Life Without Principle (1854)

http://thoreau.eserver.org/life1.html

by begriffs • 12 years ago

100 16 12 years ago

thoreau.eserver.org

benched• 12 years ago

"If I should sell both my forenoons and afternoons to society, as most appear to do, I am sure that for me there would be nothing left worth living for."

If I say things like this, people are quick to suggest medication.

AlexeyBrin• 12 years ago

They suggest that you have a problem because this way of thinking questions their way of life. You can always keep your controversial opinions to your self or share them with a group of close friends. No need to make other people feel uncomfortable.

BTW, I agree with the author's assertion, you should try as much as possible to be your own master and not be the slave of other people opinion.

ballard• 12 years ago

Exactly. Moreover it is weak and dishonest to agree to with others when you don't or know the opposite to be true. Honesty > politeness > fools. Feedback is how we can improve our situation, false approval is how others further reinforce departure from reality.

randallsquared• 12 years ago

"They suggest that you have a problem because this way of thinking questions their way of life."

Well, perhaps. Or perhaps they have noticed that, or have accepted the conventional wisdom that, people who say things like this are more often depressed than both not depressed and thoughtful.

andyl• 12 years ago

We have principles! Marriage is bad and drugs are good. Read it right here on Hacker News.

chuckledog• 12 years ago

Thoreau is clearly comparing the Massachusetts startup scene to the one in California.

mattschmulen• 12 years ago

there is a Massachusetts startup scene ?

Jun8• 12 years ago

Excellent essay, thanks for posting. It parallels the following important idea from pg's essay on losing time and money (http://paulgraham.com/selfindulgence.html):

The most dangerous way to lose time is not to spend it having fun, but to spend it doing fake work.

As a person who has suffered for the latter all my life, I cannot emphasize this more. Even now, when I have a few precious hours to myself on a Sunday afternoon (this happens very rarely), I have no immediate plans, so I surf this or that website, taking notes about ideas, etc., which to someone watching me would seem like I was engaged in valuable activity.

herokusaki• 12 years ago

this happens very rarely

Why?

Stal3r• 12 years ago

This is a long, dense essay with dated language posted with no context. It is cumbersome to read. Does anyone have a more accessible article which parallels the ideas here?

PavlovsCat• 12 years ago

It's not the exact same, but it reminded me of this one:

http://fadeyev.net/2012/06/19/moral-design/

Life is the ultimate aim of moral design, which it must protect, advance, ennoble and enrich. Immoral design, which is also bad design, is the opposite. It takes life by stealing time; it impoverishes by pretending to be more than it is; it does not last; it deceives, harms, enrages and degrades. The difference between the two lies at the origin of the work, when the designer first establishes their true goals and decides whether it is to satisfy their destructively selfish aims, or it is to be something higher, something that respects and elevates people’s lives, something that they are not ashamed to put out into this world because they know that their heart lies in the right place; and if they fail to achieve what they set out to do, it will be but an error of affection, not ill work laden with guilt.

antispin2• 12 years ago

"Men sometimes speak as if the study of the classics would at length make way for more modern and practical studies; but the adventurous student will always study classics, in whatever language they may be written and however ancient they may be. For what are the classics but the noblest recorded thoughts of man?" -- Thoreau

Sorry, couldn't resist.

quantumpotato_• 12 years ago

Relevant?

"When our life ceases to be inward and private, conversation degenerates into mere gossip. We rarely meet a man who can tell us any news which he has not read in a newspaper, or been told by his neighbor; and, for the most part, the only difference between us and our fellow is that he has seen the newspaper, or been out to tea, and we have not."

antispin2• 12 years ago

Awesome to see my favourite author here on Hacker News.

May I also humbly recommend:

* Civil Disobedience (1849) - the classic referred to by Gandhi and MLK http://thoreau.eserver.org/civil.html

* A Plea for Captain John Brown (1859) - Thoreau was one of the very, very few to defend Brown attempt to launch a slave rebellion http://thoreau.eserver.org/plea.html

* Walden (1854) - of course - read the first chapter at least ("Economy") for a timeless analysis of what is necessary in life http://thoreau.eserver.org/walden00.html

bcl• 12 years ago

I would also include Walking in that list. But I may as well expand that and recommend all of his essays.

MachineElf• 12 years ago

Even though the language is a bit dated ( also, English is not my native language) this essay is well worth reading and insightful. Didn't know about this Thoreau fellow before reading this though so really thank you for posting.

One thing i keep thinking about is the stark contradiction between the high standard of living of western society and ever increasing depression rates ( I don't have a list of sources at hand, but I believe this to be somewhat common knowledge ), so I think that this essay strikes right at the heart of the problem, in the sense that we are almost living for making a living( Or some such phrasing ), or at least hints at a deeper, more underlying and worrying phenomenon .

Life Without Principle (1854)

Related Stories