The Absurdity of Fun
Updated: Mar 23
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"Fun" is probably one of the most subjective notions known to man, and that's because anything can be fun to anyone. Nonetheless, despite its sheer relativity, fun is easy to both define and identify: It's when something makes you feel good for one or more periods of time. However, it's important to note that fun and happiness are not the same, even though happiness is subjective as well.
Even a mere toddler can know whenever they're having fun, and even my cat knows when he enjoys my touch of him, without knowing how to communicate or think with words like we humans do.
Fun is simple and it is relative, and because of these traits, it's something that's easy to gather around for, as much as it's easy to learn more about yourself as a result. No contemporary philosophy or ideology is without this basic element of having fun, having pleasure or simply enjoying, as pleasure is a main component in many of our lives.
Likewise, many would not regard a life without fun, as a life worth living, as we associate the absence of fun in our lives, with misery, depression, despair and so on.
Our pursuit of fun is usually the same as pursuing romantic love: It's for its own sake, and usually it's also about nothing more and nothing less. Therefore, without an external component in mind, it should be easy to determine why fun is, at times, logically absurd. Just like true love is, although desired by many, myself included.
By itself, there is nothing particularly productive about having fun, and even though we may regard fun as good, we should entertain the possibility that, a life that is only about fun and nothing else, is a life that is quite devoid, quite shallow.
For many, if they could, they would trade my life for their own. They would do so simply because I don't have to work much in order to survive. Philosocom began as a compromise for my former inability to work, due to post-truamatic fatigue... If I was even too fatigued to write extensively and beyond repair, then I would want to trade my life with theirs.
That is because, as you see, I accepted the notion that fun alone is terribly insufficient for a well lived life, as fun alone bares little to no fruit beyond itself.
It is also the reason as to why I largely abstained from romance, even though it theoretically can make me feel better. I don't want children of my own, so having romantic relations is not that important for me because I see no other purpose for them.
There are also more functions to romantic love, but wouldn't you argue that every relationship of that kind is just too dependent? Even within marriage, there is no certainty of the partner staying, so why even grow a dependency of fun towards a person that might leave at any point in the future? Over-dependancy is a liability.
And that, you see, is also a negative aspect in fun, despite the benefit it brings: It can make you dependent on things you could've otherwise avoided. Mainly addictions, yes, but also "strings" towards other people, other than yourself. I needed help for a long time, due to fatigue, but that connection is a necessary one, one of which I could not functioned with.
I used to be weaker than I appear, and that wasn't my own choosing. It is, however, my own choosing to play a video game, mainly to pass the time. It is also your own choosing to have certain friends, partners, and other dependencies throughout life.
The fact that they all bring you fun, does not mean that they are, by default, good or healthy for you. Recreational drugs and candies, are examples.
What is, then, a healthy source of fun? That's quite difficult to answer, because any answer could be met with controversy. Some people believe, for example, that people should never have sex before marriage, while others claim that it's fine as long as the age is right and there's consent. Some people believe that it's good to eat food that is tasty because "you only live once" while others call for a healthier life than that.
This is what I have to say on fun, practically: Strive to always have fun, but do not disregard productivity and health on the way, as an adult life without productivity is that of a leech: Someone who gives nothing to either society or the world, and basically just lives to slack off.
I know I could've been a leech in that regard, but I refuse it as long as I can write and operate a computer and this article empire. Even if I, for example, lose my ability to write, then I have "no choice" but spend the reminder of my life re-sharing articles.
And hence why fun isn't completely absurd: It gives you enough motivation to do things you actually like doing, and as we adults know, there are some things we just have to do. The fact that there's fun activities to be doing, gives us more hope and spirit to live on and lighten up.
None of this, however, explains why fun exists, nor why there are things that make us, specifically, to have fun. We can explain the methodology of this, AKA, of how the emotion of pleasure is created, but not, necessarily, the WHY.
Extra Notes I: A List of Healthy and Unhealthy Fun Acitivities (For Further Demonstration)
Healthy Fun Activities
Physical Activities
Playing sports like basketball, soccer, volleyball, etc.
Going for a hike or a bike ride.
Dancing
Social Activities
Game night with friends or family.
Going to a concert or a play.
Volunteering in your community.
Creative Activities
Painting or drawing - a great way to relax and de-stress.
Playing a musical instrument.
Writing.
Unhealthy Fun Activities
Activities that involve excessive screen time
Binge-watching TV shows or movies for hours on end.
Spending all day playing video games.
Scrolling mindlessly through social media.
Activities that involve unhealthy substances
Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.
Smoking cigarettes or using other tobacco products.
Using illegal drugs.
Activities that are high-risk:
Extreme sports without proper training or safety gear.
Reckless driving.
Extra Notes II: Mr. Nathan Lasher's Feedback
I'd suggest to find productive things which make you happy and make a career out of it. Passion is a key element to base fun off of in a healthy manner. This is the good kind of fun. Think about people starting companies without it being a little fun for them.
