Philosophical Stories (and Questions about them)

[Dan T.]

54 minutes ago, Califan007 The Constipated said:

This isn't a story but a (sort of) philosophical question...

 

Would you rather experience an incredible, amazing, fulfilling year but at the end of that year retain absolutely no memory of it, or be implanted with the memory of having an incredible, amazing, fulfilling year that in reality you never had?

 

It basically asks which is more important: the experience or the memory of it?

 

Is this a Redskins Super bowl question?

[NickyJ]

57 minutes ago, Dan T. said:

 

Is this a Redskins Super bowl question?

I'm not sure if this was intentionally a jab at both the lack of Super Bowls and the team name at the same time, but either way

 

Edited August 23, 2022 by NickyJ

[Destino]

10 hours ago, 757SeanTaylor21 said:

Only thing I see is that didn't make much sense was he put in atleaat 90 nails. When the dad said take one nail out every day you do not get angry and anger a several days there were no nails....logically that's impossiblen🤣🤣 at minimum it would of taken 90 days+ for however many more nails. So the growth wasn't just a few days of controlling it it was 3+ months. 

I scrolled down knowing I couldn’t have been the only one offended by how far they’d stretched the word “several” here.  Boy would have spent the better part of a very calm year removing nails daily.

[Destino]

11 hours ago, CousinsCowgirl84 said:

Getting angry by itself doesn’t leave scars on anyone. I’d say his father gave him bad advice by telling him to attack the wall to express his anger.
 

Should have told him to go jogging or read a book. Roll a joint. Something more constructive.

 

Some times getting angry is justified and necessary. What you do with the anger is what matters. Smashing a wall with nails because you are angry is not constructive.

 

Some families believe getting angry is abusive.  They reject any real outward display of strong emotion and embrace this artificial outward cold calmness.  They suppress their emotions, thinking that doing so is somehow a virtue, and instead insult each other with softly spoken words.  If you’ve never sat at a dinner table with people like this, let me tell you it’s a wild thing to see first hand.  There’s no way that’s healthy.  

 

As you say, there are times when you should be angry and that others should see this reaction in us.  It’s justified and appropriate.  It can also be useful and channeled towards a purpose as anyone that’s played sports can probably attest to.  You let yourself get just angry enough without losing control, and you can push yourself harder.  
 

The problem with anger is when it gets out of control, leading to violence, or when used as an unhealthy coping mechanism.  You can choose to get angry rather than sad.  It can burn away the pain and shift the focus.  Instead of grieving you can blame.  Instead of healing you can hate.  It’s easier to target an external source and channel your emotions into that, than embracing your pain and coming to terms with it.  When people do this too much the anger grows and starts to slowly take them over.  They go from being angry, to being angry people.  Anger rules them and drives everyone away.

[CousinsCowgirl84]

Serenity Now. Insanity Later.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Magnets, how do they work?

[Jabbyrwock]

15 minutes ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

Magnets, how do they work?

 

To understand magnets you need to put yourself in their shoes...start by imagining being attractive.

[TheGreatBuzz]

13 hours ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

Magnets, how do they work?

 

I used to teach a two week course on magnetism.  If you're really interested,  I can provide some reading material. 

[Spaceman Spiff]

9 minutes ago, The Almighty Buzz said:

 

I used to teach a two week course on magnetism.  If you're really interested,  I can provide some reading material. 

 

12 hours ago, Jabbyrwock said:

 

To understand magnets you need to put yourself in their shoes...start by imagining being attractive.

 

Does no one get the reference here?

 

You guys are killing me.  KILLING ME.  I'm out.

[TradeTheBeal!]

Don’t get high on your own supply, Tony.

[TheGreatBuzz]

2 hours ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

 

 

Does no one get the reference here?

 

You guys are killing me.  KILLING ME.  I'm out.

 

ICP?

[757SeanTaylor21]

23 hours ago, Destino said:

I scrolled down knowing I couldn’t have been the only one offended by how far they’d stretched the word “several” here.  Boy would have spent the better part of a very calm year removing nails daily.

Well then my guy if you found yourself offended by how they used the word several then you are by ya self. 

[Destino]

3 hours ago, 757SeanTaylor21 said:

Well then my guy if you found yourself offended by how they used the word several then you are by ya self. 

I’m choosing anger!  

[Fergasun]

Let me drop a bomb on this thread... because there's not enough spice...  philisophically, theorhetically thinking.  

 

Let's say your significant other all of a sudden,overnight, their body undergoes a change and they are now the opposite gender. This wasn't their intentional choice... it just happened. Like a kafkaesque metamorphosis.  

 

Stay or flee? 

[CousinsCowgirl84]

Are fantasies philosophical questions?

 

Stay, of course…

Edited August 25, 2022 by CousinsCowgirl84

[Pwyl]

What I try to teach my kids is that we can't always control how we feel, but we can control how we act.  

[Califan007 The Constipated]

 

[Thinking Skins]

A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of

happiness from the wisest man in the world. The lad wandered

through the desert for forty days, and finally came upon a beautiful

castle, high atop a mountain. It was there that the wise man lived.

Rather than finding a saintly man, though, our hero, on entering

the main room of the castle, saw a hive of activity: tradesmen came

and went, people were conversing in the corners, a small orchestra

was playing soft music, and there was a table covered with platters

of the most delicious food in that part of the world. The wise man

conversed with everyone, and the boy had to wait for two hours

before it was his turn to be given the man’s attention.

The wise man listened attentively to the boy’s explanation of

why he had come, but told him that he didn’t have time just then to

explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that the boy look

around the palace and return in two hours.

Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something,’ said the wise

man, handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. ‘As you

wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil

to spill.’

The boy began climbing and descending the many stairways of

the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he

returned to the room where the wise man was.

‘Well,’ asked the wise man, ‘did you see the Persian tapestries

that are hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden that it

took the master gardener ten years to create? Did you notice the

beautiful parchments in my library?’

The boy was embarrassed, and confessed that he had observed

nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise

man had entrusted to him.

‘Then go back and observe the marvels of my world,’ said the

wise man. ‘You cannot trust a man if you don’t know his house.’

Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his

exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the works of art

on the ceilings and the walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all

around him, the beauty of the flowers, and the taste with which

everything had been selected. Upon returning to the wise man, he

related in detail everything he had seen.

‘But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you?’ asked the

wise man.

Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was

gone.

‘Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you,’ said the

wisest of wise men. ‘The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels

of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.’

 

That's a story from the alchemist. Now the first thing I questioned was why didn't he just get a bigger spoon, or a plastic bag, or something else to help with the walking around. The second thing was who is to say that the palace had anything worth seeing. 

 

But like any philosopher, I realize that this is a metaphor. So how do we define the oils not to spill? He was told this by the wise man, but the book is about a journey to find a treasure and love and places a higher price on the journey than the love. But when he tried to say that love was more important, they (the universe) said nope. So is this another corporate book about the need to work for your employer at the sake of our families? It's not as magical as my first read 

 

[Simmsy]

One of my favorites.

 

The Egg

By: Andy Weir

 

You were on your way home when you died.

It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.

And that’s when you met me.

“What… what happened?” You asked. “Where am I?”

“You died,” I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words.

“There was a… a truck and it was skidding…”

“Yup,” I said.

“I… I died?”

“Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said.

You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. “What is this place?” You asked. “Is this the afterlife?”

“More or less,” I said.

“Are you god?” You asked.

“Yup,” I replied. “I’m God.”

“My kids… my wife,” you said.

“What about them?”

“Will they be all right?”

“That’s what I like to see,” I said. “You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.”

You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didn’t look like God. I just looked like some man. Or possibly a woman. Some vague authority figure, maybe. More of a grammar school teacher than the almighty.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “They’ll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn’t have time to grow contempt for you. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved. To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.”

“Oh,” you said. “So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?”

“Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.”

“Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,”

“All religions are right in their own way,” I said. “Walk with me.”

You followed along as we strode through the void. “Where are we going?”

“Nowhere in particular,” I said. “It’s just nice to walk while we talk.”

“So what’s the point, then?” You asked. “When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.”

“Not so!” I said. “You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don’t remember them right now.”

I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. “Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It’s like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it’s hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you’ve gained all the experiences it had.

“You’ve been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you’d start remembering everything. But there’s no point to doing that between each life.”

“How many times have I been reincarnated, then?”

“Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives.” I said. “This time around, you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.”

“Wait, what?” You stammered. “You’re sending me back in time?”

“Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.”

“Where you come from?” You said.

“Oh sure,” I explained “I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh,” you said, a little let down. “But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.”

“Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.”

“So what’s the point of it all?”

“Seriously?” I asked. “Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life? Isn’t that a little stereotypical?”

“Well it’s a reasonable question,” you persisted.

I looked you in the eye. “The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.”

“You mean mankind? You want us to mature?”

“No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.”

“Just me? What about everyone else?”

“There is no one else,” I said. “In this universe, there’s just you and me.”

You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…”

“All you. Different incarnations of you.”

“Wait. I’m everyone!?”

“Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back.

“I’m every human being who ever lived?”

“Or who will ever live, yes.”

“I’m Abraham Lincoln?”

“And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” I added.

“I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled.

“And you’re the millions he killed.”

“I’m Jesus?”

“And you’re everyone who followed him.”

You fell silent.

“Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.”

You thought for a long time.

“Why?” You asked me. “Why do all this?”

“Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.”

“Whoa,” you said, incredulous. “You mean I’m a god?”

“No. Not yet. You’re a fetus. You’re still growing. Once you’ve lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.”

“So the whole universe,” you said, “it’s just…”

“An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.”

And I sent you on your way.

 

 

[Destino]

On 8/30/2022 at 6:30 PM, Thinking Skins said:

 

 

That's a story from the alchemist. Now the first thing I questioned was why didn't he just get a bigger spoon, or a plastic bag, or something else to help with the walking around. The second thing was who is to say that the palace had anything worth seeing. 

 

But like any philosopher, I realize that this is a metaphor. So how do we define the oils not to spill? He was told this by the wise man, but the book is about a journey to find a treasure and love and places a higher price on the journey than the love. But when he tried to say that love was more important, they (the universe) said nope. So is this another corporate book about the need to work for your employer at the sake of our families? It's not as magical as my first read 

 

I’ve never read The Alchemist because it’s only ever featured on business bros reading lists, but I read the story you posted and it seems like a fairly simple metaphor for balance.  He was miserable when all he focused on was the spoon (his task).  He walked through life without experiencing any of it.  Yet when he did the opposite, he failed.  By allowing himself to be too distracted by the many wonders surrounding him, he lost sight of the one task given to him.
 

Not a terribly compelling secret to happiness.  Feels more like an essential component to a fully formed attempt at answering one of life’s great questions.  

[Destino]

47 minutes ago, Simmsy said:

 

“All you. Different incarnations of you.”

“Wait. I’m everyone!?”

 

 

Baby G is really going to be disgusted by all the awful things he watched himself do on the internet when the memories come back.  

[Simmsy]

52 minutes ago, Destino said:

Baby G is really going to be disgusted by all the awful things he watched himself do on the internet when the memories come back.  

 

I better call the cops on myself, I've done some..."things" to me...

[Califan007 The Constipated]

2 hours ago, Simmsy said:

 

 

“There is no one else,” I said. “In this universe, there’s just you and me.”

You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…”

“All you. Different incarnations of you.”

“Wait. I’m everyone!?”

“Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back.

 

Damn, this is a Prince song called “Affirmation III”, might be the last one he wrote:

 

How are you feeling today Mr Nelson?

I trust you're having a quick and enjoyable adjustment period
As you can see, we are communicating now telepathically

Which makes things move so much faster here
After you've completed the planned affirmation therapy
You will find this way of interaction far easier

You've probably felt for many years in you're former life
That you were separate from not only others, but even yourself
Now you can see that was never the case
You are actually everything and anything that you can think of
All of it is you

Remember, there is really only one destination, and that place is you
All of it, everything is you

 

 

[Simmsy]

13 hours ago, Califan007 The Constipated said:

Damn, this is a Prince song called “Affirmation III”, might be the last one he wrote:

 

How are you feeling today Mr Nelson?

I trust you're having a quick and enjoyable adjustment period
As you can see, we are communicating now telepathically

Which makes things move so much faster here
After you've completed the planned affirmation therapy
You will find this way of interaction far easier

You've probably felt for many years in you're former life
That you were separate from not only others, but even yourself
Now you can see that was never the case
You are actually everything and anything that you can think of
All of it is you

Remember, there is really only one destination, and that place is you
All of it, everything is you

 

 

 

Hmm, maybe Prince wasn't just a weird, little, purple perv?

[The Sisko]

17 hours ago, Califan007 The Constipated said:

Damn, this is a Prince song called “Affirmation III”, might be the last one he wrote:

 

How are you feeling today Mr Nelson?

I trust you're having a quick and enjoyable adjustment period
As you can see, we are communicating now telepathically

Which makes things move so much faster here
After you've completed the planned affirmation therapy
You will find this way of interaction far easier

You've probably felt for many years in you're former life
That you were separate from not only others, but even yourself
Now you can see that was never the case
You are actually everything and anything that you can think of
All of it is you

Remember, there is really only one destination, and that place is you
All of it, everything is you

So in other words, he dunked on himself and then served himself pancakes, not Charlie Murphy?🤯🤯🤯