Philosophy Now Forum

As I've gotten older, I've forgotten a lot of things. Sometimes I remember things incorrectly. I was never genius material but I was reasonably competent at some things.

Loss can be a disconcerting experience. It makes a person aware of just how transient and temporary all things in life are. Losing memory of philosophical ideas can be a little like a person losing their life savings (to give an example of the feeling of loss). It's like the old saying that we can't take our riches and gold with us when we depart this world. Well, it sort of seems that we can't take our knowledge with us either.

It can make a person sad. But in some sense, I almost feel like the loss is not really as significant as I might at first think.

Money is the currency of living but it's not an intrinsic good. We use money to acquire intrinsic goods. I think knowledge is much the same. We may learn and know a lot but do we really know a lot? Some say the more you learn, the more you realize how little we know. At least that's how it is with the great problems of philosophy.

We may come to learn how to program a computer and that is knowledge that can be useful for programming a computer. It's knowledge that we can't take with us when we transcend this world. We get older and forget more and eventually it seems likely that the deterioration of the physical brain will leave us intellectually bankrupt.

Is there something we can take with us out of all the knowledge we once had? I wonder if we can take away the memory that knowledge wasn't quite what we initially may have thought it was cracked up to be. Can we take with us the realization that knowledge is not an intrinsic good, rather an instrumental good? Can we take with us the sense that we never conclusively answered the really big questions such as, "Who am I", "Why am I here", "What ought I to do" (for some examples)?

Or do we ultimately leave this world as we started it, with nothing at all, not even awareness?

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2024 10:36 am Can we take with us the sense that we never conclusively answered the really big questions such as, "Who am I", "Why am I here", "What ought I to do"

It's funny you should say that, because I was just telling Kropotkin that I never ask those questions. He seems to think they are big, as well.

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2024 10:36 am
Or do we ultimately leave this world as we started it, with nothing at all, not even awareness?

You will be what you were before you became without the least knowledge there was ever an interim between the two. What never existed, but could have, or ceased to exist would be unaware that time ever existed. In such a scenario, the beginning of the universe and its end would be simultaneous events. This actually turns out to be a blessing since you never have to wait for anything!

That's exactly right. Time not experienced is as good as nonexistent.

Then there are no gaps between each eternal recurrence and just as fast as u die, do u live again, even if a quinzillion years have passed during the intermission.

This is one possible scenario, one that's certainly not philosophically uninteresting, to be sure.

Many among u will gnash your teeth and curse me for having revealed this truth to u.

Indeed, what if a prom75 were to twitter that in your ear during your darkest, most loneliest hour? Would u not curse him so... or would u leap into the air shouting 'this is divine!

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2024 10:36 am As I've gotten older, I've forgotten a lot of things. Sometimes I remember things incorrectly. I was never genius material but I was reasonably competent at some things.

Loss can be a disconcerting experience. It makes a person aware of just how transient and temporary all things in life are. Losing memory of philosophical ideas can be a little like a person losing their life savings (to give an example of the feeling of loss). It's like the old saying that we can't take our riches and gold with us when we depart this world. Well, it sort of seems that we can't take our knowledge with us either.

It can make a person sad. But in some sense, I almost feel like the loss is not really as significant as I might at first think.

Money is the currency of living but it's not an intrinsic good. We use money to acquire intrinsic goods. I think knowledge is much the same. We may learn and know a lot but do we really know a lot? Some say the more you learn, the more you realize how little we know. At least that's how it is with the great problems of philosophy.

We may come to learn how to program a computer and that is knowledge that can be useful for programming a computer. It's knowledge that we can't take with us when we transcend this world. We get older and forget more and eventually it seems likely that the deterioration of the physical brain will leave us intellectually bankrupt.

Is there something we can take with us out of all the knowledge we once had? I wonder if we can take away the memory that knowledge wasn't quite what we initially may have thought it was cracked up to be. Can we take with us the realization that knowledge is not an intrinsic good, rather an instrumental good? Can we take with us the sense that we never conclusively answered the really big questions such as, "Who am I", "Why am I here", "What ought I to do" (for some examples)?

When 'you' say 'we' here, who are 'you' referring to, exactly?

'I' ask because 'I' have already conclusively answered what you call the 'big questions' here.

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2024 10:36 am Or do we ultimately leave this world as we started it, with nothing at all, not even awareness?

When 'you' also come to be able to conclusively answer who and what 'we' are, exactly, then 'you' will realize, as well, what the actual Truth is, here.

Harbal wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2024 5:59 pm

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2024 10:36 am Can we take with us the sense that we never conclusively answered the really big questions such as, "Who am I", "Why am I here", "What ought I to do"

It's funny you should say that, because I was just telling Kropotkin that I never ask those questions. He seems to think they are big, as well.

"peter kropotkin", however, also, and laughingly, thinks ir believes that just asking questions, while never even just 'trying to' answer them, let alone actually answering them, is what makes "peter kropotkin" the biggest and/or best so-called "philosopher" here, too.