the philosophical method
There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy. All the rest— whether or not the world has three dimensions, whether the mind has nine or twelve categories—comes afterwards. These are games; one must first answer. And if it is true, as Nietzsche claims, that a philosopher, to deserve our respect, must preach by example, you can appreciate the importance of that reply, for it will precede the definitive act. These are facts the heart can feel; yet they call for careful study before they become clear to the intellect.
Albert Camus, An Absurd Reasoning
I came across this paragraph while reading about suicide ethics, and it gave me a fresh perspective about the philosophical method. Same as Martin Heiddeger, Albert Camus also stressed the importance of asking the right questions. Sadly, that's also what school fails to teach us, as at school, we're taught to answer prescribed questions that has a definitive answer, instead of learning to ask the right questions. The first step to answering the question, sadly, isn't answering the question, but to examine the question. Is it worthy of being answered? Do I need to know this? Let's face it, our priorities vary, that's why we're out there answering different questions.
By claiming that "All the rest— whether or not the world has three dimensions, whether the mind has nine or twelve categories—comes afterwards", Albert Camus clearly showed us that he prioritized learning about the meaning of existence over other other things, or secondary matter as Martin Heiddeger had it. The wording "comes afterward" suggests that Albert Camus didn't dismiss the worthiness of investigation of other areas of knowledge, but he clearly didn't really read much about other subjects: he only looked at the matter from the eyes of a philosopher.
While this seems harmless at first, this method can be problematic in the long run. Sometimes, we make the wrong mistake of assuming that certain things are independent. Just as math is the foundation of physics, physics is the foundation of chemistry, chemistry is the foundation of biology, biology is the foundation of psychology, and psychology is the foundation of all human things, including philosophy. Nothing really exists "on its own", it's always built upon the foundation of something else. Therefore, even seemingly purely human question like "what is the meaning of life?" can have strong biological and psychological roots. We don't like to admit that we live to survive and reproduce and pass on our genes but that's a fact, or at least it used to be. Now that we can choose to reproduce or not, our needs no longer stop at biological needs, but psychological needs.
what do we need?
In the past, things exist because we actually need them, now, things exist because we think we need them. But what do we need them for? No one has gone thus far to realize the core of the matter. We need them to live, in the social construct, of course, but then, what are we living for, what are we dying for? History will give you different answers. Some die for love, some die for honor, some die for freedom, some, virtually nothing. The answers vary, but it's safe to claim that they're all illusions that we have, and those illusions all tie to a concept that is deeply human: meaning and happiness. Humans need meaning to live, just as they need food to survive.
Ask a philosopher what we need to be happy, and you will receive a ton of answers, some focus on personal development, some focus on meaning that you have towards society. I'm sorry to say this, but I actually like the psychologist's answer best, as we need healthy relationships to be happy. That's not an illusion, but the truth. However, there is still more to it, as healthy relationships don't just happen, as if you want to manifest amazing people into your life, you also need to be just as good already.
Never underestimate people's ability to build or break your life.
on suicide
I can't tell you if suicdie is right or wrong as that depends heavily on the uniqueness of each case and the motivation behind it. It's hard to define suicide, but it can be categorized as suicide for meaning and suicide due to the inability to find meaning.
examples for suicide for meaning (also called death with dignity)
a Buddhist monk immolates himself to protest a repressive political regime
a soldier falls on a grenade, saving his buddy
the pilot of a small jet plane whose engine is failing deliberately crashes it into an open field, rather than bailing out and letting it hit the crowded schoolyard ahead
examples for suicide due to inability to find meaning
a person hangs himself after breaking up with his partner
a person dies from self-inflicted cuts due to anxiety and depression
However, it's not always easy to categorize those suicides, as some may argue that some people seek an suicide as a way to preserve their dignity and honor in the cruel immediate world that they live in, and it should not be seen as due to the inability to find meaning, but for meaning.
While we can't always tell if suicide is right or wrong, or acceptable or not, the way suicide is portrayed in the media and culture definitely played a part in forming people's perceptions about suicide. At the end of this year, I've read quite a few Japanese novels by Higashino Keigo and Haruki Murakami [1], and suicide is an idea that haunts most books. While we can't tell if the way suicide is portrayed in Japanese culture, even dating back to Seppuku (a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment), has influenced its people, or its people influenced the culture, we can say that it's a bidirectional process. It's not only in Japan, but there is also a term coined in Western culture called the Werther effect, which refers to copycat suicide, or suicide contagion. The term itself has its roots in the spike following the publication of Goethe's novel The Sorrows of Young Werther.
So basically, if suicide is portrayed as preserving honor instead of disgusting or against God, people are more likely to do it.
Another interesting finding is that suicide is more prevalent in individualistic cultures, according to one study. In highly individualistic culture, one is forced to be independent and capable of one's existence. Although privacy is valued, this can indirectly cause people to be unwilling to open up as that can be perceived as weak or impolite. However, what we don't know is that we need healthy relationships to survive psychologically. When culture forbids people to admit their psychological needs by making such behaviors such as consulting or asking for help annoying or impolite, this can lead to long-term stress and consequently results in suicide.
But does that mean collectivistic cultures are better off than individualistic cultures when it comes to maximizing human potential? Probably not. Just because people aren't commiting suicide, you can't say that they're living happily and free from oppression. Suicide is the devil you know.
The imaginary is what tends to become real.
André Breton
Therefore, be very careful about what you're consuming. Mental nutrition is a thing. By this, I mean pay attention to the music you're listening to, books you're reading, people you're talking and listening to. Our brain is malleable and is capable of changing for better, or for worse.
on happiness
Now that we've understood why we seek death, we can better approach life. Below are a few ideas that I've condensed through experience.
Suffering comes from the misalignment of reality and imaginary.
If you're happy, you should be the first one to know it.
This reminds me of a good old nursery song that contains hidden gem that we've forgotten. One of the verse goes like this:
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands.
Let's read that again.
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands.
If you're happy and YOU KNOW IT, clap your hands.
While clapping your hands is optional, the "you know it" part is not. It seems like we're doing the opposite thing with the advent of social media: we seem to be the last one to know that we're happy. The modern song now goes like.
If you're not happy but want to prove that you are, post to Instagram.
Sadly, if everyone knows this, Instagram would go bankrupt, and businesses woudln't like it. I know Instagram can be used for a plethora of reason, including spreading kindness and cherishing memories with your friends and loved ones, not always as a mean of justifying one's self-worth, but I have to say the majority of it is built on people's self-insecurity, and that's not healthy.
I've also used Instagram for the reasons above. I kept telling myself that. I failed to admit that I used Instagram because I want that person to notice me. In order to get rid of the app, you have to realize that there are alternative ways of fulfilling your needs that Instagram used to handle, whether it's your social needs or self-expressing needs. For the former, I mostly use email and WhatsApp these days. For the latter, you're reading it right now. Welcome to my mental garden.
Getting rid of Instagram granted me the ability to establish the boundaries between my public and personal life. Sometimes we're so devastated that we share the most personal things online. Honestly, if you're truly happy, your Instagram followers doesn't have to know that.
Be true to yourself.
As Instagram changes what we do, it also changes who we are. Here are other verses from the song above that speak volumes about this matter.
If you're angry and you know it, stomp your feet.
Definitely not "If you're angry and you pretend like you aren't, go write passive agressive messages to everyone."
If you're scared and you know it, say "Oh no!"
Definitely not "If you're scared, pretend like you aren't."
If you're sleepy and you know it, take a nap.
Definitly not "If you're sleepy and you act like you dont',
Even Taylor Swift stresses the importance of being sincere in Lover.
Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover
Honestly, being honest is the best thing you can do for yourself and other people. Failing to stay true to oneself is the ultimate recipe to crash in the long run.
There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way. (Thich Nhat Hanh)
It's hard to be happy when you always have to get somewhere. In our capitalist economy, we're told that happiness is the end-product and not something that can be present throughout the process and in spite of our success or failure. Happiness is a state of mind.
In other words, we don't do things in order to be happy. We don't date, get married, or do things that society tells us to do to be happy. We have to find what makes ourselves happy first (hint: healthy relationships), and let that happiness guide what we do.
Happiness lays in being, not doing.
on love
Love is a beautiful word, but also the most misused word in the English language, and probably other languages as well. Language have the tendency to obscures and manipulates meanings of word, and love is definitely not an exception. Sadly, the love they talk about in the modern music industry can be manipulative, codependent, painful, heart-wrenching, et cetera. Everyone has different defnitions of love. I won't say which ones are right or wrong, but some are definitely better than others. However, experience will teach you what love is and what love isn't. Whether you learn it is up to you.
Romantic love is not the cake, it's the toppings.
I hate how the modern music industry narrows down the focus of love to just romantic love. It's not everything. Plants can have leaves without flowers, but never flowers without leaves. What makes life (the cake) good should be the cake itself, and not the toppings. Some spend way too much time working on the toppings, while their cake's composition is actually trash.
Love is all around and it doesn't have to be romantic. I spoke all of this from the perspective of someone who used to develop a crush on someone that I've just met briefly. I took a long time to realize this was not healthy. Friendship is good, but we're living in a friendzone culture, which doesn't allow us to see the beauty of a strong non-romantic support system.
Love can take on many shapes. Love is all around you. Kids smiling? That's love. Mom cooking for you? That's love. Flowers blooming? That's love. The reason why you are miserable is because you can't see them, or because you saw them but don't think they count as love. Open up yourself so that love can flow into your reservoir. Don't reserve your resevoir for the single pipeline that's posthumously labelled "romantic love".
If non-romantic love wasn't that great, maybe John Green and Hank Green wouldn't have been that serious about it every year. If you're wondering, it's called Esther Day (August 3rd every year).
By redefining what love can be, you attract healthy realtionships.
Carpe diem.
Seize the day.
further reading
[1] books I talked about
In addition to these, I'm currently reading
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