The Approach
by Psudo
Most of us live our lives by a schedule or a to do list. When life demands a decision of us, we typically make the practical choice based on immediate concerns. Our lives and character develop organically and we end up in a situation that feels predestined, like fate. If things turn out pretty good for us, we imagine life is generally fair. If things turn out pretty lousy, we imagine that life generally sucks. Most of our beliefs come about in roughly this same way, organically grown from circumstance and coincidence. Call this the natural life.
Sometimes we do more than go through the motions. Sometimes the practical choice and the immediately pleasing choice are different, or a conflict between two natural concerns force us to consider things more closely. Sometimes we postpone immediate pleasure for long-term reward, or choose our behavior based on an abstract belief in what is right. These times that give us pause invite us to base our choices on deeper thinking, where we rise above our habits and exert control over our life and character. Call this the philosophical life.
It is frightening to take the extra responsibility of a philosophical life, and there are no guarantees that all that extra work and stress of philosophical living will give any particular individual a better life than what would naturally occur. If we live by the wrong kind of philosophy, the human condition may be fundamentally worse for ourselves and others we affect. But all the traits that make the human experience unique among animals are possible only because of the pursuit of a philosophical life. The philosophical achievements of even a single person can have an improving effect on all the generations and centuries that come after.
We are human because we think, and because we benefit from the wise thoughts adopted by humans that came before. Those of us who investigate and improve the philosophical underpinnings of our culture comprise the engine driving humanity from our frightened animal origins into a condition of empowerment, justified self-esteem, and true understanding. So pursue and ponder science, ethics, religion, and logic. Evict fate and choose your own destiny. Shine the light of intelligence on the dark mysteries around you, live by your findings despite personal difficulties, and in so doing aid the common cause of humanity. It is the moral approach to life, and the right thing to do.
Sometimes we do more than go through the motions. Sometimes the practical choice and the immediately pleasing choice are different, or a conflict between two natural concerns force us to consider things more closely. Sometimes we postpone immediate pleasure for long-term reward, or choose our behavior based on an abstract belief in what is right. These times that give us pause invite us to base our choices on deeper thinking, where we rise above our habits and exert control over our life and character. Call this the philosophical life.
It is frightening to take the extra responsibility of a philosophical life, and there are no guarantees that all that extra work and stress of philosophical living will give any particular individual a better life than what would naturally occur. If we live by the wrong kind of philosophy, the human condition may be fundamentally worse for ourselves and others we affect. But all the traits that make the human experience unique among animals are possible only because of the pursuit of a philosophical life. The philosophical achievements of even a single person can have an improving effect on all the generations and centuries that come after.
We are human because we think, and because we benefit from the wise thoughts adopted by humans that came before. Those of us who investigate and improve the philosophical underpinnings of our culture comprise the engine driving humanity from our frightened animal origins into a condition of empowerment, justified self-esteem, and true understanding. So pursue and ponder science, ethics, religion, and logic. Evict fate and choose your own destiny. Shine the light of intelligence on the dark mysteries around you, live by your findings despite personal difficulties, and in so doing aid the common cause of humanity. It is the moral approach to life, and the right thing to do.
Tags: Philosophy • Nature • Humanity • Life
February 2012
January 2012