FINALLY! I've got the book in my grubby little hands, and I'm of a mind to discuss it here, on this very blog! I think I'll do a chapter by chapter thing; if nothing else, it'll keep me from zipping through it and perhaps missing some salient points, as is my wont.
So, I've read the introduction, and as that really doesn't seem to be much more than a chapter outline, I think I'll skip over it, except to say this:
A week or so ago, Chip Smith of the Hoover Hog and myself were part of an extended blog-chat concerning antinatalism. At some point midway in the discussion, we were rather obliquely accused of somehow working in concert in a 'collusion to convert'... so to speak. Our conversation, we were told, seemed 'tinned' (Britspeak for 'canned'?); and at one point we were censured, much to my amused bemusement, for being 'overly polite' *chuckle*.
Two things I noticed in Benatar's intro; the first being that his approach to the subject seems not so very different from my own (overlooking the vast chasm in scholarship between us, of course). Even our phraseology seemed to almost suspiciously coincide at times; for example, he uses the expression 'cannon fodder' to describe children being bred for the primary purposes of the breeders' vested interests, or for the larger interests of a culture or society (see my essay here http://antinatalism.blogspot.com/2008/01/bad-news_31.html , 4th paragraph down).
Of course, and as Chip attempted to explain over at http://antinatalism.blogspot.com/2008/01/bad-news_31.html , and I quote, "If our arguments sound similar, it’s because our reasoning proceeds after similar premises. There aren’t many of us antinatalists around, so it should be no surprise that we make similar noises." And as antinatalism is a somewhat narrowly defined issue, i.e. STOP BREEDING!, I think all us antinatalists might be forgiven if we tend to overlap from time to time. 'Nuff said about that.
As for my second point-Now, admittedly it may be too soon to justify my suspicions; however, so far Mr. Benatar's writing style seems just a bit too conveniently...dare I say it?...polite! Is there conspiracy in the works? To find THAT out, you'll just have to tune back in to this ongoing review, dear reader. Time will tell...
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Dialogue With a Bear
I've been having a mostly cordial discussion over at http://sleepyoldbear.com , and wanted to post this recent comment of mine to this blog; so, here goes...
Unfortunately, when we procreate, we aren’t the ones taking the risks. Our children will be the ones to bear the new generation’s fill of pain through disease, starvation, mental illness, murder, war, the sundry accidents that maim and kill, etc. etc. Of course, since I’m an atheist, and don’t believe in an afterlife, it’s all for nought, since we wind up in the same place we started from i.e. non-existence, though our friends and loved ones will add our loss to their own personal lists of suffering.
But for those who believe in an afterlife, the stakes are even greater, and the situation more dire. According to the bible, most of us will enter a metaphysical torture chamber the likes of which makes this earthly existence seem like a heaven in comparison, with absolutely no hope of escape, forever and ever, amen. If your religious beliefs are of an eastern fare, we’ll all enter the circle of re-incarnation, experiencing lives of pain and loss over and over again.
Imagine you’re standing in front of a panel with a red button in the center of it. You are told that, if you push the button, there’s a five percent chance that someone’s child will be taken and tortured for the rest of its life. And the kicker is that you’re not forced to push the button; you can simply walk away, refusing to play the game. No harm done. Would any sane person push the button?
Now consider Jesus’ words:
Matthew 7:13. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat
:14. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
Let’s be generous and say that, oh, 25% of humanity passes the test. That leaves 75% of the earth’s population destined for eternal damnation. That’s more than 4.5 billion souls headed for hellfire, with another 3/4 of a billion on their way, for every billion new people added. Now, if the raw numbers don’t give you at least some pause, consider that a few of those just might wind up being people you care about. Perhaps your children, or grandchildren. Of course, you can niggle over the percentages if you like, but my point won’t change one bit. Just pick the child you love the most, and imagine that they’ve gotten their theology wrong, and are destined for a date with eternal torment. Can you honestly say that it wouldn’t have been better if they had never been born?
Here’s what Jesus had to say:
“The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
Of course, Judas Iscariot is being referred to here, but doesn’t the same apply to anybody who happens to miss the Heavenland Express? As a Christian, your position is much more horrible than mine, because you are forced to affirm a system in which the preponderance of eternal human souls will experience unimaginable sufferings…forever! Being an ex-Christian myself, I understand the mental hoops one has to jump through in order to justify; nay, praise such a state of affairs. But I don’t appreciate them…they force one to turn a blind eye to many fundamental realities about existence.
Is this the ‘meaning’ and ‘purpose’ you speak of that gives life value? If so, I think your premises deserve a little more examination. Whether metaphysical or secular, the price of admission to this ride is just too steep. It’s all about the risks, Bear, and the insult to human sensibilities in taking them.
Unfortunately, when we procreate, we aren’t the ones taking the risks. Our children will be the ones to bear the new generation’s fill of pain through disease, starvation, mental illness, murder, war, the sundry accidents that maim and kill, etc. etc. Of course, since I’m an atheist, and don’t believe in an afterlife, it’s all for nought, since we wind up in the same place we started from i.e. non-existence, though our friends and loved ones will add our loss to their own personal lists of suffering.
But for those who believe in an afterlife, the stakes are even greater, and the situation more dire. According to the bible, most of us will enter a metaphysical torture chamber the likes of which makes this earthly existence seem like a heaven in comparison, with absolutely no hope of escape, forever and ever, amen. If your religious beliefs are of an eastern fare, we’ll all enter the circle of re-incarnation, experiencing lives of pain and loss over and over again.
Imagine you’re standing in front of a panel with a red button in the center of it. You are told that, if you push the button, there’s a five percent chance that someone’s child will be taken and tortured for the rest of its life. And the kicker is that you’re not forced to push the button; you can simply walk away, refusing to play the game. No harm done. Would any sane person push the button?
Now consider Jesus’ words:
Matthew 7:13. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat
:14. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
Let’s be generous and say that, oh, 25% of humanity passes the test. That leaves 75% of the earth’s population destined for eternal damnation. That’s more than 4.5 billion souls headed for hellfire, with another 3/4 of a billion on their way, for every billion new people added. Now, if the raw numbers don’t give you at least some pause, consider that a few of those just might wind up being people you care about. Perhaps your children, or grandchildren. Of course, you can niggle over the percentages if you like, but my point won’t change one bit. Just pick the child you love the most, and imagine that they’ve gotten their theology wrong, and are destined for a date with eternal torment. Can you honestly say that it wouldn’t have been better if they had never been born?
Here’s what Jesus had to say:
“The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
Of course, Judas Iscariot is being referred to here, but doesn’t the same apply to anybody who happens to miss the Heavenland Express? As a Christian, your position is much more horrible than mine, because you are forced to affirm a system in which the preponderance of eternal human souls will experience unimaginable sufferings…forever! Being an ex-Christian myself, I understand the mental hoops one has to jump through in order to justify; nay, praise such a state of affairs. But I don’t appreciate them…they force one to turn a blind eye to many fundamental realities about existence.
Is this the ‘meaning’ and ‘purpose’ you speak of that gives life value? If so, I think your premises deserve a little more examination. Whether metaphysical or secular, the price of admission to this ride is just too steep. It’s all about the risks, Bear, and the insult to human sensibilities in taking them.
Friday, April 11, 2008
On Reflection
I've been posting to this blog for a few months now. Thinking back, I guess antinatalism has been my default philosophical position for probably 20 years or so (ironic, perhaps even hypocritical, since my younger child is only 17). Still, with my focus much sharpened on the issue due to the writing, I feel myself shifting into a new and rather interesting headspace.
I spent most of my twenties as a fundamentalist Christian; yes, the bible believing, heaven vs. hellfire sort. I eventually abandoned that worldview, and after an interim period of feeling like I was living in some sort of intellectual vacuum, a new sense of self emerged. A more informed, thoughtful one, I hope. I'm feeling that way again, like I'm pushing against some sort of membrane of understanding; or maybe, of feeling. Not sure where the dividing line is between those two, sometimes.
Anyway, I'd like to express to the reader what I'm feeling right now, and as succinctly as possible. In a nutshell, here it is...I believe I'm losing my capacity to worship life. In fact, and in retrospect, I think it's already gone, and I'm just living on the echoes of its ghosts. This is quite interesting to me, because before this recent change, I never realized I WAS worshipping life. It's taken this 'stepping away' by means of objective examination of all those pre-suppositional euphemisms that we take for granted. You know the kind...'life is basically good', or 'things ultimately work out for the best', or even 'hope for the best', as if that solves anything. All the little life affirming attitudes we hang onto, in order to avoid that abyss of existential depression in the face of 'tough, bare facts'.
It's the same thing I felt when I stepped back from the god I worshipped, finally facing my doubts, and my distaste. In one sense the act was almost instantaneous; and indeed, there has been some of that in my disillusionment regarding life. But it's also been a process, and some definite thresholds to cross in my journey away from 'faith' of all kinds. Some might call my new attitude 'nihilism'; and, if so...so be it. Although, I'm not really renouncing life itself, I don't think. But I've taken it off its pedestal, and am no longer in awe of it; awe being the attitude that the religious mindset seeks to inculcate in its followers. I don't feel arrogant about any of this, but neither do I feel humbled anymore. Interested at times, curious, confounded, angry, joyful, intrigued...but no longer humbled in that 'Wow, it's all so incomprehensibly glorious!' kind of way. Because in the end, it's all just stuff hurting other stuff, killing other stuff, and eating other stuff. My life is a flagpole planted on a mountain of countless murders, and soon enough I'll be supplanted, and become part of that ever growing mountain, as will my children, and theirs (god forbid!).
Sorry, it's a 'hard truths' sort of afternoon. Peace.
I spent most of my twenties as a fundamentalist Christian; yes, the bible believing, heaven vs. hellfire sort. I eventually abandoned that worldview, and after an interim period of feeling like I was living in some sort of intellectual vacuum, a new sense of self emerged. A more informed, thoughtful one, I hope. I'm feeling that way again, like I'm pushing against some sort of membrane of understanding; or maybe, of feeling. Not sure where the dividing line is between those two, sometimes.
Anyway, I'd like to express to the reader what I'm feeling right now, and as succinctly as possible. In a nutshell, here it is...I believe I'm losing my capacity to worship life. In fact, and in retrospect, I think it's already gone, and I'm just living on the echoes of its ghosts. This is quite interesting to me, because before this recent change, I never realized I WAS worshipping life. It's taken this 'stepping away' by means of objective examination of all those pre-suppositional euphemisms that we take for granted. You know the kind...'life is basically good', or 'things ultimately work out for the best', or even 'hope for the best', as if that solves anything. All the little life affirming attitudes we hang onto, in order to avoid that abyss of existential depression in the face of 'tough, bare facts'.
It's the same thing I felt when I stepped back from the god I worshipped, finally facing my doubts, and my distaste. In one sense the act was almost instantaneous; and indeed, there has been some of that in my disillusionment regarding life. But it's also been a process, and some definite thresholds to cross in my journey away from 'faith' of all kinds. Some might call my new attitude 'nihilism'; and, if so...so be it. Although, I'm not really renouncing life itself, I don't think. But I've taken it off its pedestal, and am no longer in awe of it; awe being the attitude that the religious mindset seeks to inculcate in its followers. I don't feel arrogant about any of this, but neither do I feel humbled anymore. Interested at times, curious, confounded, angry, joyful, intrigued...but no longer humbled in that 'Wow, it's all so incomprehensibly glorious!' kind of way. Because in the end, it's all just stuff hurting other stuff, killing other stuff, and eating other stuff. My life is a flagpole planted on a mountain of countless murders, and soon enough I'll be supplanted, and become part of that ever growing mountain, as will my children, and theirs (god forbid!).
Sorry, it's a 'hard truths' sort of afternoon. Peace.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Thoughts on Yesterday's Post
On further reflection, I can't help but feel utterly appalled at the willingness people have to entertain delusion, in their attempt to affirm their own existence. I tried to speak to my ex-wife about this the other night, and she did everything short of putting corks in her ears to shut out what I was saying. Finally, she simply admitted that she's perfectly happy in her ignore-ance, considering the alternative would be to acknowledge that our having had children was a big, fat mistake. Understandable? Yes. Reprehensible? More than yes.
Furthermore, it's my considered opinion that almost everybody is aware of this universal trait of self-deception. The major religions of the world either ostensibly or tacitly acknowledge that something is fundamentally wrong with life. The world's mythologies are rife with stories about the 'fall of the world', offering escape routes of one kind or another. St. Paul even advised that it would be better if people stopped having children altogether; though he copped out in the face of his message's obvious futility. Doubly surprising when one considers that Christians are willing to bring a child into the world, full well knowing there's a chance the child might turn away from the
faith, and spend an eternity in God's torture chamber.
My ex is a Christian, btw, and both our children are agnostic, bordering on atheist. I can only wonder at the psychological hoops she's forced to jump through in order to maintain her denial that her little girls are headed for an appointment with a pitchfork. Knowing the way she thinks, I assume she's somehow convinced herself that they're actually Christians in a perpetual state of backslide; and that, at the end, Jesus will take that into account. I feel bad for her, but there's really not much I can do about it. After all, I'm the lone voice crying in the wilderness, countered by the interminable background noise of a whole culture intent on perpetuating the Lie.
I could go on, but I'm just too pissed off about the whole thing today. From time to time, it dawns on me that the whole idea about Truth being an ultimate ideal is just so much horseshit; most people are more than content to lie to themselves, and to pay professional liars to enforce those lies. And life affirmation is the biggest lie of them all. No...strike that! Bringing new lives into the world, in order to sustain the lie of life affirmation, is the biggest lie of all. Or, perhaps, it's just the biggest crime of them all.
And THAT'S the truth.
Furthermore, it's my considered opinion that almost everybody is aware of this universal trait of self-deception. The major religions of the world either ostensibly or tacitly acknowledge that something is fundamentally wrong with life. The world's mythologies are rife with stories about the 'fall of the world', offering escape routes of one kind or another. St. Paul even advised that it would be better if people stopped having children altogether; though he copped out in the face of his message's obvious futility. Doubly surprising when one considers that Christians are willing to bring a child into the world, full well knowing there's a chance the child might turn away from the
faith, and spend an eternity in God's torture chamber.
My ex is a Christian, btw, and both our children are agnostic, bordering on atheist. I can only wonder at the psychological hoops she's forced to jump through in order to maintain her denial that her little girls are headed for an appointment with a pitchfork. Knowing the way she thinks, I assume she's somehow convinced herself that they're actually Christians in a perpetual state of backslide; and that, at the end, Jesus will take that into account. I feel bad for her, but there's really not much I can do about it. After all, I'm the lone voice crying in the wilderness, countered by the interminable background noise of a whole culture intent on perpetuating the Lie.
I could go on, but I'm just too pissed off about the whole thing today. From time to time, it dawns on me that the whole idea about Truth being an ultimate ideal is just so much horseshit; most people are more than content to lie to themselves, and to pay professional liars to enforce those lies. And life affirmation is the biggest lie of them all. No...strike that! Bringing new lives into the world, in order to sustain the lie of life affirmation, is the biggest lie of all. Or, perhaps, it's just the biggest crime of them all.
And THAT'S the truth.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
The Life Lie
I found this essay at http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/achieve-happiness-by-creating-a-life-lie/ , and thought it was important enough to post in its entirety...
Achieve Happiness by Creating a Life Lie
February 28th, 2007 by John Wesley
Reality, when looked at truthfully, is quite depressing. We’re all doomed to tumultuous lives filled with toil and frustration. Most of us won’t live up to our potential. Most of our hopes and dreams will never be realized. Most of us will never become rich or famous or successful.
Just when you think a problem is solved, an uglier one replaces it. The cycle of desperation continues as our faculties decline. We lose our strength and beauty. We become shells of our former selves and eventually die.
Fortunately, thinking about the nasty truth can be averted with a well crafted Life Lie.
How? Luckily it’s easy. If you are relatively happy person, my guess is you already have one.
A Life Lie is a story we tell ourselves. A story we actually believe about our lives that lets us ignore reality and focus on a glorious future. Allow me to provide a background story.
I first learned about the Life Lie (in explicit terms) from reading a play; The Wild Duck by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The main character of The Wild Duck is a man named Hjalmar. By all accounts, Hjalmar is pathetic. His father was ruined by a shady business deal and he’s lived his entire life in shame. His poor family makes a living from a photography business. A business that his father’s arch enemy gave to him out of pity and that his wife runs for all practical purposes.
Useless old Hjalmar should be miserable, but in fact he’s quite the opposite. Despite his pathetic life, Hjalmar is happy because he’s created a beautiful Life Lie.
Hjalmar’s Life Lie is ingenious. He truly believes that he’s going to invent an incredible machine that will make his family wealthy and erase his shame. He doesn’t just tell himself this lie, he actually lives it. Each day he goes off on his own for a few hours, supposedly working on the invention.
What is he really doing? No one knows. It truth, it’s irrelevant. Each day he comes back in high spirits, believing he’s on the cusp of completing the invention and elevating his family.
This is the key to a great Life Life. You can’t just tell yourself a beautiful story. You really have to live the delusion.
After learning about Life Lies, I immediately identified with the concept. Despite myself, I tried to deny it.
I’m different, I thought. I’m no washed up old coot. All my hopes and dreams will come true. Or so I thought. Eventually I realized that it really doesn’t matter. All that matters is being happy, and a great Life Lie accomplishes that.
My Life Lie really isn’t that much different than Hjalmar’s. I believe that if I keep working hard, this blog will become incredibly popular or that I’ll come up with a great idea to make money online. Once I have the money problem taken care of, I’ll be free to indulge my passions for the rest of my life.
I don’t just tell myself this. Every day after work, I come home, boot up my personal computer, and start working on the next blog entry, Photoshop tutorial, redesign, or traffic building activity.
Let’s be real. Is my Life Lie really going to happen? Maybe. It’s not impossible, other people have done it, but success is far from certain. The odds are probably against it.
But that isn’t important. Believing a Life Lie gives my mind something to focus on. I can ignore the pain and uncertainty of life and work towards a goal. I sleep better at night because I know I’ve done my part. If it doesn’t happen, that’s fate.
Sometimes I lose my Life Lie. Reality sets in and it’s incredibly depressing. I feel my smallness, weakness, and the lack of control I have over my life. It’s almost unbearable. Fortunately, I always come up with a new Life Lie.
If you want to be happier, create a fantastic Life Lie for yourself. Don’t worry about what other people think. Convince yourself and start living it. If you’re already happy, keep living the lie.
If you lose faith in your Life Lie, don’t panic. Think about what really makes you happy, create a plan to achieve that happiness, and start working towards the plan. A Life Lie is merely a more accurate description of a life dream.
Thomas Jefferson said that the greater part of our happiness and suffering is caused, not by physical pain or pleasure, but by our hopes and fears. Knowing this, you can make yourself happy and avoid suffering.
By creating a beautiful Life Lie you can fill your life with hope and purpose. You can avert the paralyzing uncertainty of reality. You can live a life of ignorant bliss.
Even if your Life Lie isn’t real, your happiness is. In the end that’s all that matters.
Wow! I'd like to believe that the author is being ingeniously satirical; unfortunately, I'd just be lying to myself. Nonetheless, some fascinating (and telling) exposition here. Seldom are we offered such a clear picture of the coping mechanisms we employ to prop up this farce we call life. It's the 'emperor has no clothes' story, stripped of its metaphor, but with a twist at the end. The Lie becomes the thing-in-itself, the ultimate end AND means of the human sojourn. An understandable strategy when the truth becomes simply too hard to bear...at least, from the author's stated point of view that 'your happiness is all that matters'.
And is this psychological placebo really so different from the maxims offered by the various self-help schools of thought; from the life affirmation gurus who fill the New Age shelves at the bookstore, to the Buddhists who tell you to 'detach and rise above' the suffering of the world? The message seems pretty much the same to me: "Skeptician...delude thyself!"
Which probably isn't the worst strategy in the world, from a personal level; beats the hell out of suicide, anyway. Except, we are willing to sacrifice other lives for the sake of maintaining the Lie. We keep spawning generation after generation, because to even question this process is to peek under the curtain of our motives for doing so; and that, above all else, is unacceptable. Thus the visceral, unreasoned reactions towards subjects like antinatalism; because the Lie is actually a thin veneer covering a barely concealed Truth. The truth that life, taken as a whole, is not a good thing.
The Great Life Lie-a consuming fire, kept alive and blazing through the children we are willing to cast into it, and all simply because we're afraid of the dark.
Achieve Happiness by Creating a Life Lie
February 28th, 2007 by John Wesley
Reality, when looked at truthfully, is quite depressing. We’re all doomed to tumultuous lives filled with toil and frustration. Most of us won’t live up to our potential. Most of our hopes and dreams will never be realized. Most of us will never become rich or famous or successful.
Just when you think a problem is solved, an uglier one replaces it. The cycle of desperation continues as our faculties decline. We lose our strength and beauty. We become shells of our former selves and eventually die.
Fortunately, thinking about the nasty truth can be averted with a well crafted Life Lie.
How? Luckily it’s easy. If you are relatively happy person, my guess is you already have one.
A Life Lie is a story we tell ourselves. A story we actually believe about our lives that lets us ignore reality and focus on a glorious future. Allow me to provide a background story.
I first learned about the Life Lie (in explicit terms) from reading a play; The Wild Duck by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The main character of The Wild Duck is a man named Hjalmar. By all accounts, Hjalmar is pathetic. His father was ruined by a shady business deal and he’s lived his entire life in shame. His poor family makes a living from a photography business. A business that his father’s arch enemy gave to him out of pity and that his wife runs for all practical purposes.
Useless old Hjalmar should be miserable, but in fact he’s quite the opposite. Despite his pathetic life, Hjalmar is happy because he’s created a beautiful Life Lie.
Hjalmar’s Life Lie is ingenious. He truly believes that he’s going to invent an incredible machine that will make his family wealthy and erase his shame. He doesn’t just tell himself this lie, he actually lives it. Each day he goes off on his own for a few hours, supposedly working on the invention.
What is he really doing? No one knows. It truth, it’s irrelevant. Each day he comes back in high spirits, believing he’s on the cusp of completing the invention and elevating his family.
This is the key to a great Life Life. You can’t just tell yourself a beautiful story. You really have to live the delusion.
After learning about Life Lies, I immediately identified with the concept. Despite myself, I tried to deny it.
I’m different, I thought. I’m no washed up old coot. All my hopes and dreams will come true. Or so I thought. Eventually I realized that it really doesn’t matter. All that matters is being happy, and a great Life Lie accomplishes that.
My Life Lie really isn’t that much different than Hjalmar’s. I believe that if I keep working hard, this blog will become incredibly popular or that I’ll come up with a great idea to make money online. Once I have the money problem taken care of, I’ll be free to indulge my passions for the rest of my life.
I don’t just tell myself this. Every day after work, I come home, boot up my personal computer, and start working on the next blog entry, Photoshop tutorial, redesign, or traffic building activity.
Let’s be real. Is my Life Lie really going to happen? Maybe. It’s not impossible, other people have done it, but success is far from certain. The odds are probably against it.
But that isn’t important. Believing a Life Lie gives my mind something to focus on. I can ignore the pain and uncertainty of life and work towards a goal. I sleep better at night because I know I’ve done my part. If it doesn’t happen, that’s fate.
Sometimes I lose my Life Lie. Reality sets in and it’s incredibly depressing. I feel my smallness, weakness, and the lack of control I have over my life. It’s almost unbearable. Fortunately, I always come up with a new Life Lie.
If you want to be happier, create a fantastic Life Lie for yourself. Don’t worry about what other people think. Convince yourself and start living it. If you’re already happy, keep living the lie.
If you lose faith in your Life Lie, don’t panic. Think about what really makes you happy, create a plan to achieve that happiness, and start working towards the plan. A Life Lie is merely a more accurate description of a life dream.
Thomas Jefferson said that the greater part of our happiness and suffering is caused, not by physical pain or pleasure, but by our hopes and fears. Knowing this, you can make yourself happy and avoid suffering.
By creating a beautiful Life Lie you can fill your life with hope and purpose. You can avert the paralyzing uncertainty of reality. You can live a life of ignorant bliss.
Even if your Life Lie isn’t real, your happiness is. In the end that’s all that matters.
Wow! I'd like to believe that the author is being ingeniously satirical; unfortunately, I'd just be lying to myself. Nonetheless, some fascinating (and telling) exposition here. Seldom are we offered such a clear picture of the coping mechanisms we employ to prop up this farce we call life. It's the 'emperor has no clothes' story, stripped of its metaphor, but with a twist at the end. The Lie becomes the thing-in-itself, the ultimate end AND means of the human sojourn. An understandable strategy when the truth becomes simply too hard to bear...at least, from the author's stated point of view that 'your happiness is all that matters'.
And is this psychological placebo really so different from the maxims offered by the various self-help schools of thought; from the life affirmation gurus who fill the New Age shelves at the bookstore, to the Buddhists who tell you to 'detach and rise above' the suffering of the world? The message seems pretty much the same to me: "Skeptician...delude thyself!"
Which probably isn't the worst strategy in the world, from a personal level; beats the hell out of suicide, anyway. Except, we are willing to sacrifice other lives for the sake of maintaining the Lie. We keep spawning generation after generation, because to even question this process is to peek under the curtain of our motives for doing so; and that, above all else, is unacceptable. Thus the visceral, unreasoned reactions towards subjects like antinatalism; because the Lie is actually a thin veneer covering a barely concealed Truth. The truth that life, taken as a whole, is not a good thing.
The Great Life Lie-a consuming fire, kept alive and blazing through the children we are willing to cast into it, and all simply because we're afraid of the dark.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Night Falls For Each of Us
But when it falls for all of us,
who'll be left to mourn?
The stars will be set free from their constellations.
The moon will breath a sigh of relief,
and return to its state of modesty.
The sun will rise unanticipated,
and not be held accountable for anything at all.
Best of all, hell will finally freeze over,
while heaven waits...forever.
who'll be left to mourn?
The stars will be set free from their constellations.
The moon will breath a sigh of relief,
and return to its state of modesty.
The sun will rise unanticipated,
and not be held accountable for anything at all.
Best of all, hell will finally freeze over,
while heaven waits...forever.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Below Replacement Level
Keeerist, I hate that expression; referring to human breeding levels, of course. Makes the aggregate of wombs sound like a global parts warehouse. "Hey, Ernie...looks like we's running low on #7-G hominids. Youse better gets ahold of the factory rep, and tells him to lights a fire under them slack-off line workers."
Of course, this is EXACTLY the prevalent attitude of the pronatalist crowd, and always has been. Never question the course, just keep shoveling the coal, and surely we'll eventually get there. And make damned sure there's more of us, than of them!
So silly. So futile. An imaginary kingdom, built in an unreachable future, on the backs of children who never asked to be born. A trifle of no real consequence if there were no suffering along the way. But there is...plenty of it. Both physical, and psychological. And for what? A vision of what might be (really based on nothing but a rather pathetic kind of hope), for some future citizens who don't even exist. I've made the point before, folks, and I'll make it several more times along the way. It's all about irrational, non-sensical vicarious immortality; a subconcious game played with real pawns. You are programmed to die. I am programmed to die. Why pass this 'gift' along to succeeding generations? Why not just play with it ourselves; and when it breaks, it breaks.
Every child born, is a child condemned to some degree of suffering according to the luck of the draw, and to death. Always. And yet, all human suffering could be eliminated in a single generation. In a sea of preposterously imaginary solutions, there is one absolutely sure way to end suffering, and death. Simply...stop...breeding. It's as easy as a trip to the drugstore, or an outpatient visit.
Don't have children. There'll be nobody to thank you for it, and that's what makes it such a selfless, philanthropic act. Let each death be final; faced squarely for what it is, instead of buying into this ludicrously deceptive hedging of bets that procreation tempts us with. Let the end truly be the end, and know that, in eliminating human suffering and death, you are doing a good thing. A very good thing.
Of course, this is EXACTLY the prevalent attitude of the pronatalist crowd, and always has been. Never question the course, just keep shoveling the coal, and surely we'll eventually get there. And make damned sure there's more of us, than of them!
So silly. So futile. An imaginary kingdom, built in an unreachable future, on the backs of children who never asked to be born. A trifle of no real consequence if there were no suffering along the way. But there is...plenty of it. Both physical, and psychological. And for what? A vision of what might be (really based on nothing but a rather pathetic kind of hope), for some future citizens who don't even exist. I've made the point before, folks, and I'll make it several more times along the way. It's all about irrational, non-sensical vicarious immortality; a subconcious game played with real pawns. You are programmed to die. I am programmed to die. Why pass this 'gift' along to succeeding generations? Why not just play with it ourselves; and when it breaks, it breaks.
Every child born, is a child condemned to some degree of suffering according to the luck of the draw, and to death. Always. And yet, all human suffering could be eliminated in a single generation. In a sea of preposterously imaginary solutions, there is one absolutely sure way to end suffering, and death. Simply...stop...breeding. It's as easy as a trip to the drugstore, or an outpatient visit.
Don't have children. There'll be nobody to thank you for it, and that's what makes it such a selfless, philanthropic act. Let each death be final; faced squarely for what it is, instead of buying into this ludicrously deceptive hedging of bets that procreation tempts us with. Let the end truly be the end, and know that, in eliminating human suffering and death, you are doing a good thing. A very good thing.
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