Mason: Hello Susan, John, and Kant. Today we will be having a discussion with the goal of each of you answering two main questions I will be asking. The first question will be what does it mean to grow up and why should we? The second question will be what makes life worth living? First, I will start with you Susan. What makes life worth living and why should we?
Susan: I think that
growing up “is a task that never stops” as read in the book Why Grow Up? I
think that there is not really a point in one’s life that one actually grows
up. There are a lot of points along the way that say you are now an adult and
you are not this or that, but it is not the same for everyone. I think that life
is different for everyone and that is why we should live it. The things that
you see is not the same as any other person. I think that is why we wake up
every morning and live the day because it is always different and nobody else
can have the same experiences as you.
Mason: Next, I will ask what makes life worth living?
Susan: As I said earlier life is one big mystery. You have
no idea what the day will bring. There is always a goal to strive for and always
something to look at and try to achieve that day. However, what keeps us going
is not what we want to happen but what might happen. Everyone’s life will be
different and finding yours Is the great thing about life.
Mason: That is very interesting so next I would like to
start with you Kant. What does it mean to grow up and why should we?
Kant: One of the biggest things I have said for years is
that one is tectonically grown up when “they can think for oneself” as read in the
book Why Grow Up. I think that once one has truly developed the skill and
maturity of being able to think for themselves then that can take on the role
of being grown up. It is not the age where one day they are 17 and then turn 18
and are suddenly considered grown up. Nothing happened on that one day that
made them mature overnight. One has to be able to think for themselves because
I believe we are an independent race and need to be able to go out in the world
and make a name for ourselves. We must make our own decisions which makes up
who we are.
Mason: Yes, I agree very much with that. Next, what makes
life worth living?
Kant: Everyone’s life is different, but it is up to us to go
out in the world and get it. Success is not going to come for you or just jump
in your arms. The best thing about growing up is living. Everyone has a
different life and its what you make of it that lets us wake up in the morning striving
to reach our goals.
Mason: That is very encouraging, and I hope that everyone
takes note. Lastly, I would like to talk to you John. What does it mean to grow
up and why should we?
John: One of the biggest things was thrown out of the window
which is called optimism. There is a new word that I would like to introduce to
you which is called anhedonia as read in the book Sick Souls, Healthy Minds. It
is defined as the inability to feel pleasure. It is something we all try and
avoid and strive for the opposite. There are a lot of different things that
bring pleasure to humans including money, finding a spouse and raising a
family, and simple things like food, water, and candy. However, depression has always
been a big deal as well in order to try and avoid and fight it. I think that we
all need to strive to grow up and find the things that make us happy. That is
when we have truly grown up and settled down in order to find what happiness is
and what can help us to avoid depression.
Mason: That is very important especially during these times.
Depression is very dangerous and can lead to some horrible things in the human
mind. Lastly, I would like to ask you what makes life worth living?
John: I think we all strive for the day we can think for ourselves
to go for the things that bring us pleasure and make us happy. I think we all strive
to avoid the things that bring depression and look for the things that make us
happy so we can settle down and live in peace.
LIFE WEBSITE
Mason: I think these are all very good answers. You all have done a great job. Life is something that we can never take for granted and one day we will all hopefully find happiness and achieve the goals we have set for ourselves.
"Again, remember to include bloggish content--especially embedded links etc."
ReplyDelete"One of the biggest things..." -- once would be enough, for this particular phrase... and possibly more than enough. But I don't think Kaag intends to "throw optimism out the window"--like all pragmatists, he's a meliorist (which is a species of optimism, albeit one which acknowledges that all is not always for the best).
"tectonically"--?
"I think we all strive to avoid the things that bring depression"---evidently he doesn't think that, or he'd not have written a book dedicated to helping people discover that life MAY be worth living.
Please offer some descriptive context for your links to LIFE and "MEANIG"...
Yes, I agree with your comments. One thing I should have been more clear about is people strive to avoid depression but he does not think life is always worth living since he did write that book as well. I just meant all people look for ways early on to avoid depression but can also find other ways that suit them.
ReplyDeleteThe first website covers some different theories and ideas on what life is and the other one covers some ideas on what life means to different people.