Discover more from Stoic Observations
From time to time people ask me questions, and I answer them. Here’s one:
Q: Due to the ever increasing advancement of technology it is possible that we are computer programs and we are unaware. I have began to not believe in religion as there are too many to choose from meaning not all can be correct.
Why are we on this planet? Why do we exist?!
If you are a computer program, then I am a computer program. If I am a computer program and I haven’t crashed for over 50 years, that means I must have one hell of a programmer. That would make me believe in God. Of course no computer program really knows what it’s doing or what its purpose is, so that would be consistent with the existence of a God programmer. That being the case, we wouldn’t know if our programmer in the sky made us for a serious purpose or as a joke, or as an entertainment for some other heavenly palooka. So we might as well assume there is a God that we cannot figure out, and then do what we actually can do, which is figure each other out.
At that point, it doesn’t matter whether we are ultimately animals, plants, programs or shadows on walls. We’re people and we know we can understand and affect people.
You might notice that you rarely find surgeons with your current attitude. Because if you really want to know something about human nature you might start cutting one open to see what makes them tick on the inside. I guarantee you’d be fascinated the more you get to know. I mean, who wouldn’t? Cut off your finger and see what happens. You will experience a new world of pain and amazement unlike anything you have ever known. It will change your entire life. There is no advancement in technology in the past 5000 years that has made any difference in that fact. And it’s something that can be accomplished in just a few seconds.
Perhaps what is new is the ability for humans to be in circumstances that allow them to speculate about the nature of the universe without dealing with the reality of missing fingers. So we suffer in our minds instead of in our bodies. The consequence of this sort of life brings its unique pain and suffering which is psychological not physical.
The cure for this malaise therefore lies somewhere between believing we are computer programs with no arms, legs, blood & guts and believing we should cut and butcher those parts from ourselves to experience life.
How about you run a marathon? Meh, kinda typical.
Try this. Don’t eat for three days straight. Drink water, that’s all. That should be easier than running a marathon. If you can accomplish that, you will definitely break through the wall of your confusion. I can confidently say, as a Californian, that such a mild obsession with your physical health can give you a new outlook on life, especially if you take one additional step. That is to visit a hospital and talk to people who are dying.
I guarantee this will snap you out of your funk. Life, staying alive, is the purpose of life. It’s not as easy as you think.