-1

After reading some posts such as What is the motivation of all individuals to stay alive? and Why care for anything in life? , we'd like to pose a question in a different (perhaps more accurate) way:

If someone lacks the will to live, can there still be anything he is willing to pursue?

For example, personal growth is one of the common options people pursue. However, it remains doubted especially when someone even lacks the will to live.

(Note: The pitfall of short-term pleasure is excluded here. Some related discussion can be found in: 3 4)

Improve this question
6
  • 1
    Isn't the lack of the will to live more about very subjective emotional states and less about purpose? In that sense the question seems inapplicable. The question also implies all or nothing rather than a graduated weighting between a the will to tolerate things and purpose. For example, just because you lack the will to get out of bed in the morning to attend classes doesn't mean you have no desire to work to become a doctor.
    – DKNguyen
    Commented Sep 2, 2023 at 18:33
  • It could be that the loss of will to live is the result of an inability to continue to pursue something, in which case they would still be willing to pursue it, just not have the means to do so.
    – user6527
    Commented Sep 4, 2023 at 13:57
  • do you mean, if you have aims then do you have the will (to life)? dunno, but have been troubled by the inverse before
    – user67675
    Commented Nov 16, 2023 at 12:58
  • 1
    When I try to put myself in the position or rather condition of someone like my son, who has been fighting stage 4 cancer for nearly two years now, I wonder if I would have the will to live. I may have the want to live, but would I have the will? Would I be willing to do what it would take to have a good life again, to regain even half of what I had lost? I don’t know. To be honest, I doubt it. To me, the will to live is all about being willing to do what it takes to break the cost/benefit line, i.e. to truly feel like I would receive a net benefit from the work that I would have to put in
    – Theodore St. John
    Commented Aug 7 at 12:18
  • 2
    The abstract question makes no sense. If you define "will to live" concretely - or describe some concrete contexts - then the question will disappear. The real question is "Is this (this life) the life I want? Can I go on like this (in these particular circumstances -- with these kind of options perceived as very poor or diminished -- where someone's life may appear to have lost all or almost all value)?"
    – mudskipper
    Commented Aug 7 at 12:46

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
-1

If someone lacks the will to live, can there still be anything he is willing to pursue?

Freedom.

Improve this answer
-1

Revenge

You had it all: fortune, family, a future. They took it ALL away, leaving behind only ashes and the twisted burn scar that used to be your face. With nothing and noone left to live for, you exist for one purpose: to wreak horrible vengeance on those responsible. They'll pay.... oh, they'll pay. And interest is accruing.

Improve this answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .