Do I actually need to think things?
Dear Tribonian,
Is this just a pretentious way of writing a disclaimer about anything I could say in the future? Yes, obviously. Nevertheless, for something I do in every moment of my life, thinking sucks. Not of course, the act itself, but the repercussions thereof. Why do I think the things that I do when they can’t really be justified? Do I think it’s wrong to toss babies into wood chippers for sport? Yes! Can I use reason to justify that? Um… sort of? I can argue that it is wrong to kill unjustly, because you don’t have the authority to override another’s volition; and I can justify that by saying that given that it is an expectation to believe that all people are born with and deserve liberty any infringement on that liberty must be justified; and therefore because I cannot justify hurling babies into wood chippers for sport it is wrong. But am I able to justify the expectation of liberty whereupon the argument stands? Nope, and it’s not even close. I can add more layers to the justification and I can consult other people who have done the same. Nonetheless, the foundation evades me. This doesn’t only concern liberty, it ultimately concerns every thought I’ve ever had and every thought yet to impale my mind.
There is no origin, all of my thoughts end up being spiderwebs in the void, all connected, but without walls to stand upon. Now is this all my fault for being an atheist and not being able to just pin everything on a god/gods? Sure, but my political thoughts would be a lot less complex if I just chose to not care about poor people anymore, alas I don’t get to choose. It is this rootlessness that provokes not only variability in ideology, but my pretty feeble defence of it. Now I could always just lie when defending myself, but I could also toss babies into wood chippers if it’s all actually arbitrary. Alas, I don’t get to chose.
Is this just a pretentious way of writing a disclaimer about anything I could say in the future? Yes, obviously. Nevertheless, for something I do in every moment of my life, thinking sucks. Not of course, the act itself, but the repercussions thereof. Why do I think the things that I do when they can’t really be justified? Do I think it’s wrong to toss babies into wood chippers for sport? Yes! Can I use reason to justify that? Um… sort of? I can argue that it is wrong to kill unjustly, because you don’t have the authority to override another’s volition; and I can justify that by saying that given that it is an expectation to believe that all people are born with and deserve liberty any infringement on that liberty must be justified; and therefore because I cannot justify hurling babies into wood chippers for sport it is wrong. But am I able to justify the expectation of liberty whereupon the argument stands? Nope, and it’s not even close. I can add more layers to the justification and I can consult other people who have done the same. Nonetheless, the foundation evades me. This doesn’t only concern liberty, it ultimately concerns every thought I’ve ever had and every thought yet to impale my mind.
There is no origin, all of my thoughts end up being spiderwebs in the void, all connected, but without walls to stand upon. Now is this all my fault for being an atheist and not being able to just pin everything on a god/gods? Sure, but my political thoughts would be a lot less complex if I just chose to not care about poor people anymore, alas I don’t get to choose. It is this rootlessness that provokes not only variability in ideology, but my pretty feeble defence of it. Now I could always just lie when defending myself, but I could also toss babies into wood chippers if it’s all actually arbitrary. Alas, I don’t get to chose.
My ideology, nevertheless, has been fairly consistent over the course of my life (at least my life where I had sufficient consciousness to know that other people existed); as long as you ignore the quasi-ironic jokes that it turns out no one other than me knew where jokes. I’ve made a slow pilgrimage toward radicalism with the melancholic taste of resignation in my mouth. Even if I made generic and mainstream views the problem would persist. All I have to save me is reason and all I need to be saved from is reason… because why not?
Reason stipulates that everything, in order to be true, but be rigorously proven. This seems to be right at least insofar that alternative methods cannot be nearly as universally applied. Further, reason states a matter’s truth cannot be presupposed when attempting to prove that is true. This all lines up until we question if reason is in fact a true thing; for in order to reasonably prove reason is true we would have to presuppose its truth… which is unreasonable.
Without thinking I could not be alive, but I’m pretty sure it’ll also be the death of me. I don’t know what dumb thing I’ll think next, but as hard as I try to justify it please just remember it’s a lost cobweb, drifting past Jupiter with no hope in sight.
Sincerely,
Justin[ian]
Reason stipulates that everything, in order to be true, but be rigorously proven. This seems to be right at least insofar that alternative methods cannot be nearly as universally applied. Further, reason states a matter’s truth cannot be presupposed when attempting to prove that is true. This all lines up until we question if reason is in fact a true thing; for in order to reasonably prove reason is true we would have to presuppose its truth… which is unreasonable.
Without thinking I could not be alive, but I’m pretty sure it’ll also be the death of me. I don’t know what dumb thing I’ll think next, but as hard as I try to justify it please just remember it’s a lost cobweb, drifting past Jupiter with no hope in sight.
Sincerely,
Justin[ian]
p.s. I forgot to mention that reason isn't something that you can just define with a convenient ease.
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