The Key to Life

[BristolCavendish]

While reflecting upon a tragic incident that led to an earlier OP, I stumbled upon this keen insight...


Stanley Kubrick’s Unforgettable Answer

Playboy: If life is so purposeless, do you feel its worth living?

Kubrick: Yes, for those who manage somehow to cope with our mortality. The very meaninglessness of life forces a man to create his own meaning. Children, of course, begin life with an untarnished sense of wonder, a capacity to experience total joy at something as simple as the greenness of a leaf; but as they grow older, the awareness of death and decay begins to impinge on their consciousness and subtly erode their joie de vivre (a keen enjoyment of living), their idealism — and their assumption of immortality.

As a child matures, he sees death and pain everywhere about him, and begins to lose faith in the ultimate goodness of man. But if he’s reasonably strong — and lucky — he can emerge from this twilight of the soul into a rebirth of life’s élan (enthusiastic and assured vigor and liveliness).

Both because of and in spite of his awareness of the meaninglessness of life, he can forge a fresh sense of purpose and affirmation. He may not recapture the same pure sense of wonder he was born with, but he can shape something far more enduring and sustaining.

The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death — however mutable man may be able to make them — our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfillment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.
— Stanley Kubrick, interview with Playboy, Stanley Kubrick: Interviews

From <http://highexistence.com/secret-to-happiness/>

[douglasf13]

[GB-man]

I love it. Thanks for sharing

[Rock]

Excellent!
Most people have the potential to make the world a better or worse place.
Many choose to try to make it better for themselves without regard for the impact on others.
The ones I admire are those who pursue their self interest with a determination that they will ALSO make it a better place for others.

[cajunron]

Originally Posted by Rock

Excellent!
Most people have the potential to make the world a better or worse place.
Many choose to try to make it better for themselves without regard for the impact on others.
The ones I admire are those who pursue their self interest with a determination that they will ALSO make it a better place for others.

Wow Rock. This is so incredibly true. VERY well said.

[BristolCavendish]

Originally Posted by Rock

Most people have the potential to make the world a better or worse place. Many choose to try to make it better for themselves without regard for the impact on others. The ones I admire are those who pursue their self interest with a determination that they will ALSO make it a better place for others.

If we are to survive and flourish as a global community, your insight lays the essential groundwork.

Win-win scenarios are always difficult to come by as there is just so much (in terms of available resources) to go around. Avarice (whether personal or stemming from the corporate boardrooms) always seems to play a major role in pushing the world out of shape. And so the question remains, how much do we really need (as individuals) to ensure a better world for both ourselves and all parties concerned? Being somewhat of a minimalist (especially when it comes to personal and/or material possessions), I've always believed that an individual sense of 'less is more' remains critical to any pro-active initiatives/measures regarding global harmony (as well as the environment).

[El Cascarrabias]

Hmm . . . disagree.

Kubrick and I have opposite worldviews even though we agree on some things because we are realists.

BristolCavendish describes "Kubrick's Unforgettable Answer" as a keen insight. I would describe it as shallow. To save space I'll address just one of his statements.

"The very meaninglessness of life forces a man to create his own meaning."

If one accepts the premise that life is meaningless (purposeless), then this is probably a true statement. The problem is that Kubrick presents this in a positive light.

It's not.

If you create your own meaning based on the belief that life is meaningless, then the life of meaning you create does not have a point of reference outside yourself. In other words, there is no right or wrong, no morality, outside of what you decide is moral. Murder, rape, cheating, and lying will not be judged immoral (in your mind) because you have created your own morality. In your world they have positive value if they create rewards for you personally.

Well, sorry to be the contrarian here but I find Kubrick's worldview, well . . . meaningless.

[BristolCavendish]

Originally Posted by El Cascarrabias

If you create your own meaning based on the belief that life is meaningless, then the life of meaning you create does not have a point of reference outside yourself. In other words, there is no right or wrong, no morality, outside of what you decide is moral. Murder, rape, cheating, and lying will not be judged immoral (in your mind) because you have created your own morality. In your world they have positive value if they create rewards for you personally.

Wow. Are you basing your premise on 'A Clockwork Orange' which was more along the lines of a bleak warning rather than an endorsement of sociopathic behavior?

Human energy and efforts can obviously be channeled/expressed in a variety of ways and I'd like to believe that Kubrick's insights were based more on the positive rather than the dysfunctional.

[masyv6]

Great post

[El Cascarrabias]

Originally Posted by BristolCavendish

Wow. Are you basing your premise on 'A Clockwork Orange' . . .

Haven't seen the movie or read Burgess' book, so no. Just the quotes you provided.

Originally Posted by BristolCavendish

Human energy and efforts can obviously be channeled/expressed in a variety of ways and I'd like to believe that Kubrick's insights were based more on the positive rather than the dysfunctional.

He may well have focused on the positive but, in this quote, ignores the negative. And that is huge! A society made up of individuals who believe their lives are meaningless and must come up with their own meaning is chaos.

[BristolCavendish]

Originally Posted by El Cascarrabias

A society made up of individuals who believe their lives are meaningless and must come up with their own meaning is chaos.

In most cases, a flock mentality ensures the overall stability of a society (until or unless there is a call for social upheaval which oftentimes amounts to chaos in its own right).

On the other hand, if not for a handful of truly visionary and talented individuals (who gave meaning and significance to an otherwise mundane world), we would not have experienced mankind's greatest contributions in the form of art, literature and music.

[Rock]

Frank makes a good point that the 'nature' of the "meaning that you create" is obviously important.
"Meaning" can only be intuited by the individual as there is no 'universal rule book' to tell us what is meaningful and what is not.
Kubrick implicitly suggests that the "meaning" is a 'moral' or society-friendly, productive one as opposed to purely self-serving.
The 'asocial' or 'antisocial' personality may well ascribe a meaning that is not society-friendly and there will always be that clash of interpretations with those who see life as a 'survival of the fittest' or 100% self-interested.

[gmh1013]

Life is pain....
Pain in struggle for success
Pain in struggle for failure
everyday you have choice

[TG3N]

Kubrick has leaned quite heavily on the Existentialist philosophy there, and in particular, Albert Camus' own variant on it - 'Absurdism', best discussed in his works 'L'Etranger' & 'The Myth of Sisyphus'.

I don't think the majority of people worry too much about the meaning of life in a day-to-day context - most are just plodding along, one day after the next, providing for themselves & their family, dealing with their struggles and taking their pleasures where they can. I suspect that for most, it's a concern that takes more precedence later, at the end-of-life stage. Of course, that's what art/artists like Kubrick are good for - making us think about the bigger issues.

I don't believe there has to be some over-arching meaning to life for mankind to be either moral or find meaning/joy in life.

Nor do I think the absence of that meaning of life is a positive or negative thing - it just is what it is, the reality.

[MonBK]

Dr. Sigmund said it best: You're one sick puppy.

[MonBK]

I better clarify that I wasn't replying to anyone with this. ^

Just think it's right on the money.

[BristolCavendish]

Originally Posted by MonBK

Dr. Sigmund said it best: You're one sick puppy.

Dr. Freud was a notorious cokehead so we can take his insights with a grain of salt (as none of his theories have ever been proven). Kind of like 'the pot calling the kettle black'.

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by BristolCavendish

Dr. Freud was a notorious cokehead so we can take his insights with a grain of salt (as none of his theories have ever been proven). Kind of like 'the pot calling the kettle black'.

Dr. Freud

I'm talking about my friend Dr. Sigmund Franz Hopfenstader who told me this (and it has been proven).

[BristolCavendish]

Originally Posted by MonBK

Dr. Sigmund said it best: You're one sick puppy.

Originally Posted by MonBK

Dr. Freud I'm talking about my friend Dr. Sigmund Franz Hopfenstader who told me this (and it has been proven).

Is your 'Dr. Hopfenstader' a psychologist or a veterinarian?

[Rock]

Dr. Hopfenstader is Mon's Analyst, hence his diagnosis "You're one sick puppy".

[rolehex]

OP- Thanks for sharing. Kubrick fan here but I never heard that before. (guess I skipped the playboy articles)

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by BristolCavendish

Is your 'Dr. Hopfenstader' a psychologist or a veterinarian?

He's been my financial adviser for the past 30 years and we have a great relationship.

Whatever he tells me to invest in I do the opposite and it works just fine.

[Muzz]

The guy told me he had the key, wasn't sure if I should take him seriously though.