My impressions of the Tao after making 6ish courses on chewing the Tao Te Ching have been simply: Stop thinking. Become a simpleton. Go with the flow and do as little as possible, but in the right moments. If you do too much, you’ll break stuff and cut yourself. Oh and be kind and patient too.

Which is AN answer to this “hard determinism” conundrum. I feel a similar sense of being an ‘agent’ of causality, ruled by a certain lack of free will… However, I have felt extremely strong feelings of free will where I was able to nudge myself in two domains. Maybe you’ll relate:

• Relationships: Choosing to stay antisocial or ‘making an effort’ with someones really feels like a conscious decision
• Mild environmental tweaks: E.g. Installing/Uninstalling an app such as an effective alarm app or deleting an addictive game.

Again I know these had a lot of casual pushes but it’s the sense of control which feels good. Then you get to watch the causality unfold and influence your life. Ikiru in this thread made a good point about the community and the faith element of this journey. Which sounds like your claim of ‘let’s take it as axiomatic’, as you are having faith in free will… At some point, you do choose who your spend time with and then allow them to influence you. You can decide for better or worse but as you said, the sense of choice is there.

Sidebar: I have always been able to clap with one hand? Imagine treating my entire hand as a castanet, with your fingers hitting against your base of palm, resulting in a weak clap. That minor sense of knowledge had always hindered me in understanding the full weight of that koan. Ah well…

But to answer my own question of the user of philosophy, thanks to mulling over both of your ideas is: Philosophy increases your awareness of the casual factors in your life. Then it’s possible to nudge a little better, i.e. a little more ‘upstream’ in the flowing current of life. But it’s important to pay attention to your surroundings and act in that briefest moment where you do feel you have a choice.

Thank you again for engaging. “My” conclusion has probably been said much more eloquently by some philosopher 5 trillion years ago but it’s nice to get a proof by induction sometimes.

Thank you for sharing. I love the “philosophy will come back to me” line.

Forgive my analogies… it’s almost as if you’re using “Philosophy” as a map. Your initial studies helped you draw it up and kinda internalize it. Now you know roughly know where you are going and your community also help you not get lost. If you do lose way, you’ll peek at the map, tweak it as per your surroundings and keep walking. It feels like you’ve found a nice ratio and I pray you find your footing in each step.

My initial analogy of equating philosophy to a compass was a little lacking. It’s more relatable to Faith… Now I’m of the opinion I haven’t read enough!

I’m my case, I’m kinda sure what path I’m on but I end up constantly peeking/tweaking at my map and then end up getting lost as I’m not looking up. It seems a balance is possible but need to go over that initial hurdle of drawing the map first. And as you mentioned, it’s important to keep walking the uphill walk, even if simply on faith.

You’ve dug my hole deeper but have also given me a shovel to help me dig out. The shovel being “don’t be too hard on yourself” and that succinct Hume quote. I would also have accepted a ladder!

There is effort required in thinking and examining. I, being imperfect and sadly not a juggernaut, waste so much energy trying to cast out the human suffering in my soul. So much energy… until, as I have mentioned, I give up and then just try go with the flow (for better and worse).

For a particular problem (including existential woes), I research and read and consume until I’m left with labels, different perspectives and much more counter perspectives. So many fancy words but little nourishment unless I consume a lot and spend equal time discarding notions. It can’t just be me.

Maybe I’ll narrow my question. Do you read philosophy to inform all aspects of your life? Or have you let the program run in the background? As you mentioned Heidegger… does your pendulum swing freely and if so, how fast? (Maybe that’s what the phrase “How’s it hanging?” refers to… huh.)

I hear what you’re saying. There’s a basic level of philosophizing needed to understand your place in the world and to know some guiding principles. You need a minimal level of awareness to get through in life.

Although I would argue you can live your life with lots of meaning and joy even if you never read a philosophy text or had “deep” thoughts. You’re never making truly random choices as they are limited within a broader context and by your biology. As you said, there are normative behaviors which you tend to pick up and follow instinctually (learnt formally and informally). Deciding the “right path” for oneself can be a coin toss if you’re able to understand the path of your life, with minimal awareness, and make peace with the outcome. Paradox of choice exists and anxiety of making the “right” decision has plagued me all my life.

It’s like the saying: Before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water.

I appreciate your response though. It has made me realize that I’m merely annoyed about the “curse of consciousness”. We should all be happy little lemmings plunging into doom together.

Maybe I should read more history than philosophy. Maybe that’s my utilitarian side talking.