Core Beliefs
1. The Value and Price of Actions
Every action has inherent value and comes at a price
Value: Each action we take can offer benefits, satisfaction, or a sense of accomplishment. This value can be immediate or long-term, tangible or intangible.
Price: Every choice involves a cost, not just in terms of resources like time and money, but also in terms of opportunities lost. This opportunity cost is the value of what we forego when we choose one action over another.
For every choice we make, thinking that we find value in it, we are losing something else. Thus, we are losers, and the process of making decisions is stupid and corrupt. Choice as an action is absurd and has no meaning.
2. Determinism
Our choices and actions are predetermined by a complex interplay of factors
Causal Chain: Every event and decision is the result of a preceding cause. Our current choices are shaped by past experiences, genetic predispositions, environmental influences, and other external factors.
Illusion of Free Will: While we experience our decisions as free, they are actually the outcome of this intricate web of determinants. The notion of free will, as traditionally conceived, is an illusion.
Acceptance of Predetermined Paths: Embracing determinism means understanding that our paths are set in motion by factors beyond our control. This can lead to a sense of peace and acceptance, knowing that our actions are part of a larger, unavoidable sequence.
This belief is connected to the first one, as making a choice has no meaning.
3. Meaninglessness of Life
Life lacks inherent meaning or ultimate purpose
Absence of Cosmic Significance: There is no grand, overarching purpose to life. Our existence is not part of a larger, meaningful narrative. We are just born into this world because of the predetermined actions our ancestors took. There might be a religious explanation for this, but very few will accept it.
Futility of the Search for Meaning: Efforts to find ultimate meaning or purpose are inherently futile. Acknowledging this can free us from the constant striving for significance.
Living in the Moment: Without the pressure to find lasting meaning, we can focus on the immediate experiences and small joys that life offers.
4. Pessimistic View of Life
Life is a process of inevitable decline
Countdown to Death: From the moment we are born, our lives are a countdown to our eventual death. Each day brings us closer to this inevitable end.
Physical and Emotional Deterioration: Life is accompanied by physical decline, loss of vitality, and increased health issues. Emotionally, the future can seem increasingly bleak as we face the loss of loved ones and the diminishing of opportunities.
Acceptance of Decline: Recognizing this process can help us to accept the realities of life without false hope or unrealistic expectations. We may touch death’s hand too soon or too late.
5. Existential Resignation
Striving for the best in any situation appears futile
Pointlessness of Efforts: Given the deterministic nature of life and the inevitability of death, efforts to achieve the best outcomes seem pointless. Our actions are preordained, and their ultimate impact is limited.
Embracing Resignation: This belief leads to a form of existential resignation, where we live out our days without the burden of seeking unattainable meaning or ultimate success.
Peace in Acceptance: By accepting the futility of our efforts, we can find a sense of peace and clarity, allowing us to focus on what is immediately in front of us without undue stress or pressure.
6. Fictional Values like Motivation or Discipline
Values such as motivation and discipline are fictitious
Stupidity of Motivation: Motivation is a flawed concept because our paths are predetermined. You either do something or you don’t, and the outcome is already set.
Illusion of Success: There is no true success if it was not predetermined. Any effort to succeed is ultimately meaningless.