Philosophical Questions: Improvement

[ysabetwordsmith]

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

Are people ethically obligated to improve themselves?


No. What you do with your own life, learning, body, etc. is your free choice. It is both ethical and advisable to improve yourself, but you don't have to. Maybe you're happy the way you are, maybe you don't have the resources for self-improvement, whatever. Don't should on yourself.

Note that this is a general parameter. Some ethical systems may place additional requirements on people who choose to follow them -- in which case, this comes under "choosing to improve yourself."

Comments

Re: Self-Improvement

[see_also_friend]

Or lying. The fact that I don't want to go along with a lot of the lies makes my life rather difficult sometimes...

Re: Self-Improvement

[ysabetwordsmith]

Witches commonly have that problem too. When you routinely work magic by telling the universe what you want it to do, lying becomes very risky.

Re: Self-Improvement

[see_also_friend]

It's also, like, if people tell me something, I prefer to believe them. Which makes it incredibly annoying when they say something but mean something else (i.e. "You have the freedom to choose, but you can only choose what I approve of.")

Re: Self-Improvement

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> It's also, like, if people tell me something, I prefer to believe them.<<

I tend to take things at face value ...

>> Which makes it incredibly annoying when they say something but mean something else <<

... but other people do this so routinely, I just don't want to be around them. I am not interested in trying to decode their backwards talk.

>> (i.e. "You have the freedom to choose, but you can only choose what I approve of.") <<

That's just gaslighting. I have a tendency to force them to say it in the open, revealing their lies. It makes everyone else uncomfortable. Eh, cockroaches can't stand daylight.

Re: Self-Improvement

[see_also_friend]

>> I am not interested in trying to decode their backwards talk.<<

It's also annoying if you do what they want and then they whine about it. Be careful what you wish for and all that.

>>That's just gaslighting.<<

Well, I figured it was screwy logic when... I must have been about 13, I think? If democracy is best, then a we shouldn't have forced Panama to build the Panama canal.