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A Philosopher's Challenge
It was May 16th, the year was 2064. An old man sat on the steps to a local establishment wearing clothes that were once a bit on the expensive side made from brands known for producing long lasting and durable clothing, but now worn torn and ragged. An adolescent around age 14 to 16 approached him and asked what he was doing., "I am writing what I feel I'd be satisfied with being my last words". The boy then stated that he saw the old man sitting there often and asked what he meant by that to which the old man replied "I have given up on humanity and am writing on my criticisms to it, rather than die after seeing how no one will care what I have to say, I would rather breathe my last breath with a bit of hope that perhaps maybe what I have to say will have some level of an impact". The boy looked a bit confused and concerned and replied "Are you going to kill yourself?" to which the old man responded "Every purpose I have found to resonate with myself, though virtuous was always impeded by those of far lesser character than I myself had when at my absolute worse within my lifetime. A life without purpose deserves to end when the pain and lonliness becomes too much, so yes and I will likely shed a tear of joy when I do go".
This visibly bothered the boy as he was a highly shelteted optimist who had not seen the harshness of the world and so he was baffled. The boy had an idea and looked at the old man and asked "What would convince you to change your mind about killing yourself?". The man looked a bit annoyed at first but then his expression changed to a bit of a mixture between being confused and amused and so he replied to the boy "I have a challenge for you, if you can prove me wrong in my assessment of the world, I will not take my life but instead find a reason to live on". Looking somewhat pleased yet a little intimidated by how the tone the old man delivered made him feel like the old man was confident that his challenge would be an impossible one, he reluctantly responded "Deal, what exactly is this assessment you speak of?". The boy sits down attentatively after pulling a chair over to the steps where the old man sat, and the old man responds "Humanity really only has four problems in total that it inflicts upon itself, one being a major problem and the other three being amplified by said major problem, people would much rather kill and silence those with solutions than to work with them. Often times the solutions are only for problems caused by the four problems mentioned, and so it would seem that people are actually in love with their problems. Over two thousand years ago a first step to a solution to our biggest problem was proposed, the man's name was Socrates and he recieved the death sentence for his efforts, as a result the culture of inquiry that could have been was never truly realized, and so our primary problem was enabled to flourish as it was deemed more important to protect than the life of the man who promoted a means to resolve it. Now over two thousand years later, the problem still exists and brings more problems into the picture, and yet people are too in love with this core problem to do anything more than focus on the problems it brings rather than to focus on resolving the core problem itself, they are like a room full of people focused only on mopping up elephant blood while ignoring the gaping wound in the animal and yet people look at them and regard them as true problem solvers and those doing the mopping up are usually eating up every praise and often relying on that praise."
The old man paused for a bit and took from his pocket a plastic bag filled with loose pieces of gum, pulled out a piece and began chewing it giving the boy some time to ask a question the old man could tell the boy was waiting to ask. The boy takes a breath and then asks "What are these four problems and why do they bother you so much that you would be driven to want to take your own life over them?". The old man clearly pleased by the inquiry the boy provided then responded "Because the world is the only option for a home that I can see and yet I am homesick for a better world, the pain and suffering everyone needlessly faces regardless of our power to prevent such is simply too great to bear even enough for me to even so much as to know what home feels like and the sheer imbecility of people makes me far too often feel alone in this world. When I see how I am the only one homesick for a better world, what little hope for humanity I have dies out as if people were sincerely empathetic and considerate of others, they too would be homesick for a better world, the pain is simply too great and yet the problems are too few for any truly valid excuses as to why such is ignored. Our main problem is regarding arrogance, the other three problems are toxic superficiality, emotional immaturity, and defects in empathy and consideration for others"....
This visibly bothered the boy as he was a highly shelteted optimist who had not seen the harshness of the world and so he was baffled. The boy had an idea and looked at the old man and asked "What would convince you to change your mind about killing yourself?". The man looked a bit annoyed at first but then his expression changed to a bit of a mixture between being confused and amused and so he replied to the boy "I have a challenge for you, if you can prove me wrong in my assessment of the world, I will not take my life but instead find a reason to live on". Looking somewhat pleased yet a little intimidated by how the tone the old man delivered made him feel like the old man was confident that his challenge would be an impossible one, he reluctantly responded "Deal, what exactly is this assessment you speak of?". The boy sits down attentatively after pulling a chair over to the steps where the old man sat, and the old man responds "Humanity really only has four problems in total that it inflicts upon itself, one being a major problem and the other three being amplified by said major problem, people would much rather kill and silence those with solutions than to work with them. Often times the solutions are only for problems caused by the four problems mentioned, and so it would seem that people are actually in love with their problems. Over two thousand years ago a first step to a solution to our biggest problem was proposed, the man's name was Socrates and he recieved the death sentence for his efforts, as a result the culture of inquiry that could have been was never truly realized, and so our primary problem was enabled to flourish as it was deemed more important to protect than the life of the man who promoted a means to resolve it. Now over two thousand years later, the problem still exists and brings more problems into the picture, and yet people are too in love with this core problem to do anything more than focus on the problems it brings rather than to focus on resolving the core problem itself, they are like a room full of people focused only on mopping up elephant blood while ignoring the gaping wound in the animal and yet people look at them and regard them as true problem solvers and those doing the mopping up are usually eating up every praise and often relying on that praise."
The old man paused for a bit and took from his pocket a plastic bag filled with loose pieces of gum, pulled out a piece and began chewing it giving the boy some time to ask a question the old man could tell the boy was waiting to ask. The boy takes a breath and then asks "What are these four problems and why do they bother you so much that you would be driven to want to take your own life over them?". The old man clearly pleased by the inquiry the boy provided then responded "Because the world is the only option for a home that I can see and yet I am homesick for a better world, the pain and suffering everyone needlessly faces regardless of our power to prevent such is simply too great to bear even enough for me to even so much as to know what home feels like and the sheer imbecility of people makes me far too often feel alone in this world. When I see how I am the only one homesick for a better world, what little hope for humanity I have dies out as if people were sincerely empathetic and considerate of others, they too would be homesick for a better world, the pain is simply too great and yet the problems are too few for any truly valid excuses as to why such is ignored. Our main problem is regarding arrogance, the other three problems are toxic superficiality, emotional immaturity, and defects in empathy and consideration for others"....
