In My Place
It's time to change perspectives. So far we have been dealing with philosophy from an academic perspective, but what of personal philosophy. Since all philosophy begins with a question, a personal philosophy of life would ask, "How should you live?" or "What constitutes a good life?"
Have you ever heard the cliche, "Have no regrets." We hear these words and assume that we automatically know what the speaker means. They mean that you should act, presumably in your best interest or in the interest of others, and then forget about the consequences. Don't reflect on the past, but move on and begin your next set of actions.
I support a different idea, again proposed by good old Friedrich Nietzsche, that takes the cliche and gives it a new meaning. Having no regrets means that if you had the choice, would you choose to live your life all over again, taking all of the bad with the good? I know I've made my share of mistakes and lost my way a few times along the path, but each time we are beckoned to create a new meaning that integrates all of our previous sufferings into a new and stronger hope.
Can you create a new meaning that is satisfying enough to do it all over again? If the answer is yes, then according to Nietzsche, you are living the good life. If not, what would it take to make sense of all of the suffering that you have endured. Perhaps pondering this question is what will help you get back on track.
Have you ever heard the cliche, "Have no regrets." We hear these words and assume that we automatically know what the speaker means. They mean that you should act, presumably in your best interest or in the interest of others, and then forget about the consequences. Don't reflect on the past, but move on and begin your next set of actions.
I support a different idea, again proposed by good old Friedrich Nietzsche, that takes the cliche and gives it a new meaning. Having no regrets means that if you had the choice, would you choose to live your life all over again, taking all of the bad with the good? I know I've made my share of mistakes and lost my way a few times along the path, but each time we are beckoned to create a new meaning that integrates all of our previous sufferings into a new and stronger hope.
Can you create a new meaning that is satisfying enough to do it all over again? If the answer is yes, then according to Nietzsche, you are living the good life. If not, what would it take to make sense of all of the suffering that you have endured. Perhaps pondering this question is what will help you get back on track.
No comments:
Post a Comment