Really confused, are we alone?

Question

Hey everyone, this is going to be a very hard question to describe, but I'll try, (and please don't tak me as arrogant):
I know that all the poeple in the philosphy section of Y!A are very deep, and serious, i always get great answers whenever I have questions, so i thought i'd ask...
I was once talking to one of my best friends [a girl] and we started to get all deep, and philosophical, and talking about serious things...or at least attempting to.Yet, when she was talking to me, I could tell that she was being very serious about it all, but it seemed so...well, 'shallow'. I mean, you can never tell if it was just because she has trouble communicating her thoughts, even though they might be profound in meaning.

So my question: do you think humans, in general, at one point of their lives, think deeply and philosophically?For instance, I always wonder if lets say, Jessica Simpson has ever had a deep thought in her life..or are some people just-plain, incapable of thinking that way?

Answer 1

Yes. There are people incapable ot thinking 'deeply' and 'philosophically'. I know people who've never questioned 'why they are here', or 'what is the meaning of life', or 'where did this all come from'. This doesn't mean they are incapable of thinking that way, although I do know some that seems as if they really aren't.

Answer 2

I think we kind of need to define what a "deep" thought is before going further. I think it is something that we are passionate about and has meaning to us. If the subject isn't meaningful to us, then it may never really trigger "deep" thoughts. We may find it frivolous or unimportant and therefore treat the subject as something that doesn't hold any meaning to us.

I think that most people have deep thoughts all the time. Some people might not want to say that they do, but I think it's human nature.

I believe that we all think of things like...

1) Are we alone in the universe or are there other creatures on other planets?
2) Why am I here?
3) Is there really a G-d? <--Note: I'm Jewish, In my religion we're not allowed to spell G-d's name in full. Long story, but it pertains to not offending G-d by having to dispose of or destroy his written name.
4) Is world peace possible?
5) Where did we come from?
6) Can "everything", even animate & inanimate objects, be boiled down to simple mathematics?
7) Why did "this" happen to me now?

There's a bunch more, but I think you get the idea. I think a good analogy is the funny scene in Disney's "the Lion King" where Pumbaa the warthog is laying in the grass next to Simba and Timon the meerkat...they're looking up at the stars and wondering about where they came from and what they represent? Timon says they are lighted candles in the sky, Pumbaa says they are giant balls of swirling, flaming gas, and Simba says they are the spirits of the ancestral lion kings.

It's clear that we each see things differently and that is what makes philosophy so interesting.

Answer 3

I do believe that everyone, even the most amazingly idiotic people, have at least some form of deep thought. The issue isn't whether they do or don't, the issue is what do you need to talk about with this specific type of person to insight a deep thought in the far reaches of their brain. For that matter, just exactly how deep would this certain person's thought processes go? You just need to be able to figure out where a stopping point is for the person that you are engaged in a coversation with,and how much it will take before their thoughts become shallow for lack of understand the topic.

Answer 4

One point we can agree on is that everyone believes they have, at least once in their lifetime, though of something very deeply and very profondly.

Is it truely profound? It now becomes a question of perspective and view. A radical change of style and appearance for a teenager wishing to impress someone of the opposite sex is something profound. To an adult with someone in their life, the idea is shallow.

In your example, did Jessica Simpson ever have a deep though in her life? At least twice (marriage and divorce) by my count but again, it depends upon how much you value the process and emotional attachements that were created in the marriage. Realising that one must divorce can be a very thought provoking process and create massive anguish for some, others can wave it off.

Answer 5

You know what? I think about that all the time? I have a lot, a TON, of moments where i take time to myself to think about serious, philosophical topics like life and religion. But i wonder if other people do... my parents, my sisters, my friends. I'd like to think all people have deep thoughts every once in a while, but how do u ever know what with the way people present theselves publically? i do consider this sort of thinking and reflection a characteristic of people who are of higher intellegence, of people who take life and it's meaning seriously, but do "other" people think this way also? Do "other" people contemplate the deep and philosophical topics "we" do? How will we ever know unless we ask someone like Jessica Simpson, u know? good question, by the way!!

Answer 6

I'm inclined to think that most all of us do have some deep thoughts, although it may not always be apparent. For example, my roommate seems to care about little more than shopping and her violin, but then one day she had a book by St. Aquinas by her bed. I asked her what class it was for, and she said that she just really liked his writing and we actually managed to have a conversation about it. I thought that, wow, perhaps she did have a deep side... Turns out she really just liked to disprove his logic. Which I do too, actually, so maybe she is just as deep as me... Or maybe this is really just a shallow answer. Who knows.

Answer 7

let's just line this out, J.S. ever have a deep thought? LOL.
people such as this one makes me wonder about evolution.
and the possible steps that were skipped. to answer your question, most intelligent and well brought up people are very capable of thinking deeply into the deep thoughts of life and what they think of the future. ask Albert Einstein.

Answer 8

I would say that everyone has a depth to them. Capability to think deeply or philosophically comes to everyone, some just choose not to use the ability. That makes it so that they think themselves incapable of thinking deeply. It is possible for all humans in general to think deeply, if we couldn't we would base all things on instinct, and we are not always instinctive.

Answer 9

Hi Laughable, Yes, I think we all at one point, have had a very deep thought.About Jessica Simpson, come on lets get real. She is a sweet cartoon girl.

Clowmy

Answer 10

you are not alone here in philosophy, i'm an airheaded artist and i check in from time to time...
and there really are people out there who are incapable of thinking a thought any deeper than their genitalia (or longer, as the case may be).
then there are people like some of the celebs, and i strongly suspect they are putting on an act of being shallow, because shallow people don't have the ability or discipline to succeed in the entertainment or artistic fields...