Some Less-Known Principles of Life

Here are a few of my original principles to life; principles that are less spoken about and that, with logic, may disprove some common beliefs, at least theoretically:

• Evil is not necessary. What is evil? Evil is the joy, or desire, caused by making other people suffer. What need is there in life to enjoy the misery of others, whether you have caused it or not? I do not believe in the cliché that good cannot exist without evil and vice versa. Clean water is the best drink there is, and consuming it is necessary for one's health. What evil is there in drinking clean water alone?

Masochism, the joy of being tormented by oneself, is also an act of evil, as you enjoy your own misery. The joy of causing others to suffer should not exist in an optimal society. Besides, you could get much more by being kind to others. Innocence is a value that should be preserved in the name of harmony and serenity.

* You are always alone. The fact that people are physically separated from each other, even when they are together, is enough to prove that you are always alone. What creates a culture is a collective consciousness, not a physical collective. This is because there is no such thing as a collection in objective reality beyond the jail of our perception. Collection is a mental and social concept, not a physical one.

In objective reality, everything is separated from each other even if there is interaction. Since society is a collection of individuals, there is also no such thing as society beyond our subjective perception. There is the inter-subjective layer that we usually take to be the true reality, due to how much we are connected to the social aspect of things, and there is the objective one; the one where we are bound by physical separation.

* Only death and void/space/seclusion are eternal. Those who seek the absolute in life will not find it in life, but in death and emptiness. Even if the universe were to break apart, the dead would remain unaffected. Void is simply something that exists in non-existence.

Thus, to live a life of asceticism is the closest thing to eternity, even if it is a mere symbolism, a lifelong ceremony. Emotions, too, are not eternal. The closest thing you can get to eternity is through creating a legacy under your name, as I intend to do with this very site! All you need to do is to create something worthwhile enough that people will experience it more than once.

* Thoughts do not generate reality, but an interpretation of reality.

Reality exists whether you are dead or alive. Actual physical deeds are the things that have influence over reality. Simply thinking about something will not necessarily bring you to it. For example, you could be a lifelong prisoner and dream for a can of peanut butter, but die without ever feeling its taste again. Thoughts are reflections of our personality and behavior. You could live the same existent reality as many other people, and still have different mindsets from each other. Thoughts are the journalistic media of the self. Thoughts are there to interpret reality and our understanding of it.

The more reality is interpreted, i.e., the more complex and deep are your thoughts, the more you become a philosopher, and the more you become a philosopher, the more “dead” on the inside you will be. This is because ideological frameworks are prisons, and a philosopher is both the warden and the prisoner. Thoughts gradually take over the place of the full experience of life created by unquestioning and less complex and puzzled thinking. This is why I view myself as metaphorically undead, as this metaphor seems in accordance to this logic.

* Beauty is just a social and evolutionary perception.

Why is beauty considered such an exalted value nowadays? Because this era is the era of anxiety, of fearing that one may not be acceptable enough in the circles of society if they are not to correspond themselves with the standards of society. I heard that in Tajikistan (I think?), a connected eyebrow is considered beautiful, and in traditional Morocco, soon-to-be-brides are expected to eat a lot and become fat before their wedding. Beauty is simply a way to justify one’s place and status in their society.

Beyond that, beauty is the evolutionary indication that the possessor of this value may bring healthy and strong children to their partner, and vice versa. This is why I do not understand the ambition to become beautiful, more than to become socially accepted and a possible parent. When I am to be complimented as a handsome man, I simply thank the complimentor and nothing else, for I do not care to be socially accepted or a source of good genetics. There is, of course, beauty that is independent of humans, but as long as bringing children isn't an immediate must for humanity, it's overall okay to be born ugly or at least not very pretty.

* Emotions are external from you.

Emotions are merely tools used to survive and function in an environment. Evolution created emotions for the sake of personal and collective survival, and also as a way to gain power and authority over others. Think about it. A teen idol gets their fans from creating the submissive emotion of love and admiration, and a religious leader attracts believers by awakening in them the enthusiasm of zealotry. I have this computer as a tool; does that make me a computer? That way, emotions are temporarily, always changing tools, used as means of survival and development.

We are always feeling some kind of emotion because if we did not feel anything, we would be less likely to survive or gain authority (or submit to authority) in a social construct. However, serenity is the exception. It is a state of satisfaction with what one has in life, and a sign of minimal desire and suffering. Those who are usually serene are usually "dead" on the inside, for the cycle of life is that of desire and suffering. Serenity is a way to transcend beyond this allegedly never-ending cycle. Emotions are interpretations of situations, not the situations themselves. You are not a situation, but an agent in a set of situations.

You may agree or disagree with me as you please. A philosopher is not the voice of a divine being, nor is a divine being a philosopher. These are some of the insights I learned through solitude, through focusing on the thoughts in my head in a minimally-stimulated environment. Some might be right, some might be wrong. Perfectionism is not a realistic attitude towards life, especially in philosophy, where you could almost always be wrong to an extent. If you have liked this article, please consider sharing it if desired.

Some may be right, some may be wrong. Perfectionism is not a realistic attitude towards life, especially in philosophy, where you could almost always be wrong to some extent. If you have enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it if desired.