People die.

It happens, and one's own mortality has been the subject of many-a-philosophy since times immemorial. To be confronted with death is to be confronted with life's meaning as, in death, one's life is ended, wrapped up in a little bow, nothing more to be put into it, and only interpretations to be gotten out of it; it is complete. The absurdity this places on meaning, as all activites to bring life action finally crumble, is unbearable for some, unfathomable for others, and is never a non-issue. It is difficult to reconcile with one's belief system, and results in many religious inquiries and quarrels. The thought that going to heaven is a cooing pat on the back for some, and makes it easier to get out of the bed in the morning.

Yet for myself, among many others, this is an outrageous claim, and is simply a way to escape the problem. Though I do not wish to get into a theological, in nature, debate for there is not enough space within the ambit of this discussion to touch on the devastatingly diverse dilemas of death. I mainly wish to bring up the conflict of death to life in the interest of the individual as this is genesis of my contemplation of mortality, as, I assume, it is with most people. What I wish to discuss, at this moment, is the introduction of the death of the other.

Namely: Your significant other.

I realize that this is something that a great majority of you will not be forced to deal with for some substantial amount of time, as the frequenters of this forum are young, and thier own mortality may not have even crossed thier minds as of yet. This is, however, a big problem that every one will have to come across at some time in thier life, probably a few times.

What's at stake here is meaning and loss.

You may give me the answer of "we'll meet up in heaven" but this is a non-arguement to me, and lacks any intellectual merit. What it comes down to is, much like your own death, the inability to change anything through action. If the last thing that is expressed between you and your beloved is that of momentary contempt, one that is most likely going to end in the grand act of "make up sex", at the point of death the book is closed; the flowers on her grave will come much too late. The dreams of a second honey-moon die with thier last breath; that plan to back-pack across Europe with them will retreat to the realm of impossibility, or, at best, a morose meandering with a feeling of incompleteness, wishing they were there; encased in casket, your beloved will never get to see you, finally, quit cigarettes and, thusly, stop stinking of fags all the damn time.

So how do we reconcile this situation? It is my suggestion that we do this in the fashion that we reconcile all things: existentially, that is, authentically.

It is far too common a notion that existentialism is a philosophy of meaninglessness, and despair. And, although this language is incorporated, the lesson to be learned is just the opposite; it is one of booming optomism. Realizing that death is an inevitability, and that there is no meaning given to us, we are thrown into what the existentialist call despair. But this despair is at the loss of God, meaning, the loss of someone to give us something meaningful to do. Result: we create our own meaning.

Application to this essay: we give love our own meaning.

So, realizing that we will die, and that our loved ones will die, we should not take for granted the positions we hold in life, nor the happiness of our Others. Given this we should not assume that things being good is the same as things not going bad, taking a passive approach to existence, but rather should take an active approach and make life meaningful (read: happy) to our beloved whose happiness seems much the drug to ourselves.

Life is too short, and I don't think that is a reason to view it individualistically, and materialistically, as seems to be the norm. On the contrary, I think that this is all the reason to live for each other all the more. If my lover should die I would like to be able to reflect on our relationship and find solice in the fact that her last days were spent in happiness with me. Should I die, I'd like her to be grateful for my life.

I wont lie, thats too long for my short attention span. But from what I did see thats pretty indepth, what inspired you to write such a article?

quote:Originally posted by I_Like_Traffic_Lights:

If my lover should die I would like to be able to reflect on our relationship and find solice in the fact that her last days were spent in happiness with me. Should I die, I'd like her to be grateful for my life.

....and....to live to love again....

Knowing she was happy won't bring her back, you're still alone. Everything ends in misery, inevitabely, you can't get away from it. Everything you worked for is in vain and means nothing

Fuck, can't even breathe

I really dont have anything to contribute to this thread, but let me tell you, you are an excellent writer, you have a very good grasp of this language.

quote:Originally posted by I_Like_Traffic_Lights:

People die.



Life is too short

Wow man............ i mean like... that totally blew my mind.

Since when the fuck does everyone think they're a fucking philosopher.

Just cause you soaked up alot of bullshit from films and tv doesnt mean it means anything or that you're smart for saying it.

"Application to this essay: we give love our own meaning"

No shit einstein. It's a subjective term.

I love pancakes, I love my mom, I love weed, I love my girlfriend, I love my friends.

If all of those can be true at the same time then you know LOVE is a bullshit word.

Class is over dipshits. Stop using hormones as an excuse not to think straight.

Death and love are both tough topics.

If you're handing that in for a class, I'd suggest proof-reading it and thinking about the format.

It has content.

[This message has been edited by Euda (edited 11-18-2006).]

Some of the wording seemed a bit forced, but the message behind it was still interesting. Or at least the view.

That's one thing i haven't figured out how i'd cope with yet. The most i can offer is to enjoy every moment you do have together, and (depending upon what you believe) hope that death doesn't mean the end of them, only a temporary pause.

good movie

Mephisto: you've got a lot of anger in you. Just let it go, whatever it is. Reread without being pissed off, and you'll see that you didn't really comment on anything the essay was about. It's about the mortality of loved ones, not....whatever it is about mass-culture, subjectivity, hormones, and etc. that you were on about.

Euda: not for class, just bored at work, and taking a break from reading Sartre.

Psionicist: one of the few people to get the point. People need to deal with death, but a lot of philosophy is dedicated to the death of the self. What about the Other?

asthesunsets: what movie?