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Is hatred sufficient for one to lead a complete life?


Asex

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Can hatred be the thing to give a meaning to one's life?

Is hatred capable to be a value?

Is life that is all about hatred of something/someone complete?

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Rising Sun

I don't care if my post is considered as offensive, but I'll be honest : if somebody values hatred in their life, or lets hatred lead their life, they seriously need a therapy.

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Hatred is very negative and can lead only to more hatred and suffering. No, it is not.

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poindexter

I think it could give meaning to someone's life. I think people create their own meaning in life, and if that's what gets them up in the morning then I guess that should be enough for them, even if I would never want to lead such a life myself.

I doubt it would lead to much good in the world, but I don't think that's much of a way to judge the value of someone's life.

For a complete life, it seems that you would have to at least experience feelings of altruism/understanding/kindness/love etc.. so someone who only experiences hatred could not be said to lead a complete life.

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In my view, hatred is just an expression of something deeper, and any apparent meaning it gives is just as a surrogate for this deeper thing being sought after. Virtually every notion of complete life is utter illusion, so be wary of anyone else's claims about what a complete life is.

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I don't believe things like hatred and love give meaning in life, but it is a valid emotion to based things on.

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Hatred has as much value as you allow it.. If you can learn to analyze that emotion and learn more about yourself and others through it, then yes, hatred is important to you and will teach you things.

If you stop at it being hatred and let it overcome you then no, it won't lead to anything constructive.

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Can hatred be the thing to give a meaning to one's life?

Is hatred capable to be a value?

Is life that is all about hatred of something/someone complete?

It depends how you utilize that hatred. My love for the planet does trump my hatred for people, but the latter helps me avoid the mistakes of people before and around me.

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Marshmallow Tree

I have a deep hatred for people. This does not mean I hate every single person. This does not mean I am not compassionate. This does not mean I am only a little compassionate. I have this hatred for I am too compassionate.There are far too many simple-minded people who see hatred of people as black & white. Do people like me lead complete lives? I see my life as fulfilling as long as I have a select few people whom I judge to be decent; I am happy if these people are happy. I am happy and content with this hatred, though for some people they may not understand why but this doesn't concern me.

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On its own, much like any emotion, be they 'positive' or 'negative', no. Only one source of anything is far too ineffective to sustain a person.

However, things like hatred, anger and spite can persist when you can't see or find the preferred positive emotions. In the right hands, you can direct your hatred towards things entirely reasonable, such as the myriad injustices humanity visits upon itself. The petty self-destructive tendencies, when, with all the human power that exists, it's entirely and completely possible for us to accomplish so much damned more.

But no. Because people are short sighted and self centred, they build up walls called nations and culture to ostracise and repel. Worst case scenario, this short sightedness runs off of hatred that isn't refined to a purer fuel. It's a petty 'us and them' kind of hatred, not the hatred of wrongs that must be righted.

People act like there's only a handful of emotions that are worth possessing, but both anger and hatred are exceptionally loyal if you understand how to channel their energy. We know far too much of the dangers of these emotions in excess so they overwhelm...but, like anything, they can be tempered and guided to ends we desire.

The world might, theoretically, be a better place if we had only positive emotions, far as some people are concerned, but as with anything, a balance is needed. We need both the 'good' and the 'bad' to recognise the higher values. We can't pretend good will will solve everything. Sometimes you've got to fight, if only to defend something more important.

Injustice. Apathy. Evading responsibilities. Maliciousness.

These are just a few things that hatred is a really on point about. It's the things we dislike, that we challenge, that causes us to change things.

Maybe I'm quite biased. I've been courting hatred and anger as my main 'if all else fails' emotions much of my life. But it's true far as I see it that they're damned useful. People just don't appreciate that, when you embrace an emotion, you can direct it towards where it's acceptable.

Or am I to believe that hatred of those things I've listed is also wrong, and we can only be 'right' if we're 'happy' or 'caring' about them?

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Hatred is not only insufficient for my idea of a complete life; it is entirely contrary to it. It would be better by far to have no hate at all.

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my opinion is that hatred relates to stress, and stress is unhealthy for the mind and body alike.

However, if that is enough for some people, then it is their life to live as they wish. But such strong hatred is not something I would personally wish for anyone.

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EmpathyAce

Hatred is part of human nature. If we suppress our nature, it will only lead to a life of lies and blind faith, and possibly depression (which can lead to suicide). However, feelings such as kindness, compassion, and love (be it passionate or companionate) are also parts of human nature, and cannot be suppressed without a cost. I personally lean favorably to the negative side (I am a pessimistic nihilist), but I also care deeply for my friends. Whether you lean towards positive feelings or negative feelings is your choice, and is also largely dependent on your environment, but you must take care not to suppress either feeling. I would also consult talking to someone you trust if you are experiencing excessive negative feelings. If you cannot talk to someone, try to express yourself some other way.

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Hatred is not only insufficient for my idea of a complete life; it is entirely contrary to it. It would be better by far to have no hate at all.

I - and probably most people, certainly all I know personally - are quite a bit away from that ideal state of mind... but I agree that an ideal state, it would indeed be.

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Skycaptain

Hatred can be a driving force, but it can also be a destructive force. If hatred is becoming someone's dominant emotional response then they may well be developing sociopathic tendencies.

Hatred of something negative, such as, for example, animal cruelty, can be turned into a positive energy to right the wrong. So, yes there's a place for hatred, but it should not be everything

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Rising Sun

I don't think that hatred can be positive in any way. Anger, yes, definitely, if it's well channelled. But hatred is purely destructive, contrary to anger. As much as I respect anger when it's used well, I'm unable to see hatred as anything else than evil.

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Skycaptain

Well, I hate the price of vegetables, so I have turned my lawn into a vegetable patch and grow my own. There's a positive built on hatred

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Rising Sun

Maybe "hate" is a strong word for that, don't you think ? Isn't "I'm angry against the price of vegetables" more accurate ?

One thing is sure, "I hate (name of a person, or group of people)" isn't the same thing as "I hate broccoli". The first is hatred, the second is not.

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I don't think that hatred can be positive in any way. Anger, yes, definitely, if it's well channelled. But hatred is purely destructive, contrary to anger. As much as I respect anger when it's used well, I'm unable to see hatred as anything else than evil.

Honestly, I can't even see anger as constructive. But that may well be because for me, it's such a damn easy emotion to give into (even when I'm in a depressive phase, anger is easy peasy, it's sadness - and the freeing acceptance of powerlessness that comes with it - that I can't reach), and never leads to anything than blocking myself further. Anger and hate are pretty close to each other, IMO. Any public display of anger is something I see as a personal failure (be it by myself, or by anyone other than me).

Like I said above in regard to hate - "never ever get angry" would be an ideal state, IMO, but I accept that it's an ideal that is pretty much impossible to humanly reach. -_-

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Hatred is never good. It is a terrible feeling, for yourself and others.

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Tarfeather

I don't care if my post is considered as offensive, but I'll be honest : if somebody values hatred in their life, or lets hatred lead their life, they seriously need a therapy.

Honestly, I can't even see anger as constructive. But that may well be because for me, it's such a damn easy emotion to give into (even when I'm in a depressive phase, anger is easy peasy, it's sadness - and the freeing acceptance of powerlessness that comes with it - that I can't reach), and never leads to anything than blocking myself further. Anger and hate are pretty close to each other, IMO. Any public display of anger is something I see as a personal failure (be it by myself, or by anyone other than me).

Like I said above in regard to hate - "never ever get angry" would be an ideal state, IMO, but I accept that it's an ideal that is pretty much impossible to humanly reach. -_-

Hatred, anger, etc.. in my mind, they are all just precursors and enablers to defiance. They should never be the only or the dominant emotion. But I've seen the cruel things humans can do. If hatred and anger will allow me to disregard my compassion for those cruel humans, to turn their own cruelty against them, then they are emotions I embrace. The world isn't all peace flowers sunshines and we should be prepared to deal with that.

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Skycaptain

Please all, excuse, as I am just trying to play devil's advocate here. To those who question whether the response I am suggesting is hatred or anger, I salute you. There is nothing better than a genuine philosophical debate. :)

My intention is to suggest that hate/anger can be directed in a positive direction as well as the negative. Any negative emotion has the potential to fester and act contrary to your instincts and better thoughts. I give you the feud between the Sheppertons and the Grangertons in Huckleberry Finn as a case in literature.

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The world isn't all peace flowers sunshines and we should be prepared to deal with that.

Feeling resignation and mild disgust at it is a way to deal, too. (Not just being ornery here... most of the time, I actually do feel better curling up in my cave and turning my back to it all, than trying to take the world's bull by its horns.)

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Please all, excuse, as I am just trying to play devil's advocate here. To those who question whether the response I am suggesting is hatred or anger, I salute you. There is nothing better than a genuine philosophical debate. :)

My intention is to suggest that hate/anger can be directed in a positive direction as well as the negative. Any negative emotion has the potential to fester and act contrary to your instincts and better thoughts. I give you the feud between the Sheppertons and the Grangertons in Huckleberry Finn as a case in literature.

So what are the situations it can be good in. Come with concrete examples rather than just saying it can be good in undefined situations.

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Please all, excuse, as I am just trying to play devil's advocate here. To those who question whether the response I am suggesting is hatred or anger, I salute you. There is nothing better than a genuine philosophical debate. :)

My intention is to suggest that hate/anger can be directed in a positive direction as well as the negative. Any negative emotion has the potential to fester and act contrary to your instincts and better thoughts. I give you the feud between the Sheppertons and the Grangertons in Huckleberry Finn as a case in literature.

By "devil's advocate", do you mean you're just trying to get a rise out of people, rather than stating your real feelings/thoughts? That isn't engaging in a philosophical debate.

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Skycaptain

Sorry, maybe I wasn't very clear. What I am trying to suggest is that hatred can be turned into something positive as well as a negative. Example 1, hating your job and spending all your time brooding and moaning about it, getting worked up and stressed is a negative, whereas using the dislike to motivate you to look for a better job is a positive. There are times I agree when hatred can be seen as evil, if you hate an individual or group of individuals, and are prepared to commit crimes and act in a discriminatory manner against them many would consider that evil. Another positive hatred. If you hate injustice, and fight to correct the wrongs is that evi? To sum up I don't believe hatred per se is evil, but how you react to hatred can be evil

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Tarfeather

Feeling resignation and mild disgust at it is a way to deal, too. (Not just being ornery here... most of the time, I actually do feel better curling up in my cave and turning my back to it all, than trying to take the world's bull by its horns.)

Yes, that's what I tend to do a lot of the time as well. But not always. I didn't meet my partner by curling up in my cave, nor is that how I am currently working toward getting a little more influence in this world (career). With all these things, I find that defiance has helped me a lot.

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AshenPhoenix

I think as a whole we cling to many one sided definitions as emotions or thoughts we see as negative. I think Hatred can be sufficient to lead a life, but it's very, very rare. Mostly because any forms of hatred that lead to a complete life are lifelong struggles, believing you did the right thing to save the things you love from the ones you hate, or to destroy the things you hate. Mostly it ends up with feelings of regret, or an emptiness once whatever you do hate is gone. I think it's incredibly rare for it to allow someone to feel as though they've lead a complete life on it's own, mostly because either the problem isn't solved and you feel you've not made much progress, or the problem is solved within your lifetime, and you having nothing left to go on.

However, before I end up on a stake, let me clarify my reasoning for this. I believe that things like anger, hatred, all the "negative" emotions, have their uses. They really do, we cling to the thoughts like "anger causes destruction, hate causes dissension, etc." The irony is that we have many terms that describe the positive forms of these emotions so we don't connotate those with them. For example, let's say group A discriminates against group B, group B is looked down upon, kept as slaves, etc. Now let's say we have a group member of group A who absolutely despises what group A does, and eventually ends up a supplier for a rebellion of group B, because he wants to see group A and their actions brought down. A lot of people would be tempted to call this a want of justice, or something of the like, but let's say the ONLY reason the man helps group B so much is because he absolutely despises what Group A is, what they stand for, and what they do. Is it that horrible then? His anger and hatred have completed a major goal, one that brought equality and/or justice to an entire group of people.

I'd like to say I follow a eastern methodology when it comes to these negative emotions. And that's that we need both the negative and the positive to truly accomplish things and lead a happy life. There are very few emotions that are "driving" that we associate as positive, aside from a sense of duty. Anger, hatred, jealousy, competitiveness, etc. are all driving emotions that would make people more likely to do what they want to correct these. However likewise I believe there are very few negative emotions that allow the completion of these goals. If you are to be angry, also be calm, whatever you are angry at will likely not go away if you charge in head on and furious. Things of that nature. Likewise simply positive emotions leads to almost no sense of completion, for the idea that there's not much driving them. After all, if you live a life of pure pleasure for so long eventually everything becomes boring, things like stress drive us to do better in our lives, while things like happiness let us take breaks from it all and not crack under pressure, or feel like we have to do things outside of what we want to do. So in conclusion, no, I don't think hatred alone is almost ever enough for a complete life, but neither do I think only happiness is.

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TheAspieBaker

I say it would. Not necessarily GOOD meaning, but meaning none the less. You've read stories of revenge haven't you? People swearing up and down for vengeance and then rarely feeling good about the deed after all that build up? It's similar to building your own tomb.

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Erm... sufficient = no. Required as part of a complete life.... maaaybe??? :huh:

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