Cool article. I’ve actually been doing a lot of thinking recently myself about the link between virtue and psychological wellbeing. Does the book you mention create a strong case for this link (beyond what’s been covered here)?
The virtues are well worn, and an old freeway, repaved dozens of times. I like the HVAC, heat pump analogy, however. You don't need to use a golf club, attempt to fix it, or even call a repairman. Turn it off. The cold air, or hot, depending upon the condition, will stop. If it has a reset button, push it, and wait for a while. If not, wait awhile, and nearly 100% of the time, when you restore power, it will work as designed. Human's natural state is Happiness. Virtues mess with it, complicate it, and drive far too many mad. As long as any portion of the three stooges' ego team is running the show, you lose. How do you reset a human? Take a nap.
This was a very thought provoking read. It challenged me to think through some of my own beliefs that I will share here.
The analogy of the HVAC for the sense of self is indeed quite loaded. Many people do not realize that their sense of self is malfunctioning until they experience the improvement from giving it a rest through psychedelics or meditation. Like any problem, the first step in solving the issue is to see the problem clearly, and one cannot see the nature of the self and reality clearly until they step outside of it. Stepping outside, one realizes that it truly isn't cold at all, but that the HVAC was conspiring to make you think you were cold in order to ensure it's own continued existence. It whispers (or screams) lies incessantly in your ear, "It is so cold, you need me! Don't you dare pull that plug or you will die!". You pull the plug and you are fine. Every once in a while, especially when you have company over in order to make them comfortable, you might plug the HVAC back in but you keep it tuned to a reasonable setting.
Additionally, many people strive through their whole life to build up their sense of self through virtue self-signaling, and they may experience eudaimonia, but what did they truly accomplish? Is not virtue just another illusion of the mind? Does virtue exist beyond the confabulations of the individual? Here lies the issue with existentialism. You run as fast you can your entire life, but one day, too late, you realize that you have been on a treadmill, going nowhere the entire time. As "society is an outgrowth of humanity", expand this treadmill analogy, and you see the arc of human history as one enormously prolonged, beautifully and tragically destructive, comedically futile, race to nowhere.
So then, how does one find happiness? Rather than continue this perpetual cycle of chasing-imaginary-goals-until-realizing-they-are-imaginary-then-forgetting-they-are-imaginary-and-choosing-another-and-repeating, one must merely exist. Accept reality as it is. There is joy and peace in every moment, independent of external factors or internal illusions. Deep reflection, meditation, and psychedelics can all show this to be true momentarily, while meditation is the only method I know of which stabilizes the ability to experience this joy and peace. Compassion for other beings flows naturally out of this state, which, perhaps not coincidentally, might be the closest one can get to true virtue.
Cool article. I’ve actually been doing a lot of thinking recently myself about the link between virtue and psychological wellbeing. Does the book you mention create a strong case for this link (beyond what’s been covered here)?
The virtues are well worn, and an old freeway, repaved dozens of times. I like the HVAC, heat pump analogy, however. You don't need to use a golf club, attempt to fix it, or even call a repairman. Turn it off. The cold air, or hot, depending upon the condition, will stop. If it has a reset button, push it, and wait for a while. If not, wait awhile, and nearly 100% of the time, when you restore power, it will work as designed. Human's natural state is Happiness. Virtues mess with it, complicate it, and drive far too many mad. As long as any portion of the three stooges' ego team is running the show, you lose. How do you reset a human? Take a nap.
This was a very thought provoking read. It challenged me to think through some of my own beliefs that I will share here.
The analogy of the HVAC for the sense of self is indeed quite loaded. Many people do not realize that their sense of self is malfunctioning until they experience the improvement from giving it a rest through psychedelics or meditation. Like any problem, the first step in solving the issue is to see the problem clearly, and one cannot see the nature of the self and reality clearly until they step outside of it. Stepping outside, one realizes that it truly isn't cold at all, but that the HVAC was conspiring to make you think you were cold in order to ensure it's own continued existence. It whispers (or screams) lies incessantly in your ear, "It is so cold, you need me! Don't you dare pull that plug or you will die!". You pull the plug and you are fine. Every once in a while, especially when you have company over in order to make them comfortable, you might plug the HVAC back in but you keep it tuned to a reasonable setting.
Additionally, many people strive through their whole life to build up their sense of self through virtue self-signaling, and they may experience eudaimonia, but what did they truly accomplish? Is not virtue just another illusion of the mind? Does virtue exist beyond the confabulations of the individual? Here lies the issue with existentialism. You run as fast you can your entire life, but one day, too late, you realize that you have been on a treadmill, going nowhere the entire time. As "society is an outgrowth of humanity", expand this treadmill analogy, and you see the arc of human history as one enormously prolonged, beautifully and tragically destructive, comedically futile, race to nowhere.
So then, how does one find happiness? Rather than continue this perpetual cycle of chasing-imaginary-goals-until-realizing-they-are-imaginary-then-forgetting-they-are-imaginary-and-choosing-another-and-repeating, one must merely exist. Accept reality as it is. There is joy and peace in every moment, independent of external factors or internal illusions. Deep reflection, meditation, and psychedelics can all show this to be true momentarily, while meditation is the only method I know of which stabilizes the ability to experience this joy and peace. Compassion for other beings flows naturally out of this state, which, perhaps not coincidentally, might be the closest one can get to true virtue.