h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hello Njan.

How ya going?

Oh, hello there! Nice of you to stop by and say hi! *smiles*

I'm not going brilliantly. Not at all, actually. But I'm surviving. I have several friends who are helping quite a lot, whether they know it or not. (Since this is public, and they might conceivably read it, they probably know who they are. or if they're not sure, try smiling at me.. if I smile back, they probably help. )

But - yeah. How are you?

I'm going OK - thank you very much.
I've pretty much just started my school holidays

Hey what's wrong? Bit 'a' depression or something?
If you reckon I can help, maybe I can try. (Even though I'm only 16 and all the way over in Australia )

What are you interested in philosophy wise?
I, too, am interested in it.

Just started? I'm just back to school *curses*

I'm more or less ok... things in life bounce around a bit. Depression tends to be part of it at one time or other. I'm in a good mood atm (effects of Sunday. )

Anything and everything. I like arguing about epistemological things, mostly... political philosophy, I /don't/ like, but I uqit emoral philosophjy, until it starts getting pedantically into semantics.

How bout you>

Cool

Um, well I really wonder what I'm surposed to be doing - you know - what the point of even moving (or not moving) is.

I also sorta wonder if it's possible for something to be random. It'd be a pretty good thing to know.

Also, everyone I ask seems to think it so obvious that "of course happiness is good". I really am wondering HOW COME?

I don't read about that much philosophy though. I probably should. It might get me further.

I hope to one day figure out what the point of stuff is (except I expect I'll get bored of that and just live like everybody else). I doubt there is a point.

I get a bit of depression too but I only care sometimes - which is when I think about the (I guess it is) fact that I don't have much of a life.

I know what you mean... sometimes I feel like that. There's a simple answer to that, and it's that there isn't a point. Other than any which derives from you. If you want to make your life better, then that's the point of working.

Possible to be random?.... mmm... there are things in nature that are, in essence, random. Like pi.

Well, in order to define that, you need to define good. Which, in this sense, loosely means not-negative and possibly pleasureful. At the simplest level, you could say that happiness was good because you'd rather have it to suffering.

*grins*.. grab yourself some material on different epistemological things. There are all sorts of fun arguments. Read up on Locke and Berkeley and what have you... representative realism and phenomenalism and all the theories of perception. They're interesting.


Ah. I used to think that. I've worked out a purpose for my life. (Look at user page, see if you can guess. )



- Njan.

Ah sorry I haven't replied lately. It's sorta - I dunno. I'll do so soon.

okely. *waits*

seeya

Going?

No I guess not


Anyway........

Ah yes,

How could a point which is derived from one's self be worth carrying out? I mean, you don't know what actions to carry out until you find out why we're here and for what purpose. Perhaps it would be something that we couldn't comprehend, or perhaps it would be carried out by doing what we would naturally do (-like we were programmed to carry it out), or maybe both?

That's not the sort of randomness I mean. For something to be random, I believe that, if, before the random event took place, a universe was created exactly the same as the other one, the events could have different outcomes.
Science would have to go further for an answer to whether or not random events occur I guess.

That's not what I define in my mind as good and there are a few definitions including yours, but I think it is "that which assists in the carrying out of our purpose" - or something like that. In that case one could argue that nothing is good, but yeah.
This reminds me of something I passed up in a religious education assignment about evil. I said - and this is something I thought up on the spot - that I don't believe in evil because there is not one absolute definition of evil, but everyone believes in a different one. (I'm trying to work out how to explain this better but I can't at the moment). Somehow I think I got a lot o marks for that section .

I really wish I had time to read, if I did I certainly would read about that sort of stuff. About the only books I own are h2g2 books (all of them) and a couple of old ones. I have to read too many books for school and I don't read at all quickly.

Actually I can't really tell what your purpose would be .
How did you work one out?
Is it clarinet playing?

Sorry to keep you waiting

I think that the only points about which we can be certain have to have a basis in our self. Sorry to be so conventional, but, truly, the only things which we can be sure of come from sense-data (ostensibly sight), and so even if we're entirely sure that we perceive, say, a forest on the other side of the valley, it's still all down to the level of certainty which we ascribe to our vision to dictate whether or not we are sure that we are in fact seeing a forest, and - once we've established that - whether there's one thre or not.

But that might be what you meant.

The idea that we have an inherent purpose which we were programmed to carry out is a good - if nostalgic - one. On one front, I entirely agree (hence my indication that I have some sort of purpose which is hinted at by my user page). If the user page isn't enough, there's a clue given on my website, which is a little more obscure... the address for which is my name preceded by a www. and superceded by a .co.uk

To define something as good because it either carrys out its purpose, or assists us in carrying out ours is definitely another misnomer: the purpose of an atomic weapon, surely, is to kill as many people as possible as efficiently as possible. Would you argue that it was inherently good?

*grins*... the h2g2 books are /good/. *grins again*

Hey, no problem. I enjoy your postings, regardless of how frequent they are. It's nice to know that there are some other beings on the planet capable of this level of intelligent thought... my daily trawl doesn't turn many up.

As to the purpose, I'm sure you can guess. There's even a clue in my user name. It's not playing the clarinet.. (Although that is something I enjoy rather a lot)



- Njan.

Ed! Come back! You're missed.

I am???? ...well OK then

"I think therefore I am" didn't come from sense-data. Maybe we're in the matrix. If we were, would you argue that what you see is real?

no,no,no - that's not what I meant - I meant if the action serves THE ultimate purpose.

Oooh oooh oh Maybe the pupose is to write good poetry??
Or do you like saturdays?

-And I have also very recently read Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - which was pretty good - and will now begin to search for The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul.

I am one week into year 12 - the final year. Lots of work I hear. Wish me luck.

You are very patient to have waited thanks

Hurrah! You're back! ...

Yes, you were very much missed. :-p

It didn't, you're right. It's an example of what's known as an "a priori" argument. Although (arguably) nothing can't come from sense-data, because without them, our logical capacity to rationalise on things other than sense-data (ie. internally to our heads) wouldn't exist.

Ah, I see. *nods*... so not quite so platonic as I thought, then.

Saturdays are good. (My poetry isn't). my purpose, however, is in my name.. *jumps up and tries to touch it, but fails*.. you see?

You're quite welcome!

You should indulge yourself more in h2g2.. then you'd be forced to come back more! ... I'm completely hooked. There are lots of really nice people and really nice places I couldn't do without. *nods sagely and tries to look wise*...

Hope you're ok!





- Njan.

Oh my god (-what god?) Now it's all clear to me - it's that "addictee of Lisa" bit. Oh it all came to me when I found her page. *satisfied, but feeling like a fool*

I reckon (quite seriously) that I'm never gonna be married (by the way )
I just accept it.




I am interested in this site, but I hardly get enough time on the internet to do this properly. That should be changed now that I'm at school.

Hey I see I'm mentioned on your space. I'm honoured -*feels honoured*- but funky??? anyone who's met me wouldn't say that .

Hmm.. this was surposed to be about philosophy wasn't it?

What do you think of this?? - God can not, actually, be all powerful (-or whatever that word is). I don't think God could produce a hamburger so big that he couldn't eat it. If he could, then eating it is something that he can't do instead.



If time travel was possible, wouldn't someone from the future have come to our present?

I like your poetry, and the ones on the page of Lisa.

Lisa even posted me a MESSAGE which I was oblivious to until now.

*calls out over the mountains* NJAN!

Ah, yes, sorry! ... lost your forum amongst the many many many forums that're floating around my user space that I've posted to at the moment. .. forgive me?

Yes. *nod*... that's the one. ...I'm pretty sure you will. Admittedly I don't know you all that well, but that doesn't stop my liking what I've seen of you. You're a really nice person. ... and nice people tend to conglomerate with other nice people. I'm sure you'll find someone. ... trust me.

Ah, I see. Groovy. (Except for the fact that you're at school, which - in my humble opinion - is a bad thing).

School for me at the moment is getting to be really bad (to a point it hasn't been for quite some time). Since I'm leaving the house in 2 minutes, I can't really elaborate as much as I'd like, but many things are making school-life pretty unbearable.

Still.

I survive.

Somehow. (If somehow has a name and a researcher number).

That example also falls to bits if you bear in mind God probably both doesn't eat and can eat infinitely quickly.

Maybe. Unless it messes up the "space-time continuum".

Although I had pondered that before.

Ah. Not poetry, song lyrics I stole that I like.