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Ask HN: What's your philosophy?
Just curious, what drives you? Why exist?
- KevBurnsJr 18y agoTo experience the beauty of existence.
- rw 18y agoWorking to make self-actualization more likely for myself and others.
- swombat 18y agoIt's fun.
- sundeep 18y agoDeterminism.
- jmatt 18y ago<flips coin> I flipped a coin to decide whether I should up mod or down mod this. Was the coin flip pre-determined by my previous actions? Did I actually up mod or down mod this? :)
- noonespecial 18y agoBy reading it, you caused it to collapse into a modded state. :)
- jderick 18y agoI gave up on determinism when I learned quantum physics.
- stevedekorte 18y agoThere is nothing random in QM, only in it's interpretation. But interpretations are meaningless as there is no way to differentiate them via experiment.
- jderick 18y agoI never said there was anything random. Only non-deterministic. Of course, we are arguing philosophy, so experiments are useless.
- mattmaroon 18y agoPeople have, throughout the ages, attributed to randomness (or now non-determinism) things they couldn't understand.
- steveplace 18y agoOr they attributed it to a higher power (fatalism/determinism). Pick your poison.
- deleted 18y ago[deleted]
- eru 18y agoI'd like to hold the opposite view: There is randomness but the world is still deterministic. Just imagine there was a big one-time table of random numbers generated with the world. Whenever a random bit is needed, it's gets taken from the table.
- yters 18y agoI am into negative philosophies, it often is a lot easier to say certain important ideas are false than to establish an overarching truth. One negative philosophy is that determinism is incoherent as a philosophy, since philosophy implies choice. While simple sounding, that idea is actually very, very deep and cuts through every discipline I know of. It forms the basis for my views on capitalism, technology, metaphysics, etc.
- sgibat 18y agoHow does philosophy imply choice?
- yters 18y agoIf it isn't a choice, then there's not much point talking about it, is there? Another example is Rand's argument that there is absolute truth: saying there is no absolute truth is a self contradiction, so it is an untenable position. That avoids the whole problem of trying to point out a specific absolute truth, while still showing its the better position.
- run4yourlives 18y agoMy Son. (and his soon to be bother/sister) Sounds hokey, and it's a relatively new feeling for me, but everything I do these days is all about enabling him.
- DaniFong 18y agohis soon to be bother/sister, Ah. To be a bother; the sacred duty of little sisters everywhere...
- run4yourlives 18y agolol... good catch. Perhaps that's my own personal foreshadowing!
- dbooher 18y agobeautiful sentiment, but don't make him the center of your universe, because YOU should be the rightful, temporary center of his universe and not the other way around. Remember that the end goal of your being his father is for him to become his own man; if your identity is solely 'his father' you will have nowhere to stand when he is no longer first and foremost 'your son'. A man with an identity crisis does not a mature man's father make. For his sake, devote your life to something honourable and deserving of your attention; he will see your example, and model after you, directing his energy upwards and outwards, instead of inwards and downwards like you are doing. You may not believe me, but that's exactly what happened to the Chinese (my) people, so, be careful.
- run4yourlives 18y agoOh, most certainly! I'm concerned with doing two things really: 1. Making sure he has the opportunity to become exactly whom he wants to be, regardless of what that is. 2. Through example and instruction, ensure that he's capable enough to properly value and evaluate his different options, and mature enough to work hard enough to achieve them. While ultimately, everything I do is tempered by what I think would be the best for him, I do live my own life and have my own goals. For example, I've always wanted to be a pilot, and in due time I hope to achieve that goal. I'd love for him to share in that accomplishment, but I certainly have no expectations of him to become a pilot himself, and if he's not that big on flying, it certainly won't stop me. Your advice is sound though. From my outside observations (I live in Vancouver so I get a good chance to observe) of asian families in general, I think there are many that should be heeding your words. I'd just as soon say though that many North American raised people - regardless of culture - could use some more devotion to something other than themselves though!
- deleted 18y ago[deleted]
- marcocampos 18y agoI'll die anyway so why not make the most of the time I got?
- abstractbill 18y agoI'll die anyway so why worry?
- a-priori 18y agoHumanism.
- pavelludiq 18y agoNot knowing everything. I don't know exactly what drives me, but i have an enormous need to find out. The same with all sorts of other questions, if most people were me, and asked themselves the same stuff as i do, and got similar answers, they would be either mad, or really weird, I've managed to stay slightly mad and moderately weird, but i don't know for how long, and I'm eager to find out.
- DavidPP 18y agoWell, it's hard to tell from just a few lines, but I would guess that your are an INTP personality.
- gibsonf1 18y agoThe quest for happiness
- drwh0 18y agoyou have nine holes. if you can control what goes into them, and what goes out of them, you will be fine
- deleted 18y ago[deleted]
- kirubakaran 18y ago10 if you are a girl.
- drwh0 18y agodo unto others then run like hell
- noodle 18y agoi ain't got nothin' better to do
- mihasya 18y agoTestosterone.
- sanj 18y agoAlways taking the fork in the road that'll result in the best story.
- deleted 18y ago[deleted]
- iloveyouocean 18y agoDon't experience life through the filter of a philosophy.
- jcapote 18y agowhy not?
- endtwist 18y agoI want to live my life, not just exist within it.
- flashgordon 18y agowell trying to prevent a midlife crisis. By the time I hit mid to late 30s I want to be spending a lot more time on things that I am passionate about - my family, kids (hopefully when I have them), my violin and entrepreneurship, and lot less at a job that sucks out my life!
- sarvesh 18y agoI exist to misbehave, it's fun.
- dmpayton 18y agoCuriosity, and for the pure enjoyment of it.
- javert 18y agoThe only metaphysical purpose of a human being is to survive. The only moral purpose of a human being is to pursue happiness.
- KevBurnsJr 18y ago"The only metaphysical purpose of sarah connor is to survive. The only moral purpose of sarah connor is to pursue happiness." -- T-800
- dhimes 18y agoBut, as the Dalai Lama said, it's easy to confuse happiness with pleasure, and it's not always easy to understand the difference.
- cmos 18y agoTo make something from nothing that has an impact, hopefully for the better, in how people live. Hitting payroll, though, in the more short term. :)
- cperciva 18y agoStrive for excellence.
- shaunxcode 18y agoI would like to think that java programmers adhere to objectivism thus I must be into functionalism which I feel is an analog to utility? Making proceduralism futility?
- Prrometheus 18y agoSeems to be the thing to do.
- DanielBMarkham 18y agoI'm toying with being an Anti-Solipsist, which basically states that everybody exists but me. I am completely imaginary and just a figment of real people's perceptions. Since you exist, you should find this interesting, except that it came from me, an entity that is just a figment of your imagination. Then again maybe not. As you can see, I'm still working out some bugs with this worldview. (grin) I joke because I find the question slightly inane: people are who they are. It's not like they choose a philosophy and suddenly become something besides the emotional, reasoning hominids they've been all their lives. Philosophies can be bent, and people are really good at bending them to suit their predisposed character traits. In my opinion, of course.
- a-priori 18y agoA friend of mine used to joke about anti-solipsism. He calls it being "the hole in the cosmic doughnut". :)
- DanielBMarkham 18y agoIf you think about the ephemeral nature of being alive, anti-solipsism has a lot going for it. The question "why exist" is a non-starter, however, since the question can only be posed (and answered) by some part of something that _does_ exist. Existence IS, there is no why. Why is non-material. God I love philosophy.
- yters 18y agoYou could rephrase it as "why continue to exist?" I think that's what the original meant.
- sgibat 18y agoWell, it's two different things, obviously. "Why continue to exist?" is personal but "Why does anything exist?" is much more interesting. Except, I'm starting to think it's a loaded question, as your parent, I think, was implying. Due to our innate perception of things coming into and out of existence.
- noodle 18y agoexistentialism. because i want to.
- illumen 18y agoGreat to see that no one sees themselves as a Hacker... on 'Hacker News'. I guess it's more 'Self Help News' these days anyway.
- geoffb 18y agomeh
- bokonist 18y agoto figure out a philosophy ( and have fun trying)
- KevBurnsJr 18y agoI see philosophies as more fluid than atomic.
- petercooper 18y agoIf I continue to contribute small pieces of knowledge, technology or such to the world, hopefully someone will be inspired by all those collective bits and pieces (in combination with those of others) to eventually answer the big questions and promote the well-being of our species.
- unalone 18y agoThings are better every year. You can do anything you want to, and your actions inspire others to do the same. There is a joy in masterful creation.
- zitterbewegung 18y agoThought that can be changed due to experiment (bayesian thought). Deconstructuralism applied to society and preconceived notions of truth (or even if truth exists). Nondeterminism and how that applies to free will. Thats what makes me get up in the morning.
- KevBurnsJr 18y agotruth = beauty
- rnc000 18y agosecular-humanist-singularitarian-objectivist
- dill_day 18y agoTo become united and in line with the beauty and vitality of Nature, and to become united with those we love - what other ultimate object in life is there? Surely all these other things, these games and examinations, these churches and chapels, these district councils and money markets, these top-hats and telephones and even the general necessity of earning one's living - if they are not ultimately for that, what are they for? (Edward Carpenter)
- jderick 18y agoI like the fact that there is such a 'long tail' here.
- pg 18y agoIt feels good to make something that didn't exist before.
- Herring 18y agoThere's also profiting when someone else makes something that didn't exist before. That also feels good.
- steveplace 18y agoWork like an Arminianist, sleep like a Calvinist. ;)
- streblo 18y agoI might die tomorrow.
- ekpyrotic 18y agoI live for the moments when I forget I exist. Can happen when doing math, physics, philosophy, or listening to music; being able to transcend my existence.
- meqif 18y agoThat's called flow. I've been reading a book by Mihaly Csikszentmihaly on that ( http://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Mihaly-Csikszentmihalyi/dp/0060920432 http://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Mihaly-Csik... ). That's what drives me, too.
- Eliezer 18y agoIt's really a rather odd philosophy when you think about it. Is consciousness a mistake?
- bootload 18y ago"... What's your philosophy? ..." Sum ergo cogito
- qqq 18y agoKarl Popper.
- jmtame 18y agoTo put a ding in the universe.
- rms 18y agoEntropism The goal of human civilization is to conquer entropy. Also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale
- rms 18y agoand for those that haven't read it: http://www.paulgraham.com/philosophy.html http://www.paulgraham.com/philosophy.html
- charlesju 18y agoBuddah; I don't want to reincarnate into a bug.
- sammyo 18y agoWhy should one have 'a' philosophy? There are many fine mutually contradictory philosophies, I choose all.
- helveticaman 18y agoI abide by game theory.
- ninjaa 18y agoIt's asking myself your question that drives me. I do whatever I do because I _believe_ (taken on faith) that it gives my existence meaning, and that ultimately, by doing enough of what I do, I hope to glean some insight into why I exist. I dislike doing anything based solely on faith, but in this case I regard my "belief" as certain as my "belief" in mathematics describing the truth, i.e. I consider both pretty much absolute. Here's a related commentary I found helpful, 2nd para lists (in a relatively archaic style, you have to parse it a bunch of times - 3 different religious answers to a similar existential question): http://www.hinduwebsite.com/divinelife/auro/auro_fateandfreewilll.asp http://www.hinduwebsite.com/divinelife/auro/auro_fateandfree... (note: I don't advocate Hinduism, Sri Aurobindo or promote belief in God, am merely searching the answer to the question - "why am I not a fatalist?")
- arakyd 18y agoI exist because of a certain chain of historical events. I continue to exist because I am programmed to maintain my existence and because my environment makes doing so with high probability (at least in the short and medium term) remarkably easy. Everything else is post-hoc storytelling.
- kirubakaran 18y agoScrew philosophy. Is that a philosophy?
- jsmcgd 18y agoYou or may not be interested in the book "Fuck it: The Ultimate Spiritual Way". (probably not) http://www.amazon.com/Fuck-Ultimate-Spiritual-John-Parkin/dp/1848500130 http://www.amazon.com/Fuck-Ultimate-Spiritual-John-Parkin/dp...
- icey 18y agoI'm firmly Dadaist. Also: Spoon.
- rokhayakebe 18y agoLife starts at the end of my comfort zone. (that has been my philosophy for the past few weeks. I usually change it every other week.)
- awt 18y agoUnderstand as much as possible. Especially about how we came to be who we are.
- programnature 18y agoAlmost all processes that are not obviously simple can be viewed as computations of equivalent sophistication.
- rkowalick 18y agoBe Happy
- callmeed 18y agoI believe I was created in the image of my creator–I think that's why I have an innate desire to create myself (and why we all do). And part of the reason I exist.
- vorador 18y agoit's übermenschism : i'm a nietzsche fanboy
- ryan-allen 18y agoIt doesn't really matter, the Universe will prevail!!!
- jobeirne 18y agoI cannot prove the existence of anything, except for myself.
- gills 18y agoTo create. To leave this place just a little better than I found it.
- comatose_kid 18y agoI follow the philosophy of the Divine Porcine. Briefly stated, followers of this philosophy believe there must be a divine being, since how else could you explain that bacon, ham, and pork chops all come from the same wonderful animal?
- abijlani 18y agoI just live in the moment
- travisjeffery 18y agoObjectivism.
- SapphireSun 18y agoThe pursuit of truth mixed with novelty drives me. I honestly cannot answer why I exist though ;-)
- ntoll 18y ago> Why exist? Just ask yourself why you don't commit suicide...
- bayareaguy 18y agoI'm on the Nietzsche 3-step program. http://books.google.com/books?id=v5DFOleeTeAC&pg=PA13&lpg=PA13 http://books.google.com/books?id=v5DFOleeTeAC&pg=PA13...
- zupatol 18y agoI listen to my conscience. I can really tell when I'm going in the wrong direction. I am surprised no one else has mentioned anything of the sort in this thread.
- jgrahamc 18y agoBe excellent to one another
- jsmcgd 18y agoI don't think I have a philosophy. Do you need one?
- paraschopra 18y agoI exist to kill boredom
- ice_man 18y agoThe existence of nothing is equivalent to the existence of everything; neither can exist without the other since their respective definitions can only be expressed in relation (as a negation) of the other. Both existence and a lack thereof are a part of the one same entity. This entity mirrors itself infinitely both in "space" and in "time". It mirrors itself in "time" by alternating between the states of existence and a lack thereof. It mirrors itself in "space" exponentially by necessarily drawing a border around itself because the very existence of both existence and a lack thereof must give rise to a lack of existence and a lack thereof, if and only if it is to adhere to its own rule, to which it must by its own definition, which itself must exist by definition in the first paragraph. This process of progressively expanding the "borders" of existence continues ad infinitum and gives rise to what we know as reality. As depicted in the following moving picture: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH45ffITujI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH45ffITujI
- noblethrasher 18y agoTo discover truth and beauty and then then share them through empathy in design and argument.
- mantas 18y agoThere's no tomorrow.
- diN0bot 18y agoTo do good better.
- lallysingh 18y agoUgh, really? Here's a simple one that usually works: care about other people, contribute to the world around you. After that, the rest of life figures itself out pretty easily. If you want some sort of logic or math proof on why this is, remove head from rectum.
- orionlogic 18y agowill your philosophy change by anti-aging discoveries? So you might ask: will you live the same life as if you would come back again after you die? if yes,then you live well now...(so in short, this is my philosophy)
- partoa 18y agowhat?
- Eliezer 18y agoI am here to debug an unstable, confusing, and feature-poor universe.
- pstinnett 18y agobe here now
- rodrigo 18y agoIts great to be in movement; dont know for people in other ages, but in our time, things seems to be acceleratin and that makes it a great time to live.
- anamax 18y agoMinimize dependencies.
- biohacker42 18y agoCheerful nihilism.
- blender 18y agoEver read Max Stirner's: "The Ego and Its Own"? I sing as the bird sings That on the bough alights; The song that from me springs Is pay that well requites Cheers
- jonallanharper 18y agoObjectivism