For me, it was the difference between “is” and “ought”.
It sounds obvious when you first think about it, but I spent a vast majority of my 20’s with a view of the world filled with “oughts” instead of “is’s”, especially when it comes to things I can’t control. I.e., people “ought” to behave a certain way, versus the way people actually behave. The way companies/governments “ought” to operate, versus the way they actually do.
Thinking in terms of “oughts” can really cloud your judgement in ways that you might not be totally aware of. I guess this is kind of like the “realpolitik” philosophy, but coming to this realization in my early 30’s actually made me a lot happier and less confused about why the world is the way it is.
Yeah, David Hume has some good works. I recommend you read Treatise of Human Nature if you can, and follow along with commentary rather than trying to parse it all on your own, I took a class on modern philosophy where we covered it.
It sounds obvious when you first think about it, but I spent a vast majority of my 20’s with a view of the world filled with “oughts” instead of “is’s”, especially when it comes to things I can’t control. I.e., people “ought” to behave a certain way, versus the way people actually behave. The way companies/governments “ought” to operate, versus the way they actually do.
Thinking in terms of “oughts” can really cloud your judgement in ways that you might not be totally aware of. I guess this is kind of like the “realpolitik” philosophy, but coming to this realization in my early 30’s actually made me a lot happier and less confused about why the world is the way it is.