In revaluing all of my own values, I have become confused and totally demotivated. What should I do?

Answer 1

Stop revaluing.
You haven't 'really' revalued your values. Socially, how many of your society's norms have you broken, or laws even?
Personally, what have you so catastrophically changed? Reading Nietzsche (something I would usually recommend) makes people claim funny things about themselves.

Answer 2

I also ran into this when I started studying philosophy.

Initially, I came to the conclussion that there is no right and wrong; everything is solely based upon interpretation.

As I have gotten older, I've realize that I do have personal values and morals in my life and that these are defined by my life experiences.

Friedrich Nietzsche (who presents a very strong case; that rings true in many ways) could be just as wrong as Ptolomy was about the Solar System. Keep living and experiencing life... you will find your own philosophies in time.

Answer 3

That's a common problem for some people when they start studying philosophy. Especially if they study skepticism, or get overwhelmed with metaphysics or epistimology. The best thing to do when that happens, is take a step back down to earth.

It's happened to me before, too. What you have to remember with philosophy, is that everything we talk about is, in one way or another, a mental experiment. It is entertaining, and it is stimulating, and often it encourages real growth in a person. The problem comes in when a person studying philosophy gets lost in all the rules and all the questions and the skepticism. Or when they come face-to-face with the realization that they don't actually know as much as they thought they did. At first, that "lightbulb" moment that things you used to hold as certain might not be true, is really chilling.

But be encouraged - all is not lost. What we must do when we face these moments, is step back. The purpose of philosophy is to get you to think critically about your life. We challenge our values, not to rip the rug out from under our own feet, but to push ourselves outside the box, outside our comfort zones, and grow a little bit. Sometimes this pushes us to realize that a belief we once held, is actually not good for us. Other times, it reinforces what we already sensed was true. I have had both of those experiences, and they are both rewarding experiences to have. You must realize that it's ok to have values, even though you may not be 100% certain of all the reasons you have them. You must balance out what makes sense rationally, what feels right in your spirit, and what functions well in a practical sense. Many philosophers (Descartes, Berkeley I think, others) mention at the beginning of their most influential works, that the entire thing is meant as a game of the mind and would not work if it were practically applied in daily life.

The mark of a good student is an open mind and a strong heart. You don't want to be swept around with every new idea that crosses your path; but you do want to have a mind that can examine itself and recognize when it needs to grow. Someone wise once told me that unless you lose a little sleep over this stuff, you'll never really learn from it. It sounds to me like you are an example of a really good student, in the sense that you take it seriously enough to let it bother you. The trick is to move past those moments and not let them take you in permanently. Take it one step at a time. Don't put the pressure on yourself that you have to have it all figured out in the next 10 minutes. Have the humility and grace to realize that if the "greats" of the human race (from Plato to Descartes to Kant to Nietzsche) didn't have all this stuff figured out, you're probably not going to solve the mysteries of life either. But you do well to think about them - you do well, to struggle and grapple with them a little bit.

Don't give up. Keep thinking; keep moving forward. Take it a day at a time, a question at a time. Expose yourself to things that inspire you - be that art, music, the theater, time with friends, time in nature, cooking a good meal. Do things that stir you inside and make you want to embrace life. Do your best to stay connected to your heart, and remember that not everything in life can be solved by the mind alone.

I have been studying this stuff for years and am constantly humbled by the realization of how little I really know. But I figure that as long as I can look myself in the mirror at the end of the day and be ok with who I am, everything will turn out all right in the end.

Best of luck to you sweetie. If you want to talk more about this, feel free to email me.

Answer 4

You have to find your passion again. Everyone has at least 1 thing that drives them above and beyond all they think they are capable of. Think long and hard about what is your driving force and everything else will fall in place naturally.

Answer 5

"What IS" already has all the value it was created with! It is the human conceptual mind, that must always add meaning or interpretation or judgment!
Peace and Blessings...

Answer 6

Redefine your values, so that you're motivated and understanding...(?)

Do whatever you feel...ask more questions...i don't know

Answer 7

I always take a chill pill for that :-)

Answer 8

think about other people's problems. it will make you feel better about yourself!

Answer 9

Don't be afraid of failing be afraid at what you can succeed at!!!