casebash comments on Mark Manson and Rationality - Less Wrong

4 Post author: casebash 25 November 2015 03:34AM

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Comment author: BertM 06 December 2015 02:42:30PM 1 point [-]

Here’s the truth. We exist on this earth for some undetermined period of time. During that time we do things. Some of these things are important. Some of them are unimportant. And those important things give our lives meaning and happiness. The unimportant ones basically just kill time.

What is important though? Isn't that just subjective as well as illusionary? Purely objectively speaking (if such a thing is possible) everything is relative, even importance e.g. what is important for me, might not be for you, what is important in 1765 might not be important in 2015, what is important on earth might not be important on the moon, etc. etc. Is saving someone's life important? Yes, to that person and those who love that person it is...for a while. 500 years from now, not so much any more. So once you find something important you must also realise that this importance is only important within (your) context. Thus making it unimportant. In order to keep it important you must believe in it. Believe it has importance, believe the context justifies the importance. So in the end aren't you just rationalizing importance and thus your reason to live?

As I see it (please correct me if I am wrong) everything we do is just to kill time. importance and unimportance are just qualifications we invent so we can avoid feeling bad.

Comment author: casebash 08 December 2015 12:02:42AM 0 points [-]

The idea is that identifying what you consider to be important and not important is more tractable than trying to discover your "life purpose".

Comment author: BertM 08 December 2015 10:19:11AM *  0 points [-]

To me, they are the same things... human concoctions; words for things that do not exists anywhere else but in our imagination. Then again, I hope I am wrong about that.

The text states:

Some of these things are important. Some of them are unimportant.

It should have read:

Some of these things are important to you. Some of them are unimportant to you.

But even then it still implies that things that are important and unimportant exist for you. It is a statement of fact where no fact exists.

The best way to have phrased that would be something like:

You can make yourself believe some of these things are important to you, and some unimportant.

To me (again, I hope to be wrong) what is said here translates as: 'You can make yourself believe anything in order to be happy'. And that just doesn't feel right. Besides, personally I don't see how I can make myself believe something full knowing it is just a belief.

Comment author: casebash 08 December 2015 11:22:59AM 0 points [-]

"It should have read: "Some of these things are important to you. Some of them are unimportant to you.""

The importance being relative to you is implied and I believe that most people get the implication. Remember the Typical Mind Fallacy.

"But even then it still implies that things that are important and unimportant exist for you. It is a statement of fact where no fact exists." - what you don't think people have things they consider important?