The Glade 4.0

If you want to control my property to a higher degree than I control my property that is selfish on your part and absolutely normal on my part to not wish you to steal my property.

Which is still the individual in question's prerogative.

Hellfire is not made for unsavory topics, only unsavory arguments. Elmo and Lex are being civil.

Well what I find interesting about this topic is it really highlights what people philosophically care about in life, and the consequences that follow. If your primary goal in life is to relieve yourself of pain, then ironically it could lead to your early death and the pain of others. Or even if you don't die, you might become an alcoholic or drug addict in your quest to feel better. If you have goals that are more externally based, such as being a chess master, making art, running a business, making music, raising a family, or such, they will lead to things that are typically more constructive (and interesting).

My goal in life is to maximize my future happiness. So is yours. So is everyone's. It's just that each of us has different beliefs about the length of their life and what will obtain happiness. Suicide is completely reasonable if one sees their future as negative happiness.

The fact is that the commitment to happiness in Western culture is relatively modern. Until the 18th century, Western standards encouraged, if anything, a slightly saddened approach to life, with facial expressions to match. As one dour Protestant put it, God would encourage a person who “allowed no joy or pleasure, but a kind of melancholic demeanor and austerity.” This does not mean people were actually unhappy—we simply cannot know that, because cultural standards and personal temperament interact in complicated ways. But there is no question that many people felt obliged to apologize for the moments of happiness they did encounter. Sinful humanity had best display a somewhat sorrowful humility.

Who are you trying to fool, Lex? You don't even have a set of morals, and you're lambasting someone for being selfish? You don't give a single ****.

That's not everyone's goal. Happiness might even be a relatively recent concept. You can have any goals that you want and they don't need to relate to happiness. You don't even need goals. I agree suicide can be reasonable if that's really what you want to do. You could also smear feces in your hair and dance around like a monkey if you want.

Sure everyone's goal is happiness.

This is false. This is not my primary life goal, and it has nothing to do with religion.

Don't project.

This is false. This is not my primary life goal, and it has nothing to do with religion.

Don't project.

What do you believe your primary goal in life is?

What do you believe your primary goal in life is?

Facism is not a school of thought, it is a racial slur.

Fairly certain happiness is just shorthand for "adequate fulfillment of biological imperatives."

My goals are my own. But you are incorrect. You're projecting your own views on everyone else.

Nope. People do what they believe will bring them the most happiness over the time scale they naturally focus on. People have different time preferences.

Your goals are designed to seek your happiness even if you derive happiness for doing something for others - because your predicted dissatisfaction for not doing them would be a negative factor in your happiness.

The only way happiness cannot be your life goal is because you're already happy; it's probably been your average mental state your entire life. Consider yourself lucky.

No. You're projecting.