Living For The Moment

Chum-

I would not accept it as it stands.

There is such a thing as deferred gratification which might be defined as not living for the moment in order to be able to live for the moment later in life. Our society depends on the principle. As it also depends on rewarding such useful behaviour with higher salaries.

The problem there is that not living for the moment can become such a habit that it can't be put down.

I only see considerations of an after life to be important for a fast reducing minority.

But,like everything else, it is not that simple.

Re: Living For The Moment


(b) makes the question a little self-defeating because it's a bit of an exaggeration. It is true that one's efforts will eventually be rendered meaningless by the passage of time, but in many cases that might be so far into the future as to be negligible. Can you maybe rein in the scope of (b) a little, make it more practicable?

I don't see that you have to go very far into the future to have your efforts negated, because after you die how can you objectify your efforts? If you argue the influence of your efforts live on past your own life, then you have to address two things (at the very least):

1) The law of unintended consequences (are you a Gengis Kahn, a Ghandi, a Walter Mitty?)
2) Return to mean (all things average out over time).

I understand this viewpoint steers towards Defeatism, Absurdism, Existentialism and Nihilism, plus it's cliched to the point of "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas et al, but that does not mean it lacks merit. This viewpoint can further be amplified on by extrapolating a future history, and/or reviewing the extinction of a species, and/or reviewing the negation of a human culture, as well as the individualistic stance I refer to above.

Absurdism is a philosophy stating that the efforts of humanity to find meaning in the universe will ultimately fail because no such meaning exists (at least in relation to humanity). Absurdism is related to Existentialism, though should not be confused with it. Absurdism has its roots in the 19th century Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard. Absurdism as an "ism" was born of the Existentialist movement when the French philosopher and writer Albert Camus broke from that philosophical line of thought and published his manuscript The Myth of Sisyphus. The aftermath of World War II provided the social environment that stimulated absurdist views and allowed for their popular development, especially in the devastated country of France.

Existentialism tends to view human beings as subjects in an indifferent, objective, often ambiguous, and "absurd" universe in which meaning is not provided by the natural order, but rather can be created, however provisionally and unstably, by human beings' actions and interpretations.

Defeatism is acceptance of defeat without struggle. In everyday use, defeatism has negative connotation and is often linked to treason and pessimism, or even a hopeless situation such as a Catch-22. The term is commonly used in the context of war: a soldier can be a defeatist if he or she refuses to fight because he or she thinks that the fight will be lost for sure or that it is not worth fighting for some other reason. The term can also be used in other fields, like politics, sport, psychology and philosophy. The term originates from France during World War I.

Nihilism is a philosophical position which argues that the world, and especially human existence, is without objective meaning, purpose, comprehensible truth, or essential value. Nihilists generally believe all of the following: There is no reasonable proof of the existence of a higher ruler or creator, a "true morality" is unknown, and secular ethics are impossible; therefore, life has no truth, and no action is known to be preferable to any other.

It is true that I won't be in a position to objectify my efforts after I die... but I guess I also won't be in a position to worry much about it one way or the other!

I had a much more modest time scale in mind when I said "far into the future." It is true that, for all intents and purposes, my efforts will be negated after I die... but until then, I can think of many reasons why I shouldn't always "live for the moment" (though I'll certainly indulge when it seems appropriate!) and have some eye toward my future. I would like to do what I can to make my future enjoyable, for one thing. I don't imagine this is a very controversial idea. After I die... well, if absurdists, defeatists, existentialists and nihilists would like to philosophize about it, they're more than welcome to.

OK I'll make it more immediate for you! Let's say you have 15 years of declining health before you die. Do you take issue with living the high life for 5 years and committing suicide?

Chum!Chum! Dear Boy-

What is this?



One does not define absurdism. Doing so makes one sound intelligent and superior and not a little precious which is pretty absurd in my book. One is actually absurd as are one's relations, companions and such like and one behaves accordingly. I think the sheer,utter, mind boggling absurdity of the World Cup is its major fascination to afficionadoes of absurdity.A sloth hanging off a branch fast asleep in the sun is only mildly absurd compared to that. As long as it doesn't press the fart button in its subconscious I mean.

After all if one defines what absurdism is one makes an assumption that someone must be absurd to which the definition might apply. It would be really absurd if you made up a definition about something which didn't apply to anybody and once it applies to anybody it applies to everybody under the principle of we are all equal in our underpants which is itself patently absurd.
Unless you're a racist,misogynistic snob like me.

Spendius: funny!

Five years of living the high life... no problem there. Suicide... I would take issue with that, yes. About the only thing that would drive me to that is if I were in a vegetative state and were just taking up space on a hospital bed. Only after I've lost enough control over my brain that I can no longer reflect on things will I consider my efforts "negated."

That's my guess, anyway. Feel free to ask me again in 50 years.

I have been trying to find this short story of (no surprise) a Frenchman who decided to live the high life for a while and then commit suicide instead of longer life of quiet blandness. He did not do it for health reasons as I have suggested above, nor was he overly unhappy or angst ridden. He had the opportunity to be with the finest woman and partake of the finest foods, wines, travel, arts etc., and this the tradeoff.

I love the French.