Would you rather be a happy fool or a depressed genius

[CloudyNightSky]

Basic philosophical questions. I'm asking this bc I read smth about this question (the philosopher is called John Stuart Mill) and I don't really share his opinion. So I wonder what you guys would think if you had the choice. And if you could explain, why you voted that way, that'd be great.

 

[Guy Smiley]

Fool but happy. I'd rather be a happy person than a depressed person. Simple as that.

 

[barely_afloat]

Unless there's some magical force that is keeping me happy all the time, I'd rather be a depressed genius. Cause otherwise, I'd become sad knowing I'm a fool, and so I'd end up being a depressed fool.

And I think it's reasonable to say that anybody would rather be a depressed genius than a depressed fool

 

[Forever Sleep]

It's a really interesting question. In of itself, I kind of agree with it too- I think depression does often go with intelligence.

Weirdly, I would go for being smart and depressed. I guess it's that whole 'stick with what you know.' Not the smart bit- the melancholy/ depressed bit. I don't entirely trust the 'happy' emotion either and I think it's dangerous to be a fool in this world. My cynicism is what prevents me being utterly exploited. Of course, maybe you'd be happy to be exploited but, it just seems kind of weird to be that happy in this world in a way!

Generally though, it's always tricky imagining yourself as a completely different person. I've had a pessimism/ cynicism about me for a long time. I can't imagine living life without questioning things. I can't imagine being happy just going with the flow. I can't imagine not having ambition and, not being disappointed when I didn't achieve things.

I have known people like that. Not to say they were stupid fools. They probably just had different priorities in life and they did at least seem happier than me but, it's hard imagining a life with completely different priorities.

 

[ijustwishtodie]

This is a tough question. I don't even know. If I were to be a happy fool, I would suffer for longer but I wouldn't treat the suffering as something that's harmful as that's what pro lifers do. Though, if I were to be a happy fool, I would probably just quickly become depressed as being happy doesn't mean that my autism will go away or that I will enjoy working. Even if I would enjoy working, it wouldn't matter as I have to struggle a lot to be employed in the first place. So I'd just become a depressed fool.

All in all, I'd rather be dead as being non existent is better to me than being a happy fool or a depressed genius

 

[Bianka]

Definitely depressed genius. My happiness in exchange for the potencial improvement of society and humanity as a whole? Passing on my knowledge with the reassurance that my life wasn't in vain. Most geniuses throughout history were unhappy yet contributet so much to the world

 

[Shrike]

I think my life is a consequence of this choice.

But I don't really see the point in being stupid and happy. That's pretty close to not existing at all in my mind. And such stupid and happy people are actually very dependent on the world around them being a certain kind of way, they just don't know that, they'll switch to a screaming mess when some disaster hits them and try to find someone to blame when they themselves washed their hands of it earlier. It makes me feel a certain kind of way, I don't like it.

 

[Slow_Farewell]

Fool but happy. I wouldn't know I am a fool, so there's that.

 

[leavingthesoultrap]

A happy fool all the way

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

I'm already a depressed fool so I'm halfway there to being a happier one I suppose.

Why can't anyone be a happy genius though?

 

[sserafim]

Ignorance is bliss but I'd rather be a depressed genius. I'd rather see the truth about the world than live a lie. What good is happiness if it's all fake?

 

[Final_Choice]

I'd rather face the truth and be miserable than be blinded by ignorance and indirectly feel happy.

 

[Leavesfromthevine]

I'd rather be a fool that's happy
I'm very much a fool already but I'm just barely intelligent enough to realize how shitty I make my own life. I get the worst of both options.

 

[Argo]

Oh wow. So many people picked happy fool. Hmm. I guess in my teens and twenties I started reading a lot of non-fiction and philosophy and thought a lot about the truth and what's important, and after a lifetime of lies and manipulation I just told myself I'd rather know what's true and be unhappy and be able to move through a bad reality in a way that reflects my values, rather than be confused and navigate it poorly because I can't see the negative reality, which makes me less unhappy.

I thought that guy who eats the steak in the Matrix was an asshole(not judging anyone who picked happy fool at all here, I totally understand the desire to be happy and not drawing any strong parallel just to be clear). I just think genuine happiness is possible even in a hellish world and it's way better than false happiness in a fantasy world. Just a personal values thing.

 

[F@#$]

Being smart allows you to see and comprehend all of the bullshit.
Dumb and happy sounds better.

 

[kawaiiphantom]

Happy foollllllll. I want happiness so bad please I'll do anything

 

[druggedonsurvival]

As someone who has been both, definitely happy fool. I was a stupid, blithe, blissfully ignorant child, and life was so much better then.

 

[BlessedBeTheFlame]

A happy fool is the epitome of what Nietzsche called Der letzte Mensch, someone who seeks comfort and avoids any risks, thereby never growing, innovating or inventing. I don't want to be such a person. The absurd coldness of the universe is what makes us free and I want to use this freedom to achieve something of my own. A happy fool would simply commit philosophical suicide by not acknowledging their own freedom. A depressed genius would be more akin to the Übermensch, someone who strives further and further. One of the reasons I am contemplating suicide is the fact I have all my means to strive taken, because of my bullshit. If I was able to achieve my goals, despite my depression, I wouldn't be here. I want my freedom and embrace it. So I'd rather be a depressed genius.

 

[Ferdinand Bardamu]

A happy fool. Anyone who says otherwise is a fucking retard

 

[sserafim]

I was a stupid, blithe, blissfully ignorant child, and life was so much better then.

I agree

 

[InAgony]

A happy fool....if you're happy you're in a state of contentment so you'd not miss not being intelligent. I've been unhappy long enough to know I should choose happy.

 

[DoomedDarkCircles]

A happy fool. Ignorance to a certain extent is bliss