posted
Azile, yes, I realize that sort of thing is what the author was probably trying to convey. I just think he or she missed the mark by a bit and could've done a far better job than portraying the protagonist as an ACTUAL idiot, as opposed to someone who everyone believes to be an idiot.
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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posted
Bernard, if personal happiness at the moment of death is all it takes to justify one's life, would you say that dying of a blissful, hallucinogenic drug overdose is a good and redemptive thing?
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
I don't know... I think the brain probably releases endogenous morphines at the moment of death anyway. Sort of a massive stress reliever, you know.
We probably trip into the next world anyway.
But just in case, don't hesitate to give me my morphine allotment.
Mmmm morphine....
okay, I had it once after surgery. I really, really liked it.
I'm not saying I'm going to go out and buy it for myself, but it made surgery a lot more fun than it would've been otherwise.
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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Very good point, Tom. And in spite of the conversation, I almost want to say yes. But for the sake of argument, I'll say no because most people like living more than dying (which is altogether a different argument).
With that thought, I continue to wonder what would allow everlasting happiness, refering to the anime series, the story was given as an antecedent about the main character, who spent a small portion of the money that she was going to use to pay for her high school tuition on gifts for her friends on Valentine's Day (mind you that she did pay her tuition, just a little later than normal). She did this because she loved her friends, and gave them gifts as a sign of friendship and showed them that she was happy to be with them (to quickly answer Bob, the author of the story did mean it to only show happiness and was keen to point it out in the story). With that in mind, I'm probably not taking the story as literally as most of you are...probably because of the context I recieved in. I see him going about and dying ON the path to attain happiness, and I see too many people around me completely forgetting about happiness and just stumbling through life without a thought of why they're doing what they're doing... :: gets all introspective and quiet :: Satyagraha
Posts: 1986 | Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
From reading about drugs and accounts of people who have died clinically, death sounds more like an extremely dysphoric dissociative trip. Something to be avoided. One account told of viewing their loved ones dying in horrible ways, life flashing before the eyes in bad ways, horrible stuff like that. If a normal death is really like this, then dying of a drug overdose (depending upon the type of drug and how pleasant OD actually is) sounds better than any other type of death.
Being happy only in your death may not be a good thing if the price is unhappiness up to that point. On the other hand, better pure bliss at death and an unhappy life than an unhappy life and a bad DXM trip at the end. Better still to lock your mind to "happy" as much as is possible throughout one's life. I would not call any of those options redeeming, but one is very good and one is somewhat good.
Why should global happiness be the goal? I have yet to see a convincing argument for valuing the happiness of those who deliberately and maliciously cause you harm or pain over your own happiness. I really have not even seen conclusive proof that the happiness of others in general is a higher moral goal than my own happiness. The only time I could see valuing the happiness of a group over my own is if I actually cared about the group for my own reasons.
Also, global happiness will never be attained because some people need opposite things to make them happy. Why bother with something that is futile?
Edit: spelling again. The worst part is that was the word I was trying to fix! I have been at work too long.
quote:Why should globab happiness be the goal? ...
. . .
Edit: spelling
I don't know, but I think if we can't achieve globab happiness, we're just a complete waste as a species.
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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posted
Then we are a waste. Oh well. Most of the enjoyable parts of life are complete wastes of time.
Posts: 1364 | Registered: Feb 2003
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quote:...concentrating on the part where he's found happiness...
Our hero may have found contentment, but he fell far short of my personal definition of happiness.
A baby born and raised in a garbage can, never seeing the light of day, may be content because he doesn't know what he's missing, but is he happy? Marshmallows may be content, but are they happy?
In my opinion happiness requires learning and changing: discovering what has value and obtaining it.
Posts: 2655 | Registered: Feb 2004
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