Condemned to Happiness in the West: good article

[AntiTheist]

AntiTheist, your philosophy seems to seek to reduce ourselves to brute animals, who only respond to the bare reality of the moment- no analyzing in the context of a bigger picture. Could you elaborate on whether this is a correct interpretation?

I can elaborate: you’ve completely missed the mark.

Go back to the part where I said that everything that happens in your life – everything – happens in the moment, including setting goals for yourself, coming up with life plans, contemplating the “bigger picture,” and anything else you could ever possibly do.

You analysis of your life and decision that you want to pursue career X, Y, or Z is no less a response to the moment than my making a sandwich. But unlike making a sandwich, choosing a career can easily lead you to fall under the delusion that it’s somehow “inherently good” for you to do X career, even if you don’t really want to.

When you start acting out of a sense of what you think you “should” do, when you start trying to respond to what your mind tells you is “better” for you – rather than just responding to reality on reality’s terms – then you’re going to go astray.

 

[Luke_K]

I can elaborate: you’ve completely missed the mark.

Go back to the part where I said that everything that happens in your life – everything – happens in the moment, including setting goals for yourself, coming up with life plans, contemplating the “bigger picture,” and anything else you could ever possibly do.

You analysis of your life and decision that you want to pursue career X, Y, or Z is no less a response to the moment than my making a sandwich. But unlike making a sandwich, choosing a career can easily lead you to fall under the delusion that it’s somehow “inherently good” for you to do X career, even if you don’t really want to.

When you start acting out of a sense of what you think you “should” do, when you start trying to respond to what your mind tells you is “better” for you – rather than just responding to reality on reality’s terms – then you’re going to go astray.

But what about your belief that it’s better, that you should, live in the moment and respond to reality as it is in the present moment? Isn’t that falling under the “inherently good action” delusion?

 

[AntiTheist]

But what about your belief that it’s better, that you should, live in the moment and respond to reality as it is in the present moment? Isn’t that falling under the “inherently good action” delusion?

I’m not saying that anyone “should” live in the moment or do anything else. There’s nothing inherently “better” about living in the moment than there is about any other kind of activity, but it’s something I want to do, and I’m explaining how to do it for other people who want to.

I might sometimes use the word “should” as a kind of linguistic shorthand, but you can’t confuse the limitations of language for moral pronouncements. If I see that you’re depressed, I might say, “Gee, you should really try living in the moment and responding to the moment on its own terms.”

What I mean by that, of course, is that “If you want to rid yourself of your depression, I think a good course of action would be living in the moment and responding to the moment on its own terms. I highly recommend it.”