| Subject: here and now vs consequentialism |
Author:
ele
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Date Posted: 01:39:05 08/20/01 Mon
In reply to:
¥Ì¥Ì
's message, "ªá¶}³ô§éª½¶·§é" on 10:35:01 08/19/01 Sun
dear gum gum,
i remember the first time i heard those lines (ªá¶}³ô§éª½¶·§é¡A²ö«ÝµLªáªÅ§éªK¡C) was when i attended a chinese philosophy class in hk about a decade ago. the teacher of that class not only talked about those lines, but also that of (if not working hard when you are young, you will be miserable when you are old), and he threw those two lines of thought out as a dilemma.....
i guess there is always that tension (whether or not a real one) between living in the here and now (ªá¶}³ô§éª½¶·§é¡A²ö«ÝµLªáªÅ§éªK) and being prudentail and planning ahead for the future (which is akin to consequentialism, i.e. decisions are made based on the consequence that will be yielded) as well as saving the best for last (delayed gratification).
During my late teens era, i used to think and act in accordance with consequentialism and didn't know how to enjoy the here and now (since my mum had been brain-washing me for too many years), even though i allowed myself to have the occassional 'self-indulgence' by letting myself choose a bit of things that i like to do, the FUTURE was always the prime factor of deliberation.
it took me quite a long time to realise that making decisions under that light is painful insofar as my heart's true desire (as opposed to a whim) is being denied. i still remember an acquaintance i've made in a philosophy conference who kept telling me to follow my heart in one of his letters to me from russia (he followed his heart and went to teach or something there).
after many painful detours, i'm thankful that life has been allowing me to switch and choose again in many occassions so that i won't be stuck in the wrong path. and now nothing can remove my belief in following my heart. but the crux of the question is what does my heart want? it usually lets me know when i've treaded on the wrong path, but it doesn't seem to tell me in any conspicuos fashion which direction is the right one (for me)...
in any case, it seems to me that the said tension need not be a substantial one. indeed, how can we truly enjoy and feel comfortable with the here and now if we KNOW that what we are doing is leading us astray, like in the case of drug taking. but of course we often live in denial and turning a blind eye to the consequence.....
of course a flower, like everything else in life, does not exist forever; like the buddha said, nothing is permanent. but the end of a flower doesn't necessarily mean annihilation, but can be fruits!
in other words, one can enjoy the here and now AND anticipate the 'good consequence' on one condition, namely, doing the right thing in the here and now.
eg if one enjoys the here and now through drug abuse (and even worse, sharing needles with others), it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that the consequence would be pretty grim for that individual....
the question at stake is what doing the right things consist in. this is the one million dollars question, alas we humans do not have the 100% certainty on this... otherwise, we wouldn't have so many irresolvable conflicts in ethics/politics/religions etc....
nonetheless, not having 100% certainty doesn't mean we can't discuss and exchange ideas on it.
what is your burning question, gum gum, that has put u into this long time dilemma of enjoying the here and now and prudential planning for the future (as well as saving the best for last)?
please share your ideas.
luv,
ele
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