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Comment by coldtea | Hacker News Reader

>I daresay “good philosophy” is based on the rigor of the ideas themselves, not the lives of philosophers themselves. The canon of philosophy is replete with men who did distasteful or abhorrent things, but their ideas are studied nonetheless.

That only drives the point further: there are no ideas in Cioran, just (or in any case, mostly) whining.

My mentioning of his life wasn't to diminish his ideas (or rather, the lack thereof), just to show how unjustified the whining.

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If you have a happy life won't you be pissed/scared at the idea of death? Is there a philosophy that can give you comfort regarding the idea of death that is not a religious thing, the only idea that gives me a extremely small comfort is the idea that time is relative so in theory a dead person is stil young and living somewhere in the past just we can't get there.

Maybe look into Epicureanism. In particular, before you read wikipedia or stanford's encyclopedia, I'd recommend this letter[1] written by Epicurus himself.

[1]: http://www.epicurus.net/en/menoeceus.html

> If you have a happy life won't you be pissed/scared at the idea of death?

Why? Because it is the normal thing to do? Is it expected of you to be afraid of death? Is the natural inclination to be afraid of just thinking about dying?

I am "fearful" of death in the sense that if something is likely to cause my death in the present moment, I will act towards self-preservation.

But the idea of death, that just thinking of one's demise would cause one anguish is a sign one hasn't calibrated his priorities correctly. Pragmatically speaking, there are so many things to think about (and even moreso to do), so why would anyone focus on something that they cannot ever change? Besides their own self-imposed torture in the name "philosophy."

This will come off as snarky, but I recommend you find some more things to fill your time.

Your post reeks of a lack of empathy. The same kind that inspires the thin person to tell the fat person to just not eat so much. It's perfectly fine to not understand someone else, but it's another thing to assume they can snap their fingers and instantly reform themselves in your image.

On the contrary, I empathize with the plights of humanity. I know first-hand how difficult it is to be alive, what it's like to be downtrodden, and even how difficult it is for some of us to lose weight.

But, going through the extremely terrible has given me a better perspective on: the true severity of problems, whereas one who suffers will be stuck in such a negative and hopeless mindset, even if such is not true at all; the problems that are strictly self-imposed, as opposed to those one has no control over; and the extent to which one's problems can be fixed by putting in conscious effort.

As there are few who truly are unable to lose weight, without extra effort and accommodations, there are few that are truly stuck with unmanageable and crippling thanatophobia.

Have you heard of former drug addicts being harder on addicts than those who've never faced the problem themselves? This is relevant to our discussion.

While people need support and understanding, the victims themselves must take personal responsibility for their issues as well.

I think it is only natural to want good experiences to last for as long as possible and to be at least a little "pissed", as the parent comment put it, when you think about the inevitable end. It's similar to your instinct of self-preservation, only on a longer timescale. Of course it would probably be most enjoyable if one could just permanently forget about death and live life to the fullest, but that kind of oblivion seems almost impossible for such an important concept. Also without the prospect of death one might not be as inclined to make the most of what little time one has available. I guess you describe a kind of stoic philosophy where one shouldn't be concerned by things one cannot change at all, but that requires a lot of conscious effort, at least that's my personal experience, and the untrained human reaction to the fact that the good days are numbered is to be "pissed".

> It's similar to your instinct of self-preservation, only on a longer timescale.

I haven't thought of it like that. But it would seem one is an unconscious reaction, spurred on by the autonomous nervous system, while the other is a (seemingly) conscious choice (if we don't get into determinism).

Then we get back to the beginning. You can influence the outcome of a sudden event, but not your own destined death down the line. Taking your "natural to want good experiences to last for as long as possible and to be at least a little 'pissed'," into account, doesn't that align with my parent comment? By consciously obsessing about how your days are numbered and that you have relatively little time alive, are you not contributing to your own state of being "pissed?"

Are you not being self-sabotaging?

> I guess you describe a kind of stoic philosophy where one shouldn't be concerned by things one cannot change at all, but that requires a lot of conscious effort, at least that's my personal experience, and the untrained human reaction to the fact that the good days are numbered is to be "pissed".

My response to this will sound aggressive, but once we identify a lapse in our untrained thinking, the practical thing to do would be to fix this.

In other words, as you mentioned, we can override such thoughts with sustained conscious effort. It may be difficult, but it would be a better use of time to make ours as good as it can be.

>I haven't thought of it like that. But it would seem one is an unconscious reaction, spurred on by the autonomous nervous system, while the other is a (seemingly) conscious choice (if we don't get into determinism).

OK, I thought you weren't only talking about unconscious processes but also short-term decision-making like "I'm not going to try this unknown berry because it might kill me". I don't know why I used the word "instinct", since that implies unconscious processes indeed.

As for the rest, I completely agree with everything you said, my point was mainly what I expressed in my last sentence, regarding the reaction an "untrained" human mind would have, which of course can be overcome with some effort.

I was also thinking on the case when others you are about die and you are thinking if they are lost forever, I am not sure if you had this feelings, maybe if you are religious you can find much easier some comfort,

Yes, I've had these thoughts.

The first time, I cried when the realization hit me. All of the things we couldn't do anymore and the hole that he would leave was terrible to think about.

I changed my mindset into something very cliche, but it works for me:

We can no longer create memories together, but I can still cherish the ones we had and pass on the same good he brought into my life, to others. Sort of like remembering one's legacy and passing on the torch.

I don't believe there is an intrinsically correct answer for these human situations, so picking the most efficient one is best.

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