I'm reminded of when I was in school, and took western philosophy to try to get some help with how to think about life and the world. Instead what I got was a b

I'm reminded of when I was in school, and took western philosophy to try to get some help with how to think about life and the world. Instead what I got was a bunch of, like, Descartes staring at a candle and trying to figure out if it's real. My thought then and now has been, it doesn't matter. This existence has certain rules to it. Drink poison and you die, hurt people and go to jail. It's up to us to figure out how to navigate that for a time, and that's all we get. As far as we know. Even if you knew what was outside what we call reality, even if you knew the form of the simulation- what could be done with that information? I wonder if this sort of thinking is ultimately propelled by a fear of death or some other impetus compelling people to deny that reality is what it really is. Maybe it's somehow comforting to think that your loved ones don't really die and neither do you, suffering isn't real, it's just qubits being shuffled around in a formal game that lacks higher meaning.