Truth and Happiness

Philosophy Forums Philosophy
1

The common perception is that knowledge is power.
Or to put it differently, that truth is power and that it hides an ulterior motive:
Truth has the power to offer contentment.

To the human mind all ‘reality’ must have a utilitarian advantage or else it cannot be ‘reality’.

The idea here is that power is not desirable for its own sake but that it too, like faith, is concerned with escaping life’s miseries and inherit suffering, that it masks a death-wish behind a seductive and hypocritical life-affirmation, that it mustn’t be endured but enjoyed.

But at what point do we concede to the notion that what is true must necessarily be advantageous or life-affirming?
Is this not a prejudice which places our needs and well-being as a central theme?

If the universe lumbers along, indifferent about its multiple creations and destructions, then why do we assume that it is concerned with life, or this ephemeral material union that becomes self-consciousness?

Nietzsche proclaimed that “…a spirit might be measured according to how much of the ‘truth’ he would be able to stand – more clearly, to what degree it would need to be watered down, shrouded, sweetened, blunted, and falsified.” – [J39; cf. WM 1041; EH-V 3]

Man enjoys the notion that his well-being is determined by his attitude and that all that is needed is a ‘correct attitude’ to create happiness through meaning.
The underlying motive here is to interpret ‘reality’ in ways that lead to the feeling of contentment; to ‘spin’ the world so that it does not bother our sensibilities and that fits into our desires.
If enough people participate in our perspective then it becomes ‘real’ by default, it becomes Karma, as a self-contained system of inter-relations agreeing on some fundamental ‘truths’ and living as if they were universal.

I have witnessed this first hand when attempting to deconstruct ‘holy’ concepts such as Love, compassion, Equality and many of our modern necessary social illusions.

This human prejudice results in many errors, one basic one being that an opinion concerning truth must necessarily offer an advantage to the one holding it.
This in turn forces us to seek what lies behind an assertion, what the person gains by it, raising questions about his psychology and past.

I would admit that for a mind which holds onto beliefs for their utility it would seem logical to assume the same for all others and it would be wise to search for what use he makes of his convictions.
But, to an honest mind, it isn’t always the case.
Do I only see what I want to?
Do I hold as ‘true’ that which I can use?
Or are certain perceptions, certain skeptical assertions unavoidable, to an honest mind?

To put it plainly, is truth necessarily life-affirming and advantageous or is it, at times, something to be endured and lived with in spite of it?

2

Satyr -

Nice post.

Of course, we must account for the fact that we may want many things at once - and they may conflict, these wants. Contentment is over-rated, and so is “wanting”.

What translation of Nietzsche is that? Just wondering - I do not recognise that verbiage exactly. I have a poor memeory, though. I do not understand your text notation.

3

It’s from Kaufmann’s ‘Nietzsche – Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist (4th Edition)’

Could not one of these “wants” be just to see, beyond personal advantage and gain?
Man’s desire to just know what the hell is happening to him and why.

4

Satyr

Is it better to serve in heaven or rule in hell? An old question. They both affirm an assumed reality but how to distinguish between these opposing life affirmations?

5

Happiness is overrated. I’d rather have the whole cake than just a slice any day.

6

Mater and slave are both part of a system of co-dependence.

Indifference stands outside the system, not as something necessarily inert – although this too is an option – but as something that can be both a “slave in heaven” and a “master in hell” with equal dependence on either role.

I see indifference behind courage, confidence and power.
Not a need for power to be happy because this shows deference towards power and exposes an ulterior motive which might cloud perception and prejudice the mind, but power for power’s sake.

How much is this possible?

The underlying care is that with maintaining the experience which makes consciousness possible. A consciousness that cannot help but care.

TheQuestion

What’s the “whole cake”?

7

I suspect that the ‘indifference’ the honest mind would see lies in understanding and accepting polarity. Not as a struggle with duality, but as the necessary plus and minus which is unity. It is perhaps unfortunate that we tend to want pleasure without pain, peace without strife, heaven without hell, because this illusion spawns the constant seeking and we cease to live, but live as.

It seems to me that indifference comes from finding the unity implied by polarity. In this, contentment, desires, truth, and defined reality become irrelevent and one is left with being.

I suspect further,that few are those capable of acting on this understanding.

I want my mommy! :astonished:

8

Me too…

9

look at it in you, as new born open his eyes he shout for happiness, reality will give him some stimulations he will suck them till the end not seeing anything else than his will to be in happiness materialize in all his desires to happen, than he is so disappointed discovering so many things, his desires dont last he doesnt feel like doing anything else, others change and he doesnt see why they hate him while yesterday they seemed to be more comprehensive of what he likes, he discovers that life dont last and diseases and pain are so often acceidentely occured, so everything around is stimulating him to think, as soon as he started to think the factors outside him threatening his happiness a perspective of the truth begin to flot over his head, the first truth that would appear to him after the truth of not being alone to make his happiness which gives him a touch of respecting bigger than him, is that he is more than just to be happy, he discovers that he likes to be angry especially when he is loved, he discovers that he likes to see others in pain especially when he doesnt know them, he can also discover that he hates for no reason else that he despite love, but mostly he will discover that no way he will judge himself this comes from the truth to be what you are already and your body desires are stimulating that, than he will start to hide himself in order to be as he is using all his abilities to think for that, lying as a fundamental truth of man hating the truth is in all materialised here, this dishonest hypocrate man while thinking his cohabitations plans will discover that the force ruling the worldis moral and ethics of brave men, this is surely a problem to his happiness plan but he does not have a choice so he will be happy in atheists thoughts in making all the efforts of pretending being well, but what is important there is that he got to touch a bigger truth of God being the master of all, then he would start to think the possibility of taking advantage in that truth, he may decide to become a priest or a noun, and all men would say oh what a smart guy he knows how to adapt himself with all the superior forces, so he will read about God words trying to understand what he wants so he will think how to lie to please and receive of his power to be, he will focus on power desire as that stage, he wants to be as God in his power to make he is so sure of that would be all his dreams coming true, so good he would think God said do that and dont do that and you are my man and i shall give you all, well it is easy dont need more than to follow the simple instructions ahead, and it surely works with Jesus in charge, thank you my man, at the end of his life this man never judging himself did learn a lot, i tell you the biggest truth only love gives life

10

because life is to be, to be is only God, God is not the power of making but the depth forcing God to make ehich is values and love, for you is not being Him which will never lead you to live unless you experience the feeling you could get of values and love

11

Tentative

Polarities are always unified. The difference is in their quality of unification.

Mechanical unity is the life of a dog and has become our normal psychological life as well… Conscious unity is for Man who has become consciously more than dog. The call to consciousness is a calling for humanity that is heard by a few that need to reconcile the earthly realities from a vertical perspective in relation to earthly life greater than that of a dog.

12

stop lying to your brothers there is no such thing as a god will to have dogs at his feet, God in primar creations was saying always his wills to be, so i imagine that is why animals were so big so they can play his sentiments of content, what stupid dog is for God, what do you want Him to do of that, any stupid average man will find a dog boring as hell how could you honestly believe that God would make all this to say to have dogs or cats saying i am your slave, while he can make much more complex slave that could be what He also thought could give him pleasure, all the animals in this creation are of the same will human being God of his depth to feel loved, so a dog is faithful and exclusive to one man so dog would be the man God wants for men, i believe it is again Jesus confusion in your brain, because God for this creation he said clearly that He abolished slavery will so a dog cannot be to say love to God at all, maybe for devils that God is giving them a touch of love from dogs, so you would be the slaves of devils and not God, come to God my friends and let make peace around the earth

13

Nick,

When you read my statements you may assume that I start with the assumption of awake and aware. If that is vertical for you, fine. For me it is getting on with it. Once aware, there is no need to hammer it to death. Seeing unity may not happen for very many, but once seen, there is nothing particularly special about it. There is nothing complacent about awareness. On the contrary, one acts decisively because of it. But there is nothing special about that or the person who has found it.

14

If there is no humans or any intellectual organisms exist,are there any truth in the world at all?
truths must have some meaning concerning the observer,if not so,what’s your deffinition of truth?

15

To answer that question, either way, I would have to make a hypothesis on truth.

Truth is an abstraction describing reality, so a conscious mind is required to formulate it.

Truth is a non-existing absolute; an opinion describing reality. It does not exist because, like the universe, reality is fluid and even if we could grasp the totality and freeze it in time as an abstraction, it would cease being valid immediately.

Reality is constantly being constructed as a dynamic inter-relation. So any opinion concerning it and thought of as truth will always be imprecise and partial.

Truth is limited to perspective, because a conscious mind cannot exit the premises that determine it. A participant must exit what he participates in to witness it objectively and completely.
To exit reality, it being the mental interpretation of sensual stimuli, is impossible.

This does not mean that reality is an illusion but that we can only interpret it imprecisely and with prejudice.

Truth is dynamic, in that it is ever-changing in a universe in flux. It is a relationship describing motives and balances and actions.

Truth can be contemplated in hindsight when it has ceased being temporal. At its creation truth is affected by Will and influenced by action. It is therefore a position concerning an event or a phenomenon in the past, where it is fixed as unaffected by temporal flow.
So truth is an opinion describing what has occurred and using it to predict what will occur.

Truth is a term denoting a human opinion concerning phenomena and their meanings and purposes and interactions. The opinion which is more precise is more effective in predicting future phenomena. It is a description of patterns.

16

The whole gambit of emotions. People who want to be happy “all the time” don’t really know the meaning of the word.

17

what is wrong in being happy all the times till no end mysterious young man?

18

He’s talking about persons not having unrealistic expectations, and experiencing a wide variety of sensations.

19

Exactly. People who try to be happy all the time aren’t.

20

because nobody is, but from my point of view being happy is first a will, maybe you try to justify your unhappiness in God values will to give men, but the truth must been seen clearly if you want it to be your wisdom in doing, unhappiness is God will not for being happier in real, but to get connected to the truth, His reality and His being dealing with and His acts to choose them, as God in the dark is the truth of his will, giving you mouth that see Him, so if He promised to make you happy later is to be happy in the truth His truth an impossible state for us, but it is not to say that He is happier in the dark, look at a lovely child his beautiful eyes when you make all his days as paradise in colors and laughs what happiness could be more, in that sense you must admit that means or reasons would never give one to smile