Philosophical Question

[private joker]

[ QUOTE ]
The natural follow-up to this question is, what's the point of life in general then? One's life, taken in its entirety, is almost certainly the equivalent of that "one forgotten year".

The natural conclusion is that doing anything with your life that doesn't leave a long-term mark for the benefit of others is the equivalent of voting "yes" to the original poll question. Right?

Just thinking aloud, I always thought this was a fun question to discuss.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is why the film "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is so great. It poses the question of how important memories are to your life -- and then asks if it's better to have loved and lost and encountered romantic pain (and remembered it) than to have never remembered pain (or joy) at all.

[Zeno]

[ QUOTE ]
The natural conclusion is that doing anything with your life that doesn't leave a long-term mark for the benefit of others is the equivalent of voting "yes" to the original poll question. Right?

[/ QUOTE ]

Seems so.

If you have talents that can benefit others is it selfish to keep them all to yourself?

What if the year of bliss is conceived by a particular individual as a year of selfless acts in helping others? Though the memory will be lost to the particular individual, the acts themselves would live on in the memory of others and compound as additional benefits to even more people.

Memory, like my current cognitive thoughts at this moment, is an elusive thing. The previous sentence your just read is now, at the present moment, a memory.


Life has no given or a priori meaning. It’s meaning is derived by the experience itself.

I think.

-Zeno

[witeknite]

I feel the point of life in general is whatever an individual wants to make of it. The major difference between life and the blissful year you mention is that of choice. I did not choice life. It was a choice that was never offered. If I was a self aware being before this life, I doubt I was offered the option if the outcome is that I don't remember any of it.

WiteKnite

[pshreck]

Yes, because the things I would learn and experience would clearly affect me in my future life, whether or not I could remember doing them.

Or... are we supposed to assume that we wouldn't be affected at all after we were done?

[Zoltri]

Yes. That is my life story...live for the moment.
Gets me in trouble all the time.

Sigh.

[cnfuzzd]

Sure, why not. Its not like i would miss that year of my life. I wouldnt even remember losing it. Why not give myself a chance to be happy at least once even if i cant remember it.

peace

john nickle

[The Dude]

There is another concept to consider. Many people I know in the waning years of their lives take great joy in the memory of their past. If I were, say, 25 when i had the opportunity to take this year of bliss, would the joy during that time outweigh the cumulitive joy that year of experience and memory would bring me over the course of the rest of my life?

I want to note that this is not the reason I voted "no," but it is something I think many have not considered.

[Sooga]

Why wouldn't you do it? You're going to have to live that one year regardless, so why not make it a great year? Yea, I know, if I don't live the blissful life, then I would do things and have things happen to me that I could learn from, but really, that could happen in any other year as well.

I guess I'd much rather go for a sure-thing great experience (whether I remember it later or not), than to have a year where bad things might happen to me.

[elwoodblues]

[ QUOTE ]
Why wouldn't you do it?

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I have two young kids. I can't imagine choosing to miss one year with them (which is essentially what this would be.)

[Alobar]

I think it's an easy yes. Not being able to remember it means basically that in the future it might just as well never have happened, cuz who cares, you cant remember it. But as long as like it didnt set me back a year for any of my life goals, then why wouldnt I want to be in bliss for a year? Even if I dont remember it later on, it sure as hell beats not being in bliss.

Again, this is only if it doesnt set me back. If it did, then I would change my vote to a no