The Consolations of Philosophy

There is a reason I try to stay busy and caffeinated, mostly because if I don't, I have an irrepressible knack for getting myself down. If you couple this with an overall disappointing night, and worrisome outlook, it can be quite a funk. Tonight the culprit- aside from things that actually happened, which are inconsequential and not worth dwelling on- was Jean-Paul Sartre and his works. A French philosopher, he was a noted opponent of determinism (I think). This is itself isn't bad, because determinism is one of the most depressing outlooks a rational being can assume. No, the problem is not limited to M. Sartre's particular philosophy, but is, I think, intrinsic to all philosophy.

Take, for example, determinism. Broadly speaking, it's the idea that your choices, either by fate or chemistry, are predetermined, and that no conscious effort can even be attempted to alter the choices you will make. At first the good and bad (comforting and not comforting) aspects seem obvious. On the one hand, you can't be blamed for anything you do. On the other, you have no free will. But then you try to comfort yourself in the first point again, only to realize that no one else can be blamed for anything that they do, and anyone that's ever harmed you isn't a viable target for vitriol.

I could go on and on down this rabbit hole, but you see my point. For every comfort philosophy offers, it presents two wounds. This is true of all branches of philosophy; you'll never find one that leads to a comforting or "happy" place. Religions are somewhat better, but always promise happiness after unhappiness. Philosophies, religions, and any other attempts to answer "The Big Questions", seem to only show us that no matter what, we are unhappy in the here and now.

This might also be because happy people have better things to do than ponder philosophy and start religions.