Monday, August 17, 2009

Meaning for a Failed Life?

One question that has haunted me is this: Is my life going to have turned out worthwhile? I want to see the results of my labors. I want to get the important things right. I want to see that my life was not a waste.

Now, I think that being concerned with one's life and the fact that one is actually living and actually responsible for one's actions is a good thing; I'm completely with Socrates on the whole unexamined life bit. But why do I need to be the one that sees what my life was worth, here and now?

It seems that a life which gets things wrong, even tremendously important things, can still be worthwhile in the long run. Imperfections do not negate the value of a life. Even a bad example can redirect others and affect them positively. If my philosophy can be a stepping stone on the way to truth, goodness, and beauty, even if it has not attained such itself, is this so worthless? If I can be one part of a worthwhile chain, then wouldn't that have made everything worthwhile as well?

So the point isn't then to get things right, or even coherent. Sure, that is a longterm goal; I would hate to think that nothing I do would lead anyone to the truth ever. But a well-developed or insightful wrong view might accomplish the goal better than spending my entire life to found a poorly-developed right view.

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