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Do people still have value to you?

purelambdaphi

Non-instrumental social value, that is. I'm sure they still have moral value for you still.

And by "non-instrumental" I just mean something you value for the sake of it, as opposed to valuing it because it enables you to experience/achieve/etc. something else (like how money is usually seen as valuable to the extent that it can buy you things, be passed down to enrich your progeny, etc.).

I'm sure the ones out of you that are parents, or have SOs, will say yes. I'm more leaning towards no, myself. After I reached a certain age experiencing social dynamics for the sake of it has become almost "conceptually dubious" to me.

In fact, I suspect I only interact or post things online instrumentally -- with the goal of putting boredom at bay or something like that.

(And, yaeh, I'm anticipating that it is plausible that someone here has the view that "All social valuing is instrumental" or some such. You're still welcome to elaborate on your position, if that is the case for you.)

Parents

  • I would remove the word 'still' because I don't think my position has changed.

    I have tried having almost no interactions, after some months  I started going crazy (same problems as people who are in solitary confinement). Same issue during COVID lockdown, and I had more virtual contacts then. So some real world, not virtual, interaction with people is needed.

    Do I value it though is harder to answer. I don't want to go crazy, so I value that. But if people disappear, change jobs, move, die, etc. I don't feel much or often anything, as long as there are others I can interact with, so the people are interchangeable.

    I think you can't change your instinctive requirement for interaction, it is what humans need. Do you need to be conscious of it or question or analyse it, probably not.

    I would say everything you do serves a purpose, whether you recognise it or not. Your subconscious is deciding things for you based on requirements you don't always know and can't control.

    Just do what makes you feel better, as long as it is not harmful to yourself or others.

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  • I would remove the word 'still' because I don't think my position has changed.

    I have tried having almost no interactions, after some months  I started going crazy (same problems as people who are in solitary confinement). Same issue during COVID lockdown, and I had more virtual contacts then. So some real world, not virtual, interaction with people is needed.

    Do I value it though is harder to answer. I don't want to go crazy, so I value that. But if people disappear, change jobs, move, die, etc. I don't feel much or often anything, as long as there are others I can interact with, so the people are interchangeable.

    I think you can't change your instinctive requirement for interaction, it is what humans need. Do you need to be conscious of it or question or analyse it, probably not.

    I would say everything you do serves a purpose, whether you recognise it or not. Your subconscious is deciding things for you based on requirements you don't always know and can't control.

    Just do what makes you feel better, as long as it is not harmful to yourself or others.

Children
  • in reply to Stuart333

    I'm interpreting that as you only seeing instrumental social values for other people.

    Surprising how someone like you would even notice COVID was happening at all. If it wasn't for a certain trip I was planning to do at the time being cancelled, I'd likely only have had discover about COVID in 2023 or so when the circle of niche YouTubers I watch started sufficiently talking about it.