What to do when your philosophical worldview is horribly negative?

In My Humble Opinion
41

I admit I have nothing exeptionaly inciteful to say on such philosophical topics. But here are a couple ways I stay happy with a similar world view.

I like or should say dont like to think about the alternatives. Living on and on forever and ever in perfect orgasmic state, and about how really depressing that sounds. I can’t imagine the terrible burden of having to exist forever. The fact that after a billion years you still havent even hit the tip of the iceberg of you existance, seems terribly boring and pointless. I mean what can one possibly do forever in a world void of fear and ignorance (AKA the stuff of life.) After everything is clear and illuminated what point is their really? Nothing to learn; Nothing to overcome; Nothing to even fail at. Their is no point to existance without struggle. I’ll take my 73 years or less (hopefully more) over that anyday of the week.

Another thing I do is avoid thinking in dualistic terms like “meaningless”, “alone”, and “unknowable” as if their was any alternative to the state of the existance. Alone means nothing when there is no state but; and if you begin to think that way it takes a much less negative. When something just is, there is no point in comming up with a term to describe it as being opposed to something else. Meaningful and meaningless are just two sides to same coin that doesn’t exist (I admit this sounds increditably stupid but it makes sense to me, so you have to forgive me). After thinking this way for awhile, I can no longer understand the whole free-will agrument

Another thing is stay busy. When you are constantly concerned with how you’ll fare in the future, meaning tends to form from how you try to meet your desire and needs.

Lastly, I avoid being objective. I can’t see reality objectivly, so I don’t try to hard to see it that way. Who cares why we bother to eat or have sex, or whether it is pointless or not. If I’m hungry I make a sandwich. and if I’m horny I try to get my girlfriend to feel the same way. And their is nothing pointless about a good sandwich or a good girlfriend.

42

The existence of the heart is free will - you have the choice to help or hinder others. It sounds like your faith in humanity has been shaken by assholes.

Try to see beyond biology.

43

[ol]
[li]There is no objective meaning to the universe or being alive. I realize you can have or try to find subjective meaning but where do you think these prerogatives and preferences come from?[/li]
I do not think you have properly defined meaning. Objectivity is meaningless as you seem to be using it, as all expressions of meaning require a framework and the framework forbids such objectivity. Thus, refine your interpretation of meaning, or understand you are placing unfair requirements on the word “objective”.

[li]There is no overall awareness to the universe, god, or creator to the universe[/li]
Why? Because you can’t ask it over for dinner?

[li]We have no freewill. We are a product of experiences/society and biology; therefore there is no self created self to have a self-determining freewill[/li]
I don’t think a rejection of free will requires a rejection of self.

[li]We are a little chemical robots (see 3) on an infinitesimally small rock in an enormous universe, that is mostly physically hostile to us.[/li]
Yes.

[li]Humans are selfish yet social creatures competing and co-operating for resources, territory ect. often using various forms of manipulation, power and/or violence to get what they want.[/li]
I believe more comprehensive methods of ethics, and analysis of human behavior, will help us grow beyond such things. But for now I think this is true.

[li]Because I will never know what it is truly like to be you, I can never truly know you and vice versa. Subjectively you are impossible to truly know.[/li]
When you redefine ‘objective’, you will find your requirements for “truth” will shift as well, and you will find that, on the whole, you can know others pretty much as well as you know yourself.
[li]Therefore I am existentially alone and unknowable even though we can fake it.[/li]
This assertion is mistaken. If we can’t know these things, then how could we say we are faking “it”? That is, what is “it” that we are faking if we can’t know?
[li]Love is an evolutionary adaptation. A chemical process to get us to mate and raise our young.[/li]
It is nice that we can love without reproduction, however. Serendipity.

[li]Death is a complete extinction, forever. When you are forgotten it will be as if you never existed; a dream that ends and then you don’t wake up.[/li]
This is a description I cannot argue with, but when I try to understand its implications my mind fails to render the requisite images. At best I have been able to conceive of “me being dead” as “my house without me in it” which is not that crushing. I cannot grasp non-existence.
[li]All life dies and eventually everything in the universe will be dead so it will be as if none of this existed.[/li]
Suppose I name my hammer, “Frank.” My hammer breaks. Does “Frank” still have meaning?

[li]We are wired to try to gain pleasure and avoid pain. These are the driving forces of most human motivations.[/li]
What drove us to discover the principle you state?[/ol]

44

TitoBenito: Beautiful Post man. Same with Clairobscur

I have similar views as well, and I must say that I am not depressed. (though being manic I sometimes swing that way)
I love, am happy, and am fascinated with life and the wonders of the universe.

Like Tito, I cannot imagine an afterlife of bliss, “singin praises to Jeesuhs”, playing harps and knowing everything already. Being perfect, while ok as a goal, seems like it would suck once you actually reach it. The secret is that it is Impossible to reach it, which makes it fun to try for it.
The contrasts that this life provide is wonderful. Apathy/love, sadness/happyness, fun/boredom, etc, all provide us what we are. Without one we cannot have another.

How many times have you been uncomfortable from holding a really long piss, and how euphoric it felt when you finally got to release it? How about after a long day at work, having a hot bath and a massage from your signifigant other. Having those things without the pain, discomfort and longing, makes those things more trivial, and takes away from the joy of them.
Nighttime is not the enemy of Daytime. They both exist simply to contrast each other to create two of the most beautiful things in the world. Sunsets and sunrises. :slight_smile: