The Ultimate Lesson in Philosophy

Call me crazy, but I have found one of the greatest life lessons in a computer game.

I’m sure you’ve all heard of the game Assassin’s Creed. It’s people in the modern-day reliving the memories of their super cool assassin ninja ancestors through a machine called the Animus.

I was crazy about Assassin’s Creed. The “creed” or motto of the Assassin Order in the games makes sense in the real world and is perhaps one of the wisest lessons in philosophy for me. Their creed is:

“Laa shay’a waqi’un mutlaq bale kouloun moumkin.”

Or, “Nothing is true, everything is permitted.”

In the words of Ezio Auditore, the protagonist of some games, “To say nothing is true is to understand that the foundations of the society are fragile and we are the shepherds of our civilization. To say everything is permitted is to understand that we are the architects of our actions, and we must live with their consequences, whether glorious or tragic.”

Let’s examine this:

The first part of the creed, “Nothing is true” says that we live in an imperfect world, which is full of flaws and irregularities; and that the social construct we have come up with over thousands of years, is fragile. All of it could go away instantly. It says that we created the world for us. It is up to us to decide where the world is going and where the future of human civilization lies. We guide ourselves towards a better tomorrow. All of it rests on our shoulders. One wrong move and all of it could go away.

The second part of the creed, “Everything is permitted” is more relatable. It asks us to be free, but wise. It asks us to take responsibility for our actions and live with their consequences. Shifting blames and running from your mistakes doesn’t work in the real world. You cannot evade your demons. You have to deal with them. So, know of your decisions and the repercussions they might have on you and those around you.

On first look, the creed seems very cynical, and it is, but if you look past the make-believe video game stuff, it is rather interesting.

The original phrase came from the book Alamut by the author Vladimir Bartol, who might have taken inspiration for this phrase from the works of Nietzsche.

That explains why it’s such a good lesson in self-realization.

So, the takeaway from today’s lesson is: Our reality is made-up and fragile. And we always get what we deserve.

Comments

Lying Makes Us Truthful

We have something called the herd-mentality, which essentially means that we like social things. We like staying together, doing things with others of our kind, and finding happiness in the existence of other people with us. For as long as we have existed, we have been this way. Humans started off as hunter-gatherers because it ensured the survival of our race back then. As we progressed through time, this trait of being together and being happy was imbued into us. When we find our people, we are happy. We do things with them and find happiness in doing so. If our people see us as the odd one out, or they see us as a threat, we lose their validation, and our brain screams "existential threat" When our actions or who we are, fails to be validated by those we consider to be a part of our creed, i.e. humans, we desperately look for ways to win back their favor. One of those ways happens to be lying. Lying is basically withholding information, or telling something that is made up...

Motivation Much?

We often bank on being motivated to get something done, and the inadequacy of it poses us with a scenario where we have work that we need to do, but do not. Now, as is customary with this blog, I would like to bring another perspective to the table: Motivation is never the problem. Once I have explained myself, it will appear to be painfully evident, and yet something elusive to most of us. Let me paint a picture: You are a student. You have a deadline for an assignment coming up in a few weeks, and you have done no work on it. You know that to avoid the sleepless nights of excruciating hardship, you must start now. And yet, something keeps you from doing so. Instead of working on it, you make yourself believe that there is time and you will get it done. With that belief, you go out with your friends to the bar or spend the night at your girlfriend’s place. You get to the assignment, but you only do so when you are forced to face the music and you have no other o...

Not Everyone Deserves to be Happy.

Do you know what the most ancient piece of storytelling is? It is a poem from ancient Mesopotamia called the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’ It tells the story of a king, who despite being a demigod, struggled his entire life to find meaning in his existence. And when his end came, he realized it was nothing but an endless march towards a tomorrow that never actually showed up. Now more than ever, equal rights, equal opportunities, mental well-being, and fulfillment in one’s personal and professional life are crucial to the livelihood of humans. And while an otherwise beautiful thing, it is also a joyful way of journeying on a path towards something grim. The premise of today’s discussion: Not everyone deserves to be happy. This may seem like a blasphemous thing to say, wishing evil for your fellow man, but deep down, we all know this argument has some merit. Look at something very banal: Everyone in this world leads different lives, we do, feel and experience things differently; we acc...

Opinion Vindication

Search This Blog