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What is a "Sense of Life?"

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What is a "Sense of Life" and how does one change their "Sense of Life"?

I would strongly recommend that you read Ayn Rand's essay "Philosophy and Sense of Life" in the book The Romantic Manifesto. In essence a sense of a life is "a pre-conceptual equivalent of metaphysics, an emotional, subconsciously integrated appraisal of man and of existence."

The philosophy of Objectivism itself represents a certain implied sense of life, one in which the world is knowable and man can achieve happiness, an overall benevolent sense of life. Some come to the philosophy already with the sense of life that Objectivism makes explicit for them, and they immediately feel at home both intellectually and emotionally.

Others come to Objectivism and get to intellectually understand and accept the philosophy, but the explict philosophic premises are in conflict with their underlying sense of life. This can be a long-term struggle to effect change, since sense of life is so fundamental and deeply ingrained. But man is self-made and what has been done can be corrected, and I would imagine that a good Objectivist psychologist could hasten the process.

Try the essay I mentioned as a good starting place. There is a lot more written about sense of life throughout the Objectivist corpus.

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I would recommend surrounding yourself with great art. Listen to great music and read great books. This will have a powerful impact on your subconscious mind and your sense of life.

Another activity that has really helped me shape my sense of life has been listening to lectures from the Ayn Rand Bookstore. Aside from the obvious values in gaining knowledge it is always a powerful experience to listen to rational men speak with conviction. Even better, attend ARI lectures whenever you can. Seeing rational men speak with conviction is even more moving!

Of course, as Stephen pointed out, your sense of life is ultimately your philosophy at work. My suggestions are supplementary to your philosophical understanding.

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  • 2 years later...

Do emotions count as a part of somebody's sense of life? If so what kind of emotions?

What if someone is manic-depressive. Are those emotions part of their sense of life, even though they don't come from their philosophy?

Is a sense of life simply a view of the world and man, a collection of one's convictions, or an emotion, or some mental atmosphere one has?

Is it possible for a lot of people to share the exact same sense of life? Does sense of life come from some general principles, or from the collection of all of one's ideas?

In other words, can anyone please explain what exactly is a sense of life and give examples?

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Do emotions count as a part of somebody's sense of life? If so what kind of emotions?

What if someone is manic-depressive. Are those emotions part of their sense of life, even though they don't come from their philosophy?

Is a sense of life simply a view of the world and man, a collection of one's convictions, or an emotion, or some mental atmosphere one has?

Is it possible for a lot of people to share the exact same sense of life? Does sense of life come from some general principles, or from the collection of all of one's ideas?

In other words, can anyone please explain what exactly is a sense of life and give examples?

Have you read "Philosophy and Sense of Life" in The Romantic Manefesto? You seem to be asking a lot of questions that are answered in that.

But the state of a manic-depressive person is not addressed in it (I'm not aware of that topic coming up in any of Ayn Rand's writings).

What if someone is manic-depressive. Are those emotions part of their sense of life, even though they don't come from their philosophy?
What specific emotions are you referring to, when you say "those emotions"? Emotions involve the body and chemicals, but they also involve the mind and philosophy. Is your specific question whether bipolar disorder has a necessary effect on a person's sense of life? If so, I don't think I'd be qualified to answer that. I've had friends who are manic depressive, and I can say it's a real drag, but I don't know enough specific details about its significance to a person's identity, philosophy, or sense of life.

Does sense of life come from some general principles, or from the collection of all of one's ideas?

From all of one's ideas. [edit: At least, I think so.. If I understand you right.]

Edited by Bold Standard
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Have you read "Philosophy and Sense of Life" in The Romantic Manifesto? You seem to be asking a lot of questions that are answered in that.

No, I haven't. I'm going to read it in a while (thanks for directing me to a source), but in the meantime, I'd appreciate it if someone would answer me anyway, and explain in their own words (or any words they choose), what does a "sense of life" mean.

But the state of a manic-depressive person is not addressed in it (I'm not aware of that topic coming up in any of Ayn Rand's writings).

What specific emotions are you referring to, when you say "those emotions"? Emotions involve the body and chemicals, but they also involve the mind and philosophy. Is your specific question whether bipolar disorder has a necessary effect on a person's sense of life?

"Those emotions" are the emotions of depression and mania (excessive happiness).

Since I don't know what exactly is meant by the term "sense of life" I am asking whether all emotions compose a "sense of life", even if those emotions may come from some brain disorder? The type of disorder itself doesn't matter to me, the question remains the same.

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I had great difficulty understanding the phrase "Sense of Life" when I was young and just beginning to appreciate Rand and Objectivism. The best way that I can explain it - based on my probably limited understanding even now - is that a person's sense of life is akin to a pair of glasses. It is the "lens" through which a person looks at the world. For instance, one person views the world in terms of optimism, opportunities, and challenges - sort of like wearing the proverbial "rose colored glasses." Another person views the world in terms of misery, obstacles, and doubt.

Can a person change their "sense of life?" Yes, but it is not as simple as changing a pair of glasses, obviously. But I think that the "glasses" analogy is probably accurate enough to give newcomers a semi-decent understanding of the concept.

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Since I don't know what exactly is meant by the term "sense of life" I am asking whether all emotions compose a "sense of life", even if those emotions may come from some brain disorder? The type of disorder itself doesn't matter to me, the question remains the same.

The exact definition of "sense of life" from TRM was quoted in an earlier post by Stephen Speicher: "a pre-conceptual equivalent of metaphysics, an emotional, subconsciously integrated appraisal of man and of existence." But this is greatly elaborated on and explained in the chapter mentioned, "Philosophy and Sense of Life," which is better written and probably shorter than this thread will end up being. I haven't read it in a while, and I could probably stand to freshen up on my own understanding of sense of life--but I'll do my best to answer your questions as far as I think I understand it.

A person's sense of life effects and determines the way he experiences emotions, and it also is a type of emotional experience, or at least involves emotions. Now I think I understand what you're asking enough to say--no, the specific emotional experience that is a direct product of bipolar disorder is not a product of or component of sense of life. In the same way, experiencing the emotion of surprise when you hear a sudden, loud noise has nothing to do with your sense of life.

On the other hand, a person's sense of life will necessarily effect his emotional experience inasmuch as it is a product of his judgments and premises, etc. There are some manic depressives who are cynical, and some who are optimistic--some who are benevolent, and some who are malevolent--some who respect themselves and some who don't; all of those things involve sense of life. If you'll allow me to try some armchair psychology to try and explain it, I would conjecture that a manic depressive with a benevolent sense of life would probably try to obtain medicine and therapy, because when he is down, he would know that it's not normal, that people aren't meant to suffer, and that the world is not metaphysically against him, and yet his emotions might be as low as they would be if that were the case, so he would know something is wrong. A person with a malevolent sense of life, however, might avoid medicine and therapy. He might think that his extreme depressions actually give him a better insight into how things are really, and how a person's emotional state should be, in a world such as this. (Maybe this conjecture would work better for clinical depression than bipolar disorder--I've only known people with manic depression, but have actually experienced clinical depression, so I'm more knowledgeable about it).

To try my example with the sudden loud noise--sense of life won't effect the fact that the initial emotion will be surprise; but it might effect whether the next emotion is courage or cowardice. Does that help at all?

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That was great, thank you.

So now I have more questions:

At what age does a person develop a sense of life? Since a sense of life has to come from one's ideas at what age would you say that the emotions little kids have come from their sense of life, and not from automatic brain responses?

The surprising thing, for me, is that as a little kid (am talking something like 2-4 year old) I had the same characteristic expression I have today (this sort of half-evil joyful grin of a winer kind of expression. Still have that picture somewhere to show). But I have no idea what philosophy I had at that age. So how is it possible to have the same expression?

Another thing that bothers me: a person's emotions tend to mingle with their thoughts. If someone is depressed, they will tend to interpret things differently than if they were not depressed, and it might even affect their taste in art. For example: they might like darker pictures instead of bright, colorful ones, even if the theme is similar (say, a beautiful woman).

An emotion of depression or joy is not like an emotion of sudden surprise. Depression is long-term and it affects a person more deeply. What say you?

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