Reading philosophy in my 20s was a mistake

[Anonymous No.17045305]

Philosophy is a serious endeavor, the Greeks knew this, which is why the young were discouraged from studying philosophy before they had matured and gained life experience. Classic Education doesn't even include philosophy prior to the student having read the canon of western literature and become well versed in it.

For the last 4 years I have been the embodiment of pic related, and I have know realized it has not brought me much more happiness or fulfillment. I have decided to stop reading Philosophy until I'm well into my thirties. The problem with Philosophy is that it has no end in sight, no resolution to be found. This is both the appeal, but also the problem if you want to live a life of experience and not be stuck in your own head all of the time. You can gain so much more by reading fiction and poetry in your 20s can anything else.

[Anonymous No.17045334]

>>17045305
I think that meme was made for me. I had a few made one was the imaginary gf one but for nazbol but it was made into a short girl back when I was into politics

[Anonymous No.17045344]

>>17045305
I think not, I think metaphysics is good at any age so long as it's introduced well and gives you progress

[Anonymous No.17045361]

Are you reading analytic philosophy? kek

Epicurus and others won't do this to you.

[Anonymous No.17045374]

>>17045305
Agreed. This may come off as corny, but your living philosophy in your early 20s. Ideas are forming in your head and these need to be played out. By reading philosophy during this time, it disrupts the ability for these ideas to grow. Once you have a personal philosophy, then you either enhance it and/or challenge it with philosophy books.

[Anonymous No.17045433]

>>17045305
Its odd, I discovered what was essentially stoicism in my early 20s simply from thought and meditation and possibly to cope with the trauma and darkness I was seeing as a young paramedic. I was heavily into literature as a kid though, and read the illiad, the oddysey, Moby Dick, and all of Hesse, so it's possible I absorbed my thinking from there.

I came across Meditations at a Library and flipped the philosophy switch hard from 21-24. Now at 26 I find it hard to read at all most days. One thing that helped recently though was going on a Covid deployment to Yemen and then taking a mountain trip when I got back. I can think and read again.

Maybe do something new and exciting friend.

[Anonymous No.17045443]

>>17045305
>the young were discouraged from studying philosophy before they had matured and gained life experience
This meant literal children, you should have some "life experience" by the time you're 20

[Anonymous No.17045502]

I honestly never really felt the impact of philosophical works until my late 20s. I am not sure how to explain it but the impact of understand where the writer is coming from and mapping their ideas to personal experiences becomes much heavier.

[Anonymous No.17045538]

I've never understood how people can see this image and not find it pretentious as hell, even if they do relate to it like me

[Anonymous No.17045550]

Stuck in Orbit.

[Anonymous No.17045552]

>>17045433
i'd like to read your concise autobiography one day

[Anonymous No.17045591]

>>17045305
>Philosophy is a serious endeavor
It is if you are a retard, read the Gay Science

[Anonymous No.17045597]

>>17045538
Because it's meant to be derogatory entirely.

[Anonymous No.17045606]

>>17045305
i am revolted and disgusted by the mirror that is this meme

[Anonymous No.17045646]

>>17045597
I doubt that. It oozes a sense of pride over being smarter than normies, and the difficulties that come with that. Not a totally unjustified feeling, but ironic in that it inspired a wojak meme and nothing actually valuable.

[Anonymous No.17045678]

>this thread

[Anonymous No.17045758]

agreed.

[Anonymous No.17045770]

>>17045646
That is not at all what it says lol

[Anonymous No.17045771]

What should a 22 year old zoomer like me be reading then

[Anonymous No.17045804]

>>17045552
I'm terrible at both concision and technical writing, though I may write a fiction one day.

[Anonymous No.17045808]

>>17045305
agreed, I'm just reading Nietzsche's genealogy and Spengler and then I will quit philsophy.

[Anonymous No.17045821]

>>17045771
Have you read Hesse? I find his books easy but profound and relatable. Siddhartha is my personal favorite. Very short and tends to be a real rut-breaker for lost young men.

[Anonymous No.17045824]

>>17045771
Fiction. Then wait until you are older and jaded.

[Anonymous No.17045863]

>>17045305
wow what a relatevba;e mem; totaly me!

[Anonymous No.17045884]

>>17045771
Plato fuck these faggots. If a 16 year old in hs can smoke weed and wax philosophical then I think a grown man at 22 can ask some simple questions about obvious problems. Young children philosophize on whether lying is okay in a situation. It's appropriate for all ages as long as it's done well, that is by reading Plato firstly.

[Anonymous No.17045898]

>>17045863
It's my paranoid ass in my car.

[Anonymous No.17045963]

>>17045821
>>17045824
>>17045884
Thanks for the replies, i'll take them all under consideration

[Anonymous No.17046010]

Doesnt one of the dialogues of Socrates start with saying he can finally spend his time with philosophy now that hes old with a limp dick and women dont interest him anymore?
>in b4 boyfucker

[Anonymous No.17046048]

I've already had a short bout with processing my own divine spark, now I keep a steady passive gnostic aura on at all times in case I suddenly die so my soul can brought back to pleroma. I don't bother with reading philosophy anymore.

[Anonymous No.17046105]

>>17045305
Your mistake is not getting a philosophy PhD by age 30 or earlier.

[Anonymous No.17046177]

>>17045305
but what do we do about all the millenials and zoomers raised on grievance studies and white guilt propaganda?

[Anonymous No.17046188]

>>17046177
That's not philosophy, we just don't talk about it

[Anonymous No.17046195]

>>17046188
We're gonna have to eventually....

[Anonymous No.17047005]

Take the sovl fiction pill, philosophy can turn you mad like Nietzsche.

[Anonymous No.17047041]

>>17045771
Plato and as much poetry as you can

[Anonymous No.17047088]

>>17045824
Lol me personally I was jaded by the time I hit 22 which is about the time I read Brave New World which got me heavily into reading, then philosophy and then religion. I honestly probably would have done a bender by now had I not read any philosophy then.

[Anonymous No.17047098]

>>17045305
Philosophy is an intrinsically bad field of thought. It only exists in response to existential crises, or in the recognition that the life we live, or our thoughts, or our morality, is faulty. A perfect society would have no philosophy, it would have an ideal dogma, axioms that led man to good behavior and coherent thought, and ideally universal eudaimonia for the human race. I dove deep into philosophy and have nothing to show for it but a superiority inferiority complex and a, I believe justified, frustration at the absolute ignorance and evil in the world. A society full of philosophical youths is not a happy society, it is not a stable society, it is a society that is full of psychological splinters that can no longer be ignored.

If you feel compelled to learn philosophy you will, and if you don't you won't. If you doubt your intellect or whether you can do it, chances are you can, else you would not desire it. Desire to do anything is itself a sign of aptitude.

If happiness is your goal, not the goal you say you have but the goal you actually have in truth, in your unconscious or wherever the hell, then you will probably not pursue philosophy. The best life that was ever lived was an ignorant farmer who loved his life and worked hard and was never troubled by a single existential question.

[Anonymous No.17047117]

>>17047041
Based

[Anonymous No.17047145]

I swear to god everyone pretending that philosophy is some dangerous red pill is a gay fuckin midwit.

[Anonymous No.17047164]

>>17045771
Classic fiction, poetry, and history

[Anonymous No.17047279]

>>17047098
This is one of the greatest posts I have read on this board, really hit the nail on the head.

My philosophical pursuit began with the question: "what is the meaning of life?" Now, what well adjusted, happy and content person would ask such a question? I have now realized that Philosophy was my cope for lacking an emotion I have sought after for far too long, yet failed to capture and behold; love.

[Anonymous No.17047293]

>>17047098
>Desire to do anything is itself a sign of aptitude
What about the artist who produces tons of work but never improves? Many such cases can be observed online

[Anonymous No.17047301]

>>17047279
based as fuck anon...

[Anonymous No.17047315]

The French pomo stuff and existentialist stuff fucked with my head a bit but it also made me not care as much about little things

[Anonymous No.17047343]

>>17045771
You should be listening to Plato while you work out.

[Anonymous No.17047402]

>>17045305
Reading postmodernist theory absolutely fucked with my head, now I see everything around me as fake and trust no one. I can't enjoy anything because I know it's a product designed specifically to appeal to me, a certain demographic. I completely lost faith in art and humanity as a whole and even my appreciation for older literature and art doesn't feel genuine, rather me enjoying it as a status symbol and its sign value, and will never be able to genuinely appreciate it thanks to being born and raised in late capitalist culture. That shit is probably a blast to read when you're an old faggot that hates whatever the kids are into and can justify that hate, but as a zoomer it fucking sucks.

[Anonymous No.17047424]

>>17047279
Pretty true. I think a happy pursuer of philosophy can exist, but they need to have reach a zen or state of equanimity on their own first. A state that won't be shaken by the views of others, but instead just grow and adapt in the face of them.

Unfortunately, most can't reach that state. Unironically, I believe the chans can be used to attain this in the resilient individual. But many will reject me saying that.

>>17047402
See this person made the mistake of pursuing truth without first understanding his place.

[Anonymous No.17047539]

>>17047402
There's supposed to be a positive dimension to post-modernism, pursue some creative activity or something

[Anonymous No.17047787]

>>17045646
brainlet

[Anonymous No.17047801]

>>17047279
isn't questioning one's place and purpose in the universe the logical path for any developing self-aware consciousness?

[Anonymous No.17047871]

>>17045305
>>17045334
>>17045538
>>17045646
>>17045770
>>17045863

[Anonymous No.17047874]

>>17047801
Yes. And that's why consciousness is depressing. Humans yearn to be unconscious for a reason. It's why religion is so popular. It's why certain futurists fetishize AI. Humans hate being conscious.

[Anonymous No.17047939]

>>17047874
>>17047098
>>17047279
>>17047424
>>17047874
pussy ass bitches, whining about life sucking because you cant get a girlfriend, life isnt all too bad. i wouldnt have it any other way, i study philosophy because i think life is beautiful and want to learn more about it. all of its challenges are just opportunities for me to distinguish myself from whiner 49ers like you who cant grab the bull by its horns.

[Anonymous No.17047947]

>>17047931
Still kinda deflates the idea that a desire to do something implies aptitude

[Anonymous No.17047951]

>>17047293
If they don't improve they're just drawing for fun and not doing studies. I have never known an artist who pursues more than 90%, fuck it, even 60% of their time to studying their craft and DOESNT improve. They all do, and the proportion of time you spend pushing yourself compared to noodling is directly equal to your improvement. This applies to other disciplines too. If you're not improving you're literally fucking around.

t. artist who didn't improve for years then put my pride aside and started studying

[Anonymous No.17048430]

>>17047871
Not really accurate since this meme is not some random mishmash of unrelated things or things we all have. (((Doctors))) say I suffer from schizotypal disorder but this meme showed me I’m not alone

[Anonymous No.17048444]

>>17048430
you are just in denial

[Anonymous No.17048455]

>>17048444
When I literally read the meme and saw the responses? Ok

[Anonymous No.17048456]

>>17045305
>Classic Education doesn't even include philosophy prior to the student having read the canon of western literature and become well versed in it.
Is it true? Source?

[Anonymous No.17048488]

>>17047041
>Plato and as much poetry as you can
Based 2x

[Anonymous No.17048525]

>>17045808
>agreed, I'm just reading Nietzsche's genealogy and Spengler and then I will quit philsophy.
I was thinking about quiting literature one of these days. I would only read and reread the books I already have and I would pursue more practical endeavors instead.

[Anonymous No.17048620]

>>17045305
>and I have know realized it has not brought me much more happiness or fulfillment.

Who cares about gay things like that?

[Anonymous No.17048642]

>>17047939
Based. /lit/ is such a whiny board.

[Anonymous No.17048701]

>>17047939
Based.

[Anonymous No.17048725]

>>17048455
> of other schizos
Ask Dr. Levi Steinbergowitz what sampling bias is schizo anon and be sure to always take those nice pills he prescribes too :)

[Anonymous No.17048898]

>>17048725
There’s nothing wrong with me, there can’t be. This all because of my environment. If only I was happy

[Anonymous No.17048926]

>>17047117
Well, there are some answers to that question.

First would be more or less, something like a distinction between DESIRE to do it and the WILL to do it. Which I guess isnt really worth much.

The other one I could think of is something like a lack of something essemtial,
I.E: finance, technique, and education. And probably a few more.

Besides, Aptitude is something thats bent towards quality not quantity.

>skill isnt guaranteed no matter how many games of chess a child may play.

Perhaps they will learn something else other than thinking fast, they may be able to come up with brilliant strategies, or the like.

Going by the chest example route:
Also, there is some technique involved in chess, which is something akin to predictions, different openings also have preset moves that can help counter an enemy's counter.

And going back to predictions and openings, some will be more and more adept at adapting to situations while others will be able to most likely predict quite a lot of events before hand, most chess players are probably in between (not a chess player though so I dont know), while most will be left behind. Of course, the example up above has the different children play the same amount of games which I forgot to mention.

[Anonymous No.17048936]

>>17048926
>>17047293
Ah thats who I was trying to reply to.

[Anonymous No.17048976]

>>17047939
>HEAD OF A TRICK IN A BUCKET
>BODY OF A TRICK IN A BAG
>TOSS IT IN THE FLAMES LIKE FUCK IT
>GOTTA BURN IT BEFORE IT GOES BAD

Is death grips /lit/?

[Anonymous No.17049089]

>>17047939
>>17047939
You Faggot ass motherfucker.
Ya see, this is the problem.
OmG yOuR sO WhInEY. Bitch does that help? Hes literally doing his best and you fucking discourage him by being such a narcisstic faggot. WHO GIVES A SHIT ABOUT YOUR LIFE. Im a hyporcite but you? YOU?! CAN SUCK MY DICK.

How about saying something that will actually help the depressed fucker? Hah ?

why the fuck do you think people here read books for? To fucking read? No, its to enjoy the little world the books give and escape their mundane life.

[Anonymous No.17049710]

>>17045443
Plato said in Republic you should not study dialectic before 30.

[Anonymous No.17049714]

>>17045884
Plato himself would disagree.

[Anonymous No.17049724]

>>17047088

You believe you are jaded at 22 but you are not.

[Anonymous No.17049730]

>>17045305
False, in Theaetetus we clearly see that the young titular lad is being taught the basics of philosophy already, and Plato has one of the characters remark that "[Philosophy] is the business of young minds" or something like that.

[Anonymous No.17049814]

>>17045305
Every time I see this I think that someone I used to know made it, based off of their experience with me.

[Anonymous No.17049965]

>>17047098
You are the Western equivalent of the retarded Hadza who gets pushed into shittier and shittier parts of Tanzania because civilization desires to expand where they live. You are the Hadza, the wealthy power maniacs are the civilization. There will be no happiness without philosophical struggle that then turns into physical struggle, not in this day and age.

[Anonymous No.17050020]

http://classics.mit.edu/Epicurus/menoec.html

[Anonymous No.17050222]

>>17045305
19 year old schizoid

[Anonymous No.17050224]

>>17045334
That's literally every 19 year old. You think a lot and imagine a lot because you have no idea how life works and try to fill the gaps with fantasy. Give yourself ten more years

[Anonymous No.17050257]

>>17049089
>Im a hyporcite but you? YOU?! CAN SUCK MY DICK.
Yes.

[Anonymous No.17050298]

You are all unbelievable narcissists, read the last psychiatrist.

[Anonymous No.17050315]

Hegel read Kant at the age of 18/19, Schelling studied Fichte and Kant at 20. There are plenty of other examples (in fact most notable philosophers actually started to read philosophy before they were 23, not after). The same goes for the other speculative disciplines, mathematics and physics should be started as soon as possible, granted the person has any actual potential in them. Just because you got into something you aren't suited for (philosophical thought) doesn't mean every youth goes about wearing learned concepts like some kind of intellectual badge of honor.

[Anonymous No.17050322]

>>17045597
>>17045646
That picture represents an immature person caught in a cycle of power and comfort fantasies, not somebody who desires truth, knowledge and a better life.

It's absolutely supposed to be derogatory and if you relate to it, I suggest taking a good hard look at yourself because you're not "thinking". You just have childish fantasies playing on a loop inside your head.

[Anonymous No.17050332]

>>17050315
You will understand when you get older.

[Anonymous No.17050503]

>bunch of shitters who got filtered by philosophy and now blame their unhappiness on it
Sad. Maybe you should stick to something like Harry Potter and other young adult novels. That seems to be more your speed.

[Anonymous No.17050744]

>>17045334
>>17045305
You're such fucking retards lol. You're not special. Every 17 to young 2x year old goes through this existential crisis where they seek the truth.

[Anonymous No.17050835]

>>17050744
This is false and you are a faggot

[Anonymous No.17051226]

>>17050744
let me guess.
In your mind everyone browses 4chan and especially /lit/,everyone is interested in philosophy, and everyone has an IQ of about 120.
Not everyone is similar to you, fucking stop putting everyone in comparison with you.

[Anonymous No.17051246]

>>17051226
And you think that most people are completely incapable of thought. Neither of you are right.

[Anonymous No.17051262]

>tfw 32
>wife, child, and independently wealthy
>just bought Platos complete works
>finna embark on the philosophic life

[Anonymous No.17051269]

>>17051226
>stop putting everyone in comparison with you
I don't think I will

[Anonymous No.17052007]

>>17051262
its too late anon

[Anonymous No.17053534]

>>17050744
>>17051269
kys

[Anonymous No.17053549]

>>17045305
You might unironically be schizophrenic. Not trolling

[Anonymous No.17053553]

>>17052007
brainlet take

[Anonymous No.17053704]

>>17045884
Imagine thinking your a grown man at 22.