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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2726 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 10, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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How does one find purpose/meaning? That is, what gives you a "reason to get out of the bed in the morning"? Particularly when "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" seem particularly aimed your way.

(More specifically, with neither the usual standbys of "faith and family," and while being too anhedonic for hedonism?)

Edit: to put it more simply, how do I find a reason to keep struggling through another 30+ years of miserable, pointless, futile existence, rather than just skipping to the end?

My Catholic instinct is to tell you to Jesus up your Jesus meter until you get a sick Jesus turbo boost.

But, I'm aware that, on the Motte, the kids would say that's "sus" and I may even be accused of "cappin'"

Thus, allow me to perform a sinful heresy on your behalf and secularize what's basically a Christian imperative.

  1. Ask yourself the question "What would you want to have happen in the world even if you were dead?" paired with "What do you want the world to be like 100 years after you die". I'd recommend doing the old trick of asking this question, going on a walk wherein you don't try to direct your thoughts, and then come back home to write no more than a single page (maybe 300 words at the most) to capture your thoughts. Do this once or twice a week for .... as long as it takes!

  2. A little more prescriptive; read Infinite and Finite games by James P. Carse. And then find an infinite game to play.

Do this once or twice a week for .... as long as it takes!

As long as it takes until what, exactly?

What good does it do to have an answer to "What do you want the world to be like 100 years after you die," if it doesn't give you an actionable goal? What does it matter to have such a picture, if there's nothing you can do to affect whether or not it comes to pass? (Or maybe you just can't see any such actions.)

What good does it do to have an answer to "What do you want the world to be like 100 years after you die," if it doesn't give you an actionable goal?

You will start to move towards better things that may reveal not only a single, but multiple goals. The pursuit of truth isn't a single path. There are many branches to it and finding the one or the several that best accommodate you is an important part of the process. It's what some of us would call "discernment." If you're waiting around to discover not only (1) THE big goal and (2) a perfectly linear prescriptive algorithm to accomplish it ... you're waiting for revelation. If so, prepare for even more doubt and feelings of existential dread.

What does it matter to have such a picture, if there's nothing you can do to affect whether or not it comes to pass?

Sorry to be trite, but; have faith.

Or maybe you just can't see any such actions.

There you go!

As long as it takes until what, exactly?

Exactly.

You will start to move towards better things that may reveal not only a single, but multiple goals. The pursuit of truth isn't a single path. There are many branches to it and finding the one or the several that best accommodate you is an important part of the process. It's what some of us would call "discernment."

I'm not sure I understand what any of this means?

Sorry to be trite, but; have faith.

But I don't, and I don't know how to.

There you go!

That's not an answer

As long as it takes until what, exactly?

Exactly.

Nor is that.

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Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


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