You can't just say that the essence of suffering is "the big sad". These are all aspects.
And what is so depressing here? I really don't understand. Is it that talking about suffering makes people sad? Is that how empathy works? This is a genuine question. I do not feel uncomfortable or sad talking/hearing about tragedy or suffering. I understand the feelings, but I don't feel them. That's why I would never link the philosophical discussion of suffering and depression.
Unless your point is that depression and suffering are linked? If that is the case, then I fully agree. One can cause the other, both ways.
Yes, exactly, that is what I'm trying to find out here. Is it really just that? It can't be just that, because it is possible to be happy and fulfilled in a meaningless, futile pursuit. Let's remember that “one must imagine Sisyphus happy”.
That is a very bleak perspective. By this logic, we can say that everything ever is meaningless.
Life of itself is not meaningless. It exists to test, create, and replicate patterns at a faster time scale than the regular processes of the universe.
Meaning is usually assigned after the fact. Or at least that's my experience.
I guess that makes sense. But not even the corrupt elites should suffer. We should find a more humane way for seeing them off. But that's beside the point. Thank you for the explanation.
Physical pain is not caused by attachment. It could be caused, for example, by electricity, or perhaps a sharp object. No attachment needed.
And no, the physical body is not a form of attachment. It is a part of you just like the mind is. You literally cannot exist without some form of a body.
And what about suffering due to desease? Like having a very bad fever dream. Where's the attachment there?
That is a very vague description. I'm not asking for a definition. What does it mean to you personally? Is it simply a "state of mind". If so, is it equal to other states of mind, and if yes, in what ways?
No offense, but you are like the third person to bring masochism into the discussion. What's up with that? Just because someone "can find pain enjoyable" doesn't mean that "suffering" means something else to them.
You mean as a concept or as in file?
I assume a concept, since there are no file attachments or links here.
Attachment is definitely a cause of suffering, but it is not the essence of it. There can be suffering without attachment, and attachment without suffering.
I did not mean to look for scenarios of true suffering. That is pointless. I'm more interested in the concept itself. It's not just pain and futility. Suffering is something else, something distinct. I'm not trying to find the "true definition". I just want to know different perspectives to understand the concept better.
I do agree that the concept is subjective to a large degree, and what I am looking for are the parts that are not subjective, the "core" of the concept. Thank you for providing your perspective.
That seems more like futility than suffering. Futility is definitely a part of "suffering", but I do not think it is the essence. There's also the perception. If someone keeps making the same mistake and doesn't notice, they do not suffer like the person who does notice.
Thank you for the comment. The examples I gave were purely for the purpose of roughly approximating my personal definition/understanding of "suffering". I tried to be vague, to avoid making people think of "worst ways to suffer". Seems it didn't work very well.
You say that to you suffering is a result. But I don't fully agree with that view. Suffering is not an emotion, it's more of a state. Emotions are reactions, states are different, more complex. And self-loathing is not the essence of suffering either. Not to me personally. But it is definitely a part of it.
Personally, I don't connect the concepts of suffering and catharsis. These actually seem like opposites. I tried to separate the concepts of suffering and pain (including mental pain), but they are too connected to do that. Although, what I can definitely say: Just physical pain or just mental pain is not "true suffering". At no point am I trying to deminish or "put down" people who say that these things make them suffer. It is just that I am looking for the central "concept" around suffering, and what it means to people.
No problem. I'm a bit sensitive on getting insulted, since insults is how a certain person communicates with me. I was raised on being insulted, so finding an aggressive subtext in a normal statement isn't a problem to me :)
It was not a 3D render, it was a photo of a piece of hardware in the shape of a cube. Not cube-like, a cube with some parts sticking out. I'm like 90% sure it was mostly circuit board in deep blue. I don't think it was a PC per se, but definitely physical hardware. And the official name might not be "The Tesseract" but that's what all the articles called it.
You can't just say that the essence of suffering is "the big sad". These are all aspects.
And what is so depressing here? I really don't understand. Is it that talking about suffering makes people sad? Is that how empathy works? This is a genuine question. I do not feel uncomfortable or sad talking/hearing about tragedy or suffering. I understand the feelings, but I don't feel them. That's why I would never link the philosophical discussion of suffering and depression.
Unless your point is that depression and suffering are linked? If that is the case, then I fully agree. One can cause the other, both ways.