And the more I think about it the more confused I am.
Edit: To be more verbose, I think a lot about what my life goals are. Certainly humans had this question for thousands of years when they lived in affluence, but not when more immediate needs were to be filled like food or security. The most common thread seems to be to fulfil the will of a higher being or some measure of personal happiness. I find the latter more attractive, though both options just push the question further: What is the will of this being and what makes me happy? I do not have a good answer, as basic exercise, socializing and such do provide pleasure but not much long-term happiness to me. It seems that my beliefs are somehow miscalibrated in such a way that I am not able to derive long-term happiness from living in this admittedly amazing world full of wonderful people, amazing technology and unreal order. For this I am looking into CBT and Stoicism. Which again just pushes the question a bit farther. What should I strive for? With enough effort I am surely able to derive joy from anything without putting in much further work. Then again, this does not have to be a bad thing.
As I said, the more I think about it, the more confused I am. Stoicism seems to be the closest thing to an answer, though not close to something like a scientifically supported answer.
Yes, No, Yes, No.
And the more I think about it the more confused I am.
Edit: To be more verbose, I think a lot about what my life goals are. Certainly humans had this question for thousands of years when they lived in affluence, but not when more immediate needs were to be filled like food or security. The most common thread seems to be to fulfil the will of a higher being or some measure of personal happiness. I find the latter more attractive, though both options just push the question further: What is the will of this being and what makes me happy? I do not have a good answer, as basic exercise, socializing and such do provide pleasure but not much long-term happiness to me. It seems that my beliefs are somehow miscalibrated in such a way that I am not able to derive long-term happiness from living in this admittedly amazing world full of wonderful people, amazing technology and unreal order. For this I am looking into CBT and Stoicism. Which again just pushes the question a bit farther. What should I strive for? With enough effort I am surely able to derive joy from anything without putting in much further work. Then again, this does not have to be a bad thing.
As I said, the more I think about it, the more confused I am. Stoicism seems to be the closest thing to an answer, though not close to something like a scientifically supported answer.