Do you know what's best for you?

[OliX]

Topic says it all.

[nathanmbailey]

According to my last psych profile.... no.

[Raza]

No, but I spend a fair amount of time educating my guesses, and I'm in a better position to find out than anyone else is.

[OliX]

I think you should be a catholic priest Raza

Fun aside, why do you think that? (position)

[Raza]

Well, it's a very generic question, so you're going to get a fairly generic answer. I think I know because I think I've a functional grasp of epistemology. I think I know how to decide what to do because I've applied these means of knowing to various streams of ethics, and found what I think is a reasonable basis for measuring 'value' from the perspective of a living human being. But in spite of my ability to know and measure value, I think I do not know what is strictly best for me, as I have not nearly exhausted all possibilities or even all mechanisms by which value can occur. I think that I'm in a better position to know than anyone else because I'm able to gather inductive data of my own perception and appreciation, which is essential to my chosen form of value.

[Toe Cutter]

I do, but that is too often not any fun at all.

[Clockwork Jello]

Yes, of course I know what is best for me.


Happiness.

[malcolm]

well let's see..... i smoke about a cartons worth of unfiltered cigarettes even though i have chronic bronchitis........
i drink about a pot and a half of coffee a day.......
i eat more red meat than i do leafy greens...........
and injest a ton of sugar on a daily basis even though my family has a history of type two diabetes................
not ot mention i have been known to frequent gloryholes and adult theatres so.......

no. nor do i ever pretend to think i do. I think pretending to think one knows whats best for them when in fact they do not is dangerous

[Buster Friendly]

I'm with Raza, I have an educated guess.

[VoltaireBlue]

yes, for the most part.

[Aza]

Short answer: Absolutely! But knowing what's best for me hasn't always guaranteed I'd supply it to myself.

I always know what will do me more good than harm, and occasionally for the sake of fun, I'll still choose to gamble. Nevertheless, the difference between the wise decision and the unwise is always plain, and these days I nearly always choose the former. I'm in my 30's now, and in that time I've managed to squeeze in enough life experience for a 70-year-old (as my last therapist put it)... mostly due to one lucky break after another allowing me to survive scenarios that should rightfully have killed me. I've had plenty of time to learn what keeps me alive and in peak mental, physical and spiritual condition, and a lot of practice keeping myself supplied with such things. I also know to expect those things to change slightly-to-drastically every decade or so, and anticipating those changes makes them easier to roll with.

I also look at my conscious attempts to reject what's good for me as deliberately-instigated learning experiences.

[Ajax Knucklebones]

I know exactly what's best for me...No doubt. I also know what's not best for me, but that doesn't necessarily mean I shy away from it.

[Mr Karl]

absolutely

[Morning Glory]

add me to the list of people that know what is best and summarily disregard it.

[Amelia G]

No, but I try to work it out as best I can and hopefully make better and better decisions as life goes on.