What philosophy do you follow in your life?

[Jacob.pederson]

1. How has your philosophy changed how you see the world?
2. Does your philosophy have and downsides?
3. Where did your philosophy come from?

I personally am a mix of three philosophers work.

1. Machiavelli: I mostly follow the Prince; however I also use parts of the Discourses on Livy and the Art of War. I find his realism refreshing and useful as I can find myself subconsciously looking for who holds the power and how to either gain that power or if I have it use it to gain my objective. I prefer to avoid fights and negotiate with people, but I do change or alter rules to help myself gain an advantage. I see the world as people all with goals of power, objectives, and alliances. This makes me seem rather anti-social as people can easily assume I only see people as a tool for my goals.

2. Sun Tzu: I use his work for when a conflict cannot be avoided. I tend to lean on his deception and planning sections harder than the other parts of his book. Strike where you are unexpected, if you are strong act weak, and so on. This can make people think of me as distant or simply surprise them when I carry on an intellectual conversation. This is because in a group of new friends I prefer to watch and learn people's way before I show myself. So I just make small talk if I talk at all.

3. John Stuart Mill: from his book On Liberty I take my outlook on human rights. You have the liberty to do what you want until you interfere with someone else?s right to do what they want. I have not encountered any real downside with this unless you count the contradictions that can come up between this and my other two philosophies for life.

In the end my philosophy on life is mostly based on conflict with the idea that if your wishes have no effect on me then I have no problem with them.

That's some real wacko's you've got on your list there

My list would be.

Douglas Hofstadter - Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
Frans de Walls - The Inner Ape
Richard Dawkins - The God Delusion
Steven Pinker - The Modern Denial of Human Nature, How the Mind Works

There are others, but these four have been the most influential in my philosophy, which is the following: Scientific thoughts are the only kind worth having, explanations of ridiculous questions are ridiculous, human behaviors often have analogs in our close relatives, and finally, that consciousness (as we think of it) is a product of self-reference.

 

[nolongerhere]

Well, I like Dudeism. Sure, you may not think it's a philosophy or whatever, but, well, that's just, like, you're opinion man. I'm just going to sit here, have a drink, and abide. Maybe do a bit of bowling.

 

[wolf92]

I take my philosophy from Ferris Beullers day off: Life move's pretty fast, if you don't stop to look around you could miss it

 

[Danny Ocean]

I'm not sure whether or not the Escapist is a good cross-section of society, but if humanity as a whole is like the Escapist, then most people think everyone else is horrible by default, think the world is a horrible place, don't see the point in life, and are surprisingly selfish and cold.

I would not assume that this website is a good cross section for human society.

Neither would I; however, nihilism and unhappiness are rife amongst the richer nations, even amongst non-nerds. Of course we gamers are generally less sociable, and so generally hold either ourselves or our fellow humans in an unfair light.
Perhaps the cross-section holds more water than we realise.

15.

Ah okay. Do you have a broader outlook on life that extends beyond education? It's fair enough if you don't. I sure as hell didn't two years ago.

 

[Ham_authority95]

"I was born into a household with a great mother and father. I don't have to worry about getting food, water, or sleep. I don't have to worry about not going to collage. I'm able to endulge myself in many great forms of art and entertainment. I have a musical instrument that I can play. I have friends and family that that I can depend on. And I might as well make the most of all these things to make myself succesful."

Or something like that.

 

[Ham_authority95]

I take my philosophy from Ferris Beullers day off: Life move's pretty fast, if you don't stop to look around you could miss it

This is also something that I try to live by.

 

[OmegaXIII]

the reason why I ask is because what you said in the original quote, It reminded me of what a friend once said, she said something along the lines of "we are living in nothing more than the darkest manifestation of all man". But I we disagree to a point we do live in a darkworld but not by all mens choosing but by a few mens choosing I don't really believe in the butterfly effect I think those with all the power dictate what the world looks like.

I agree, history books are written by the winners

 

[2fish]

Neither would I; however, nihilism and unhappiness are rife amongst the richer nations, even amongst non-nerds. Of course we gamers are generally less sociable, and so generally hold either ourselves or our fellow humans in an unfair light.
Perhaps the cross-section holds more water than we realise.

Well it is in the richer nations that there is time to think about abstract ideas. When one does not have to worry about putting food on the table everyday they can look into the idea of law, life, social norms, ect. So yes the people who must fight to survive simply do not have the time to work on these problems even though they have the mental capacity. All of my college was some form of looking into bigger ideas and philosophers.

The cynicism makes sense as the more people see the difference between how the system is supposed to work and how it works the worse life can seem. As a member of a social group that is not seen as the most social we have time to see and think about the systems we live in.

 

[Zannah]

Peace is a lie, there is just passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through Strength, I gain power.
Through Power, I obtain Victory.
Through Victory, my chains burst.

As much as the Sith code sounds a bit off at first, If you think about it, that's one of the greatest philosophies to live by.

 

[captainwillies]

Well, I like Dudeism. Sure, you may not think it's a philosophy or whatever, but, well, that's just, like, you're opinion man. I'm just going to sit here, have a drink, and abide. Maybe do a bit of bowling.

White Russians all round!

 

[captainwillies]

Peace is a lie, there is just passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through Strength, I gain power.
Through Power, I obtain Victory.
Through Victory, my chains burst.

As much as the Sith code sounds a bit off at first, If you think about it, that's one of the greatest philosophies to live by.

Beware of those types of philosophies. "The path to Glory is paved with the shattered dreams of others."

 

[DarkRyter]

Fuck Bitches, Get Money

1. I began to see everything in terms of achieving money and bitches. Oil spill here, gaza conflict there. Does that shit have anything to do with me getting money or fucking bitches? No. Ergo, don't give a shit.

2. It's not all that deep, and it ain't really moral. It doesn't make me a good person. It doesn't make me a bad person either. Just a man who wants some money and bitches.

3. Emily Dickinson. She was all about gettin money and fucking bitches. And she was able to do it without leaving her home.

Thanks to this, I know what's important in life. I have something to strive for, and at the very least give some illusion towards a greater meaning to my existence.

So, yeah, Fuck Bitches, Get Money.

 

[PayneTrayne]

It doesn't hurt to ask. I take all possible opportunities in my life, and ask about things no matter how odd.

Paint the line. Do your best to make your opponent have the hardest time possible.

 

[hannan4mitch]

Ehhh...
My philosophy can be summed up in 5 words: Leave me the f--k alone.
Seriously, I work best by myself, despite being a good leader. I don't like getting help, because I like sorting stuff out myself.

 

[hannan4mitch]

Peace is a lie, there is just passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through Strength, I gain power.
Through Power, I obtain Victory.
Through Victory, my chains burst.

As much as the Sith code sounds a bit off at first, If you think about it, that's one of the greatest philosophies to live by.

Beware of those types of philosophies. "The path to Glory is paved with the shattered dreams of others."

However, when is it not? Newton's 3rd Law works in physics and in philosophy. No matter what you do, no matter how good, something bad is going to happen to someone because of that.

 

[Rarhnor]

My philosophy is quite complicated and could probably enrage te most users, so I'll keep it simple

1. Don't regret (good or bad). Don't suppress (hate or happiness. Don't hold back (mentally and physically). Embrace and respect. Live with dignity and (possibly) honor.

2. Lack of external understanding. Lack of civilized norms.

3. Observing and reading world history, made me realize how greedy and cowardly a person can act.

 

[Zannah]

Peace is a lie, there is just passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through Strength, I gain power.
Through Power, I obtain Victory.
Through Victory, my chains burst.

As much as the Sith code sounds a bit off at first, If you think about it, that's one of the greatest philosophies to live by.

Beware of those types of philosophies. "The path to Glory is paved with the shattered dreams of others."

Now thing is - why should that bother me? I know for a fact, that most people in the world don't care the slightest for my hopes, dreams and wishes (at best, since there's a good part of people who are actively trying to screw me over in one way or the other, or worse), and no matter how much I pray or glibber about, that won't change.
Why should I not walk my path unconcerned by the matters of those that do not care for me, why should I show remorse when giving them the same treatment. Sure, selfishness might be a bad thing in an ideal society, but until we have that, it's how humans work, and pretending something else, means one is either fooling or harming oneself.

 

[YouBecame]

The map is not the territory.

It is something I use to remind myself how easy it is to be wrong. My humility is a strong part of me, as it helps me to learn and grow. Remembering that what I see isnt neccessarily what is there makes me keep evaluating my map of what I see, and to consider its flaws.