>High school years
>Read pleb genre fiction
>Enjoy life
>Look forward to my future
>Believe in Christianity
>Have many friends
>Want to study STEM
>Start browsing /lit/
>Start reading more literature
>Start looking at philosophy
>Lose my faith entirely
>Become more nihilistic
>Have bouts of depression
>Become cynical, bitter, and live in a constant existential crisis
>Want to study literature and philosophy
I'm 18. My life has only just begun. What is life? Does it get better? I feel too young to lose meaning already ;_;
help
>Want to study literature and philosophy
Stop being depressed, and do that pre-law.
You can study literature and philosophy without going to college. Most books on the subject are easily available.
>>7828761
I rolled my eyes so hard that I'm now blind. Luckily, I can type from memory.
>>7828769
Is there any way to be truly happy? Is this a phase? Jesus.
>>7828783
Just tell me it's an edgy phase then
>>7828761
maybe you could not fall for the tortured intellectual meme, and not be a faggot.
>>7828779
>You can study literature and philosophy without going to college. Most books on the subject are easily available.
same goes for every other subject
don't go to college, just trust that you're a NEET übermensch and can become an expert on anything without any help
>>7828790
Well, telling yourself you're sad and depressed made you sad and depressed, so maybe try telling yourself you're happy and fulfilled and looking forward to learning new things? It's like you didn't even notice how you made yourself this way in the first place. Read some Heraclitus.
>>7828761
Some people (like urself) can't take knowledge and go on with a good life like the one you had. I pity people like you tbqhwy. But yaknow... Lets look at it positively:
Ya no there's no positives u should just out urself from lit
>>7828803
I'm not very smart. I don't consider myself an intellectual. I just kind of lost meaning and feel lost. Not in a "better than everyone else way." Just a lost way.
>>7828761
stop living in books and start living in the real world. looking to lit and philosophy for how to live in this world is extremely stupid, and intelligent people seem to fall for this trick the most often. there's nothing at the end of that rabbit hole but a masturbatory conversation about the rabbit hole. use your brain on something that actually matters, like science, maths or tech.
read beautiful shit, shit that makes you feel something. other than the rest is all useless shit written by losers who chose thought over experience because they gave up.
>>7828808
The only problem with this is if you require a credential to actually practice in a field. Then college becomes a necessary evil.
>>7828823
STEMfag detected.
>>7828821
you created it, not the books. just stop being an edgy faggot and take responsibility for yourself.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow0lr63y4Mw
>>7828821
Heraclitus like the guy said.. Give it a try
There's no magic book though, friend. You have to create that mentality to be able to live that reality. But you def don't want to keep being all depressed, it may be cute on the movies but its not cute and attractive irl.. It will only drag you down and make you dumb and so far removed!
Feel better,
A.
>>7828823
What an utter anti-intellectual pleb.
>>7828832
God! Is it too much to ask for you to put a http:// and make it a link to click on? Seriously
>>7828808
Not really, for a lot of professions you do need a degree
>7828823
Lel this guy. I like how STEM people are always like " WE ARE THE BUILDERS OF THE WORLD, BE 'USEFUL' LIKE US", meanwhile most of them do monotonous software-running jobs.
>>7828844
Yes
>>7828823
>looking to lit and philosophy for how to live in this world is extremely stupid
Get a load of this guy
>>7828761
Get obsessed with the Greeks and classicism
Those niggas knew what's up. The problem is that our society has in it this pervading norm of nihilism. Religion is one last existential buttress, and in its absence people really have nothing affirming to fall back on.
>>7828823
Wew lad
>>7828847
Something of a straw-man. Reading books and "living in the real world" are not mutually exclusive. Nor were all authors recluses.
But, then again, being a pleb, and silliness, are strongly correlated.
Start lifting
/lit/fit/ is the best combo
>>7828875
Morons love declaring their ignorance, it's (disturbingly) a thing of pride for them.
>>7828855
I'm currently reading The Republic, just so I can start somewhere. I'll try Heraclitus next, as was recommended, but what else are some key texts I should read?
>>7828871
It's both. You're blogposting on 4chan about how books made you sad. You're doing that. Stop it unless you want to be that person.
>>7828878
I do haha, it helps me focus and feel good about myself. /lit/ and /fit/ are my two main boards
>>7828761
philosophy is unnatural and retarded. forget all that bullshit, because look at what it's doing to you. philosophy is for the outsiders. the answer is simple
>>7828886
Alright, I just wanted input from you guys.
>>7828893
No problem, kid. Seriously, read Heraclitus; he's got all this "the way up is also the way down" shit covered.
>>7828905
nah
Try mushrooms.
>>7828888
>quads
You'll be fine
>>7828889
What is "natural"? Humanity is unnatural.
>>7828889
>philosophy is unnatural
That's quite the philosophical claim you're making, lad.
>>7828910
Already did :/
>>7828905
It's just pretty easy to spot you guys and your desperate need to prove your "worth".
>>7828888
How did u figure that out?
Can I pretend run? Like, running without leaving that place so that I can run in my room? What's that called?
>>7828888
Oh shit, a sign
>>7828860
i'm not against reading books? for someone who i assume reads a lot you certainly couldn't read my post.
i just find it pathetic that anyone would think reading lit or philosophy will help you function in the world. being in the world will help you function in the world, reading intellectualized self-help rubbish will only make you edgy and socially retarded which most of you seem to be.
>>7828918
Put on shorts. Go outside. Start running. Run until you're tired. Think about how you're finally starting to push your body and make it better. Repeat until it becomes a habit.
>>7828922
Again, why are you on /lit/?
>>7828840
Damn bro you're so intelligent.
>>7828761
So go to the best university you can, study literature and philosophy and go to med school, a T14 law school or break into consulting or finance. You'll study what you want, get money and have options if you decide you want to change direction in life.
You're growing up and this is normal, but don't cut yourself off from options just yet.
>>7828930
To be natural, forsake art, literature, politics, and everything else that separates us from animals
>>7828933
I'm planning on studying literature, philosophy, and going into business or law. Any life pitfalls I should be aware of?
>>7828930
Nice rejoinder. It's the STEMfag obsession to constantly remind others that their interests are useless or worthless, instead of just enjoying their own craft and allowing others to enjoy their. Not to mention, they often overlook practical uses to things dismissed as simply masturbatory, forgetting what their very studies branch from (inquiry into the nature of things). Why be dismissive? Why not just enjoy and let others enjoy?
>>7828935
or just meet halfway? no reason to feel depressed because some philosopher's bullshit
>>7828917
Hell yeah, nothing wrong with wanting to prove your worth, be successful, leave your mark on the world. If you cannot see a philosophical justification for that, and view everything as futile gesture, then I am afraid you are a sad, stupid person.
>>7828938
Study philosophy on its own if you are going to pick that option, stay away from literature.
>>7828944
Because he's a STEMfaggot. It's in his nature
>>7828947
Why should I stay away from literature?
>joy
>life
>christianity
>stem
>future
>friends
>faith
>loss
>becoming
>nihilism
>depression
>cynicism
>bitterness
>existence
>crisis
>wants
>beginnings
>betterment
>youth
>meaning lmao
18 years of an education in spooks smgdh
>>7828955
Should I read him or what
>>7828958
i also wanted to add
>Why not just enjoy and let others enjoy?
OP doesn't seem to be 'enjoying' anything atm, though, is he?
>>7828959
Don't read Stirner, it is utter claptrap. Purely a meme.
>>7828958
He's replying to you because you made a post that he, and multiple others, disagree with. You bashed literature and philosophy on /lit/. What did you expect?
>>7828927
i like books i just don't use books to run away from my life or as a guide on how to live it.
>>7828959
>should
probably too late, I'd rec the noose senpai.ego
>>7828955
Mein Gott, pureegology
>>7828966
OP here, my plans are already to go into business or law. I'm not going to throw away my life. I just wanted input from /lit/ on the current state of my life as relating to literature and philosophy.
>>7828972
Doo you think we all read genre fiction or what you cumtwat?
>It's another STEM vs. humanities shitslinging session, mutual insecurity and all
S T O P
>>7828931
I never made that claim. One can be unintelligent without being anti-intellectual.
>>7828985
you sound mad maybe you should read a book on how to stay calm
>>7828986
Yea, I didn't mean the thread to devolve into this, although it was kind if shit to begin with...
>>7828993
>Haha u mad bro go read some of ur stupid books xD
>On /lit/
what the fuck dude
>>7828955
\thread
mods sticky this
>>7828970
i enjoy those things, but i don't enjoy what they made OP think like
>>7828993
No, you're just a cumtwat.
>>7828967
What's wrong with Stirner? Is he just a meme here?
It happens to everyone. It's a phase
>>7829000
Primarily because OP is an idiot reading existentialism. How much of contemporary philosophers even care about existentialism?
just read mysticism m8 and become a sufi or something
>>7829000
I'm OP. I don't blame the books, I blame myself.
>>7828769
>stop being depressed
>study pre-law
>depressed
>law
>>7829010
OP, just read things other than existentialism. Analytic philosophy is by far the most popular form of philosophy in the US/UK, read some of that.
>>7829017
Any specific recs? I have a to-read list
>>7829020
I recently read The Point of View of the Universe, co-written by Singer, it's an excellent contemporary defence of hedonistic act utilitarianism.
>>7829031
Thanks. I just want a ton of material I can dive into.
>>7829020
I don't give a shit about whatever you typed, but here are two obvious problems you have:
1. You are on 4chan.
2. You are looking for advice on 4chan.
Go find your solution through the real world and self-analysis. You'll find nothing but memes and tryhard critics here.
>>7828916
if you're planning to go the drugs way of solving problems then that once you took shrooms with yer buddy won't do it. You need to get your mind broken, and not in the new agey way; you need to get to a level of fuckedness that'll break your perception as is. Pills and alcohol are really good to go by and easy to be functional on. you seen like a good kid, don't do speed or opioids.
>>7829074
I just tried it because I was curious. I've tried weed (obv) and shrooms, and want to try LSD. I tried 3.5g my first time, listened to a ton of music and really just felt very very surreal and weird after. I'm not big on drugs, but I don't see why not.
babbys first existential crisis
lots of us have been there, itll pass
>>7828761
you can study something in college that will get you a good paying job (STEM) and study lit and philosophy on your own
alternatively if youre planned o doing pre med or something like that you can still do pre med while majoring in literature, creative writing, anything really , as long as you do the pre med requirements
Look inside yourself to find your true self, look at the whole picture, not just at the parts of your personality, and attempt to become the best possible version of you. Don't regret it if you fail, don't ever fall into the "i should have x instead of y" that's nonsense, don't ever apologize for making at the time you felt was the right call, and be satisfied and appreciate that you are trying to be the Ubermensche, because not everybody has the will to look at themselves
>>7829052
This is true, you're eighteen. Be brave enough to trust your own decisions, you'll learn more from them than anything posted here.
>>7829052
What is this all-wise "real world" you speak of?
>>7829120
Also, get a gf, shit helps, even if it hurts in the end
>>7829122
Independence and confidence in your own decisions, which comes from making your own decisions, whether it's going to college or to let some friends go
>>7828761
I kept my faith for my mother's sake
does that defeat the purpose?
>>7829118
Philosophy degrees are pretty good for jobs and other opportunities, friend:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZTrFpl09s8
Also, many STEM degrees have such a glut of graduates that the job markets for them are quite poor.
>>7829120
What utter nonsense, eighteen year olds are notorious for making irrational, ill-informed decisions.
>>7829127
One should only have confidence in making a decision if one is well-informed regarding the nature of the decision. One only has to look at the world to see how poor many people are in making good decisions.
>>7829118
>>7829119
>>7829120
Thanks guys.
>>7829124
I actually had a Christian gf before, but she was Pentecostal crazy. Tongues, prophecy, no kissing before marriage, the whole shebang. Leaving her was probably one of the things that triggered my loss of faith.
I have a different girl now, and you're right, she helps a lot. It feels good to just be lost in carnal pleasure sometimes. Idk, I'd be worse off without her. I'm currently in the IB program, and it's a pain in the fucking ass. I regret it so much, I waste so much time on useless shit.
>>7829147
Don't listen to them! You're EIGHTEEN! Teenagers are notoriously irrational, and very rarely make good decisions regarding important matters.
>>7829142
>>7829144
no shit, but there is no other way to go about learning how to make a good decision than from making bad ones. You have to know that you're going to make mistakes. Thinking everything you do should be perfect and absolutely in your best interest will give you an anxiety disorder
There is no book that will teach you the situational awareness needed to make a good decision.
the only way
>>7829154
Yeah, but I think I'm taking fairly rational steps. Uni, study what I love then into business or law. I can't really fuck up too much.
>>7829142
do recommend that he go to you for advice on decision making?
>>7829165
No, but I'm sure he could find good people in his life to consult on such matters.
>>7829154
And to add, what do you think I should make decisions based on then?
>>7829170
My parents, who I little emotional connection to and who would kill me if they found out I didn't believe in their God? My SJW teachers, who I find boring and pathetic? My friends, making dumber life decisions than me? The internet? I'm looking here now.
>>7828761
Get off my fucking board you dumbass. You're barely old enough to post here let alone have constructive thought.
reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
>>7829170
but its still his decision in the end
nobody else can tell him what will be best for him, because its likely that he doesn't even know what he wants yet
you must at least agree that making mistakes in decisions are valuable in the sense of wisdom gained
>>7829186
You're 100 posts too late
>>7829202
I think that's all of 4chan
>>7828761
Practice mindful meditation, anon. I guarantee it will aid you. Infused with spirituality or otherwise-It has an observable effect on your brain and thus your mind
>>7829547
>and thus your mind
>>7829586
What is your gripe, friend?
>>7828761
>>Start reading more literature
>>Start looking at philosophy
>>Lose my faith entirely
ha, keep reading buddy.
>>7828769
Any decet nihilist would realise that the pursuit of unrealistic goals will only serve to make you unhappy.
Wealth and luxury do not matter, and the time spent working towards them is simply a waste.
One should attempt to carve out a little piece of happiness with as little effort as possible.
>>7828761
The answer no one told you is to read Kierkegaard, specifically Fear and Trembling.
>>7828954
Don't stay away from literature. If you're majoring in the humanities, double-majoring is generally a good way to go. Pair Philosophy with something else like history, literature, economics, or even a STEM field.
>>7828761
OP, being 18 is hard. You'll get over it. Go outside, stay off 4chan (or at the very least don't take anything posted here seriously). Do things that you enjoy with people you care about. Your life has just begun, but it's also quite short. Don't waste it wallowing in misery.
>>7828823
>"""""real""""" """""world""""""
get lost
>>7828905
the replies prove nothing silly
it's obvious bait and doesn't deserve any thought :^)
>>7828959
read him immediately
>>7828761
Nigga has a back like a raspberry
>>7828823
High energy post, anyone who disagrees is a millennial undergrad cuck 2bh
>>7830085
fuck this guy
>>7830061
nigger faggot detected
>>7830113
Why
>>7830233
who cares?
just study zen buddhism senpai
>>7830259
4chan isn't even twitter.
fuck off, bitch!
idk u and idgaf abowt yu.zzzz
BURN IN HELL NIGGAAAAAA
>>7830233
The instinctual fear manifest by dismissal and disengagement whenever beta males are confronted with anything contrary to their view or with forceful personalities.
>>7830290
I know. I just want to see him making his best to clarify this.
>>7829683
Do not listen to this jag-off. He is a supremely unhappy person.
The pursuit of something greater, a mission in life. These things will motivate you. Once you start beating people and stop losing you will be much happier. Competition and tension are good. You risk defeat and that makes the win that much sweeter. Work and sacrifice are good. Your value is tied directly to what you make or provide. Idleness and pleasure, these are bad.
If I'm right, you probably have a lot of free time and don't do all that much work. You can change man. I did.
>>7830085
leave immediately
>>7828761
That's the phase you're in if you're 14.
Holy shit you're 18 man, grow up you whiny little bitch, knowing there is no higher meaning in life is basically the foundation of adulthood
>>7830334
I don't have a ton of free time, I'm doing the International Baccalaureate Program (advanced classes). But my vice is procrastination, so I do have time to spend on literature and other interests.
Depression and literature made me more Christian to be honest.
>>7830802
Honestly that image made me more christian years ago.
>>7830829
>Retreating deeper into your ancestors meme garbage to deal with your/our insignificance.
I said Christian, not pagan.
>>7828761
It's OK OP, that's pretty much how you're supposed to feel when you're 18. Keep living, keep reading, try to enjoy yourself when you can. It'll get better when you start to actually figure out who you are. Might take a while, just be patient.
>>7828761
I know you don't want to here this generic cookie cutter response but it this case it's true. You'll grow out of it. Or, you won't. And then you'll die.
>>7828761
Everything we read in High school:
>The Odyssey
>Romeo & Juliet
>Julies Caesar
>Shade's Children
>The Crucible
>The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
>The Power of One
>Macbeth
>The Alchemist (but only the teacher read that)
I'm sure there were other short stories and excerpts here and there and a few analyses.
>>7828761
I felt like that kinda for a while. It stopped when I realized that it didn't matter.
>>7828832
bless you.
>>7830853
meaningless platitude
I can't stand modern day pagans
at least Christians say things that actually mean something
i've got quite opposite effect
the more philosophy i read the happier i become
>>7831696
>that image
i dont want to believe
>>7831726
but he is 100% right
>>7828761
Well, if you ask me I'd recommend studying what you feel you could do and be content with yourself. If you like math and don't mind working with kids, then why not. If you're shy and don't like those sort of interactions, maybe you want to be librarian. But don't be dumb enough to study something that's not in line with general demand.
I study philosophy and linguistics and while it's great to be surrounded by people smarter and more knowledgeable than you in that field, I'll admit that I wouldn't mind studying other shit and do philosophy in spare time, I'm almost sure I would even if I didn't chose it as a profession.
>>7828884
Nigga no
Parmenides: Nature > Heraclitus: Fragments > Plato: Chronologically > Aristotle: Metaphysics, Categories, De Anima, Nicomachean Ethics, then Metaphysics again.
Best way, imho.
You became a teen nihilist? Oh, don't worry, that's just the edge. In a span of 2 months to 3 years, you'll grow out of it.
>>7828878
/lit/fit/pol/ master race
What is this STEM/ lit dichotomy? I mean, I know its existed for ages on this board, but why not study STEM and just read books instead of being a typical STEM manlet who plays videogames and watches DC cartoons in his spare time? There's this belief on this board that the only way to understand and enjoy literature is to study literature in academia or be a writer.
Also, how did literature cause a crisis of faith or nihilism? If it did, I'd have to say your worldview and faith were on shaky foundations anyways. Not saying reading emboldens your faith but another dichotomy you live in seems intelligent/depressed, stupidity/blissfulness, nihilistic/aware which is also fictitious and self-harming.
I don't know how to tell you to "snap out of it" , honestly though the people who live with those beliefs are usually narcissists, which at 18 (not trying to be a dick) isn't too rare, so maybe you'll be ok. Just don't get some chip on your shoulder in your twenties otherwise girls will start to shy away from you if you constantly pretend like everyone who isn't depressed is an idiot. Nothing you are dealing with has to do with being well-read, knowledgeable or learned in philosophy.
>>7828761
Do STEM anyway. Never tell anyone you're depressed, specially women. Read philosophy and literature between calculus and physics. ??? Profit. Never be truly happy though.
>>7832232
Oh yes, I forgot. Browse /pol/ for maximum amor fati.
>>7828761
youre only 18?
oh my sides it get so, so much worse kid. just wait until you get that hollow feeling inside that never goes away
>>7828761
You just need to come out on the other side, but only the strong-minded can make it.
You guys all seem like big smart adult people, talking about not every trying and being dead inside.
What the fuck happened, just not cut out for having a spine or something?
>>7832303
its just a meaningless uphill battle. like sisyphus, except sisyphus really isnt fucking happy he's miserable.
>>7828769
>>7832312
thats fucking stupid. probobly the upper class can afford to be happy go lucky at the meaningless of life but the rest of us have to struggle to even survive, and when there is no meaning in that survival then whats the fucking point?
>>7832319
>thats fucking stupid.
You'll come around eventually anon
Mathematician.
>>7832327
Mathematician.
>>7832333
Chemist with PhD in Mathematics.
>>7832259
This post is incredibly sane, good job.
>>7828955
>he hasn't made those spooks his property
wew lad
>>7828761
>wanting to study lit
People who do that are all wankers.
Study STEM. It's the true key to happiness.
>>7832303
Xenoestrogens 2bh lad
there are very few men left.
>>7832349
breski u don kno shit'it
>>7833171
>non-humanities
>human
>>7832301
This desu
>>7828761
How does it feel, you humanities cockmonglers? How is it to feel like paying some retarded faggot to give you a piece of paper that tells you that you have a piece of paper that tells you that you got a degree at a fucking layman hobby that tells you that tells others around you that you pretend to study something other than obscurantist pricks to seem well-read. I tell you, you fuckos, life ain't easy for limp-wristed, dumb pseuds. Ah, I mean it. I really do, I mean it. And one day, mark my words, one day the whole human race, as we don't know it, will see through youre seven layers of intellectual bullshit and consequences there shall be; will not be the same, you dicks.
The day of the rope for the useless academics is coming. Brace thy selves.
>>7828761
>Another /lit/ ruined my life post
Believe when I tell you that either way the weight of the world was coming for you with or without /lit/.
>>7834013
>implying masculinity exists
>>7828955
>Caring about spooks
>ever
>>7835090
this mangs
>>7828823
I dream of an age when STEM majors would just stay on reddit to discuss their Hitchhiker's Guide and Rick & Morty
>>7828821
nausea by jean-paul sartre
>>7835090
>Justifying being a beta
>>7828821
LSD
>>7831852
Why do you feel this is the best way? I want to get into philosophy, could you qualify it a bit?
>>7836522
Shrooms done already, acid on the list
>>7828821
yes, loads
the issue is finding the book that can speak your personal language and end up where you arent an edgy faggot anymore.
i would recommend the bible, but you would read it as an edgy faggot and ruin it
so read steppenwolf, thats a good first steps into "horrifying loneliness with no respite"
then siddartha and youll be in decent shape pretty early on actually, and once again able to live life. you can stop here and be mentally lightyears ahead of the majority of people, but if you want to avoid any chance of relapse finish it off with some Tolstoy. No, not the novels, his short stories. His novels would hurt more than help at this point.
You read Tolstoy's Gospel in Brief and Circle of Reading ending with Hadji Murat
Then, you read Dickens. Any would do, but A Christmas Story is the ideal here.
then the world is your oyster. seriously, if the above regimen worked congratulations you've emerged from the other end a better person (i recommend reading the canon, if you dont know why then Harold Blooms the Western Canon is actually great here)
>>7830334
>You can change man. I did.
>>7836708
I've read almost the entire Bible. I used to be Christian. The faith has no appeal to me. I just kind of lost any conviction that any of it was the unquestionable word of God.
>>7828761
Don't worry anon atheism is just a phase we all go through. You'll come around eventually.
>>7836756
Not even atheist, just lost my faith. I'm still agnostic-theist.
>>7828761
Lit and philosophy are intrinscially different
Being a le epic neet autodidact will get you nowhere, but from what I've found, undergrad education in lit and phil get you nowhere given all the attention given to stupid garbage in undergrad classes
If you wanna go phil, get a math degree, and concentrate on anything logic related
If you wanna go lit, get a linguistics degree and concentrate on semantics, syntax, and pragmatics
These will teach you the foundations of what you should know. You can explore lit and phil yourself if you have the tools, and that is the real value of undergraduate education.
>>7836753
The fact you ever thought Christianity was the unquestionable word of God leads me to believe that you were misled into believing Christianity is something that it isn't.
Seriously, read Confessions by Tolstoy
>>7836966
Are you a Christian?
I've been studying Stoicism for the past year and I've seen a lot of similarities in it and nihilism. Does one come from the other? For me Stoicism has brought me immense happiness in the fact that most things are out of my control.
>>7838351
The Stoics were BTFO by Plato.
>>7838710
He was BTFO by sophists.
>>7838740
did i fuck that up
>>7828761
I have to know. Who is that sexy man in the picture?
>>7838758
Yeeee boiiii
