Idealism, Realistic & Pragmatic
post by Seremonia · 2024-01-12T18:16:52.282Z · LW · GW · 3 commentsContents
3 comments
Ideal is something considered perfect.
Perfection is not a final step but achieved through a process.
Realism is necessary, meaning in its implementation, it is adjusted according to capability.
Don't forget, even if something is done within one's capabilities, if it lacks utility or doesn't precisely support idealism, it becomes futile.
So, having a dream doesn't mean giving up because you think your dream is too high. It might be because it's less realistic and less pragmatic.
Don't shatter your dreams. Find alternative ways that are easier, realistic according to capabilities, and pragmatic that yield tangible results, to achieve the ideal hope.
Because your hope might fail not because your dream is too high but because the approach is difficult (unrealistic & impractical). That's the key to handling your dreams.
As a conclusion, accompany it with prayers and reassess whether your dream is still relevant or needs to be adjusted based on the situation. But the essence remains the same: don't complicate your path to achieving dreams by measuring how realistic it is according to capabilities and how useful our efforts are in supporting the dream without falling into the trap of wasting time.
If we can maintain a balance between idealism, realism, and pragmatism, we will avoid dilemmas and other challenging situations that excessively drain energy and thoughts.
3 comments
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comment by Seremonia · 2024-01-13T05:54:43.865Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Please rather just downvoting, try to explain briefly your reasoning otherwise it's just sentiment with no objectivity at all. Besides, we have more time to discuss. Don't be frightened if you have sharp & coherent answer.
As stated from guidelines:
- Aim to explain ... blah blah blah ..
- Don't be afraid ... blah blah blah ...
↑ comment by Gordon Seidoh Worley (gworley) · 2024-01-13T06:25:27.082Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
I almost downvoted, but didn't because this isn't on the frontpage. Reasons I wanted to downvote:
- weird writing style that was hard for me to parse what you were trying to say
- when i figured it out you didn't really say much
- you used the terms idealism, realism, and pragmatism, which are jargon in philosophy, but it took me a bit to realize you didn't mean to use them in that way
- this post is kind of like advice, but you don't really justify that advice or give me a reason to think it's worth following
Basically this post felt like a nothing burger, and I come to Less Wrong to read things that are substantive. In my mind this might have been better as shortform, and probably even better if you had posted it on Twitter instead of Less Wrong.
Replies from: Seremonia↑ comment by Seremonia · 2024-01-13T06:40:12.161Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Thank you for your courage in providing reasons.
I will give an explanation, hoping it can be understood.
Sometimes we pursue idealism without trying to adjust our approach. We focus solely on one method based on principles, stubbornly afraid to deviate from the dream we've planned.
Yet, we can change our approach to achieving our dreams in a more realistic way. However, sometimes what is considered realistic turns out to be futile because, despite being within our capabilities, it is misplaced in terms of timing.
The key here is that sometimes we don't simply understand what is realistic, pragmatic, and idealistic, as if they overlap.
Here, I try to emphasize the boundaries of their meanings so that we don't get trapped in stubbornness or futility, thinking we have done it all (idealism that is realistic and pragmatic) when, in fact, each has hidden limits.
By understanding these boundaries more clearly, we can self-correct and assess how far we have met the requirements to achieve our dreams.