Socrates, best of men, I understand your intention but please allow me to disagree with you.
It is irresponsible to insinuate that it is vain or selfish to desire life more than death.
An idea is not worth dying for; ideas are falsifiable, and consequently you may theoretically die for a false or wrong idea.
The same with a cause; whose cause? Most causes are initiated by someone else's agenda that draws others into it like a black hole. To be ready to orphan your children for someone else's cause (even your own) is completely irresponsible and ignorant.
Beliefs are just that, a belief, a viewpoint, faith (nothing tangible). Most people have different beliefs at 40 years old then they did when they were 20. To believe in something so robustly that you would die for it seems to me to be very foolish. Suicide bombers are stricken with such a strong belief structure, are they noble?
The people you speak of chose to take risks (albeit life and death risks) for what they believed in. I would argue that if these people were placing their heads on the chopping block (certain death instead of high risk of death) then their behavior might be slightly (if not totally) different. We all believe in something in a strong way and we may even say that we would die for such a belief but this does not mean that one would actually die for it. I am sure that if joining the military meant guaranteed instant death after boot camp then very few people would volunteer. The chance of survival (however small) is ultimately the main factor in their choice.
If an idea, cause or belief is considered to be true then we would have much more to contribute alive than dead.
Hello, thank you very much for reading, my friend. And thank you for the excellent comment as well. I always appreciate it whenever a person (who either agrees or disagrees) takes the time to respond to a post. The mind will always benefit from intellectually stimulating conversations.
All in all, I think we actually agree much more than you think. By no means did I intend to imply that the non-vain/non-selfish will happily embark on a journey to Hades...only that they refrain from donning a blindfold whenever there's a rumor that Hades might appear.
Certainly not every idea, every cause, and every belief is worth dying for...but is there at least one? Perhaps not, but that was the message I was trying to convey.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me, and have a wonderful day, my friend.
What about dying for Philosophy, Socrates? You of all people should understand that.
Philosophy ultimately means to learn how to die...something which most of us can never learn because of our attachments in life.
I'm sure most of us understand rationally that the organism must die but psychologically we cannot accept the fact that one day we will be no more.
That is where philosophy comes in to provide us with the consolation and fearlessness to live life to the full, and to accept, without any anxiety or dread, the inevitable fate that can happen to all of us at any given moment.
Absolutely fascinating, I have much to read here.
ReplyDeleteI have added your blog to my Blogger's Cafe:
http://avarchives.blogspot.com/ in Library 1 - Commentary.
I am also posting a link on my Tomus Arcanum:
http://tomusarcanum.blogspot.com
Fascinating, that there are still thinkers in the world.
AV
Socrates, best of men, I understand your intention but please allow me to disagree with you.
ReplyDeleteIt is irresponsible to insinuate that it is vain or selfish to desire life more than death.
An idea is not worth dying for; ideas are falsifiable, and consequently you may theoretically die for a false or wrong idea.
The same with a cause; whose cause? Most causes are initiated by someone else's agenda that draws others into it like a black hole. To be ready to orphan your children for someone else's cause (even your own) is completely irresponsible and ignorant.
Beliefs are just that, a belief, a viewpoint, faith (nothing tangible). Most people have different beliefs at 40 years old then they did when they were 20. To believe in something so robustly that you would die for it seems to me to be very foolish. Suicide bombers are stricken with such a strong belief structure, are they noble?
The people you speak of chose to take risks (albeit life and death risks) for what they believed in. I would argue that if these people were placing their heads on the chopping block (certain death instead of high risk of death) then their behavior might be slightly (if not totally) different. We all believe in something in a strong way and we may even say that we would die for such a belief but this does not mean that one would actually die for it. I am sure that if joining the military meant guaranteed instant death after boot camp then very few people would volunteer. The chance of survival (however small) is ultimately the main factor in their choice.
If an idea, cause or belief is considered to be true then we would have much more to contribute alive than dead.
Mike D
Izzy,
ReplyDeleteHello, thank you very much for reading, my friend. And thank you for the excellent comment as well. I always appreciate it whenever a person (who either agrees or disagrees) takes the time to respond to a post. The mind will always benefit from intellectually stimulating conversations.
All in all, I think we actually agree much more than you think. By no means did I intend to imply that the non-vain/non-selfish will happily embark on a journey to Hades...only that they refrain from donning a blindfold whenever there's a rumor that Hades might appear.
Certainly not every idea, every cause, and every belief is worth dying for...but is there at least one? Perhaps not, but that was the message I was trying to convey.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me, and have a wonderful day, my friend.
Perhaps we should entertain the question "What are you willing to live for?"
ReplyDeleteAhh (epiphany) … that was your point to begin with.
Another great post Socrates!
Mike D
What about dying for Philosophy, Socrates? You of all people should understand that.
ReplyDeletePhilosophy ultimately means to learn how to die...something which most of us can never learn because of our attachments in life.
I'm sure most of us understand rationally that the organism must die but psychologically we cannot accept the fact that one day we will be no more.
That is where philosophy comes in to provide us with the consolation and fearlessness to live life to the full, and to accept, without any anxiety or dread, the inevitable fate that can happen to all of us at any given moment.
Izzy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the nice compliment, friend.
Jason,
Those are wise words about philosophy. After all, how can a man say that he has lived if he doesn't know what to die for?