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The One and Only Serious Question in Philosophy

  • Zac
  • Nov 26, 2015
  • 2 min read

Is Life Worth Living or Not?

Don't get me wrong. This isn't a depressed person questioning himself whether he should or should not suicide. This is a question of a philosophical nature. I'm not depressed. I'm not bored of living. This is simply the kind of question that philosophers will ask.

Any random guy on the street will tell you how ridiculous this question is and that life is worth living undoubtedly. Without a doubt, I would say the exact same thing to any ordinary people. The point of life is to be lived, and it is more important than anything else. But if I were to discuss this with a philosopher, the answer is not as simple.

If life is worth living, then why is it worthy? Since life doesn't give us a definite answer, we can merely tell ourselves that it is worthy, and ignore the fact that this question is left open and unanswered. That is the same as life itself. There are constant struggles that require solution everyday, such as finding food, working, maintaining relationship with others while being true to oneself. The only way to stop the struggle of life is to commit suicide. And the only way to stop questioning and answering life's fundamental question is to accept the simple answers and commit philosophical suicide.

Here's a flow chart of how one might end up in philosophical suicide:

For those who do not particularly enjoy thinking, it is much easier to commit philosophical suicide.

But those who start to critically think about life cannot avoid this fundamental question. Here's a flow chart of what difference does it make to either commit philosophical suicide or not:

Today I heard from a friend that there are teenage girls in the Middle East who traveled to Syria, met random guys, and got married. And they looked very happy with their husbands and kids. If people in those conditions can be happy, people in much well off countries should be happy too. Stress, worries, and overthinking are the biggest enemy of happiness. For example, Japan is such a wealthy and developed countries, but it has one of the highest suicide rate in the world. Mental health is sometimes very important.

From a universal perspective, life is worth living without a doubt, but also I will try not lose my posture on the philosophical ground which is the uncertainty and unanswered question of life. If I am to live a full life, I will not commit philosophical suicide. Life is silent on this serious matter. It gives me all the reason to commit suicide. Just like if the court had sentenced me for life in prison as punishment. I would enjoy it as defiance and negates the absurd and struggles of life, and become an act of rebellion. As Camus puts it:

 
 
 

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