Do any of you philosophically-minded /lit/izens live your life according to a particular type of philosophy? If so, how is it working out for you?
existentialism, i'm still in college after 6 years so i think it's going great.
OP here. Up until the age of ~20, I was like most people in the west and lived a life of pretty carefree hedonism. I'd go out drinking/partying at least a couple of nights a week, and try to sleep with strangers. I'd say I was pretty much on autopilot, I wasn't really happy but I was a long way from being depressed.
Then I had a difficult breakup, the depression kicked in, and I started to live a much more stoic life. I stopped caring about the material things I used to go after, and tried to just cultivate the things that made me happy. I stopped drinking, gradually lost contact with my hedonist friends, started doing charity work, and began to pay more attention to mental and physical development. Three years later, and I haven't really got any pleasure out of this way of life either. I'm not religious and I can't bring myself to be, so I can't access any of the deeper spiritual happiness that this way of life should bring. The nicer and more compassionate I am to other people, the more they seem to take advantage of me. I'm unironically having an existential crisis because I can think of nothing important enough to give my life any sort of real purpose, so life just sort of passes me by and I'm completely indifferent to it. I want to re-connect with it and feel really alive again, but I don't know how. I'm considering becoming a hedonist again just to get these base pleasures if nothing else, but I'm not sure that's the right path.
Any wise philosophers got some advice for me?
>>7877933
How do you actually live a life according to existentialism? Isn't existentialism more a problem, and a particular branch of philosophy the solution?
>>7877939
>How do you actually live a life according to existentialism? Isn't existentialism more a problem, and a particular branch of philosophy the solution?
uh, what? existentialism is not a "problem," absurdity is the "problem" and existentialism is at its core an ethical philosophy centered around the writing, among others, that existence precedes essence and metaphysical libertarianism. at it's very core it is an action-based ethical philosophy.
Uh, not really. Life is meaningless, so I just do whatever I feel like at any given time.
>>7877936
bump
I can relate OP
Stoicism, yeah. Helps me frame the strife of daily life as a means to make myself continually stronger and smarter. I like to think my path is linear, and I focus every fiber of my being into keeping my path an upwards one.
>>7877921
Yes.
>>7877921
This particular Stirner nigga is smart. Read the Essence of Christendom if you're a christfag.
>>7877950
Isn't 'existence precedes essence' more of a realisation than a philosophy to live your life by though? Which is when you turn to a particular philosophy to give your life this essence?
I am You.
Yes I do my best to follow the Noble Eightfold Path as expounded by the Buddha.
It is very gradual so the changes are subtle but I am generally a lot more calm and almost never get angry or anxious anymore. I am happier even when conditions are bad and I am not creating any new regrets because the five precepts prevent regrettable action.
My mother sure does. I commend her for it.
>>7877921
>Do any of you philosophically-minded /lit/izens live your life according to a particular type of philosophy?
Yes. Roman Catholic dialectic materialism.
>If so, how is it working out for you?
Love the woman. Great job. Money in the bank. Lots of friends. Can't complain.
>>7877936
Sounds like you have 20+ skill points that you put into three random skill trees which makes you master of none. I suggest finding a trainer to reskill all your points into fire.
>>7877936
An Existentialist phase can be a point of growth and internalization for some indviduals, seems like you had developed a certain mind set based on some of bitter ideas.
I think the idea of meaningleseness of everything can make you less self centered and less stressed, but this philosophy mainly attracts edgy people at delicate and sometimes anxieous/depressing parts of their lives and is used as mind fuel for self sinking.
>>7877936
Try absurdism, read some Camus, start with The Fall and if that catches your interest then read his essays and his other novels.
>>7877936
Existential crises, a lack of spirituality, fed up with hedonism - there is solution to all that: scholastic metaphysics. Feser's "Scholastic metaphysics : A contemporary introduction" is a most excellent start.
>>7878231
it's not a mere "realization." i think you are taking existentialism's impact on modern thinking too lightly. the history of that term is purely aristotelian, who postulated that essence precedes existence. this would be an ontological philosophy founded in his works on metaphysics. merely switching the terms is not what sartre did, who was the first to do it in the first place in the entire history of philosophy. that existence precedes essence is not just something that sartre just came up with out of his ass, it is a turning point in metaphysical or ontological philosophy. from this, he constructed existentialism as a whole--which would not exist in the first place without either metaphysical existentialism or this ontological reversal argument. you may take sartre's version as a mere truth but one hundred years ago you would be singing a much different tune.
ironically these two pillars of existentialism lead sartre back to aristotle again, in that his ethical theories are essentially based around the idea that the ethical (an existential identity) is only possible through realization and action. obviously sartre was much more political than aristotle but either way this is all to say that i don't think you really get what existentialism is in a full sense and have this idea that existentialism is just like "lol no god so do stuff" or something.
>>7877921
I am a moral realist.
>>7877936
1. zen buddhism.
> I'm not religious and I can't bring myself to be, so I can't access any of the deeper spiritual happiness that this way of life should bring
is a bunch of horseshit and you're making excuses for yourself. not being religious does not mean not being able to have 'spiritual' experiences. if you have read the brother's karamazov, zosima knows the definition of spirituality: the moment when you fall to the earth and water it with your tears of gratitude.
zen buddhism will guide you there.
through zen buddhism you will also realize that you do not need a target to be an arrow.
2. you don't need to be nice to everyone all the time. sometimes people have to earn things like that. otherwise you could try volunteering.
>>7877936
How does one ironically have an existential crises? And who would want to
>>7878481
By laughing at the absurdity of situations others still find meaning in.
>>7878513
wow m8 ur so above it.
>>7878479
>through zen buddhism you will also realize
FTFY anon
The bible
Psychedelics.
>>7878563
I do not agree with absurdism, so no.
>>7877921
Absolutely. I like to pull from portions of philosophies, though. I don't adhere to a specific one.
Spinoza's commentary on affectations and how one should live life with the knowledge that we are affected beings, helpless to have our emotions altered by external stimuli.
Fichte's abstraction from experience.
Kant's arguments against Anselm and actual knowledge of God, yet for practical Christianity
Most of Augustine's Confessions
Kierkegaard's leap of faith
Plato's forms
Aristotle's virtue ethics + Humean sympathy-based ethics
Locke's natural law
>>7878752
Do you agree with plato's form as a conceptual abstraction, or as forms that exist metaphysically in a different plane of existence ?
>>7878757
Conceptual abstraction
>>7878769
I share this point of view
>>7877936
You're trying to allow a philosophy to overtake your personality. If you keep doing this you will begin suffering from depersonalization. I know because I've been there.
It's really easy to develop a utopian idea of how you'll exist in this world. But 99% of the time this false self just can't survive in our current worldly state.
Every body has vices, and these vices shouldn't be shut in, but channeled into a productive, long term goal. If you aren't materialistic like me try: working out, writing, getting in shape, getting your own home, volunteer work, developing internal personal responsibilities (if you are determined to integrate a realistic personality trait)
You can get out. Don't let the fear trap you. There is always a way to find happiness and only you can earn it. But sometimes your body doesn't agree with what you think. Don't give up. Keep your full self in mind.
>>7878787
>But sometimes your body doesn't agree with what you think
Yeesh, read Schopenhauer, will you?kidding, good post m8
>>7878441
No, meaninglessness makes you on the contrary absolutly self centered. If nothing matters, only you matter for yourself and the rest is unimportant for yourself
>>7878809
>If nothing matters, only you matter
This doesn't follow m8. Your assertion that an existential crisis renders one completely self-centered is just wrong. There is no 'center'
>>7878757
According to Hegel they are neither, but the ground and universal truth of reality itself.
>>7878808
He's got a lot of great philosophies; I just can't agree with the inherent pointlessness of life and all existence as a form of hell presided by the devil.
The mind is a curious master the body wants to obey, and love.
>>7878860
i was commenting on the second part of his post. the idea of all things being meaningless doesn't make you less self centered. Why would it if nothing matters?
An existential crisis, if there's such a thing, doesn't necesserily bring you to the idea that everything is meaningless
>>7878865
where does he say this? Spirit?
>>7878893
About Plato he comments here: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/hp/hpplato.htm
>>7878900
Read the paragraph the start with 'The misapprehension of Plato’s Ideas takes two directions'.
>>7878901
Fuck, the paragraph before that one is the important, I'm sorry.
I'm really into platonic forms and aquinas's five proofs for the existence of god but i dont exactly live by it
>>7878904
>https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/hp/hpplato.htm
That was a good read; I'm glad I know that now. Thanks anon
>>7878911
I'm glad you're interested.
Since starting with the Greeks, commencing with the Chinese and initiating with the Indians I'm increasingly committed to living a simple austere life.
It's working out well for me, the only obstacle is that I might have to get a job again soon. But that could also be seen as training perhaps.
>>7878461
>>7878463
I'll try to find out more about both of these, thanks anons.
>>7878479
I've already tried Buddhism (by no means an expert, but I think I understand some of the basic concepts), and I'm not sure it's possible to feel that sort of spiritual rapture unless you have belief in some sort of higher power. I wish I did, but I can't believe in something I don't believe in. Why should I feel gratitude or that life is particularly beautiful? I have no choice but to experience it either way, and it isn't really that beautiful. I think Buddhism is a defensive philosophy which is perfect for overcoming suffering, but not for really thriving and actually enjoying life, unless you buy into the religious side of it too.
>>7877936
Pic related.Seek without seeking.
>>7878461
Doesn't this just make an argument not to kill oneself. I don't see any prescription to actually get happy (even if I were to convince myself that sissy is)
>>7877936
Become an egoist.
>>7878959
so you're a loser..
>>7879810
Can't lose if you don't play the game, famalam.
>>7877921
Make the world better. Help others. Develop the self and my relationships. Part Epicurean, Aristotelian, Buddhist, Existentialist, Utilitarian, Zen, Marxist.
Recently I've been reading more psychologists, they actually do a better job of specifically covering what it really means to live a better life, and the basis for actualization. Carl Rogers is brilliant.
Whatever holding strictly to the teachings of Sam Harris is called, I'm that.
>>7880381
A virgin?
>>7878254
Do you meditate everyday?
I'm doing the same thing as you and used to do 15 minutes of simple breath meditation at the end of every day but I keep falling out of my schedule. Things have been fine otherwise, I am so calm all the time and find it pretty easy to everything I usually do, even though my desire to do these things is slowly slipping away.
>>7877921
the Bible
its going great
I'm an ethical egoist
>>7877921
I just miss my ex, and try to abstain from pornography and masturbation.
It compels me to find intimacy, both sexual and platonic, elsewhere. Perhaps even in things that aren't alive.
>empiro-solipsist materialism
>soft hedonism
>Maoism
>>7879026
>I've already tried Buddhism (by no means an expert, but I think I understand some of the basic concepts), and I'm not sure it's possible to feel that sort of spiritual rapture unless you have belief in some sort of higher power. I wish I did, but I can't believe in something I don't believe in. Why should I feel gratitude or that life is particularly beautiful? I have no choice but to experience it either way, and it isn't really that beautiful. I think Buddhism is a defensive philosophy which is perfect for overcoming suffering, but not for really thriving and actually enjoying life, unless you buy into the religious side of it too.
>you already 'tried buddhism' by thinking you have some of the basic concepts
>it's not possible to feel spiritual rapture without believing in a god
>buddhism isn't for thriving and enjoying life
what kind of unbelievable plebdom is this. i think it really suffices to say that you think you know much more than you actually do. i am dumbfounded to hear that buddhism is a 'defensive philosophy' considering that zen is perhaps the most life-affirming 'religion' possible. from what you are writing it sounds like you have based your opinions off of either some overview class that you've taken or what you've read on the internet; either way you have no real understanding of what zen actually is, as the question
>Why should I feel gratitude or that life is particularly beautiful?
is pretty much literally the central question at the heart of zen buddhism.
it's clear that what you are looking for is really just to be saved like in Twilight. you want god to save you from nihilism via some deus-ex-machina rapturous moment of salvation where an eternal power validates your existence from the outside and the skies part to the blaring of heavenly trumpets. you want robert pattison in god form to come down and tell you that you're pretty and you'll live with his vampire friends forever.
unfortunately, you aren't tolstoy 2.0 and you'll have to find your own path and do the hard work by yourself. god won't fuck these answers into you: you have to earn them.
Marxism:
1. Looking at society differently
2. Doing voluntary work, have more respect for working people
3. Generally treat everyone better
>>7881117
>Marxism
>>7878787
Fantastic post.
>>7880786
>i think it really suffices to say you think you know much more than you actually do
Never claimed to be an expert, I just haven't really been captivated enough by what I do know to find out any more about it. I'm a psychology graduate student and am just about to do a project on mindfulness meditation (secular, but derived from Buddhism), so I've done quite a lot of reading around the nature of this type of meditation, about its effects, and about the mechanisms of these effects. I even practice it myself for about 10-15 minutes each day because I find it helps to keep me calm (i.e. free from uncontrollable negative emotion), but so far I'm still pretty disconnected to positive emotion. That's why I think it's a defensive philosophy.
>you want god to save you from nihilism via some deus-ex-machina rapturous moment of salvation where an eternal power validates your existence from the outside and the skies part to the blaring of heavenly trumpets.
I don't think that's what I said at all. If I could believe in a god then I think I'd be happier because that would automatically give my life a deeper sense of purpose, but I can't bring myself to believe in one, that's all. I can't just take a 'leap of faith' and decide to believe in something I think is irrational either, because I know I'll be being hypocritical and doing it purely for my own benefit.
I still don't understand why I should feel grateful for my life, or that life is beautiful - unless I accept the spiritual component too. From a secular perspective, I have no choice about the nature of my birth, and the whether or not life is beautiful is fairly meaningless too.
>you'll have to find your own pathand do the hard work by yourself. god won't fuck these answers into you: you have to earn them.
You can use that argument for any ideology really. You're not a Muslim? Well have you even read the Qu'ran in the original Arabic, all the Hadith, all of the various interpretations by the Islamic philosophers? If not, you just haven't worked hard enough to understand Islam, so it's no wonder you haven't accepted it yet.
I just haven't been convinced enough by what I do know about Buddhism to spend all of my time practicing it. What happens if I come out the other side feeling exactly the same way, and I've wasted ten years of my life?
>>7878787
I appreciate a lot of what you say here, especially re the depersonalisation that results from trying to mould the personality to fit the philosophy, so maybe I should try to just feel my own way through life a little bit more.
However, my problem is that I literally have no long-term (or short-term) goals. After this breakup I made the sorts of things you made my goals, purely because I wanted her to regret her actions. I was always pretty athletic but I got into the best shape of my life and maintained it, started actually caring about my academia and fulfilling my potential at university, volunteering and travelling more, setting myself up for a well-paid job in the future, and basically just improving myself in any way possible. Over time though, and as I became more depressed, the desire to make her jealous faded and so did the desire to replace that goal with anything else. I tried acting altruistically, in line with my moral code, but it didn't make me happy. I thought that maybe I could use my depression to become a writer and maybe get published one day, but even if I could achieve that it would essentially be meaningless because I'd be forgotten within a few generations. Having some sort of goal to work towards would be a good start, but I can't think of anything I care about enough. I'm not really too depressed right now, just completely indifferent towards life.
>>7881282
>Having some sort of goal to work towards would be a good start
this is what hedonists believe and the chain of goals never ends since you need goals after goals to make you avoid your boredom.
you are sad because you choose to take seriously what you think and what you feel.
once you learn to install equanimity, you move to the eye of the cyclone.
the cyclone itself disappears once you understand that the above clinging is what drags you down, that you are the source of your misery.
this is called the dhamma, see here
>>>/r9k/27412203
no doctrine beats the buddhist guidances to get the jhanas. then the buddhists use the jhanas to see that material hedonism and spiritual hedonism is pure cancer.
>>7878090
*unsheathes katana*
well well well, a baka imposter gaijin we have here desu.
*epicly prepares for samurai battle*
>>7877936
HEGEL
E
G
E
L
“I have been and still am a seeker, but I have ceased to question stars and books; I have begun to listen to the teaching my blood whispers to me.”
>>7881282
To me, it sounds as though the problem you're having is that you've built up this Ego based person whose sole existence was jealousy and spite. Now honestly ask yourself, does that sound like a personality that can sustain itself?
Believe it or not, this actually makes your situation much more inviting than it seems. While I have only my personal philosophies that I've derived from sources over the years to speak from, I believe that one's mind is two halves of you: your natural person and your ideal person. And when dissonance between the two halves becomes increasingly unstable, it destroys itself.
This is essentially a rebirth, and you're faced with a unique choice: Do you want to live, or die? It's a state of stasis. Based off of your reaction, you want to live.
Now I can't be in your head, so I can't tell you what to find to help motivate you. But to me, it sounds like you need religion outside of your depressive/nihilistic views. Even if its your own. Theres nothing wrong with having an esoteric or religious belief, and it only seems like that because of certain hateful people. It's easy to be a nihilist because it makes sense. But it's hard to sustain because it's a belief in pointlessness. What helped me was realizing that life is curiously working towards death. It's inevitable, after all. If you can't find peace in death, how can you find peace in life? If you think humanity is suicidally careening down a highway, do something to try and fix it. Just letting it happen doesnt feel good, does it? The more you put into this life, even if it feels forced at first, the more of yourself you'll find in this world. The softer your heart and eyes will grow. And all that work will turn into a parental love, and the world will sort of feel like your child in way. With a piece of your influence growing in the minds and actions if others.
You've just got to pick and choose those first stepstep my friend. You'll find life much less pointless when you feel you're earning your death and not running from it.
>>7880654
>It compels me to find intimacy, both sexual and platonic, elsewhere. Perhaps even in things that aren't alive.
Yes I also live my life according to the philosophy of waifus.
>>7882207
If I understand correctly, what you're describing here is pretty similar to what in psychology is called the actual and the ideal self. Self-discrepancy theory would argue that I'm depressed because of the gap between where I am and where I want to be, and as you say, my ideal self was based nearly entirely on my bitterness. My problem now is that I've mostly (not completely just yet) let go of this bitterness, but haven't replaced it with anything, so I don't really have an ideal self anymore. I still go to the gym 6 times a week, study hard, and keep improving myself where I can, but why? What am I actually hoping to attain from all this self-improvement? Nothing, because I don't have any long-term goals that I care about anymore. That's the stage I've found myself at now.
I agree that I need religion, but that realisation doesn't make any belief system seem any more rational to me. Maybe I have become too detached though, and could feel a closer connection to things if I started trying to influence the world in some way again. I guess at this stage it would be pointless not to try, even if I am pessimistic.
>>7877936
Do you have any background in philosophy or philosophical readings? I picked up a book called "Foucault's Askesis" off Northwestern University's website, and it centers around Foucault's analyses of askesis (as the development of the self) throughout the history of Western philosophy. Could be worth the read if you're like me and unwilling to go the Eastern route to the philosophical life, but don't let my unjustified prejudice stop you form picking up the Upanishads or the Bhagavad Gita. The French historian Pierre Hadot writes about the spiritual practices of ancient philosophy, particularly in the Neo-Platonic school, too, but Foucault's analyses are more attentive to the self rather than just a historical overview. Good luck
>>7882254
>it would be pointless not to try
You've got to believe in your efforts, but yes, it would be pointless.
>>7882254
Logic can be your best friend and your mortal enemy. Theres nothing wrong with believing something that may only make sense to you. After all, who really knows anything.
>>7882272
Nothing except for an interest in philosophy, which so far has only seen me reading pop-philosophy and some of the most well-known texts (e.g. The Republic, Thus Spake Zarathustra). I'd like to read more, but in the past I've lacked the discipline to read the core texts (just go for the Wikipedia article instead) and at the momeny I just don't really have the time. I'm not unwilling to go down any route if it makes sense to me, I just haven't been completely convinced by what I know about Eastern philosophy so far.
>>7882254
>but why?
To relate sexually with a mate, in order to, ultimately, produce offspring. Just like any other animal.
>>7878672
this is a decent last resort honestly, especially if you're not spiritually inclined. they aren't the answer to everything, but a heavy shrooms/LSD trip will put things into perspective and at least open you up in some kind of way.
>>7882955
did it really havve an affect?
I've been telling myself what to do, with (what I think are) fairly good reasons and methods in order to sort out my life but I just keep doing nothing.
Considering ayuahasca or shrroms or something cause it's getting ridiculous now
>>7878672
>>7882955
Actually pre-depression I was very pro-psychedelics, and one of my long-term goals was to work with psychedelics in some capacity. I wasn't a complete psychonaut, but I experiment with shrooms, salvia, and a few legal highs/research chemicals, and had some pretty good experiences (especially with shrooms). However, when the depression hit I decided to stop taking them because it's not a good idea to mix mental health issues and psychedelics, and I didn't want to do anything stupid that might paint psychedelics in a bad light. My constant sobriety isn't really working out for me though, so I'm considering trying a mid-dose of shrooms to see if that can give me a new perspective. Something like ayahuasca or peyote would be good for me to try I think, but I don't really have the money to fly to South America at the moment.
>>7877936
Haven't read other responses, so sorry if this has already been said:
I would say don't seek happiness. It sounds like an empty platitude, but it's true. The capability for happiness is within you, you won't find it elsewhere. Just live in the moment and appreciate the world for what it is. Find joy in simple tasks like cleaning dishes and making tea on the stove. There is something to be said for "worldly pleasures" (drinking, sex, drugs, etc) and I wouldn't say avoid them, but Also take time to slow down and just enjoy a rock or the way a tree feels. This is where lasting contentment lies.
>>7882254
And, rereading this, you missed a small but key point that I made. Don't be afraid to stitch together your own religion/philosophy. Intelligent people have lived and imagined fantastic lives which may be cookie-cut just right for most people.
You're not pretentious for not believing your most people. Find a piece from this theology, or a part of that philosophy, and blend in segments of your experiences to make a belief strong enough for yourself.
>>7882955
Hell, even just smoke some pot and listen to good music, read a good book, or do whatever gets your mind soaring.
