Anyone else feel like me?

Question

I consider myself to be an intelligent guy.I'm no genius,but I'm a little above average.I've been coming to a point in my life where I'm losing my will to philosophize.I'm not against the work of philosophers,but I'm one of those people that would rather enjoy the here and now,and I don't feel the need for a well-constructed meaning in life.I actually feel awkward when I try to,and feel like a fool.I just want to live my life just for the hell of it...instead of asking questions I'll probably never find the answer to.I'm very apathetic to intellectual progress.It all seems so futile for me to be a part of it.Socrates said,"The unexamined life is not worth living."(Well,at least that's what Plato wrote.)I really don't hold as much importance on it all.We're all in the end,ignorant...which brings mind another Socrates quote.I think maybe we should take ourselves a bit more lightly,laugh,and have a good time.This might sound like an "everyman" answer,but it just seems right for me.

By "answers I'll probably never find the answer to",I mean "What is right?",Why are we here?","What's the right way to think?",etc.You get the idea.I think in the end,they're all assumptions.I'd just rather take the assumptions more lightly.

After reading some of the answers,I think I should say a little more.I'm aware I'm philosophizing in a way.I'm just not up to proactively looking for trouble.I see philosophy as a tool to get us through our lives rather than the actual thing to strive to perfect.I am just following my instinct here.Yes,I was upset about stuff.I was reading Nietzsche,Sartre,the Pre-socratics,etc. obsessively.I was fed up by the way that all they offered was their own opinion.Of course they were very well constructed.I'm just starting to accept my ignorance and remember that
with all its chaos,life is beauty,even in its ugliness.I also want to take my own path in life and learn from my mistakes rather than from other philosophers.I'm not saying I'm right or wrong.I'm just doing it.

Answer 1

Yes.
Ironically by abandoning the search for the meaning of life, you've found it: just live your life, enjoy it, be in present time, live in the here & now. Sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees. We worry about finding some deeper meaning in life when the truth is staring us in the face: be in the moment. The moment is all that exists. Do what makes you happy. Follow your dreams. Love yourself, others & the world. Most people waste their time living in the past or worrying about the future. They wonder about things that already happened or may never happen & ignore life while it is happening. Each moment is a precious gift. Make the most of it.

Have a good time. Laugh. Make love. Appreciate nature. Intellectual pursuits are fine if you have a passion for learning but you are not required to be a thinker or philosopher.

Live your life just for the hell of it. That is the meaning of life!
So relax and enjoy it.

Congratulations! Some people never figure this out.

Answer 2

I hear you, but I'm not quite where you are. I'm still examining my life, life, in general, and I am still thinking deeply about and forming answers to all those questions. I am torn between the futility I sense in the effort and the drive I have anyway to practice "applied ethics," aka social work. I sometimes wonder, "what difference does it make?" Maybe I'm more like the religiously faithful than I ever thought, except instead of having faith in a god, I have faith in humanity.

I don't know. I guess I still question and think a lot, in fact I was just told yesterday for the umpteenth time to stop thinking so hard (to which I responded, "Maybe I shouldn't stop thinking so hard; maybe everyone else should think a little harder.") The key, though, is balance. I take a lot in life very seriously, but I also take what I can lightly, laugh, and have a good time... although, in all honesty, probably not enough lately.

Take heart. Don't sweat it. It's not like you can never return to a philosophic life if you turn away from it now. And, really, your question and concern is not a complete turning away. You're still contemplating what is the best sort of life. The thing you seem to be forgetting is, the answer is not necessarily black or white. There is always a third way... or a fourth...

Answer 3

Sounds like you never really had the will or real desire to be a philosopher, do you think? You might have been good at it and studied it in college, but was it really in your DNA? Did you have a history of being that inquisitive growing up?

It's not a bad thing to not be that committed to philosophy, if that's the case. To each, his/her own. It may be hard to admit not ever really having that passion, because you don't want those X years doing it to go to waste, but if you can be honest with yourself about it here and admit that (if that's the case), then you'll have something more valuable: you'll have learned something about yourself, even after all these years.

Or if you still think that you are/were truly committed to philosophy, maybe you just need a break for a while (I did). If you are/were really committed, you'll be back -- it's not a passing fancy that you can let go that easily. It takes a lot of work, even if you're a natural. And many people, including Henry Ford, think that thinking is the hardest work there is (I think).

But it's also that *anyone* who's done something long enough, no matter how much they enjoy it, is bound to need a break from it at some point (pro basketball players probably don't play much basketball outside of their professional games); or some just need to retire.

Or maybe there was some life event that changed your perspective? Or maybe you took philosophy *too* seriously (if you really expected it to provide you with the meaning of life), rather than just something fun to do and, if you're lucky, help truly guide your life.

Anyway, get away for a while if you need. But given that you're concerned over this feeling and thought about it seriously enough to pose the question here, I bet you'll be back.

Answer 4

Life, to me, is about an individual's journey. The experiences, people, situations, etc you encounter will shape everyone's life individually. It is normal for man to seek answers and understanding on a higher level, but as you so rightly stated, it's all up to that individual to know when to say enough is enough. We will NEVER EVER be able to figure so many things even if we lived to be 1000. As with philosophy and any other topic or thing in life, you've just got to know when enough is enough and be smart enough to recognize that the point has come to lighten up. You obviously frustrated yourself by reading Plato, Socartes, etc. Life changes and as a result philosphy will always be changing as well. I personally think it futule to try to tie everything into any one theory, especially theories from ages ago.

I feel your frustration and I am confident that you will be ok, based on all that you have typed here. Lighten up but always know that you can't always stay in that state and it's as simple as that - There's a time and place for EVERYTHING.

Hope I didn't bore you with all this.

P.S. I am one of the most serious persons I know - I take everything seriously: things like having fun, laughing at myself, taking time out for myself, etc.... I take those things very seriously, just as much as learning things, being the best that I can be at my job, helping others, etc.

And there's probably no one who laugh's at oneself than I do, the way I see it, if other people and laugh at me, why shouldn't I and moreover why shouldn't I do so more than them after all this is about me!!!

Answer 5

Well, you're on the right path to finding the meaning of life and happiness. I'll guide you the rest of the way. Come over to my place, and we'll go to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville and get tore-up for a week/month/whatever.

Let these guys sit and worry about "the big questions". We've got females in bikini's to chase!

Answer 6

By asking this aren't you philosophizing?
In any case, I too try to live my life in the present and enjoy every little moment as it is. It is the only way to be carefree. Still, I find that embarrassing myself by thinking a little and testing the meaning to my life is worth it. We only get one, you know.

Answer 7

who knows the answers to all things anyway? sometimes we consider ourselves in a pendulum--thrown back and forth signifying nothing. on the brighter side of it though, it still worthwhile to note that we do not hold many answers to so many questions. in a way we are inclined to take a leap of faith on what to consider as being alive. ah! the mystery of the universe keeps as alive and we devote ourselves to finding answers which may in the end just frustrate us and left us thinking what a waste of time. you're right though in taking life as lightly as possible--i would suggest that too. too much a burden is wasting everything which yields nothing in the end.

Answer 8

Congratulations on becoming a Buddhist. Not a joke but a statement of fact.
The truth of life is only found by living it. Live by your moral code which will develop as you grow in experience. Accept nobodies opinion as truth without testing it, even Buddha's, that is what he taught.

Answer 9

I am with you on this one. if GOD wanted us to know the future and what was down the road he would made us all physic. i feel live one day at a time and deal with what is put in front of you at the time it is put there. life to short to dwell on whats coming in the furture.. live for today for tomorrow will take care of it's self..

Answer 10

remember philosophers like plato or socratis questioned people who were IGNORANT about life and humanity, because of them they were able to silent people and make them think about life and humanity itself.