Posted by Anthony Russo on October 17, 2009 at 2:30pm
Tony RussoDiscussion 1JWhy We Do What We DoThis question seems to be a very philosophical one in my opinion, so I feel it necessary to reference a philosopher. Aristotle once said that all of us have this telos or ultimate goal that we all strive for (the reason why we do what we do if you will). He used the concept of telos in order to explain a human’s purpose in life. Our purpose is this “why” that Aristotle was trying to figure out. He eventually came to the realization that this ultimate goal is driven by happiness of some kind. Whether it be money, lust, fame, service, etc. we all do what we do in order to make ourselves happy in some way. I agree with this because I believe we all strive for happiness in our lives, but we fail because opinions clash. The definition of “happiness” is as unique as we are, therefore we don’t always get to do what we want to do. Overall though, our actions are fueled by the desire to be happy. However, this is easier said than done, and I feel we also do what we do in order to follow some status quo because we believe a certain “path” in life will give us this happiness that we crave. This “path” usually involves going to school, getting a job, and then having a family and such. Sure some form wonderful lives through this path, but others that don’t know any better, and are simply corralled through this maze because they were simply told to do it. The only way to figure out what we truly want to do is by experiencing it. That is why in our youth we are so incredibly curious because in turn we slowly develop our likes and dislikes. This curiosity and formation of identity never stop so we are constantly changing our perception of happiness and what we want to do. In conclusion, we do what we do in order to find out what “happiness” is to our own individual selves, and in turn we form our identity.
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