Purpose
I want to dedicate this “blog” of sorts to show the practicality of philosophy, and I think a great place to start would be purpose. “What is the meaning of life?” seems like such an obviously important question, and yet many people (some of whom I know) do not try to find an answer, to their own detriment. I personally don’t like the idea of just drifting around through time, following the expectations of others and not understanding why I’m here.
Currently, since I obviously love philosophy, I’m enjoying the process of learning more about philosophy and the world. Besides that, I enjoy the process of challenging myself to be the best I can be in various areas, such as video games (both competitive and solo) and academics. I also like writing about fictional media to understand what philosophies are involved in it and to have a greater appreciation of good stories, and I may want to write one eventually. I also enjoy learning about political philosophy within my local community and questioning how it can be improved, if at all.
These might just sound like passions, so it might sound like I subscribe to hedonism, where the primary goal is personal happiness. I don’t yet know if that is or isn’t the way for me. I haven’t decided on my purpose yet, but I enjoy learning about the world and I know that I need to savor the process. I advise my readers to do the same; try to enjoy the process of life and don’t let it pass you by, because I imagine you will spend more time trying to accomplish your goals than you will being in the moment of success.
I know what I enjoy and I’m trying to continue in that direction, because to an extent, I do agree with John Stuart Mill, at least in the context of my own mind. J.S. Mill was a utilitarian, so he believed that the moral good is to pursue maximizing happiness, but he believed that intellectual pleasures had greater highs and were more worth pursuing than any other. I personally enjoy challenging myself, but I’m not here to demonize those who don’t. I just advise that you make sure you set yourself up for the long term, rather than getting caught up in the short term.
You might see that I’ve set up a difficult balance: I’m trying to both optimize for the long term and enjoy the journey. Those might seem like they oppose each other, but I think there are some ways to make them go together successfully. For example, you can take pride in making decisions you believe to be correct, even if the more obvious reward lies later. It can be hard not to ruminate on challenging moments in life and wish we could have tackled them differently, but I think it's beneficial to put a similar emphasis on remembering the good times and the amazing things we’ve accomplished. I think I’ll have to explore that more another time.
The most important advice I want to give about purpose is this: if you want to not be miserable, I strongly advise you to acknowledge reality as setting the rules for the game and then succeed within those rules. I’m not saying there is no room for idealism, but I think a great way to set yourself up for success is to defer to reality and try to achieve the best outcome that you can visualize within those rules. People (including myself at times, even though I’m aware of this) frequently waste time being frustrated at the injustices of the world, but I would focus on trying to work within the rules and get the best outcome. I’m not saying you should settle for mediocrity, but you should settle for reality. At least in my opinion, reality offers opportunities to exceed mediocrity in so many different ways, and I try to live with reality as my guide, not my foe.