Note: No intention of inflicting guilt upon anyone, is intended.
Life, I believe, is like an escape from the past. The closer I was to the moment I was born, the faultier I was. in logic, in interaction with others, and in sensitivity. It was no surprise that I despised myself as I was younger. By continuing to be alive, I try to escape this defectiveness, so I will be as faultless as possible. If I will just surrender to fault, given that it is changeable, then I see little reason to improve in whatever field in life; that will make me less ignorant and more contributing to you.
It's hard for me to understand why people like children. Even as a child, I did not like children, and that included myself. Children are usually very flawed beings. They seem to be more prone to making mistakes and not learning from them. Also, they seem to think that screaming is helpful and to think they know something while they do not.
Why do we need public education? To try and correct these natural flaws. So, we force them to learn, so our societies will be in better hands than otherwise.
I was very depressed as a young man. I always strived to be older, not only to graduate school but also to become wiser. Sometimes life was fun back then, yes, but being stuck while younger felt like being without purpose (only otherwise, because I can't control time). Hence, I was very happy when I graduated high school in the previous decade, as I despise being young for the reasons I mentioned.
Older people always seemed wiser and more rational. Not necessarily true, but whenever I've seen a bald man, the fact that he had no hair made me respect him more. After all, his baldness is proof of his greater age, and being older means having more potential, having learned new things, and thus possibly being more rational. I also want to be bald, but it does not run in the family. Perhaps if I were to be bald, would others have the same impression that I used to have?
Mistakes are an inevitable possibility, which means that one can always make them unintentionally. I am peaceful with this fact. What I'm not peaceful with is the idea that the future will always come. If it will always come, then I might have less chance of committing mistakes in my mid-20s, even less than my current chance.
Why be satisfied with one's current rationality when it can be further developed?
I see no virtue in being young. Perhaps the only necessarily good thing about it comes from the fact that one is farther from natural death and, thus, from dying in general. Only the suicidal wish to die; that's why they're suicidal. It would only make sense, then, that some may be afraid of getting old.
I do not understand, besides that, why people are afraid of getting older. Women may have their own reasoning when it comes to birth. Other than that, do we really have a reason to fear the inevitable progress of time? Of aging?
Last night, I dreamed of being in a retirement home. However, I was still at my current age. No one suspected this fact, due to my looks and the fact that I use a cane as a result of chronic fatigue. When I revealed the truth, I was met with a surprise: a positive laugh and tolerance.
I always hated being treated "like a child," even when I was one. Wouldn't you find it condescending to not take someone seriously enough due to his or her age?
Maybe, just maybe, some of you won't take me seriously because I have Asperger's Syndrome. If I realize that, then I will be very disappointed in you. The young, like the neurodivergent, are still capable of being rational and, thus, are worthy of being taken seriously. I do not like being either of them, but both are things beyond my control.
Of course, gaining experience as you get older is more likely. Nonetheless, not all old people are necessarily wise. If this is true, then there's no necessary correlation between a later age and wisdom. Even though the elderly is generally wiser, age alone isn't always the cause.
Experience, you see, is something that one has to learn from. If one does not learn from his or her experience, how can they be wiser than they are now? I only wager that some do not learn like they should, for greater wisdom to be attained.
I was dumber when I was younger. Maybe if I continue living, I will be less dumb. Philosophizing comes from this desire. To escape the younger days is like escaping Plato's cave, where delusion about knowledge is far more dominant.
To escape that horrible cave of self-deception, one must try and come closer to the "light." to the truth, and not to things that pretend to be the truth. Like with what? like with the reasoning that we might have currently. What if it isn't as solid? What if it could be less flawed? Maybe we just convince ourselves that it is good, if not better.
Therefore, as a philosopher, I should accept getting older with open arms, as that could mean that I will escape the delusions I might've had when I was younger. Is your hair getting whiter? Is it possible that your hair will fall out? being potentially less pretty and attractive than before? Being less able to relate to the younger Exchanging them all for greater wisdom is a deal every honest philosopher should accept.
