Kanith101 Posted April 26, 2015 Posted April 26, 2015 How has philosophy changed your life? And have you been able to surround yourself with like-minded people? Just curious
Matt D Posted April 27, 2015 Posted April 27, 2015 Man, big question. I'll try to make it quick while also doing justice to it. Philosophy got me out of a relationship motivated more by sexual desire than appreciate for virtue. It got me out of a job where I got very little respect from the management. It has prompted me to pursue freelancing/entrepreneurship. It helped me find the courage to talk to my parents about the problems I saw in our family. It eventually helped get me to go to therapy. It helped me purge toxic people from my life who I didn't even realize were toxic. It has helped forged a relationship with a new best friend. It has helped me crush bad habits like the addiction to stress and isolation. It brought out the initiative to start my own conversation making videos on youtube, which is a source of joy for me every day. 7
Kanith101 Posted April 28, 2015 Author Posted April 28, 2015 I know these are early days and philosophy will make life uncomfortable in the short term, but I'm grateful for what it has done already. 1
shirgall Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 Before Philosophy I never knew how miserable I was. 5
MMX2010 Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 Philosophy has made me realize the importance of mission, and that the purpose of morality is to help people find their mission faster. When people do not have mission, they aimlessly chase their lusts, cannot form genuine personal connections with others, and are not happy with the things they possess. A beautiful man with lots of money, admirers, women, and strength of body becomes an angry, domineering, sneering shell without mission. Very few people possess a sense of mission, and having a mission DOES NOT enable you to steer / convince others into either loving your mission or acquiring their own. So philosophy gives you mission, and mission gives you happiness - but it also (mostly) makes you lonely. 2
J. D. Stembal Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 Nearly one year ago, I gave up drugs and alcohol after listening to the Asshole Proximity Disorder show. It turns out that I was indeed surrounded by assholes, and they have long since stopped calling on me. It really is a relief to know that they did not appreciate the real me, and liked the drunk better. Obviously, I did not have quality people in my life. As yet, I do not have quality replacements, but I'm sure I will attract them as I progress further with IFS therapy. I left a sexually and emotionally abusive woman who did not care about me, and frequently challenged my sobriety because it was forcing her to examine her own substance abuse, and the destructive people close to her. If I recall correctly, she invited me to go out to a bar for karaoke with her and her friends the very same week she congratulated me for giving up drinking. Wow... I'm still shaking my head over this perfect example of lack of empathy. Let's celebrate your new sobriety by going out and getting ripped! Owing to spending a year sober after twenty years of alcoholism, I have been able to (re)discover my real passions - fitness and nutrition. I am in the best physical condition of my life and I am inspired to help others live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives. I have cut off all contact with my family, as I never wish to see or speak with them again. 3
utopian Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 My life was full of lies from a very young age. Religion. Feminism. The idea that I am special. All men are created equal. Men are the dominant perpetrators and women the perpetual victims. My life was going down a dark road fast because of all the lies being fed to me. I only survived by slowly and surely sticking to the truth, empirically testing what was real and what was not. Even therapy, so called, did not help me as much as philosophy did. I would say philosophy saved my life, as well as improved it. 2
SarahHurn Posted June 27, 2015 Posted June 27, 2015 Since listening to fdr I have finally made sense of the bible and been able to fully move on from guilt after being in a cult got 28 years. It has saved my marriage, we had seperated 3 months when we decided we needed to take responsibility for our choices and commit as parents to our two young children. Fdr really helped me grow in that time. It has changed my parenting radically and my 7 y/old is now school free. It has given me courage to be honest to my family, even though I am still very bad at it as I had been shown no win-win communication skills. Also.. helped me be clear about what virtue is and what it is not, helped me start to make decisions for my own life instead of getting blown along with the crowd and doing what is assumed. Philosophy is really mind blowing! 1
AccuTron Posted June 28, 2015 Posted June 28, 2015 Before Philosophy I never knew how miserable I was. Same thing happened when I cut out certain foods.
J. D. Stembal Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 Before Philosophy I never knew how miserable I was. I second this emotion! Philosophy saved me from procreating with a woman who did not love me. It also saved me from killing myself slowly with the bottle. Big ups! This thread is so great I had to reply twice. Oops! 1
NotDarkYet Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 Philosophy has.... 1. Given me the confidence to find/keep a good job 2. Given me clarity about my place in the universe 3. Freed me from political quicksand go-nowhere consequentialist debates. 4. Simplified my argumentation style. 5. Reduced interpersonal anxiety. 6. Freed me from being a slave to evil family members. 7. Given me self-esteem, so I know it's ok if I can't please everybody. Why would I WANT to? 8. Reduced fear of getting older because every year I get BETTER.
Auriion Posted July 27, 2015 Posted July 27, 2015 The biggest impact to philosophy on my life is the pruning of the toxic people around me. It's kind of funny looking back. I used to think, "man, I wish that these people would just stop making my life difficult". Before my acceptance of philosophy, I would not have created standards for my relationships and thus caused the poor quality ones to fall by the way side. This is the single biggest reason I feel I am so much happier on a day to day basis. I became more honest and ended up with only people who appreciate my honesty in my life. Including my wife, who does not nag, enjoys my existence, shares the same goals in life as me, argues peacefully, so on and so forth. Such a woman would have never entered my life had I just let the inertia of my family continue with me. TLDR; my life is way better now
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