Jaximu5_ t1_isbaauj wrote
Reply to comment by potato-Mk1 in Schopenhauer and the insatiable will to live | To reduce suffering and forge a better world we must resist desire and our metaphysical individualism. by IAI_Admin
The way I am starting to think is this: the suffering of another Will may not necessarily be something that affects me but if I am the cause of that suffering or did nothing to alleviate it I have created a precedent for the me-Will; meaning that the me-Will was either not strong enough to do something about the suffering of the other-Will or I had the need to cause said suffering. As such, I have made the suffering of the other-Will part of what the me-Will is. The question then becomes: is what I am getting from the suffering of the other-Will worth my dependence on it or not? The answer to this question is always no because I do not want the me-Will to become dependent on something as weakening and debilitating as the suffering of the other-Will.
Exceptions to this become the suffering of other-Wills that may come from my stopping of said other-Will's attempts to cause suffering to the me-Will.
Tl:dr Causing suffering or failing to prevent the preventable suffering of others makes my identity weaker, as such it is always a bad idea unless the other person tried to cause me harm.
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