Trollbuster

“Learn philosophy. Philosophy is the map of understanding the world you're presented with and how to live by your convictions. Read Ayn Rand. That's a great start.”

Unless you’re a born sceptic. A sceptic would ask what philosophy does one choose? There are so many! A person is spoilt for choice. And it’s no good saying take the best bits from each. What are the best bits? Your best bits may not be someone else’s best bits. Whilst their life has improved yours hasn’t. In fact, you may choose some really grotty bits and discover your life has got even worse! Fuck that for a game of soldiers. The sceptic knows that for every philosophy there’s a counter philosophy. That there’s another way of looking at things. Because at one level philosophy is nothing more than an intellectual boxing match. With Philosopher “A” determined to beat the living shit out of Philosopher “B.” The sceptic also knows that philosophers are only human. Ergo they’re fallible. This means that no philosophy is perfect. Each one will contain errors. And these errors will be the result of a variety of factors. There will probably even be some undetected errors. Hopefully, as our knowledge expands, some of these errors may come to light. But not always because human error will decide otherwise. Others may never come to light because there are some things we’ll never know.

The sceptic is therefore forced to concede that there’s no completely true philosophy. That all philosophies are a mixture of truth and falsehood. Some will be more true than others and vice versa. But how to measure them? Philosophy is not a science, even though it may contain elements of science. The bottom line is philosophy, like religion, is based on belief. Indeed, religion itself is a philosophy. And it’s no good saying that you believe a particular philosophy is true because you believe it to be true because believing something to be true doesn’t automatically make it so. The sceptic doesn’t want any old map. The sceptic wants a map that’s as accurate as it can possibly be. The problem is there’s more than one map out there.

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Trollbuster

Suicide notes should be short and to the point. You don’t want to live any more and that’s it. End of story. Giving a reason usually means you want people to feel guilty. To make them think that they forced you to do it. The problem with that is you can’t be sure they’ll feel guilty. And if they forced to do it then they won’t! Because you’ll have played straight into their hands. So the death of one gullible idiot will be no big loss. They might actually throw a big party. They look down at your body and someone says, ‘Thank God the wanker finally did it. We gave him/her enough hints! Let’s break open the champagne!’ You have to consider that there might be a feeling of relief rather than guilt because suicidal people aren’t exactly the life and soul of the party. They’re usually depressed. Have you ever heard of a happy person killing themselves? ‘Wow! I’m so happy!’ BANG! The fact is depressed people are no fucking fun at all. People might be glad to see the back of you. ‘Great! Now I can laugh again.’ So instead of making people feel guilty that they could have done more for you, killing yourself might actually make the world a happier place. So keep it short. Otherwise you’ll just be making yourself look even more foolish. Here’s my suicide note...

Dear World,

It’s a crock of shit and the universe would be a better place without us.

Prior to this I would have invented a device that would destroy the whole world. I’m selfish, right? If I’m going, everyone’s going. So if they felt like celebrating then I’d have put a damper on it.

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Rob

Strange, isn't it. None of us really know what we'd say in a suicide note. There are plenty of examples on the internet if you search. I also have a book somewhere that contains some. My older brother took his own life some years ago, and the note he left me (he sent a personalised note to each brother and sister) was actually full of humour, so typical of the way he was in life. Go figure. He was clinically depressed, but still finding ways to be funny.

Cheers,
Rob

ooghost1oo

Yes, a true suicide note would be short. Anyone truly on a path to self-destruction would just do it. Not even necessarily leave a note. Lengthy explanations are more like justifications, and ways they would seek the situation to improve to make it acceptable. I.e. a cry for help.

(Edit: If I were to commit suicide, I would be dead set on it by the time I did it, and wouldn't leave a note. Or, at least, I'd leave a will.)

Trollbuster, philosophy and skepticism go hand in hand. Simply accepting another person's philosophy (no matter how many there are) is no understanding of philosophy at all. Philosophy is the 'skeptical' (or preferably ... 'objective') exploration of ethics and understanding of the world through developing a map of how to perceive and react to reality as it's presented.

Referring back to my original post, most people (in America) have NO philosophy (apathetic empty shells) or accept whatever philosophy is presented/forced on them (uneducated and/or liberal zombies). Philosophy is your guide. It is a study. Not a particular set of tenets. It is the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe.

Don't put all your eggs in the 'skeptic' basket. That's an un-evolved perspective. Skepticism leans toward cynicism, which will bias your potential understanding and close your mind. It's better to be 'objective'. Be neutral when you encounter a new idea--don't embrace it; don't reject it--until you consider it and contemplate it and run it through the good filters (philosophy) you've already established.

Rob

Some true suicide notes aren't short.

Some do, some don't.

Some do, some don't.

Some people leave lengthy notes, but aren't crying for help. They're really about to kill themselves. Period.

Look, it doesn't make sense to try to say that people who are really bent on taking their own life will act in one single, recognisable manner. People come in all kinds of different shapes, sizes and flavours. They behave differently. They behave however they want to. They don't necessarily conform to what you describe. Really, they don't. And with respect, you have no idea how you would behave if you were really going to kill yourself. You only find that out when you reach that point.

Cheers,
Rob

Trollbuster

“Don't put all your eggs in the 'skeptic' basket. That's an un-evolved perspective. Skepticism leans toward cynicism, which will bias your potential understanding and close your mind.”

Okay, you did quite well responding to my thoughts. Now try this conundrum: at what precise point does scepticism become cynicism? It’s a value judgement. One person’s scepticism is another person’s cynicism. As for philosophers? If you’re starving to death who would you rather see? A philosopher with his latest book or an aid worker with a sack of rice. Philosophers would be far more useful if they got up off their arses and did some practical work. Once they’ve helped eliminate violence and poverty then they can write their books.

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Trollbuster

“Don't put all your eggs in the 'skeptic' basket. That's an un-evolved perspective. Skepticism leans toward cynicism, which will bias your potential understanding and close your mind.”

Okay, you did quite well responding to my thoughts. Now try this conundrum: at what precise point does scepticism become cynicism? It’s a value judgement. One person’s scepticism is another person’s cynicism. As for philosophers? If you’re starving to death who would you rather see? A philosopher with his latest book or an aid worker with a sack of rice. Philosophers would be far more useful if they got up off their arses and did some practical work. Once they’ve helped eliminate violence and poverty then they can write their books.

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The Shocked Starfish

the truth is, I started thinking this way a few years back, and have since become obsessed with escaping. follow this notion, but not until you've tried everything you denounce. might as well, huh? Anyways, life can be high or low, once you stop thinking about beating all the "fakeness", it will happen naturally. Speak without thinking about what your about to say. You'll see.