Andypandy7

hey,

first off this is my first post, so hey all.

secondly: ive recently (by recently i mean a few mounths) started thinking in very philosophical ways and i have also got myself into very deep thought processes. Because the work i do is pretty mundane my mind tends to wonder off and get into these proceses pretty easily.

I also recently started reading a few posts here too, and i must say its driving me nuts!
I find that the questions asked here rattle through my head all day long and it is very counter productive in every aspect of my life.

Now cause i know you are all hard thinking lads and lasses i thought id ask you if you have similar experiences and how could i deal with this. I mean how do u decide to stop thinking and call it a day? What down sides have you noticed from all this thinking?

I'll give you an example to see if any you can catch my drift: The other day i read a post asking if you would kill another for x amount of money.

Obviously my instictive answer was no. but then i started thinking over and over it wondering if i could, and wondering if i would feel guilty etc
I mean it totally fried my brain!

I must apologise for me rattling on but there are no other like minded people who would understand if you get me.

maybe philosophy is not for me, im the first to admit im not very intelligent. i also tend to have a pessimistic view (which i know is bad) so maybe these combine characteristics are not so good?

any disadvantages you guys noticed?


Thanks for reading, really appreicated. and i would be happy if anyone would share thier thoughts.

ju'iblex

first, welcome, hope you enjoy your stay , perhaps you might like to introduce yourself at the Welcome forum.

a lot of self discipline, which i dont have. i myself am somewhat of a skeptic. ok, im a major skeptic, theres no point lying. So therefore the weight of the world is on my shoulders 24/7 and never coming to a conclusion about anything usually ends up in me being depressed.
you dont just decide to stop thinking, you have to find something else you enjoy to occupy your mind, thats the only thing i personally have found works, although i imagine others here can come up with better suggestions.

i assure you, thats not rattling.

welcome to my world
philosophy doesnt require intelligence at all in my book. its the love of knowledge, all you have to do is remember.

Darwin's Finch

First off, Andypandy7, welcome. What are the downsides of philosophy and critical thought? Oh my, there are more than can be listed here. You will eventually be unfitted for faith (unless you become one of the dwindling number of people who still think that Thomas Aquinas had it right); in fact, the unsubstantiated claims of folks who place more value on faith than rationalilty and reality will soon enough cause you mental distress, especially when they presume to share their "truth" with you. You will never again be able to bear the nonsense that all-too-often passes for serious public discourse. You will acquire the bad habit of looking at intellectual movements through the lens of causation and historical development. You will come to appreciate the complexity of certain issues, and will never again be able to settle for easy feel-good answers to your questions. Be afraid! Socrates didn't refer to himself as a gadfly for nothing.

OTOH, if you can swing with the occasional discomfort of being a rational, free-thinking agent, you will also find that the rewards of serious thought far outweigh these "downsides". Don't be disturbed by your disturbance. It is natural and appropriate. The rewards are freedom from superstition, a better understanding of the world and a greater appreciation of human accomplishment.

I wish you well. This road is worth the journey.

Samhain

Andypandy7:
Emotional detatchment. Although I don't view it as completely bad, there are some who seem to. *coughjuiblexcough*

I find it very hard to stop thinking on philosophical questions. It's like an endless setup of dominos, you knock one over, and then it's a constant, never-ending causal chain to learn more and think more. For me this isn't really a disadvantage, I really enjoy thinking on such things, which is part of the reason why I'm here, but it would be kind of nice to just relax from it for a while, but it's almost impossible at this point (unless of course I find all of the answers ).

ju'iblex

sorry andypandy to hijack your first thread for one second.

i do not think emotional detachment is altogether a bad thing, i myself do it to an extent, moreso than others do.

i have had my experience with it and i feel that it was not only unhealthy for me but for all those close to me, it caused a lot of unnecessary pain for others so i have learnt to tone it down a fair whack.

i can empathise with your situation and i wish honest to goodness that you can too, for your own sake. i wouldnt wish for anyone else to be where i have been, and hence my concern for you Samhain.

<end hijack>

Kachana

I find a downside to be spontaneously asking someone to 'define what you mean by x', or saying 'that's true but only if x' in what was intended by the person as a totally laid back chat; in other words, it's easy to become unwittingly confrontational.

phaedrus

Andy

Ahh the advantages and possible spiralling into nihilism due to the ever potent
" ? "

Donald Crosby puts it across well ..

Having said that, the way to avoid the despair is to have a balanced (or pragmatic) approach to this process of questioning. All said and done all of us go through "existential angst" at some point in our lives, so just face the harshness of reality and then get along with your life, atleast you will get a better picture of your "self" and the world around you. One might say, why question at all? Whatever progress (if i may call it that) the race has made till date has been due to those individuals who have questioned the status quo and changed the way we live or look at life. The questioning provides the "dynamic" part to our lives and contemplation provides "consolidation" of the progress. Thats the balance we all look for - peace of mind.

Baaah too much pontification

[ April 16, 2002: Message edited by: phaedrus ]</p>

99Percent

AndyPandy7: I also recently started reading a few posts here too, and i must say its driving me nuts! I find that the questions asked here rattle through my head all day long and it is very counter productive in every aspect of my life.

Hey! Didn't you read the disclaimer right below the link for "Philosophy"? It says: You asked for it, you got it - now don't whimper!

Pomp

Kachana,

I find a downside to be spontaneously asking someone to 'define what you mean by x', or saying 'that's true but only if x' in what was intended by the person as a totally laid back chat; in other words, it's easy to become unwittingly confrontational.

Hah! I cannot count the number of times I have done this. There has to be a way to turn off critical thought when one wants to have a mindless conversation or see a stupid movie!

tronvillain

Oddly enough I have absolutely no trouble doing that, though I do often ask people to "define what you mean by x" or say "that's true but only if x."