Ivan Ilyich lived as he was supposed to live. According to the society he belonged to he did what was expected of him. He conducted his life with the values and habits of those around him. Along with most of society Ivan fails to recognize his own mortality until the moment that death is upon him. How ought we live? This speaks mostly to conduct I think. How should we conduct our actions in life? This can be answered in numerous ways. We should live honest, compassionate and virtuous lives etc. We should be nice and respectful to other people. We ought to do the next right thing. But when we reflect on the insightful story of Ivan Ilyich and how we ought to live, the answers might change. How ought we live? I think an important part of living is being conscious. We ought to live consciously. We should be conscious of all our actions. When we are truly conscious of our actions we learn how our actions affect other people, how they affect the planet and how they affect us on an individual level. When I buy my clothes I should think consciously. Is this ethical consumerism? Why is this so cheap? Was someone exploited when making this clothing? How much pollution does the company I work for put into the air and water? Do I need the large luxurious SUV to drive everywhere? Many innocent actions can easily be somebody else’s problem, but if we live consciously we might change our actions and attitudes. How ought we live? “The unexamined life is not worth living” Socrates. I guess that means we should live an examined life. We should THINK instead of being apathetic. Aristotle would say we should live happy, fulfilled and virtuous lives. People should be conscious of their values so that their actions reflect their values. Also when you live consciously you learn everyone has a different opinion and their opinion can be 100% valid. Everyone will answer the question differently, especially people of different societies. It is interesting to learn how other cultures answer the question of ‘how ought we live?’ It is also fascinating to see that many values cross cultural boarders.
And we should live conscious of our impending death as we learned from Ivan Ilyich because it gives value to life. For without death what is life? You could argue that there must be life for death to exist, therefore there must be death for life to exist. Being conscious of your own death helps people live more fulfilled lives.
As Emilee quoted, I believe the best-fitting line for this question was said by Socrates--"The unexamined life is not worth living".
With that being said, I will also quoted a line from the song "A Sea Chanty of Sorts" by the band Margot and the Nuclear So & So's-- "leave anytime, you don't have to be right, you've gotta live the best you know how".
I believe wholeheartedly that it is impossible to define the "right" and "wrong" ways to live. What's right for one person may be wrong for another. I think what's important is the lifelong search of finding who you are, finding your identity, and staying true to that identity. Unlike Ivan, you develop a sense of self which will dictate all your actions. As a 21-year-old college student with an impending graduation looming around the corner, I struggle with the thought of being "free". Not having school, moving out on my own--the possibilities are endless. This is where I will get to make all the decisions that will impact me for the rest of my life. I hope to find something, someone, some journey that will make me happy. And hopefully, God willing, at the end of that journey I will have lived a fulfilling and "examined" life.
We ought to live as if everyday were our last. We should tell those we love, "I love you," every day, we shouldn't hold grudges or be upset with people for long because what if the last thing you said to them before you drop dead was something negative and hateful? I'm not saying that we are going to live our lives without conflict because we're only human. We like to fight/argue with each other from time to time.
I agree with Emilee, she has a good point with living consciously and living the examined life, not the unexamined life. We need to be conscious of what we do because then we will be able to live life more fully. I also agree with Laura because she said, what may be the right way to live for me may not be the right way for her to live. We all have our own paths and we gotta go with the flow because who knows what life is going to throw at us? I'm not saying that we should be reckless and YOLO everything, but we need to live fully, live consciously and live how WE want to live, not how others want us to live.
While I do not think that nihilism has all of the answers about the meaning of life, I feel that the arguments of those who affirm nihilism are very interesting, specifically how we should embrace the ordinary and enjoy every moment of life. This is exceedingly difficult--if not impossible--but it is a model upon which we can try to enjoy every moment.
I really liked the reference that Professor Barry made to Thornton Wilder's work "Our Town" in the text. Emily Gibbs, after rewitnessing the events of her twelfth birthday, realized how what seemed ordinary was really extraordinary and how she missed so much of what was going on around her. Nevertheless, she ultimately decides to return to the grave and accurately shows how it is just not possible for us to continuously embrace the ordinary.
I agree with the author that the meaning of life is an elusive question that epistomologically is impossible for a human being to answer. The nihilists certainly do not have the answers, but those who affirm this concept do present advice that I find valuable and noteworthy: Embrace the ordinary and enjoy your life, every second of it.
Ivan Ilyich lived as he was supposed to live. According to the society he belonged to he did what was expected of him. He conducted his life with the values and habits of those around him. Along with most of society Ivan fails to recognize his own mortality until the moment that death is upon him.
ReplyDeleteHow ought we live? This speaks mostly to conduct I think. How should we conduct our actions in life? This can be answered in numerous ways. We should live honest, compassionate and virtuous lives etc. We should be nice and respectful to other people. We ought to do the next right thing. But when we reflect on the insightful story of Ivan Ilyich and how we ought to live, the answers might change. How ought we live? I think an important part of living is being conscious. We ought to live consciously. We should be conscious of all our actions. When we are truly conscious of our actions we learn how our actions affect other people, how they affect the planet and how they affect us on an individual level. When I buy my clothes I should think consciously. Is this ethical consumerism? Why is this so cheap? Was someone exploited when making this clothing? How much pollution does the company I work for put into the air and water? Do I need the large luxurious SUV to drive everywhere? Many innocent actions can easily be somebody else’s problem, but if we live consciously we might change our actions and attitudes.
How ought we live? “The unexamined life is not worth living” Socrates. I guess that means we should live an examined life. We should THINK instead of being apathetic. Aristotle would say we should live happy, fulfilled and virtuous lives. People should be conscious of their values so that their actions reflect their values.
Also when you live consciously you learn everyone has a different opinion and their opinion can be 100% valid. Everyone will answer the question differently, especially people of different societies. It is interesting to learn how other cultures answer the question of ‘how ought we live?’ It is also fascinating to see that many values cross cultural boarders.
And we should live conscious of our impending death as we learned from Ivan Ilyich because it gives value to life. For without death what is life? You could argue that there must be life for death to exist, therefore there must be death for life to exist. Being conscious of your own death helps people live more fulfilled lives.
DeleteAs Emilee quoted, I believe the best-fitting line for this question was said by Socrates--"The unexamined life is not worth living".
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, I will also quoted a line from the song "A Sea Chanty of Sorts" by the band Margot and the Nuclear So & So's-- "leave anytime, you don't have to be right, you've gotta live the best you know how".
I believe wholeheartedly that it is impossible to define the "right" and "wrong" ways to live. What's right for one person may be wrong for another. I think what's important is the lifelong search of finding who you are, finding your identity, and staying true to that identity. Unlike Ivan, you develop a sense of self which will dictate all your actions.
As a 21-year-old college student with an impending graduation looming around the corner, I struggle with the thought of being "free". Not having school, moving out on my own--the possibilities are endless. This is where I will get to make all the decisions that will impact me for the rest of my life. I hope to find something, someone, some journey that will make me happy. And hopefully, God willing, at the end of that journey I will have lived a fulfilling and "examined" life.
We ought to live as if everyday were our last. We should tell those we love, "I love you," every day, we shouldn't hold grudges or be upset with people for long because what if the last thing you said to them before you drop dead was something negative and hateful? I'm not saying that we are going to live our lives without conflict because we're only human. We like to fight/argue with each other from time to time.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Emilee, she has a good point with living consciously and living the examined life, not the unexamined life. We need to be conscious of what we do because then we will be able to live life more fully. I also agree with Laura because she said, what may be the right way to live for me may not be the right way for her to live. We all have our own paths and we gotta go with the flow because who knows what life is going to throw at us? I'm not saying that we should be reckless and YOLO everything, but we need to live fully, live consciously and live how WE want to live, not how others want us to live.
While I do not think that nihilism has all of the answers about the meaning of life, I feel that the arguments of those who affirm nihilism are very interesting, specifically how we should embrace the ordinary and enjoy every moment of life. This is exceedingly difficult--if not impossible--but it is a model upon which we can try to enjoy every moment.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the reference that Professor Barry made to Thornton Wilder's work "Our Town" in the text. Emily Gibbs, after rewitnessing the events of her twelfth birthday, realized how what seemed ordinary was really extraordinary and how she missed so much of what was going on around her. Nevertheless, she ultimately decides to return to the grave and accurately shows how it is just not possible for us to continuously embrace the ordinary.
I agree with the author that the meaning of life is an elusive question that epistomologically is impossible for a human being to answer. The nihilists certainly do not have the answers, but those who affirm this concept do present advice that I find valuable and noteworthy: Embrace the ordinary and enjoy your life, every second of it.