Ulfar I

From Aryez

Introduction

Ulfar I is an early Aryezi philosophical work. It is in conversation form, between Akhi the philosopher and Ulfar, after whom it is named. Discussed topics include: the nature of love, the point of life, free will, and the purpose of human life.

Characters: Akhi, Ulfar [Ulfar is an Aryezi word meaning "ghost" referring to the unknown identity of the character]

YOU ARE WELCOME TO DEBATE THIS PHILOSOPHY ON THE DISCUSSION PAGE (which is on the upper tab to the right of the tab labeled article and to the left of the tab labeled edit).

Text of Ulfar I

Ulfar: Akhi, I wanted to let you know that I started writing a short essay on my philosophy.

Akhi: I am interested to see what you’ve written in it.

Ulfar: It is a work in progress. I’ll show it to you when I’m done.

Akhi: How are you even writing it? I mean to say: it is one thing to apply your personal philosophy in real life, but it is another thing to actually set down your views in logical way. Making a system out of what you normally just do as a habit, is what you’re doing, I believe.

Ulfar: The explanations may be logical to me, but to others they may not be. That’s why I have to work on it. It may take me many years actually.

Akhi: I wonder if it is likely that somebody had a similar view to yours and already wrote it out. In that case, would you even have to do this?

Ulfar: Somebody probably did, but I want to reflect upon my own life in the process. That’s why I’m doing this.

Akhi: That is a wise answer. I agree that you only get something out of it when you connect it with your own life.

Ulfar: And when you read it, you’ll see my whole life in logical terms, everything that has happened. It’s not only just a theory, but I’ll use my entire life to back it up. That’s how it becomes more individualized. Philosophy takes on a deeper meaning only if you take some general idea and make it apply to you, in your life.

Akhi: I agree with you here too.

Ulfar: Not all has been going well for me lately. You know of what I speak. There has to be a reason it’s happening. Everything happens for a reason.

Akhi: Then, do you believe life is pre-decided?

Ulfar: Yes, if you think about our personal paths, it seems almost planned and fit that we ended up where we currently are. It all makes sense. We were destined on these paths, for any other path would not have been good for us.

Akhi: That may only seem so, because looking back, people tend to assume that everything happened the way it happened to lead up precisely to the currently present, although it is entirely possible that a series of non purposeful events just occurred to lead up to the present, which just happens to be the result of these chance events.

Ulfar: That is possible, but I feel as though everything has a purpose. That is different from saying that everything has already been decided. Everything is just meant to happen for some reason, good or bad.

Akhi: Are you scared of the unknown?

Ulfar: That’s irrelevant. One has to make a leap into the unknown in order to better themselves or make a new start. It’s better that staying on the same, stale path. So you have to do it.

Akhi: Do you realize that life is lived for nothing? That is unless you have a purpose, or make yourself one. Without a purpose, there’s really no point in life, and we all might as well just commit suicide. Different people seem to have different purposes: money, sex, power, glory, and God for example.

Ulfar: I feel as though the purpose in life is to be happy with whom you are. That is the question. Are you happy with whom you are?

Akhi: Are you?

Ulfar: Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Akhi: I think happiness is irrelevant. Or at least, as it is conventionally defined. You have to somehow find inner peace and I think that’s more important. Or perhaps that’s a form of happiness, but it’s a higher form. For you can have the happiness of a animal taking delight in physical pleasures, that of a rational being, a man of society by taking part in the pleasures of friends, money, power, doing good deeds in society, or that of a spiritual, transcendent being, taking pleasure in things that bring you harmony, personal justice, and truth. However, that’s all in theory. Often, I have ideals but I feel as though I can’t live up to them.

Ulfar: Whenever I tell myself everything happens for a reason, it feels good. Even if what happens is bad. That’s because I then feel that since everything happened for a reason, nothing was done out of pure evil or hate, since any of those actions just happens for a cause. Only time will tell. Sometimes I wonder if I should value my education or social life more.

Akhi: Both education and social life are nothing. In truth, one feeds you, and one feeds your boredom. But you need to feed your soul. You need to dedicate yourself to something. Make something your ultimate purpose. Then I assume you’ll feel fulfilled.

Ulfar: Yes.

Akhi: Give up desire.

Ulfar: I dedicated myself to becoming something, a doctor.

Akhi: Then you must serve that with all your strength. All problems come from desire. If you don’t desire girls, how can the loose of them affect you; or the lack of them?

Ulfar: If you don’t desire , what’s there to live for though? Also, girls are so damned stupid. Their beauty is all they have but yet, males can’t live without them. There’s no way out of it. All straight males desire females.

Akhi: First man is an animal. Then he became a human. When he was an animal, he lusted. However, over time, he became human. But the animal part is still within him, and he still has to satisfy those desires such as food and sex. Anyhow, when man became human, he was able to make laws and control his nature impulses, and thus form a new set of desires- for rational beings in a society. But man can go to an even higher stage. A superman, where you can transcend all sorts of trivial stuff and realize the futility of much of life, but also learn to appreciate everything in life; man must connect first with the physical world, then the human world, and finally, the spiritual world. That is what we must strive towards.

Ulfar: So what are you saying?

Akhi: We’re only at the second stage. But at least we know we can get to the third stage and get happiness and peace. You want to get happiness at the second stage, but you won’t get it. Nobody gets true happiness at that stage. All they get is momentary pleasure.

Ulfar: Childhood seems to be somewhat like the third stage, away from the corruption of life, filled with wonder and innocence. Childhood and the third stage seem to be best, but the second stage is not a bright area. In fact, it is worse that the first, because to understand higher causes and not be able to reach them is far more torturous than not knowing what you can’t reach.

Akhi: Well put. To sum up: 1) the animal, 2) the human, 3) the superman or 1) the “natural”, 2) the ethical, 3) the moral.

Ulfar: But we’ve never experienced the first stage nor will we ever experience the third, so what’s the point?

Akhi: Without society, people will revert back to the first stage. But even in society, man often just gives in to his animal impulses, leading to a lot of strife. It’s a lot easier to do that than to try to consciously live a good life. With every action, you have to think if you’re doing good deeds for yourself, your society, and everyone. That’s the kind of personal moral check we all need, not just the self-centered quest for personal fun that many people have these days. The goal is to get to the third stage, but this is hard for most people, because they want to have fun in society and enjoy the fruits of their work in society. For who would not love a good job and the good money and good girls that come with it? But once one realizes higher truths, he will stop caring about getting girls and money.

Ulfar: There is truth in what you say, and that may be the path for some. But for many, money equals happiness. With money and love, you should be happy. There’s nobody who’s not.

Akhi: That’s not true. People are happy when they have no problems. And to take it further, when they acquire inner peace, when they get faith that the world makes sense and that there’s a good purpose to it. Money can’t be happiness. It causes all the problems in the world: lying, stealing, wars.

Ulfar: That only applies if you’re excessively rich. I meant money so that one can live comfortably; money and wealth, so you can enjoy some luxuries and life.

Akhi: I don’t think one should be poor. I just think you shouldn’t cling to money.

Ulfar: Don’t you sometimes feel you want to beat people at life? How can I do that? How can I beat people at the game of life? That’s the question.

Akhi: You know I want to beat everyone at life and win. I want people to remember me and what I did forever. That’s victory for me. When people talk about these times in world history, I want them to talk about me.

Ulfar: For you that’s winning. For me, I want love and money. I want to live a good life. You should want girls who’ve rejected you to look at your life and be jealous.

Akhi: Of course, I would want that, at my human level. That level dominates during most of my daily life, so I often think of success in society. I guess that if you achieve that kind of success, you stop thinking about the beyond, but even those people eventually feel as though there’s something beyond. Without that something beyond, there is always somewhat of an empty feeling somewhere in the heart. Most people just live with that and drown it out by seeking fun and pleasure, but it’s like seeking medicine that won’t really cure the illness. Are you full of regrets?

Ulfar: No, because I see bad things that have happened to me as lessons. In the end, those who win at life are the ones who say they’re going to win.

Akhi: That’s a good way of thinking, and people should surely go through life with that kind of mentality. At least they should try to win. But ultimately, those who win at life aren’t those who just say they they’ll win, but those who’ve actually won. I mean to say: a lot of people say they’ll win, but few people actually do the actions necessary to back that statement up.

Ulfar: That’s true. You just have to try hard and win then. What about love?

Akhi: I think people need to love. It’s one of their greatest needs. But it doesn’t have to be another person. There are different kinds of love. Love of women is one. It’s a good love, very pleasurable. But there are other types of love, higher types.

Ulfar: Such as? Love what you do?

Akhi: Yes. And even better, love a higher cause. And even better, love God.

Ulfar: Then isn’t the best job, according to you, a priest?

Akhi: No. That’s because priests serve God for others. One has to find God his own way, through his self. Nobody can help him do that. Some people find God through love, but some others find God through justice, truth, or perhaps even hate, but in the end it’s all the same, it’s utter devotion, complete faith even when he knows that the object of his faith may be an illusion, true and complete belief in the unknown, the un-measureable, the infinite, and the phantom, that is the highest love and truest faith- to believe something without hope of proof, but in hope that this something will give hope to your spirit.

Ulfar: How can you love God if you can only believe in him?

Akhi: That’s what makes God truly loveable. You can’t have faith in something if you can prove it. True faith requires a belief in something that can never truly be proven.

Ulfar: Can you outgrow love?

Akhi: Yes. You know of some examples too.

Ulfar: True. How did it happen?

Akhi: To an extent, it happened by itself. But I also forced myself to outgrow it. Will-power is essential. But much of the love wasn’t “lost.” It was transferred to other things. Within the Universe, nothing in created or destroyed. Things are just transferred. We see this with energy, momentum, and other things as well.

Ulfar: So basically, if I cannot love one thing, I can transfer that love to another thing and love that.

Akhi: Yes.

Ulfar: That’s why it’s good I’m wandering off into the real world, so the chances of me finding something to transfer my love is high.

Akhi: It could be money, love, a girl, God, anything.

Ulfar: Love is dangerous. It’s like a double-edged sword. One must be careful with it.

Akhi: What is your opinion on my views?

Ulfar: I like your views on love. They fit with life. Your views have changed in the past years. They seem more focused now.

Akhi: I still believe in many things of the past, but I am more flexible now. You can’t always deal in absolutes. Life provided many lessons that caused me to be flexible. But I still believe in justice, morality, and truth.

Ulfar: Why do people have a better life than us? Why do they have more than us? Why do you think some people are better off than others?

Akhi: I think sometimes the problem with people is that they try to see reasons for everything. For example, some people, while teaching American history, try to make it seem as though everything happened just to make this country free and a democracy. But that’s not true. Events just occurred, and the result is what we have now. It could have turned out differently, although obviously there were certain conditions that made certain outcomes more likely than others. That’s also how it is with life. Conditions and also the choices of people mean that some people have more than others. Inequality is a fact of life, and by no particular design. But of course, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t stop trying to get rid of it. Likewise, some people argue the Universe was created in a way so as to enable life now. But in reality, the Universe wasn’t made for this sort of life, it was made and then life, by starting up in the Universe, adapted to its conditions. Thus under all possible Universes, life would have been possible, because it fits the conditions that is happens to be in. Anyhow, life is a line, not a circle.

Ulfar: You’re reasoning is good.

Akhi: Alas, this was a good conversation, but now it must end. I have to go to Mikha’s house now.

Ulfar: Alas then. I’m departing this town in a week. We should meet before then.

Akhi: Yes, we should. I will arrange it.

Ulfar: Good. It will be great to see everyone before I leave.

Akhi: I hope to see you soon, and continue our discussion of life.

Ulfar: Me too.

Akhi: Then, farewell.