physical forces of the universe that act upon the matter contained therein as "God" then God is most certainly, most undeniably good. .... But then I suppose the potential for good and the potential for bad are both held within the hands of men. Hmm... We as a species DO have the intellilgence to harness the power of reason, to understand that the good is superior to the bad and work out how we can propel ourselves to the good. We all have the POTENTIAL to exercise it properly. This potential is what frees us from a fate over which we can exert no influence. We can take steps to avoid our own premature destruction. But again, if we fail to exercise our reason we can bring our dooms about all the more rapidly! A poor leader can allow a famine to strike, starving millions; a poor leader can commit genocide on his/her people, killing millions... Well... Abandoning reason leads to pain (whether for the person doing the abandoning or not). Human beings are naturally averse to pain. It seems a valid premise, therefore, that the realities of our existence push us towards correctly utilizing our reason. In summation, the natural world has given us our ability to reason and is actively compelling us to do so, the ultimate end-result of this process being bliss, insofar as one can describe having all of one's needs - both physical and emotional - met (which I do). And if the process of evolution naturally gives rise to an organism that can exercise the power of reason, life in total - not simply human life - must be concluded to be good.
good or bad is certainly in the hands of humans. what im struggling with now is this: are we meant to do what is necessary to preserve our life and the lives of our families? or are we meant to create as much happiness and love as possible? if its the former, then survival of the fittest is still in effect, with money being well-being (generally put for arguments sake). if it is the latter, then well, humans have it all fucked up at the moment. i realize now that my response doesnt have much to do with what you posted OP, just a thought that you provoked i guess.
How do you feel when you see a mother guide her child an extra foot away from a homeless man begging on the sidewalk? If you feel nothing you probably believe in the first solution you posted. If it hurts you inside, even if you can't quite figure out why, then it sounds like the second one's for you. Sounds corny, but all we can do is listen to our brain and our heart and follow through with what they both agree upon.
I don't think I agree that life is inherently good. The probability that you, and probably most of the people who post here, have had and are having a good life isn't really of any consequence because we represent and extremely small number of people in the world. And we have internet access, which automatically places us within the upper percentages of standards of living. A good majority of the people in 3rd world countries would probably disagree with you, and I'm fairly certain that we have it better than most people. Also consider the state of conditions in the past and future. Even if it were true that most of the people in the world are having a good old time in their lives, that only accounts for the people alive right now. Life in the past was different, and life in the future will invariably be different, whether it's better or worse. I think life inherently is, and that's all. We derive happiness from it because we have the power and ability to change our environment to make us more comfortable, and make ourselves feel good.
Life is good because you're not a starving child in sub-Saharan Africa with AIDS, or a female in Saudi Arabia. Ignorance of suffering doesn't validate your point. Also since this is a philosophy thread, I think it has been agreed upon that good, evil, right, wrong are human social constructs. Objectively, people suffer more often than not. Title should have read: "My rationale for why my life is good."
i dont think its that black and white. there are a lot of dangerous people in the world, and of course some homeless people are dangerous and have nothing to lose. that being said, im really not sure how i feel about it. ive given to homeless people before, but ive also avoided some as well. a lot of it has to do with, for lack of a better term, the vibe im getting from that individual.
Not to sound rude, but did you guys read beyond the first few lines? We in the US have a higher standard of living than 99% of the world. I recognize that
^I read the whole thing, but perhaps I didn't understand you correctly. You were trying to say that life is inherently good, yes? That is, it's good all by istelf without factoring anything else besides the fact that one is alive, correct?