LordAhriman
09-25-2004, 12:33 AM
We here at Warboards are quite conflicted over philosophical (and perhaps scientific) truths; however, though we have had moral debates, they have been focused on ethics of perception - what the right kind of belief is, whether it is right to harbor preconceptions on a given topic, et cetera.
Here's my question: regardless of culture, race, religion, and location, what is the best way for a person to live their life? What kinds of values should everyone uphold, what truths of the universe should they realize (independent of religion)? How should they treat other people? What, if anything, should they fight for?
I'll give an example with my own thoughts:
A man (or a woman, but I'm too lazy to write his/her all the time) should, first and foremost, do what he is good at and he likes. It is impossible for a person to be born without any trait that could lend itself to a talent; a man should find that talent, and then put himself into a situation where he can use it to live. A life spent in the quest simply to sustain one's own existence is a life wasted.
A man should not spend too much time questioning what he perceives; though it is often a healthy exercise, doing so constantly deprives it of meaning. Certainly, he should find it useless to question what he absolutely cannot change; for example, even if he arrives at the conclusion that time does not exist, it will not change the fact that he will get up and be at work by eight o' clock the next morning.
A man should not rely so much upon what he has been taught so much as what he has found to be true. He should learn from teachings, but only so far as to take in the words of others and incorporate them within his own truth.
A man should hold dear the concepts of love, empathy, pride, and dignity. He should respect the world around him, but not so as to disrespect himself, and vice versa. He should always try to keep faith in the goodness of humanity, though it is not always apparent.
Most of all, a man should show restraint in his actions, but at the same time be unflinching in the attempt to achieve an existence that he will be satisfied with. A man's goal in life should be to create something greater than himself.
Here's my question: regardless of culture, race, religion, and location, what is the best way for a person to live their life? What kinds of values should everyone uphold, what truths of the universe should they realize (independent of religion)? How should they treat other people? What, if anything, should they fight for?
I'll give an example with my own thoughts:
A man (or a woman, but I'm too lazy to write his/her all the time) should, first and foremost, do what he is good at and he likes. It is impossible for a person to be born without any trait that could lend itself to a talent; a man should find that talent, and then put himself into a situation where he can use it to live. A life spent in the quest simply to sustain one's own existence is a life wasted.
A man should not spend too much time questioning what he perceives; though it is often a healthy exercise, doing so constantly deprives it of meaning. Certainly, he should find it useless to question what he absolutely cannot change; for example, even if he arrives at the conclusion that time does not exist, it will not change the fact that he will get up and be at work by eight o' clock the next morning.
A man should not rely so much upon what he has been taught so much as what he has found to be true. He should learn from teachings, but only so far as to take in the words of others and incorporate them within his own truth.
A man should hold dear the concepts of love, empathy, pride, and dignity. He should respect the world around him, but not so as to disrespect himself, and vice versa. He should always try to keep faith in the goodness of humanity, though it is not always apparent.
Most of all, a man should show restraint in his actions, but at the same time be unflinching in the attempt to achieve an existence that he will be satisfied with. A man's goal in life should be to create something greater than himself.