Two questions about hedonism
in Philosophy ·
hiddenpuma75 said:I’d like to offer a general response here—perhaps even a universal formula for tackling any kind of "thought experiment."
1) First off, most of these experiments operate under the false assumption that there is a single "correct" or "objective" answer. But that’s just not how it works; within your own internal, subjective universe, the standard laws of logic don't necessarily apply! 😲
Because of that, any answer you give to these types of puzzles could be considered "right," which effectively makes the question itself pointless and a waste of breath.
It’s a bit like asking whether it is objectively "correct" to have one wife, four wives, or none at all, and then trying to analyze what actually happens in each scenario. You’ll quickly realize that every single answer just triggers a billion more questions, and this cycle of futility will continue until the end of time...
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2) Furthermore, these experiments often turn into little mental traps. No matter what choice you make, someone will find a way to nitpick your reasoning. It's essentially an attempt by a mind that doesn't even know its own nature—a mind that can't even grasp what it looked like before its grandparents were even born—to manufacture complex riddles. Meanwhile, that same mind can't even solve the fundamental mystery of WHO it is, what it actually is, how consciousness functions, or where it was located BEFORE consciousness existed.
3) In reality, all these experiments boil down to a classic Zen koan:
A goose is trapped inside a glass bottle. How do you get the goose out alive without breaking the bottle?🤔
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If you want to solve this or any other thought experiment, you need to understand one thing:
The person posing these questions is usually driven by a restless, monkey-like mind and a nagging sense of existential discomfort. Since the mind doesn't understand its own essence, where thoughts come from, or the enigma of consciousness, it tries to distract itself. That inner restlessness—which could represent anything from suffering and ignorance to simple anxiety or insecurity—forces the mind to churn out all kinds of mental junk just to keep itself busy.
Ultimately, tasks like these are just colorful, distracting clutter. They should be cleared away, and perhaps the person posting them should be met with a metaphorical lash of the whip 🙂... or, in the context of this forum, simply a moderator stepping in to lock the thread.
I don't know what these experiments think they're doing, but I don't believe an "objective" or "correct" answer exists either. And because of that, you're saying these questions are just a waste of time?
2) Secondly, these experiments act like mental traps. No matter what you pick, you'll get attacked from some angle. It's basically a mind that doesn't even know what it is, or what it looked like before its grandparents were even born, trying to invent puzzles. Meanwhile, the mind can't even solve the basic mystery of WHO it is, what it actually is, how it's conscious, or what it's conscious of—let alone where it was BEFORE consciousness existed.
What does any of this have to do with anything?
3) All these experiments eventually boil down to that famous Zen koan:
A goose is stuck inside a glass bottle. How do you get the goose out alive without breaking the bottle?🤔
How do they boil down to that?
To solve this or any other thought experiment, you have to understand one thing:
The thing driving these questions is just a restless, monkey-like mind and a bug in your pants. Since the mind doesn't know what it is, where thoughts come from, or the riddle of consciousness, but that bug in your pants keeps itching, the mind starts churning out all kinds of mental garbage just to distract itself from the discomfort. (And that bug in the pants represents a lot of things... suffering, ignorance, restlessness, anxiety...)
Basically, these kinds of tasks are just colorful, harmful junk. They should be cleared away, and maybe the person posting them should be threatened with ten lashes of a whip 🙂... or, more realistically on a forum, a ban or having the thread locked....
🙂