Yeah, most desires are part of the territory, and not really influenced by our beliefs.
As a child I was very drawn to asceticism. I thought that by not qualifying any of my natural desires as ‘winning’, I could somehow liberate myself from them. I think that I did feel liberated, but I was also very religious and so I imagined there was something else (something transcendent) that I was fulfilling. In later years, I developed a sense that I needed to “choose” earthly desires in order to learn more about the world and cope with existential angst. I considered it a necessary ‘selling-out’ that I would try for 10 years. All this to explain why I don’t tend to think of desires as a given, but as a choice. But I suppose desires are given after all, and in my ascetic years I just believed that being unhappy was winning.
I believe asceticism is just another human drive, and possibly one not shared with other animals. In any case, it needs as much examination to see whether it fits into the context of a life as any other drive.
I have a similar take on the desire to help people.
Yeah, most desires are part of the territory, and not really influenced by our beliefs.
As a child I was very drawn to asceticism. I thought that by not qualifying any of my natural desires as ‘winning’, I could somehow liberate myself from them. I think that I did feel liberated, but I was also very religious and so I imagined there was something else (something transcendent) that I was fulfilling. In later years, I developed a sense that I needed to “choose” earthly desires in order to learn more about the world and cope with existential angst. I considered it a necessary ‘selling-out’ that I would try for 10 years. All this to explain why I don’t tend to think of desires as a given, but as a choice. But I suppose desires are given after all, and in my ascetic years I just believed that being unhappy was winning.
I believe asceticism is just another human drive, and possibly one not shared with other animals. In any case, it needs as much examination to see whether it fits into the context of a life as any other drive.
I have a similar take on the desire to help people.