What you owe to yourself in your future?

V

Victor

Senior Member
Location
midwest USA
I am reading a book by Derek Parfit who asks what do we owe to our future selves? 10, 20, 30 or more years in the future,
do we have obligations to ourselves? Of course, the future does not exist yet so you could say we owe nothing. But we try to plan for the future (retirement, investments, good health...) what else? Never mind your children, what do you yourself owe to the future YOU. I say, no less happy than you are now, some security, reasonably good health (if possible). It is hard to project much ahead. I could never do that when I was young. Money was not important to me then, but it is very important to me now.. This claims that we always try to maximize our own self-interests.
This question assumes we have the free will to choose what we will do (rather than accept fate) Is this a reasonable good question with good answers?
 

Victor said:
This question assumes we have the free will to choose what we will do (rather than accept fate) Is this a reasonable good question with good answers?
Click to expand...
The concept of choosing what we owe to ouselves sounds good and probably has made the author some money in book sales. Choice is not something everyone has, because mental and physical birth defects or some catastrophic occurance has taken choice out and left dependence. Planning for 10, 20 0r 30 years out another obstacle. Poverty with no way out of poverty leaves a portion of any at the mercy of society. Either way IMO that is where fate comes in.

What's left? A mix of those that don't plan even though they have the financial ability, and education enough to do what they can to insure the best health possible. And those that plan and realize success.

Strange thing about success in planning. Those that succeed are often referred to as being "lucky".
 
We do have the free will to choose what we will do, it may not work out in all cases but we do have the choice and IMO the obligation.

I think we all owe ourselves a safe secure future free from want. Preparing for that future will be different for each of us depending on our situation but IMO it is achievable for all people in some form. Even if we fail what is the downside, a little less money in the bank than we need, little or no debt. It is one of the few things where if we fail we are still better off because we made the effort. Sort of like running the Boston marathon, if you can't run 26 miles you fail. The people that can only run 20 miles are still in far better shape than the rest of the folks in America.
 

In another 17 years I will be 100, that would be a good time for a birthday party. Actually it was 17 years back in February.
 
I always think of my Dad with questions like this. He saved. did without, used duct tape on his running shoes all to save money for retirement. Then he was laid off, got cancer and died.
We can prepare so much but we can't control everything.
I think we should live in the present and with that thought I'm going to have the best day I can today. My future self is me.
 
Sunny,
it is a moral issue. We have moral obligations to pursue our own self interests, up to a point. We have obligations for self-survival.
This is a responsibility each person has. So arguably, we also have a responsibility to ourselves in the near future. Because imagine yourself
10 or 20 years from now...what will you want and need? What do you wish you had done years ago to make life easier for you?
How will you live to avoid nagging regret?
Aunt Bea mentions that millions of people are just struggling to survive, living week to week in poverty.
For them, this question is not as relevant. The question has much more meaning to people who live in a free society.
And we are assuming that we will be alive to achieve these goals and desires.
 

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