A big argument for the existence of God is this circular thing about the argument from desire or argument from need The idea that if human beings desire something, like a relationship with their Creator, such a thing must therefore exist and be possible
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That it would be perverse, cruel, just WRONG to give people a desire for something that doesn't exist and therefore can never be fulfilled Well, why the fuck not? The only reason to believe such a thing is impossible is believing in God in the first place
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It is, in principle, trivially easy to imagine a desire for something that doesn't exist and can't be satisfied - a desire for a three-sided square, a desire to be simultaneously hot and cold, a desire for the comfort of being loved without the terror of being known
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You could easily program a robot that wants there to be a three-sided square and spends eons trying to stick three 90-degree angles together and never actually succeeds and therefore is always unhappy and always will be unhappy It sounds more like the human condition than not
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So I mean this family discourse "It's built into the way human development works: we all start as helpless babies, we need some adult or group of adults to have absolute power over is to survive, and those adults will have a profound effect on our psyche" Okay and that's bad
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"But it's natural and inescapable!" Doesn't make it not bad "If it's the way we evolved to develop then it means we have no choice but to find a way to grow up this way without trauma and regret" Just cause you have no choice but to do it doesn't make it possible
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"So what, you're saying give up on happiness? Give up on a better world? Give up on the future of the human race?" Maybe! I dunno! Just cause we're here doesn't mean we're "supposed" to be here, just cause we're trying doesn't mean we're "supposed" to ever succeed
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Replying to @arthur_affect
That truth frees us to focus on what kind of life and what kind of world we want, and to make decisions and take action toward it, and to struggle with other humans over our different wants.
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Replying to @NorsEllie
Well, okay, let's go there: It may not always be possible for a given individual to even articulate desires or goals they have, and if they do those desires or goals may not ever be achievable It's quite possible -- even likely -- to just be a person who can't be happy
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Replying to @arthur_affect
I honestly don’t think happiness is a goal anyone should be aiming for. I’m eternally grateful to Sara Ahmed for alerting me to the original idea of happiness - an unpredictable occurrence, which cannot be planned for.
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Well, whatever word you want to use There's some people who will just not want to be alive
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Replying to @arthur_affect
That is true. I struggle with this, both personally, with loved ones who experience strong and regular suicidal ideation, and philosophically. Who am I to say someone else should stay when it is so hard for them? Selfishly, what can I do to help them want to stay?
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