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August 9, 2016 at 4:02 pm #112007Eric SmithParticipant
Hello all. I’m new to the forums here. I am posting here because I have lost my moral compass. I no longer have any care or compassion for other people. I have become a lifeless vessel with no purpose in life. I have no emotions either. I feel like a robot.
The only reason I am moral to other people is to avoid punishment and to gain potential favors. I am like the sensible knave that the philosopher David Hume described. The sensible knave is one without love and concern for others and only behaves morally when it benefits them. I do not have any bad or evil intentions toward anybody, but I also just don’t care. Really I don’t care about anything. Even my own life.
I am basically going through life on autopilot. I don’t like this feeling but I feel there is nothing I can do to change. Other people just do not resonate with me. Even the ones who love me.I wish to change although I have no idea how to change.
How can I become a moral person? How can I learn to feel emotions and love again? How can I learn to not be selfish and think of other people when I am unable to care? I just feel empty without a soul.
August 9, 2016 at 7:47 pm #112026AnonymousGuestDear princelunar72:
What is the part of you that wishes to change, to feel emotions? Who is it that wants to change?
anita
August 9, 2016 at 9:08 pm #112030MattyParticipantPrincelunar72,
I think there are a number of things going on here.
1. Morals
2. Indifference vs. not caring about others (compassion)
3. Your own self love
4. Self improvementSo in regards to morals, being a sensible knave is not a bad thing, it just shows you are an opportunist. Also, we all form relationships with others because the other has something we want. This is our very nature. Being a knave is like being more honest about the terms of the relationship. Maybe you could say that you are a user, you use people until they have nothing else to offer you. You have already stated that you are unhappy with your current state, you don’t want to be like this. Well, i think the issue here is…what are morals? And i think this is what Hume was trying to say, that there is no single definition of morality. For some morality is a way to live one’s life, for others it’s based on their decisions. I would advise figuring out what ‘morality’ and ‘morals’ mean to you. You don’t have to care about everyone you meet, nor do you have to care for them.
You wrote that you no longer feel anything for others, this implies that at some point you did, so what changed? It doesn’t have to be a massive life changing event, it could be small ripples that came to a large conclusion. You have become a lifeless vessel, once again you haven’t always been this way, why? At some point something must of changed in order for you to be here. I graduated highschool in 2008 with a class of 150 students, i have no care in the world for any of them. Does this make me a bad person? In my mind, i don’t hate these people nor like them, i’m indifferent to them. They haven’t continued to impact my everyday existence, so why should i care? The main thing i want to get at here is that being indifferent to people and not caring are two separate things. A lot of people know there are problems in the middle east, it’s not that no one cares, it just doesn’t affect them. We are indifferent. If someone you know gets sick, someone that you treasure and love then you are going to care, but the passerby isn’t going to care, it won’t affect them. I believe we are all indifferent, you simply cannot care about everything, it will drive you insane. What is compassion? No one expects you channel Mother Treasa. Maybe the issue you are having is that you are forcing yourself not to care, forcing yourself to distance yourself because life will be easier?
I also suspect that you don’t particularly like yourself. Of course you have mentioned you feel like you are on autopilot and non-receptive to those that love you. I always find that if people can not look in the mirror at themselves and love what they see, then the root cause is usually your own diminished view of yourself. I think we can feel this way because we look at what we lack, you know…if something was to happen to you right now, what would you leave behind. As humans, we are always wanting more than we actually need. It’s not about what you don’t leave behind, it’s what you take with you. Is this how you feel?
If you feel empty, then you have to find something that makes you feel full. It doesn’t have to be anything big, it just has to be something that reminds you of what you can do, of what you can achieve and who you are. Heck, it could just be something that brings a smile to your face. You are going through a period which is rock bottom. Why? What is currently going on in your life? If you answer, not much, it just lacks purpose, then you have to give your life purpose. You want to change, but don’t know how to. You actually do know how, you have written down what you dislike about your current self, so you should try (if it’s what you want) to do the opposite. Everyday you can make small changes based on what you want to become.
I’m going to leave it here, there are some heavy questions in here. You by no means have to reply to them or any of them. They are mainly things you could consider. I just feel, that we always ask ‘why something’ is happening, rather than ‘how’ is it happening. Take 5-10 mins out of your day and just be by yourself and seek the answers within yourself.
Sincerely,
MAttyAugust 10, 2016 at 11:33 pm #112124LevityParticipantWell, that’s how things work. Sun rises from the east, gravity pulls you down. If you want gravity to pull you up, and are very pissed off at it pulling you down, then all the best with your life. LIFE is UNFAIR and HARSH: FACT. And a fact is a fact. Morals are meant for some ‘IDIOTS’ only.
Now comes the interesting part. Man has indeed conquered gravity or at least traveled against it. The men behind it were no ordinary men. Men with higher, deeper and bigger goals. Far-sighted visionaries and ‘IDIOTS’. I can live being absolutely amoral or even corrupt and enjoy life but will that make me feel proud? A sense of achievement? Deep satisfaction? A life spent FIGHTING rather than compromising and going with the wind. Or will my children want their father to be a corrupt,cowardly and low-life men? 3rd law of Newton not only applies to classical mechanics but also in everyday life. Every action has to has an equal and opposite reaction. Choice is ours, be a hero, try to be one or just be another worthless animal this plant and die.
And there is nothing like morality, a virtue for you maybe be a vice for me. It’s only about you. How you feel, how you see yourself. Try to see some years ahead and then make choices. Life isn’t just about 11th August 2016 or full August 2016? Is it? Long chain reaction.
Wish you all the best. I am also trying something, won’t give up. I have an easy option, I will not take it. It sucks, my god, it bloody sucks. Make me cry so much. If it hurts it HAS to be of some value. There is a REASON for us to continue. And the reason is in the future self.
August 22, 2016 at 9:23 am #113000RParticipant“Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle. Some things are within your control. And some things are not.”
– Epictetus -
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