JudgementDay

What brings on depression most for you: death (of others, or the idea of your own), freedom, isolation or meaninglessness?

Death, the inevitable.

Freedom, in an existential sense, refers to the absence of an extrinsic structure. The concept is that humans do not enter a world which is inherently structured. Each of us must create a personal, subjective structure.

Isolation stems from the fact that no matter how close we may become to another person, a gap always remains, and therefore, we are still ultimately alone.

Meaninglessness stems from the first three. If we must die, if we construct our own world, and if each of us is ultimately alone, then what meaning does life have, if any?

If none of the above, what then?

I'm smiling now, because I just remembered a rich goody from my past. Might be funny to me only, but I've got no pride. I'm going to lay it out, and I hope many of you others will top it.

Can someone explain how this happens in America in the twenty first century? I have not the slightest clue.

Probably everyone has a recurring dream or maybe it's a nightmare. Some dreams are particularly vivid. Maybe some of us can interpret these dreams. Face it, there is an extrinsic reality, but I'm thinking that at least 25% of a person's minute to minute, waking reality is concocted by the brain. George Berkeley hypothesized that 100% might be concocted by the brain. Therefore, the sleep dreams may give a hint on how close our wakeful perceptions agree with the extrinsic reality. I know nothing about psychology, except that I am daft.

I really enjoy engaging in banter, chitchat, persiflage, etc. My favorite format involves humor, whatever that is. All I know about humor is that it makes me chuckle, laugh, smile, project liquids out my nostrils, etc. Often, humor involves mocking. Second, I like to swap opinions, debate, argue, and like that. This is utterly futile, yet provides an interesting diversion, sort of like game playing. Third would probably be declaiming: I feel pretty good having gotten it off my chest. My least favorite is gossiping, even though anthropologists have learned that a considerable plurality of all human discussion is mere gossip.

With this in mind, I offer you the opportunity to initiate any form of banter here on this blog entry, if there is no one around, and you fear to be observed talking to yourself. I can't guarantee you that you receive any reply or feedback, but you might.