/lit/ - Literature

>>8350093

It's not really a matter of belief. I simply find the tools and concepts useful in developing my own when confronting complex phenomena such as capitalism, democracy, history, etc.

Philosophical development for the individual, in my experience at least, has an initial phase where the person wants to "find the truth," so they pour their efforts into determining whether determinism is true, or whether God exists, and so on. These are important questions, but past a certain point these concepts become tools in their own right to unlock higher plateaus. You move from an attempt at being systematic, to meta-systematic where systems can be set against each other to derive further conclusions.

To make an analogy with mathematics, it is like the difference between algebra, calculus, and topology. If you master algebra, you can "unlock" calculus; from here you can also unlock other mathematics domains which were previously inaccessible.

So, D&G are something more like the philosophical equivalent of topology. If you haven't mastered algebra, it will be incomprehensible. At the point you can implement a meta-systematic approach to your own philosophy, you can appreciate D&G.

In a sense, all things we believe we have only "tricked" ourselves into believing, since whatever can be named does not actually exist. Our words are discrete approximations which cannot perfectly fit the continuous contours of reality.

>>8171841

Avoiding that circlejerk is the hard part. (Even the logical positivists turned into a circlejerk over Wittgenstein.) It's part of why I moved on, and am simply focused on spiritual self-improvement. My new life goal is to gain some wisdom that might later bring comfort to those searching for it.

There will always be people in the group who use it to compensate for their own insecurities. In truth, I think Yudkowsky is one of the most brilliant and original thinkers this century has yet produced. The others who tag along will always pale in comparison to those in whose shade they find solace.

You have to learn to see past the outer shell that people project, and understand that everyone is dealing with some unresolved trauma from childhood. Life is tough, proceed with compassion and enjoy the small beauties in life. It's there if you look for it.