AN would be the aesthetic pose in my book. I prefer to move on to the pragmatic meat of the issue of whether to have children. And how to approach life in general. — apokrisis
I don't think you're reading these responses.
Not in any way, whatsoever. The number of people who cower into an ideology that saves them from head-on dealing with the complexities and pains of life is far higher than the number of people who do not. This is not hyperbole, it just may be uncomfortable to confront. I am speaking here of religious people, New Age people and the like. It is not common to intellectually "raw dog" life, as it were.
You were arguing as if the “higher consciousness” of humans were something neurobiological rather than sociocultural. This makes a difference. — apokrisis
You may need to clarify as this is across threads, and I don't quite recognize anything here?
able to suffer — apokrisis
Therapy can’t address the source of the distress — apokrisis
Im not sure you're making anything of this. Humans are capable (in fact, predisposed) to suffer. Therapy can't make us inhumane. Okay?
But if instead you understand human consciousness as a socially constructed habit of thought — apokrisis
You'd be a very, very weird person to deal with. Bordering on nonsensical, imo.
then you can see how the inner narrative is something that can quite authentically be rewritten. — apokrisis
This sounds like Frankfurtian nonsense to me I'm afraid (not your fault, I'm sure - you'll have seen at least some of my responses to Constance illuminating why this is so, for me)). The two points you're trying to contrast aren't related in my view (in this discussion, anyway. Others, sure). The fact of self-consciousness has very little to do with (other than as a required premise) inner monologues. Our self-consciousness predisposes us to suffer. We have the ability to talk ourselves around. Okay. This is, again, not related to AN concerns or positions. You're talking about living people dealing with their already-extant lives. Not. Relevant.
This is the shift in mindset behind the positive psychology movement. — apokrisis
And you take this seriously, I take it, as opposed to nifty social trend designed to make money off people's mental health?
helping people realise they have internalised certain scripts and, if they want, they can rewrite them to better suit their own lives. — apokrisis
This is the majority of all therapies throughout time. This is not 'new'.
It is not the “gift of life” that is our unconsented burden. — apokrisis
Yes it is. Unfortunately, nothing you've said comes close to altering this position.
That which we could not help internalising as it was how we were treated, the circumstances of our early rearing. But that which we can grow out if we have a clearer idea about how the human mind is shaped. — apokrisis
The strange part about this exchange (again, not you... some free-floating attribute) is that I basically agree with this. Once alive, we can do all sorts of things to alleviate suffering. Some people genuinely enjoy a life with less suffering and more pleasure (as it were - that's a bit black/white). No issues with what you're getting across here - which is an argument against existential dread, or suicidality, or even defeatist attitudes
of the living. It does not engage with AN concerns.