searching for the necklace around your neck

So, at the bar recently a conversation came up between two of my colleagues, and one of them expressed an opinion or view I find troubling. It is not my intention to imply these colleagues during this lil rambling blog are in anyway doing something silly, deconstructive, or wrong. In fact, I will liberally bend the reality of the instance if I feel the need to make the example work.

That being said. I'm afraid we all need to pay some attention to song lyrics like
"what you're really searching for, is a key to an open door" and
"emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our mind"

The conversation that occurred involved the reasons why a person might be in our situation - graduate students studying philosophy at a terminal MA program. The troubling opinion expressed was that "This is really the only thing I could possibly be doing and be satisfied. it's what I need at this moment in my life."

This seriuosly troubles me. Perhaps I'm dealing too much lately with avoiding absolute statements. The above is clearly absolute...and I must speculate as to why a person would make such an absolute statement. I can think of a few reasons, 1-they truly believe that there is nothing else that they could be doing....2-they are trying to justify this decision in life....3-they are trying to instill in themselves belief that it is the best possible thing to be doing.

If (1) is the case...I would want to pursue questions of variety and potentialities. Just because this is what you currently want to do, doesn't mean you won't be able to find satisfaction later. If I'm craving a Burger..well...I might find a pizza that totally was what I needed and wanted. I just didn't know it yet.

If (2) is the case...I point out that one doesn't need to justify their life...for what cause, to what purpose?

If (3) is the case...I hope the person is not fooling themselves...but that of course is my fear. So often people use a process of justification in order to convince themselves of a truth.

Regardless of which reason, there are two dangers in my mind. One is the notion of absolute stances...which are often more full of gray area...and the other with using the absolute stance as a form of justification. Now, back to those song lyrics...I think this self-delusion is indeed the greatest form of mental slavery. If we aren't accepting the rest of the potentialities....what kind of existence are we leaving? Sartre reminds us we have only one absolute...that of freedom. At all times there is an absolutely free range of choices, that we limit for ourselves. But should we limit it to the ONE we can be happy doing? or living? Should we limit so much that there is such a thing as the ONLY? Of course not, to do so is to live without that freedom. Do we know these stances certainly? Clearly not...our selves are such complicated amalgamates of remembered sensations and perceptions how can I only know that I only want a Burger?

I don't mean to think that someone who claims to want a Burger is an idiot, or silly...simply that the pattern of using this "This is what is right for me..and it's the only thing that is right for me" as justificaiton for an action...or as a true belief - is a dangerous mode of reasoning or thinking or action (whichever it is). It can be reflective of self-delusion...and not many folks I know would want to unequivocally advocate self-delusion.

K, enough rambling for now.