What is the nature of reality? How should a life ought to be lived?

[Midoriya]

Yeah, hypothetically, I see your point. In a world with no free will a lot of things would be better, no war, no crime and so on. Still, with no free will how would you get a "drive" to get anything done? If everyone is happy doing a basic job, going home to their wife and their 2 kids and repeating that over and over, you'd miss out on a lot of happiness and passion and possibly even things like great work of culture.

Removing free will from the equation would solve a lot of things, much like how having a dictator instead of democracy makes some things "easier". But at what cost? I struggle to see myself enjoying a passionless life, and I struggle to see passion in a world with no free will. Then again, had I never known it, you wouldn't know what you miss out on.

Free will is necessary for life, otherwise we would all basically be robots.

The main thing missing in the world today is balance, which is why I practice Aikido instead of Karate. We prioritize balance over everything in Aikido.

Nowadays, guys and girls drink too much and get in car crashes and die, guys act like douchebags to girls way too often, and then both guys and girls become greedy when they get money, only wanting more and more of it, and not sharing it with anyone else.

My stance would be like Lysandre’s of Pokemon X and Y. Destroy most of the world with an “ultimate weapon,” only leaving behind the people I care about, and enough good people to repopulate the Earth. His message in that game IS TRUE that the world only gets uglier and uglier every day, and it makes life not worth living for a lot of people, the ones like me that are left behind.

And when those people are left behind they either take their lives, or they take others’ lives, and that’s what people don’t understand, the motives behind those sorts of people, is because they are hurting. So it wasn’t their fault that they killed people, it was the ones who took something valuable from them.

Rest assured, there are a ton of things people can do to make the world a better place, but there will be no victory in unity or strength...


EDIT: The whole reason Lysandre was going to destroy most of the Earth in the first place is because he was passionate about the beauty in it.

 

[Anine]

Free will is necessary for life, otherwise we would all basically be robots.

The main thing missing in the world today is balance, which is why I practice Aikido instead of Karate. We prioritize balance over everything in Aikido.

Nowadays, guys and girls drink too much and get in car crashes and die, guys act like douchebags to girls way too often, and then both guys and girls become greedy when they get money, only wanting more and more of it, and not sharing it with anyone else.

My stance would be like Lysandre’s of Pokemon X and Y. Destroy most of the world with an “ultimate weapon,” only leaving behind the people I care about, and enough good people to repopulate the Earth. His message in that game IS TRUE that the world only gets uglier and uglier every day, and it makes life not worth living for a lot of people, the ones like me that are left behind.

And when those people are left behind they either take their lives, or they take others’ lives, and that’s what people don’t understand, the motives behind those sorts of people, is because they are hurting. So it wasn’t their fault that they killed people, it was the ones who took something valuable from them.

Rest assured, there are a ton of things people can do to make the world a better place, but there will be no victory in unity or strength...


EDIT: The whole reason Lysandre was going to destroy most of the Earth in the first place is because he was passionate about the beauty in it.

But if you intend to keep free will, as like you said, everyone being robotic won't be good either, where's the guarantee the world won't just progress to the same state? I'm a great fan of balance in things too, but to paraphrase star wars, there's no balance in only light. In the end you would only repopulate the world with people who agreed with you, or according to you were good, and ensure that the next 10 or so generations would more or less listen to your principles. Still, due to the free will, even in generation one you might find someone who would mess it up and act ugly. And at the end of the day it would also pretty much make you a cult leader.

Sure, the world is ugly, but there's good in it too. Even at the current state I do believe there is as much good as evil, though the evil actions speak louder. And attempting to remove evil by doing something as drastic as that is ugly in itself. Drinking too much and abusing people is awful, but so is mass genocide.

 

[Midoriya]

But if you intend to keep free will, as like you said, everyone being robotic won't be good either, where's the guarantee the world won't just progress to the same state? I'm a great fan of balance in things too, but to paraphrase star wars, there's no balance in only light. In the end you would only repopulate the world with people who agreed with you, or according to you were good, and ensure that the next 10 or so generations would more or less listen to your principles. Still, due to the free will, even in generation one you might find someone who would mess it up and act ugly. And at the end of the day it would also pretty much make you a cult leader.

Sure, the world is ugly, but there's good in it too. Even at the current state I do believe there is as much good as evil, though the evil actions speak louder. And attempting to remove evil by doing something as drastic as that is ugly in itself. Drinking too much and abusing people is awful, but so is mass genocide.

The problem is I realize there is more and more nowadays, bad and less-than-respectable people who speak the loudest. I see and hear from less and less of the good people, and it makes me want no part in this world. I long for the days where hyper space travel is possible and I can live in an actual colonized place or go to places like in Cowboy Bebop. According to that Anime, the world would have ended in 2021.

 

[hamster]

tbh just look at philosophers if u want to form an idea. ive been into some of them kinda recently and theyre quite interesting

- - - Post Merge - - -

u know i never used to care about the meaning of life/free will but when i discovered these ppl i realised that they give me a lot of comfort and things 2 aim for in life

 

[ellarella]

Free will is necessary for life, otherwise we would all basically be robots.

His message in that game IS TRUE that the world only gets uglier and uglier every day.

crime is down, homicide rates are down, literacy is up, uncurable disease become curable, uncurable diseases become manageable, life expectancy is up, child mortality is down, inequality is down, extreme poverty is down, the amount of people who say they are happy is up, child labor is down, the amount of nuclear warheads is going down, homelessness is down.

the world is getting better and better in almost every aspect. have a looksie.

 

[Midoriya]

crime is down, homicide rates are down, literacy is up, uncurable disease become curable, uncurable diseases become manageable, life expectancy is up, child mortality is down, inequality is down, extreme poverty is down, the amount of people who say they are happy is up, child labor is down, the amount of nuclear warheads is going down, homelessness is down.

the world is getting better and better in almost every aspect. have a looksie.

I don’t care what the percentages are. It’s still a bad world to live in. People still don’t like me or agree with me.

 

[Midoriya]

Bummmmmmmppppp

Any other answers to the questions? The great thing about questions like these is they were from one of my classes, which is why I’m positive no one will give the correct answers.

 

[Katelyn]

Honestly, lately I've just been on the train of thought that life is pretty much pointless. We have such a short time here so what the **** does it matter? I've been constantly thinking about that and the prospect of death which absolutely terrifies me so I've pretty much been in a constant state of fear although that may be my fault for not taking my anxiety medication. But yea, I don't think there's any certain way to live your life. Just do what makes you happy because in the end none of it will matter anyway unless you make some crazy breakthrough or commit genocide or something.

 

[Midoriya]

Honestly, lately I've just been on the train of thought that life is pretty much pointless. We have such a short time here so what the **** does it matter? I've been constantly thinking about that and the prospect of death which absolutely terrifies me so I've pretty much been in a constant state of fear although that may be my fault for not taking my anxiety medication. But yea, I don't think there's any certain way to live your life. Just do what makes you happy because in the end none of it will matter anyway unless you make some crazy breakthrough or commit genocide or something.

I think you’re on the right track. All of our lives are pretty much pointless, so it’s important to be happy while we are alive, but not only that. It is also important to help others out and improve the quality of life we all live in this way.

 

[Nuclear Bingo]

I can see why you are upset about the state of the world, but don't let it change you into something you're not. if you give into the negativity, then the dark parts of society have conquered you. Maybe we have no real reason for being here, but that does not mean our existences are pointless. If you are interested, I suggest reading about the rules of syllogisms

 

[Midoriya]

I can see why you are upset about the state of the world, but don't let it change you into something you're not. if you give into the negativity, then the dark parts of society have conquered you

That is true as well. Thank you.

EDIT: As adults living in the 21st century, we have to set a good example for the younger generation. Someone I know’s motto is “Be the light.”

 

[calamitybot]

I'm only fifteen, so I haven't gone through a lot in life, so my opinion is pretty nonimportant.

I recently studied Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson for school. In the most basic sense, it states that people should be self-reliant, and not try to conform, instead serving themselves above society. I believe that's the best way to live a life. In one part, I can't recall the exact line, but it states that you should speak as you believe, and if the words of tomorrow contradict the words of today, still speak them just as loud. Along with the ideas from Emerson, I believe that people should put themselves before others, and value themselves incredibly, because that is what makes a strong society as a whole.

- - - Post Merge - - -

I think that people with nihilistic outlooks are foolish, if they aren't incredibly educated on the subject. Nihilism is a baby's philosophy. People should live their lives, striving to enjoy every moment, since they only have one. Simply stating that nothing matters and pretending to be some sort of intellectual just makes people not want to talk to you.

 

[tiffanistarr]

I have an existential crisis every few weeks. I never get why we're here, I can understand how it happened and the science that led up to it but I can't figure out why.

I go back and forth between a spiritual thing and a more logical thing. I fall into the spiritual path because it feels comfy to have a clutch and something to rely on. Then I fall out of that just as fast as I fell into it, because I see logic and science. It keeps me up a lot because when I'm at my lowest I grasp for any sort of comfort and that usually comes from all that "karma, fate, praying" type stuff.

I've finally reached a point where I try to think of neither, I just try and do my best to live a happy and pleasant life. I'm in a constant state of confusion when it comes to life and the meaning behind any of it. I think that if I just can be happy without being hurtful and harmful to others then I'm in good shape.

The universe is freakin crazy dude