The effort yields its own rewards

Start Trek again, TNG this time, and - yet again - it is from the lips of Data, the android whose quest is to become like a human.

It is the struggle itself that is most important. We must strive to be more than we are. It does not matter that we won't reach our ultimate goal. The effort yields its own rewards. This is the difference between knowledge and experience.

@fmf said
Start Trek again, TNG this time, and - yet again - it is from the lips of Data, the android whose quest is to become like a human.

It is the struggle itself that is most important. We must strive to be more than we are. It does not matter that we won't reach our ultimate goal. The effort yields its own rewards. This is the difference between knowledge and experience.

What is the goal?

@kellyjay said
What is the goal?

Data's goal?

@fmf said
Start Trek again, TNG this time, and - yet again - it is from the lips of Data, the android whose quest is to become like a human.

It is the struggle itself that is most important. We must strive to be more than we are. It does not matter that we won't reach our ultimate goal. The effort yields its own rewards. This is the difference between knowledge and experience.

Why must we strive at all?

@kellyjay said
What is the goal?

In your case, if I understand you correctly, the goal is to experience immortality in an eternal paradise, a.k.a. "heaven", so to speak, with the Abrahamic God.

@fmf said
In your case, if I understand you correctly, the goal is to experience immortality in an eternal paradise, a.k.a. "heaven", so to speak, with the Abrahamic God.

If you understood my goal, you would know that one is beyond my efforts.

@kellyjay said
If you understood my goal, you would know that one is beyond my efforts.

Yes, I know what your faith is; perhaps it is its own reward for you.

But I hope you strive to be more than you would be without the striving because, as Data stated, the effort yields its own rewards.

@fmf said
Yes, I know what your faith is; perhaps it is its own reward for you.

But I hope you strive to be more than you would be without the striving because, as Data stated, the effort yields its own rewards.

You only know what is between your ears; don't you preach that?

@kellyjay said
You only know what is between your ears; don't you preach that?

You are "preaching" what is "between your ears" too, KellyJay. On these matters, that's all either of us has got.

@fmf said
Start Trek again, TNG this time, and - yet again - it is from the lips of Data, the android whose quest is to become like a human.

It is the struggle itself that is most important. We must strive to be more than we are. It does not matter that we won't reach our ultimate goal. The effort yields its own rewards. This is the difference between knowledge and experience.

I agree almost 100%. These rewards are achievements we would have never reached had we not made the effort to "strive to be more than we are" I would stipulate however reaching our ultimate goal does matter at least a little bit.

@mchill said
I agree almost 100%. These rewards are achievements we would have never reached had we not made the effort to "strive to be more than we are" I would stipulate however reaching our ultimate goal does matter at least a little bit.

And your "ultimate" goal is related to your religion, I take it?

@fmf said
And your "ultimate" goal is related to your religion, I take it?

You take it wrong. My ultimate goal(s) relates to things such as weight loss, higher quality chess skill, and a well-organized life-

- because I'm "bent" in a left brained direction! 😏

@FMF

Aristotle said that the ultimate goal (telos), in the sense that it was not a merely a step to something else, is eudaimonia – variously translated as happiness, flourishing, well-being. He meant this in terms of one’s whole life: a life, insofar as possible, of happy well-being. The Hellenistic schools of philosophy – the Epicureans, the Stoics and the Pyrrhonians – all had different view on how to accomplish this.

But there seems to be a real sense of the goal simply being the sum total of the journey – i.e., living and sharing* a day-to-day eudaimonic life. In terms of striving, it is simply to try to live (to be) what you want to become, as best you can, day-to-day. Perfection is not a requirement (except, maybe, for some of the Stoics 😉 ).

It makes sense to me.

_____________

* None of these schools of thought believed that an attitude of “I’ve got mine, screw everybody else” (or “who need anyone else?” ) could foster a eudaimonic life. I think they would’ve considered that delusive.

@vistesd2 said
There seems to be a real sense of the goal simply being the sum total of the journey – i.e., living and sharing* a day-to-day eudaimonic life. In terms of striving, it is simply to try to live (to be) what you want to become, as best you can, day-to-day. Perfection is not a requirement (except, maybe, for some of the Stoics 😉 ).

It makes sense to me.

It makes sense to me too. My personal distillation of life goals is to learn and to teach and to love and be loved. I concur that perfection is not a requirement, indeed, I don't think I expend much time on pondering what "perfection" would be.

@FMF

Now that you mention it, I’m not sure that I –or anyone – would know what “perfection” is (outside of maybe pure mathematics, or some abstract imagination).

Some vestige-notion that I should probably just drop.