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I believe in Nothing

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bleedingheartcommie

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i've spent a lot of time reading, studying, and pondering the basic philosophys. Most of it came with a heavy dose of Plato. "There was Plato, and the rest was commentary" - my philosophy teacher

i've been spending a lot of time recently with a friend that is very into Buddhism and I think he basically called me out.

I think I'm a nialist. I don't believe in anything. My friend calls it a job, i guess b/c it's so much work.

but seriously.. reality, emotion, morality, truth, happiness ....they are all completely relative to culture, history, and perception. There is no absolute truth if truth is relative

The point off all of this is that believing in nothing sux. It is a job. A job I want to quit. So does anyone have any advice? What am I missing? What/Who should I be reading? What philosophies do you subscribe to?
 
stop asking questions, join NA/AA, go to church, listen to brittany spears --- in that order. It will destroy your brain even faster than drugs, and you will never have to think again!
 
I know what you mean, its hard not having some sort of goal to strive towards or a common base to root from....
All i can say is take to reading, find out whats important to you...search from within, what are your passions..and take it from there.

You could also try reading basic philosophies of diff faiths, christianity works well, its gives you that extra energy to embrace your day and that much longed for direction.

Good luck!
 
It's a good way of going about things. Even if you do believe in things it's good to refine your ideas and beliefs by questioning everything through the perspective of believing in not beliving.
 
I used to believe in nothing. Now I know nothing, and I don't like it very much.

Nihilism's a good start, but I wouldn't recommend it as a permenant residence. The swamp is hard to navigate through, with that muck constantly trying to swallow your feet, but the abyss must be overcome... thee's not really another choice in the matter, save termination, and I don't find that too productive.

The fact is we need illusions. Most of us are at the mercy of those we inherited from our herd... er, culture. But we can choose our own illusions, live them to their fullest, believe in them strongly, while still realising they're our own creations. Which sounds contradictory.

As for what you should believe in? Just realise that nothing is true, perhaps, and enjoy stepping in and out of reality tunnels, playing by the many game-rules life has to offer and the many more that await creation ex nihlo by means of your will -- you know, the thousand-and-one different angles at which you can point at the moon. Create your own ideals. Make your Self.

Dare to face the abyss squarely, stare that big shadow straight in the eye, wear a wide grin just to spite him. Then aim your will towards creating and forever up-dating your self and your reality tunnel...

I mean, it sounds good, anyway.
 
Hey Bleedingheartcommie.
There's nothing wrong with not-believing. I think that man's compulsion to believe is a more dangerous thing and needs to be re-assessed.

When you believe, you are clinging to an idea and defending it no matter what, even when it has become untenable.

Not-believing means that you acknowledge that nothing is true forever, everything is going through a process of change and that all you can do is listen to the best of your instincts and run with the best idea that you have. Your mind is kept active because you have to keep asking questions.

You say not-believing is a job. I agree that it requires constant effort. But it doesn't have to be stressful. You just have to relax into it.
Also, I find that not-believing is somehow more satisfying than believing. Not-believing (or nihilism, if you like) is not just the negation of all beliefs, but the creation/re-invention of one's whole world.
 
i believe in beliefs; in that I believe beliefs were created by believers

You cannot believe in Nothing; Nothing is a singularity, and therefore everything, anything and yet nothing at all; making it your belief when in fact you also belief inferentially that your belief does not exist. To clarify, you must believe in something as believing in nothing is a contradiction, if you base nothing as a singularity, which it almost certainly is (it is a infinte void which is something in itself)

capiche
 
^
its terminology. What if he said.. " i don't have any beliefs"

You have have theories, ideas, feelings, intuition, fluid morality subject to change. Where is that believing in anything? There's a difference i think.
 
DigitalDuality said:
^
its terminology. What if he said.. " i don't have any beliefs"

You have have theories, ideas, feelings, intuition, fluid morality subject to change. Where is that believing in anything? There's a difference i think.
Click to expand...

true. I was just arguing that you can't believe in Nothing as Nothing is something in itself...not that EVERYONE must believe in something, because obviously there are people who have no beliefs whatsoever...which is a pretty empty existence if you ask me :(
 
Nothing is merely a term we've conceptualized to describe the lack of anything. B/c our language has solidified that as a "noun", doesn't mean the word cannot exist or be used.

And like i said before, beliefs < ideas. You can hold on to an idea for ever, but an idea can change, beliefs are a little harder.
 
all modern ideologies are based on christianity, even the choice to believe in nothing, so in saying that, you make no sense.....a job to believe in nothing??, the only hard job you have is convincing yourself that's true.
Believing in nothing is selfishness in all it's purity, a religeon is just a path to follow, where do you find youself?
 
DigitalDuality said:
Nothing is merely a term we've conceptualized to describe the lack of anything. B/c our language has solidified that as a "noun", doesn't mean the word cannot exist or be used.

And like i said before, beliefs < ideas. You can hold on to an idea for ever, but an idea can change, beliefs are a little harder.
Click to expand...

Those words only mean what they mean because you and others have developed a language that makes sense when they mean what they mean. Like you say - nothing is a changeable idea.

I have a problem with saying that any language is "solidified". That is sort of what fundamentalists say when they talk about the Bible or any of their other sacred texts. They would argue that the message solidified back then and is not open to reinterpretation.

I don't tell people I believe in nothing anymore. (All I get is people mocking german accents that start quoting lines from the Big Lebowski asking me if I am going "cut off their johnson" or throw a "varmit" in their bathwater.) I tell people I don't believe that there are any truths.
 
i guess u would be wondering about your situation since u havnt seen both sides.but if u ask me, i would just keep your ignorant state of mind the way it is, keep away all the illusions and lies.i used to not beleive in anything and thats when life was good.i used to go about day by day and i was the only living being in control of everything.i was a kid,but i was happy without all the lies and bullshit comming into my head.now i feel like i kno too much about this world and its ways that it really depresses me.i realize that me being alive is in this society is just a real let down since the world isnt really as great as i used to think.

keep on beleiving nothing,u wont have to sort through the endless illusions to find what works for u.thats basically what religion is,finding the right illusion.some of the time its given to you from birth and its easyer to ease into it and take it as the truth.

i could start my own religion if i really wanted to, you could to.theres so many lies these days, your better off not beleiving anything.iv grown to not trust a soul since i know they all lie on purpose or they might not even kno it,they might be telling you someone elses lies.all lies.
 
^ ^ ^ ^

Belief and knowledge are different animals.

Sometimes when someone says "I believe in nothing" they do not mean that they have limited knowledge of the world, rather they mean that they are rejecting it.

Also, I am inquisitive as to what "both sides" means? Do you view everything in a dualistic scheme? Majority vs. minority? Or do you think like I do, where there are probably as many sides as there are people discussing an issue?
 
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