Douglas Graham Hauser Final Blogpost

 As this semester is coming to an end, more stress starts to set in as my finals scatter themselves across these last two weeks. Quite a bit of studying has taken place at my apartment since my roommate has been gone. He finally comes back from his hometown ready to party after finishing his finals a few days earlier than me. I needed to find some peace away from the loud music and yelling that comes from his room. I decide to head on over to our library. The quad is as dead as always, especially since Thanksgiving. I enter the library and everything around me starts to change and warp yet again. I know what's happening this time but I wasn't sure who I would be seeing.

The room settles and three people appear to be sitting down around a desk. it is Susan Neiman, John Kaag, and I never would have guessed but Confucius.

Neiman: you're probably confused about how you got here again but I believe you have some questions to ask us.  

Hauser: In fact, I do have a few.  What does it mean to grow up? Why should we? and What makes life worth living?

Neiman: I'll start this one off for us. Growing up seems to be taught as a large decline from adolescence and that everything becomes crueler as you grow older. I think we should be able to cherish this act of growing up. As a "grown-up" you should be moving the world closer to what it should be. as for why we should grow up, well I tried to answer it in my book. "...because it's harder than you think, so hard that it can amount to resistance -- even rebellion. (WGU 192)" it is hard to make children excited to grow old when they are only shown depictions of how adulthood is cruel and horrible. New experiences and adventure can make life worth living but to be able to push the next generation towards more happiness and content in their own life should motivate you to keep living too. 

Kaag: We grow up in childhood under forces we don't have control of and growing up into adulthood doesn't free most people. I became much less afraid of growing older due to William James. He had struggled with suicide for a lot of his life but through philosophy, he was able to understand and help others understand that it is not worthless and that life is worth living. there are sick souls, ones who look at every detail, and healthy souls, people who overlook parts of life. We should focus on the connections we build with people because it makes life worth living. 

Confucius: I agree with you, John. healthy relations with your family and friends around you can easily make life worth living. I think as you grow up you can structure your life through self-cultivation and educate yourself through the work you do for yourself and your culture. I personally think that this self-cultivation will lead you closer to the god that you follow and in term increasing your worth of life and your happiness. Finding your balance in life will make life worth living in itself. I think you should grow up to start to become closer to this cultivation and more in tune with yourself.

Hauser: I appreciate hearing everyone's views and answers to these questions. Now I am sure you all have better places to be but thank you for the enlightenment on this subject, I won't be forgetting.