"If you marry, you will regret it; if you do not marry, you will also regret it. . . . Laugh at the world’s follies, you will regret it; weep over them and you will also regret that. . . . . Hang yourself, you will regret it, do not hang yourself, and you will also regret that; hang yourself or do not hang yourself, you will regret both. . . . This, gentlemen, is the sum and substance of all philosophy." - Soren Kierkegard
I came across this paragraph looking for other things. Seems old Soren was a Gloomy Gus. Of course, he does put his finger on a conundrum. We are always making decisions in the moment without any clue about ultimate consequences. We are held to account on decisions in which we have scant information. Even if we always want to "Do the Right Thing," how do we proceed if we have no idea what that right thing really is?
Follow your gut, follow your head, follow orders, do what everyone else tells you to do?
Ah, yes, a Lifetime of Regret! That's Philosophy! Soren, you, (just like us), are stuck in your analyzer. If you regret everything, you regret nothing? If you choose not to regret anything, will you regret not regretting? Aye there's the rub!
