GENIUS FORUMS

Kevin, (et al)

I just read your last letter in the Letters between enemies series.

You said:

I have always said that one's purpose in life is arbitrary; that it must be chosen
on a whim. All except one or two choose as a goal happiness through fantasy.
The exceptions choose happiness through reason alone. Both goals are equally
valid. Now I respect.


It seems to me you all of a sudden became non judgmental, therefore had no more reason to make yourself feel good for being "better" than the crowd. What is the difference between being judgmental and being non judgmental?
Do we define our values by thinking, or does whatever we end up thinking/doing define our values?
The value of a value is always in relative to the value of other values, so how can we not be judgmental?
Yet, how can we be judgmental when everything has been caused to be how it is, as we dangle like puppets on a causal string? And further along this line of thought, I really can't see how there is anything but fate. Things were how they were. Things are how they are. And what will be will be.

Slightly jumbled thoughts, but thats where I am. :) Care to comment?

-Skipair

skipair wrote: You said:

I have always said that one's purpose in life is arbitrary; that it must be chosen on a whim. All except one or two choose as a goal happiness through fantasy. The exceptions choose happiness through reason alone. Both goals are equally valid. Now I respect.

It seems to me you all of a sudden became non judgmental, therefore had no more reason to make yourself feel good for being "better" than the crowd.

Like an onion with many shells, there are many shells to shed.

What is the difference between being judgmental and being non judgmental?

When we understand in our deepest heart of hearts that all things are acting out their fate that Nature determined, we are able to be non-judgemental.

Do we define our values by thinking, or does whatever we end up thinking/doing define our values?

The latter. However, most people never arrive at "values", as such - they just live their lives like animals.

The value of a value is always in relative to the value of other values, so how can we not be judgmental?

We can judge one person to be ignorant and another wise, and we can value wisdom above ignorance, and yet still we can be non-judgemental so long as we understand that each is exactly as Nature made them, from beginningless time, and that each had no choice in the matter.

You're right, it's all about understanding fate, or "God's will", so to speak.

Kevin Solway wrote:

skipair wrote: Do we define our values by thinking, or does whatever we end up thinking/doing define our values?

The latter. However, most people never arrive at "values", as such - they just live their lives like animals.

Kevin; What do you mean by “never arrive at "values"”? Since values are defined by our thinking/doing don’t all people ‘think/do’ and hence define (arrive at?) their values?

clyde wrote:Kevin; What do you mean by “never arrive at "values"”? Since values are defined by our thinking/doing don’t all people ‘think/do’ and hence define (arrive at?) their values?

You can only have values to the degree that you think. Most people don't think, so they can't be said to have values.

Kevin; Does "have values" mean anything more than "think of values" and if so, what?