Thursday, 22 October 2020

It doesn't even matter... or does it?

On a walk around the neighborhood, I was thinking about the mechanics of my step and whether I should try to change the way that my foot rolls forward -- trying to see if there is a more ergonomic way that I could be walking... 

And then that pesky thought came in: "Does it even matter?" 

And I thought about the vastness of the universe, and how one could argue that nothing we do matters.

But then I considered it analytically. And it all depends on what "matters" means. 

If I am asking whether or not my step mechanics mean anything, then the answer is an unequivocal yes! 

My steps are related to and affect so many other things -- the longevity of the shoes; the health of my legs and body; the impact on the earth they trod; the distance I cover and the places I see and interact with; etc. etc. 

So, in many senses of the word, they "matter." Of course, I could still come to the conclusion that I personally don't care. And that I don't value any of those things. But this would be in bad faith. 

It's obviously up to any person to decide whether or not to try to care about things. But it's not logical to base not caring on the idea that nothing matters. Because in at least some sense, everything matters. 

No comments:

Post a Comment