Harddeterminism

Beware, you might actually learn something about me!

warning: philosophy upcoming



In life there are many viewpoints on whether or not we control our actions and given the consequences of such beliefs, how to "act" accordingly. I've been described as sort of a wandering soul and have many friends that I would describe as OCD, frenetic, depressed, and a multitued of other emotional lenses through which they live in and view the world. I for one believe the world is determined and that we do not "act" on our surroundings, we cannot "control" what happens to us in any way shape or form. I'll lay out my argument for this belief below, but for those of you who are not philosophy addicts like myself, hopefully you can understand me a little bit deeper by just comprehending the lense through which i see the world. I guess i'll start with an anecdote from last night...



So my friend Liz was leaving town and asked me (rather coerced an offer :P) for a ride to union station in central DC. Now, I didn't particularly want to do this as I had images of monsterous traffic jams and road closings from the inauguration traffic. I called my roommate Peacock to see if roads were closed etc. and he assured me they weren't described as such online and that it would take 20 minutes. This, however, isn't my first horse and pony show, and I know what i'm in for but acquiesce anyway because I know she would do the same for me in a heartbeat. Naturally we hit a log jam that any beaver would've been proud to call his own. So I become frustrated. Frustrated is not how i live my life, anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm a happy go lucky person 90% of the time, and the other 10% i'm just being a gadfly to correct behavior i find repulsive. Why not be 100% happy or 100% depressed or 100% some other emotion if you believe the world is determined and you can control nothing? The reason for my 10% of douchebaggery comes from the uncertainty of the future and the causal efficacy of said Dbaggery. Thus, when I get stuck in traffic I become annoyed not because of the situation i'm currently in, but because of an uncertain future in which similar situations might occur and my opinion won't be regarded as correct. In other words, I become a "tool" as a tool to producing positive outcomes in the future. Some might find this to be some sort of "control" mechanism, but I assure you it isn't, for my Dbaggery is determined by my upbringing, environment, and heredity.



Poker for a hard determinist is a tough tough test of the dogma. At times it seems the entire world is against you making money, and at times one can do no wrong. Some players embrace the lucky streaks, some spit and curse and punch holes in their wall when they are "swonging". I believe that the best players, and the best liver's of life maintain a certain bemused detatchment from the world. I like to believe this is how I live my life, as the happy observer and occasional gadfly stinging people into a healthier lifestyle.



An interesting side topic of this belief is the efficacy of lies... but that's another post for another day.



END PHILOSOPHY!



In other news, 500 dollar day yesterday

I slept in my bed last night!!!!! AND IT WAS DOWNRIGHT SEXY!

I need to go run now, so peace and happy observing!