Life is Good

An excellent response, wjmelements. "My opponent also concedes that all we do and toil for is essentially worthless." Do you mean worthless, as in having no worth whatsoever? Then no, I did not concede that at all. Go re-read my argument. "...which is but more toil. As I have argued and my opponent has conceded, continuing to live means to continue to toil. There is nothing great about that." We all know life is more than just toil. Also, By your silence, wjmelements, you have conceded that toils can be enjoyed. "My opponent claims that hard work is rewarded in the afterlife. This is inapplicable, as life still is the meaningless bringer of toil, even if the afterlife is good. The resolution reads "Life is Good", not "The Afterlife Will Be Good"." Let me clarify what I said. You said that there is no reward for hard work. I said this is not true for all, because some believe in an afterlife were good work is rewarded. I did not say that life was good because of this, I said that life has meaning for those who believe this. "My opponent claims that he would be satisfied merely to breath fresh air, etc. However, the satisfaction from our experiences are hormone-based. Our emotions, satisfactions and pleasures are merely fabricated by our bodies." Irrelevant. The source of these feelings does not decrease their ability to be enjoyed. "Actually, there is no good in the world. What out there is truly good?" I have already answered this. "The good in this life is worth the struggle to survive, for it is GOOD. To experience emotion is worth it all. To feel, touch, taste, smell, and hear is worth it all. To LIVE is worth it all." That is all we know that makes life good. There is no comparison, so you have no reason to be dissatisfied with life. "Solomon- 'So what do people get for all their hard work? Their days of labour are filled with pain and grief; even at night they cannot rest.'" They get to live and know life. Why couldn't Solomon simply accept this? It could be so much worse. "My opponent has made some claims regarding what else brings us pleasure. They are all actually counter-examples to my opponent's refutation." My point was that not all pleasure comes from subsistence and reproduction, which you still have not proven. I could go through and refute each of your statements, but this issue is not really important to this debate. because of this, I do not wish to address it. Understand, I am not conceding this point! It is for another debate when I have more time. "My opponent claims that non-existence cannot be preferable to life. However, if there is no good and no satisfaction in life, and all we truly do consistently is toil, then it is preferable to never be born than to live." You focus so much on the toil of life. Toil (which can be enjoyed) is but the price for life and living in this world. "My opponent claims that non-existence cannot be preferable to life. However, if there is no good and no satisfaction in life, and all we truly do consistently is toil, then it is preferable to never be born than to live." This point is nonsensical. To not exist means that you DO NOT EXIST. There is absolutely no feeling, good or bad, anywhere outside of existence. It is impossible to say that non-existence is better or 'preferable' to life , as there is no comparison. I remind you once again, wjmelements, you have conceded the fact that toils can be enjoyed. Remember also that there is more to life than just toil. By the way, if you really believe that non-existence is preferable to life, why don't you commit suicide? If what you say is true, why don't any of us commit suicide? Why do we try so hard to stay alive? I was just wondering. "In response to my opponent's case against the evils of this life: Joy does not exist. When do we truly feel joy on earth?" I was confused by this statement. First of all, I think we need a definition of 'joy'. Joy: the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires http://www.merriam-webster.com... In answer to your question... we feel joy all the time! Why, I feel joy right now, with the prospect of possessing what I desire, which is victory in this debate. :p "Nope. The bible claims that God personally granted him wisdom." I was joking, but in my defense Solomon did have a messed up young life, what with his older brother trying to usurp the throne and all... "Life is neither agreeable, pleasant, nor satisfactory. Pretending it to be so does not make it so." I will address this in a moment. "Again, believing that life is good does not make it good, just as believing in the Easter Bunny doesn't make the Easter Bunny real. Such optimism and wishful thinking are logical fallacy." You have failed to understand my argument. The things that determine goodness, by the definition given at the beginning of the debate, are relative. They are determined by the thought patterns and viewpoints of the person living. Happy people are happy because they choose to be so. That is not 'wishful thinking', it is simple fact. You cannot compare life to anything, for there is nothing comparable to life. You have no set standard of goodness to determine that life is otherwise. I have provided a definition of good and shown that life is good, if the ones living allow it to be. There is no other requirement for life to be good. Resolution affirmed. Man, that was close! I was afraid I would run out of time. Your turn, wjmelements.