Happiness can come from either gratification of one's heart's desires or by positively framing one's situation, the latter seeming to be more controllable and durable. See Dan Gilbert's famous TED talk:Vita wrote: ↑June 1st, 2022, 1:17 amWhat is the point of living forever in the present? Obsessing about death is useless and depressing. However, there is no point to living in the present because the sensual pleasure of the present is forgotten in that moment. Happiness can be achieved by thinking, by observing, by simply listening to your own breath, but no human can gain happiness only from animal pleasures.Ecurb wrote: ↑May 31st, 2022, 5:21 pmWittgenstein wrote, "Denn lebt er ewig, der en der Gegenwart lebt." "So he lives forever who lives in the present."Vita wrote: ↑May 31st, 2022, 12:59 am
I see the examined life as a possible means of “living life to the fullest”. An unexamined life consists of living like dogs. Dogs have sensual pleasure, but that is soon forgotten. They do not care that they are unique life forms, and just live. Which is fine, until you die and just pass worthlessly from this world to the next. It is fine to be immortal and have monuments, but I would trade all the monuments and palaces in the world to live realizing that I am alive.
Dogs live in the present, and live unexamined lives. So, in a sense, they are immortal. To quote more German, Rilke wrote, "Der Tod ist gross." "Death is huge." By obsessing about it, we fail to live in the present, and forfeit our immortality.
The Unexamined or Examined Life: How Important is This for You?
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Re: The Unexamined or Examined Life: How Important is This for You?
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Re: The Unexamined or Examined Life: How Important is This for You?
I was merely objecting to your calumny about our friends, the dogs. Living in the present has its advantages and disadvantages. Dogs often seem quite joyful, despite (I presume) leading unexamined lives. The human condition is tragic not only because we die, but also because we know we will die.Vita wrote: ↑June 1st, 2022, 1:17 amWhat is the point of living forever in the present? Obsessing about death is useless and depressing. However, there is no point to living in the present because the sensual pleasure of the present is forgotten in that moment. Happiness can be achieved by thinking, by observing, by simply listening to your own breath, but no human can gain happiness only from animal pleasures.Ecurb wrote: ↑May 31st, 2022, 5:21 pmWittgenstein wrote, "Denn lebt er ewig, der en der Gegenwart lebt." "So he lives forever who lives in the present."Vita wrote: ↑May 31st, 2022, 12:59 am
I see the examined life as a possible means of “living life to the fullest”. An unexamined life consists of living like dogs. Dogs have sensual pleasure, but that is soon forgotten. They do not care that they are unique life forms, and just live. Which is fine, until you die and just pass worthlessly from this world to the next. It is fine to be immortal and have monuments, but I would trade all the monuments and palaces in the world to live realizing that I am alive.
Dogs live in the present, and live unexamined lives. So, in a sense, they are immortal. To quote more German, Rilke wrote, "Der Tod ist gross." "Death is huge." By obsessing about it, we fail to live in the present, and forfeit our immortality.
2024 Philosophy Books of the Month
2023 Philosophy Books of the Month
Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless: Wisdom Behind the Incomparable Chicken Soup for the Soul
by Mitzi Perdue
February 2023
Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature: How Civilization Destroys Happiness
by Chet Shupe
March 2023