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Re: undefined

#81

Post by sentfromrevolut »

silverquiet wrote: post #75
stephen_g wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t want to downplay what you’re going through, but I do want to gently caution you against taking a (hopefully temporary) personal feeling as a universal human truth… A large proportion of people certainly must think life is worth living and continuing, and probably most of them have less wealth and resources than you do!

I've never found any other truth than nihilism, and I'd say at this point I've been looking for three decades since I was a surprisingly young child. It seems like it eluded Nietzsche who I'm sure was a greater thinker than I, and so I don't hold out much hope. The question of children is one that I've long wondered about in this context as well; my take is that there's a lot of peer pressure that goes into perpetuat…

[flagged]

Re: undefined

#82

Post by HankB99 »

dylan604 wrote: post #44
HankB99 wrote: post #26

FB has been a little creepy about death. A FB "friend" (e.g. not a close friend) had died and about a year later FB started exhorting me to reconnect with him. I located his obituary and memorialized his account out of respect. Too many times I've been invited to wish a deceased friend "happy birthday." I go to their page and find it memorialized. Nevertheless, there are many friends wishing them happy birthday, obli…

> oblivious to the indication that the page has been memorialized. to come at this from a different direction, how is any different from the online version of visiting someone's grave? it could just be their way of remembering someone and letting others know they were thinking about them. granted, i'd assume most people are being obedient to the Zuck by click the button, or a bot doing it, or many other fake/insincer…

> how is any different from the online version of visiting someone's grave?

If they visited a grave and said "let's do lunch" it would be no different.

It's often clear from the comments they leave whether they are honoring a friend who has passed or reaching out to someone they think is still alive.

Re: undefined

#84

Post by drekipus »

silverquiet wrote: post #32
ShamelessC wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well since those two things are at odds and you haven’t explained your stance more, your comment effectively serves as flamebait.

No flaming intended. It’s pretty much just a joke about the existential dread that I (and presumably the GP) have built up over a lifetime. I presume it’s why we craft happy stories for children who we’ve deemed too young to learn about harsh realities. Alternatively, people find a lot of comfort in religion, but it’s not something that’s ever worked for me. So I like to joke about it.

The stories are designed to teach children about harsh realities, not too gloss over them.

Religion too, is just a collection of those stories into a larger moral framework.

Try reading more

Re: undefined

#85

Post by irjustin »

clooless wrote: post #68
irjustin wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm late and not sure who will read this, but I've ended up at the "why do we have kids?" question. Honestly speaking from someone who has 2 beautiful little girls and very squarely middle class life with all its ups and downs. I've recently, but slowly mentally shifted towards being a nihilist. There are so many things to live for, I agree, but at the same time there's like a 10:1 ratio of why living sucks. My privi…

Ask yourself if you'd be willing to painlessly end your life, if given the option. Most people prefer to keep on living, which is strong evidence that on balance, despite all the bumps and grief of living, life is still pretty awesome.

I'm not advocating suicide or anything of that form.

I'm asking, why should the majority of the world have kids given that life is largely a struggle and in so many places of poverty an extremely difficult one?

Re: undefined

#86

Post by irjustin »

felipefar wrote: post #69
irjustin wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm late and not sure who will read this, but I've ended up at the "why do we have kids?" question. Honestly speaking from someone who has 2 beautiful little girls and very squarely middle class life with all its ups and downs. I've recently, but slowly mentally shifted towards being a nihilist. There are so many things to live for, I agree, but at the same time there's like a 10:1 ratio of why living sucks. My privi…

Human beings are unique in the world because they are the only species that can understand it. If you remove them from the world, there's nothing left that can throw light in the world's misteries.

The nihilist asks - why does that matter for having kids?

Is it humane to subject the vast majority of the future human race to taxes, inflation, menial jobs, so we can satisfy our curiosity?

Re: undefined

#88

Post by squigz »

felipefar wrote: post #69
irjustin wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm late and not sure who will read this, but I've ended up at the "why do we have kids?" question. Honestly speaking from someone who has 2 beautiful little girls and very squarely middle class life with all its ups and downs. I've recently, but slowly mentally shifted towards being a nihilist. There are so many things to live for, I agree, but at the same time there's like a 10:1 ratio of why living sucks. My privi…

Human beings are unique in the world because they are the only species that can understand it. If you remove them from the world, there's nothing left that can throw light in the world's misteries.

If you remove humans, who's going to care about lighting up the world's mysteries? I doubt the birds do.

Re: undefined

#89

Post by squigz »

Aeolun wrote: post #50
squigz wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sort of inherent distrust of humanity is probably one of the worst effects of social media.

But not unreasonable when considering how most people act when on it?

Most people you know, perhaps.

Re: undefined

#90

Post by inawarminister »

irjustin wrote: post #86
felipefar wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Human beings are unique in the world because they are the only species that can understand it. If you remove them from the world, there's nothing left that can throw light in the world's misteries.

The nihilist asks - why does that matter for having kids? Is it humane to subject the vast majority of the future human race to taxes, inflation, menial jobs, so we can satisfy our curiosity?

Yes.

“I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?"

- Marcus Aurelius.

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