Philosophy of Life

Cosa

Philosophy: a system of principles for guidance in practical affairs.

Principle: a sense of the requirements and obligations of right conduct.

It always intrigues me when I hear people say "my philosophy in life is...." More often than not that phrase is followed by some platitude like "never admit defeat," or "you gotta take the good with the bad." I don't know if people who say this actually mean anything by it. It certainly can't be the extent of someone's system of principles, could it? Life is complex enough that there has to be at least several platitudes involved. Playing football and being married can't be covered by the same principles, can they?

I can't be overly critical of people and their philosophies because I could not on short notice articulate one of my own. I sincerely believe that I have one; I believe that my actions in life have been guided by some underlying principles, and in my head (or in my heart, or in my soul, I can't tell for sure which is which), I can see these principles pretty clearly. But to try to state in so many words what these principles are is kind of like describing what chicken tastes like.

Asimov's fictional Three Laws of Robotics* would make a great philosophy of life. Substitute Suzy for robot, and Suzy would be a person you would feel reasonably comfortable being around as long as she stuck to her principles. Further substitute Tom for human being, and there's a good chance that Suzy would make a good wife, and the marriage might well be a success if Tom had a similar philosophy in life.

I wonder if my philosophy in life could be boiled down to something like the Three Laws. There are of course the Ten Commandments, and I could do worse than to have to rely on them as a philosophy. I also wonder if it would be beneficial if graduation from high school required you to set down in writing a philosophy in life and have it reviewed and approved by a jury of people who have to live with you. "I want to drink beer and fornicate with your daughters as often as possible" would be a harder philosophy to have if you actually had to present that to people face to face.

Still, even the Three Laws are not perfect. A robot could kill you if he was ordered to add something to your food and did not know it was poison. We can unintentionally hurt one another. It's a tough world.

I know that my philosophy in life has to do with love, duty, honor, family and God. And not allowing the return of the Third Reich. And oddly, not wearing any jewelry except a wedding ring. I've always lived by that one, ever since I was a kid.

So here is a rough draft of  my philosophy in life:

           

            1. Don't kill people and eat your vegetables.

            2. Do your job well, except when that would conflict with #1.

            3. Pay attention to your wife and family as long as doing that does not conflict with #1 or #2.

These are subject to revision, of course, something that I shall set about to do immediately.

  

*  The Three Laws

            1. A robot may not injury a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

            2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would         conflict with the First Law.

           3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.