I asked her, "how do you know that you exist"? After some conversation and a few ideas we bounced around, she concluded that because she feels pain, she exists. I reached over and pinched her, saying something silly like "there, now we know you exist!" Her retaliatory slug confirmed both our existences. Although there are some gaps in that construct (is pain part of the dream?) we finally agreed that it seemed like a reasonable conclusion.
Fast forward to today. I've been reading in philosophy, and especially existentialism. I'll admit that I am an amateur, and even a gross amateur in the realm of philosphy. However, the more I study the more I'm intrigued by the not only the depth of the intellectual abyss to which existentialism plummets, but also the breadth of philosophical proponents who have shaped the world we live in. The breadth includes Christian influences such as Kierkagaard (who some call the father of existentialism), Nietzsche, an anti-Christian, Sartre and Camus who were atheists.
One thing the various views do have in common is the search and journey for true self and personal meaning in life. From there though the views wildly diverge.
Consider Kierkagaard's definition of self (from The Sickness Unto Death, Chapter A):
A human being is spirit. But what is spirit? Spirit is the self. But what is the self? The self is a relation that relates itself to itself or is the relation's relating itself to itself in the relation; the self is not the relation but is the relation's relating itself to itself.
I love thinking about stuff like this. And that is why the title of this blog is "blah blah blahg! As I continue to imbibe in the fountain of thought, I'm sure this is not the last time I'll write about philosophy. And I'm also sure this is not the last time Sherry, Claudia, Reed, et al will remark "blah blah blah"
