Skip to main content

Pascal and Aristotle

“Fake it ‘til you make it," is a version of 17th century French philosopher, Blasé Pascal’s famous wager, and commonly used in modern times to inspire positive change in people struggling with their place in society.

(Huge apologies here to philosophers; Pascal was speaking of the existence of God and the modern version of his wager is most commonly used to help people struggling with addiction. Not being a philosopher, I am simply musing about adopting a philosophical approach that might help us through our daily grind.)

It is daunting when you are overwhelmed or feeling sad, and not up to the rigors of working and living in your community.

When someone says you’re not alone or that they know what you are going through as they have had similar experience, it doesn’t make you feel better. The mood you’re in feels like it owns you and no one could possibly understand what you’re going through.

It might be more helpful if you had acknowledgement, psychological validation, that what you are experiencing is real and how you are experiencing it is unique to you.

But while validation is important, it really doesn’t address a remedy for the situation.

What if we employ the modern version of Pascal’s wager and adopt a cheerful disposition even though we don’t feel it? What if we do this as a habit? Perhaps we could cultivate this habit until it becomes our second nature. It could be something we fall back on when we are feeling less than cheerful? Could that not be a temporary measure to help us over rough spots in our daily lives?

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle thought a person could attain virtue by making virtuous acts a habit. And again, I apologize for making a mish-mash of philosophy. But I wonder if this concept could be applied to fighting those feelings of sadness, acting cheerful to become cheerful, in this case. Aristotle put great stock in cheerfulness. "It is for the sake of happiness," Aristotle wrote, "that we all do everything else we do."

Certainly you will know if you are faking it more often than feeling it. That would be an indication the application of this philosophy might not be working for you. After all, you are smart enough to know what works for you and what does not.

If you are harming no one, and are fully cognizant of what it is you are attempting, then adopting a cheerful outlook and making it part of your nature, might be worth a try.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

RETHINKING MY POLITICS PART 1

All my life I have been a far left supporter. Now, I feel let down, disappointed by those whom I had thought shared at least some of my basic tenets and so, I must re-evaluate my position. But in order to do that, I must write down what I think each side stands for, what I stand for, and then decide a course of action. Conservatism is a political ideology that to me appears stilted and not up to the task of making the necessary choices in an open society in the 21st century. Mired in maintaining traditional perspectives and preserving religious beliefs and cultural customs, conservatism remains hobbled in its response to the changing world we live in, a world that runs exponentially faster than it did in the last century due to technological progress in computers, communications and the digital age. The conservative tenet of the rugged individual free to chart his own course is a myth. The US army settled the west first and then pioneers came to claim the land the government had p...

Life's Uncertainty Principle

There was a particular moment, a span of about ten seconds, in my life when I chose a course of action that changed everything and with very dramatic effect. It is hard for me to talk about this without telling you the details but I am going to try. It started in 1982, I had worked hard to earn a position within my job. During my course of duty, a situation developed and I had the obligation to choose, literally, to stay where I was or go. I know, " should I stay or should I go now." I could have stayed . I should have stayed . But I didn't, I went . Ten seconds of my life, that's what it took to change my life's path in every way. I am not talking about military service and fighting a war, where one looks back thinking had I gone right and not left, I wouldn't have been shot. No, nothing that noble. I wasn't shot, blown up, or physically injured in any way. But the situation turned sour and the result from that decision of mine played out in the cou...

EXISTENTIAL FEAR

Everyone is afraid of something. What is it that you are afraid of? Not spiders, or heights or water. I don’t mean things like that [although I do fear heights and water]. Think more deeply. What is it that truly and fundamentally terrifies you? For me, I fear being a coward. To be faced with a challenge in life and not measure up, that’s what terrifies me. I fear that I might fail to protect my wife, though even at my age and state of decrepitness, my thirty-eight years of martial arts training might stand me in good stead, for a short time, at least. I figure about ninety seconds. But my cowardice could manifest as me being immobilized by self-pity over some crisis or other when I should wish to remain strong for my family, a rock of strength for them. Simple, daily life can be more arduous than we care to credit. The mundane can drive a man around the bend or even to his end. A man must deal with the frustration of earning a living, not getting that promotion, not making e...