The Modern Day Sisyphus

The Modern Day Sisyphus.
_____________________

In my Dream I'm walking up an
Endless Mountain,..and though
I can always see the top clearly,
I am unable to reach it. I get one
step away, blink, and find myself
at Rock Bottom again. Similar to
a Modern Day Sisyphus spared
the burdens of his ubiquitous boulder.

Such is Mans struggle for Existence,..
an oftentimes meaningless endeavor
where Hope is denied the Pursuer,
and the only purpose seems to be found
in the Struggle Itself; as Man attempts
to open his hungering eyes to the Absurdity
of Life, only to  (eventually) be blinded
by The Darkness of that Absurdity.
__

Thus in order to combat that ever-present,
all encompassing Absurdity, Man has (since
the dawn of rational thought) adopted several
defense mechanisms, and taken many radical
approaches aimed at making Sense of it All.

Some have formed various intriguing (though
ultimately misleading) arguments which propose
a God, or Plurality of Gods and Goddesses
who are in control of Existence..calling the
shots from their respective Heavens and Hell's.
(while often battling amongst themselves for
Supremacy with Man caught in the middle of
their Otherworldly Contests.)

While others have taken a Naturalistic approach,
and decided to reduce Man's Struggle to a more
Deterministic, Evolutionary Battle in which the
strongest organisms with the most powerful adaptive
traits survive, As the weaker (and less genetically
fortunate) perish into extinction.
_

I myself admittedly exist somewhere in between
two metaphysical (and naturalistic) extremes,..
with Absurdity and Chaos serving as the ultimate
governing factors; and while absurdity can never
be explained or predicted by using Reason, (since
it is in essence unreasonable) I feel that it is quite
possible to be reasonable in spite of Lifes Absurdity.
(so long as the reasoner in question understands that
his own personal reasoning does not apply to the
reasoning of other Independent Agents in the World.)

By Reason, I am (in this context) referring to a thinking
agent using their Will to make logical, and rational
deductions based on calculations made between the
immediate evidence of their senses, and inner intuition. (or
choosing the most appropriate course of action based
upon those deductions.) Yet I also take into consideration
that one individuals sense of reasoning could easily
be considered another's folly,..and in this instance right
and wrong are matters of subjectivity which are therefore
left to the perceptions of The Individual Agent..with
no valid standard by which to measure truth outside of
oneself.
_

Being a Modern Day Sisyphus, one must come
to accept as inevitable the Misery and Suffering
of The World, without allowing themselves to fall
into that classic state of Nihilistic Despair which
often comes with such Realization.

For me, I try finding comfort in the Simple Things
in Life, but also have an admiration for the Philosophically
Profound Mysteries which most now overlook, or
discredit because they seem to serve no immediate purpose.

For isn't the mere ability to Question one of the corner
stones of maintaining Hope for a Better Future?... perhaps
somewhere down the line Mans Philosophical Modes of
Inquiry will lead to answers or an advanced method of thinking
which illuminates the Darkness of this World, and lightens
our proverbial "Sisyphean Burden." ?

(making the struggle
itself more enjoyable.)

J.Stephen.H.

puppets by design

Puppets by design
_____________________________________

I had a conversation with a friend
the other day on the ever popular
topic of religion, and during that
conversation I was inspired to write
this brief pondering which is intended
to examine the relevance of belief, faith,
and reasoning, while illustrating what I
consider to be the importance of "Knowing
The Alternatives."

As many of you know,
Indoctrination is the process of inculcating 
ideas, attitudes, cognitive strategies or a professional methodology (see doctrine).^[1] 
It is often distinguished from education by 
the fact that the indoctrinated person is expected 
not to question or critically examine the doctrine
 they have learned.
(source: wikipedia)
___

Many individuals of the religious 
variety are taught from a young age 
(before the age of consent.) to believe 
in the religious views popular in their own
specific culture/society, and their "teachers" 
are parents, or other figures of authority 
who already have the power of persuasion 
over them.

Due to this reality..many individuals 
who believe  are less likely to seek 
out the alternatives to their indoctrinated 
viewpoint when they get older for various 
reasons. The most popular being that they 
are taught NOT to question, and accept 
what they're told. (for many consider it a 
sin to question, and as a result are alienated 
from their respective flocks whenever they 
rebel against their tradition.)

This reality is a dangerous one (in my 
own view) because it makes ones religious 
belief a "forced reaction to conditioning",
and as such the individual in question does 
not choose their belief, but are reacting to 
modes of Operant Conditioning from their
Childhood.).

(puppets by design in other words.)
_

I do not openly condemn anyone for 
their belief, but I think that it's important 
to expand ones horizons when it comes 
to religious,philosophical, and political 
matters simply for the fact that (to quote 
Joubert) " one cannot fully understand the 
validity of his own arguments without
familiarizing himself with the opinions of 
others."

Those who believe only because they 
are indoctrinated often have a limited view 
of the world that is not their own, and the 
much embraced (little practiced) "freedom 
of choice" ceases to be a matter of freewill,
and becomes reflective of Dogmatic thinking.

This is why it is important for one to 
critically question and examine any and 
all arguments/beliefs that they can,
because the more knowledge they 
have will increase their ability to 
genuinely "choose" what to believe.

With effort, one can cease to be a 
victim to the various political and 
religious indoctrinators of this world,
(the puppet masters in other words.)
and be their own person, who CHOOSES
what to believe based on an "awareness
of alternatives."

j.s.h.