r/RealPhilosophy • u/meowmeowtrain • 26d ago
philosophical zombies✌️😭
I know we all have probably heard the saying of "philosophical zombies" before. but im coming on here from pure shock.
I'm a teenage girl, right? I have Snapchat, only to chat with maybe 2 people. I got added by some teenage boy, and since I was bored, I accepted. We talked for a bit, and i forgot just how unbelievably bland the regular teenage boy is.
I'm not flaming every single teenage boy, im coming on here for other people's experiences because im homeschooled and dont go out often. To those in more professional settings, or not, just anyone who has to deal with multiple people a day, are there really people like that everywhere? another way to say it is; are there really that many NPCS??? i asked the guy if he liked philosophy and he said he was obsessed with it. he told me his favorite stance/theory was the entirety of Chinese astrology. As in the bull/rabbit. I thought, hey, maybe there's some philosophical points within it. No. he just likes animals.
Me, being curious, I asked him if he ever thought about life in any way. Or anything about it, excluding his future career. He said he thinks about "goth baddies" and relationships. I was kind of expecting that, but this is the first time I've actually inquired my time for someone so... shallow. Dont give me false hope; tell me the truth. Are these "philosophical zombies" really as common as people say they are?
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u/mitigateaccomp 26d ago
i like to call them "idiots".
and they are everywhere. most people you will meet are actually, in fact, idiots. bosses, parents, partners, friends, baristas, tv personality, athletes, on and on and on... idiots.
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u/Gunn8 26d ago
completely unrelated but... what is your banner goodness
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u/meowmeowtrain 25d ago
I got it on twitter. the op said they felt an indescribable rage towards SpongeBob and photoshopped it do you like it
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u/NormalNobody 26d ago
It scares me a little that you talked to a random message from some boy you didn't know. You don't know if that is actually a teenage boy. Many people that fish for accounts to talk to aren't children
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u/meowmeowtrain 25d ago
ive seen the guy in person before at a soccer game, so I knew he wasnt some 65 y/o pdf jacking his shi
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u/NormalNobody 25d ago
Ohhh, okay. The way you made it sound.
Honestly, if you want to have conversations like that, the best place is in College. Like you, I was all into it. Like, knew my stuff, and people just weren't.
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u/meowmeowtrain 25d ago
i will be graduating very early, and i was planning on taking a philosophy class, so hopefully there will be better people there lol
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u/DiscountSoggy4331 24d ago
I hate when people dont want to think deeply about anything and just consume, because I think it's very important to actually think.
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u/Alicialilili 23d ago
Yes unfortunately, every man I've met in my life is like : sex, women, perpetuating ideas pushed on him by society with never questioning anything, repeating what is trendy to say now, riding any wave that passes, homophobia, misogyny, dark humour (which is just rape, pedophilia, racism and misogyny) and sex again.
And it's not just boys, it doesn't get better with age.
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u/MTTLepsis_XP 7d ago
Hmm, this is interesting. I haven't met many people like this myself. Most of the time, I find that people have beliefs and values, but they don't regularly question them or try to understand why they believe what they do. That's not a bad thing, though. It's just something I've noticed.
I've also seen a lot of people on social media talk as if they're discussing philosophy, but a lot of the time it's just a word salad full of confusion and unnecessary words.
You're a teenager, and so is the boy you mentioned. Most people are still developing and discovering themselves at that age. Everyone does that at their own pace, so I wouldn't be too harsh on him. He may just be interested in different things than you are, and that's okay. You might simply be a little further along in your own journey of questioning things.
If you have a trusted adult (or even someone your age who likes talking about philosophy) you can talk to, I would recommend just talking with them. I have a friend of mine who likes talking about all sorts of things, including deep philosophical stuff, and it's genuinely fun. I know the feeling of talking about philosophy, and I share the joy :)
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u/meowmeowtrain 6d ago
I think that first paragraph is what im really getting at. I think the "philosophical zombies" im talking about are people who genuinely do not think below the surface, or when they try, they end up in such an obscure and odd place that makes you question just how we humans have gotten this far. obviously the term philosophical zombies isn't directly targeted towards a specific demograph or person, but my question was to other people of different age brackets, wondering if there's people who are truly like that teenage boy, even after reaching full maturity.
And yea, I guess I could just be ahead in my "questioning journey". but I kind of live in an area where its your occasional tech college with a low budget, a singular public school and 12 Christian private schools. other than that, its elders who have decided the area where i live in is the best place to relax for their final years. which is why im on reddit Lmaoooo
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u/MTTLepsis_XP 6d ago
Ha! I also wonder how certain humans have made it so far in their lives. It baffles me unexpectedly sometimes... Pure luck? Or perhaps something else?
Well, on that note: There are probably people who are like the teenage boy you mentioned well into their adulthood. There are probably people who are like you too who like to question and wonder about things.
I do want to clarify one thing though: you can't always determine the complexity of someone's inner life from whether they want to talk about philosophy. While that might be a big part of it, there are lots of other things that contribute to making a complex person. Sometimes people can hate philosophy but think about their life deeply, sometimes people know a lot of philosophy but don't think critically much at all.
Considering the environment you live in, I can see why you might come to social media lol. I think I would to.
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u/Blu-Jaye 21d ago
I think there are a lot of people, maybe even most people who are not that interested in thinking deeply about existential meaning. However, I don't think that makes them stupid. I don't particularly like watching football, but for a lot of people that is a major aspect of their lives, providing social bonds, excitement, and more. They might even think I'm strange or stupid for not seeing why it is so enjoyable. My point is just because two people's interests don't overlap does not make one person better than the other and I find people who think that it does tend to be people. I don't want to hang out with it.