Moji Motions

Existentialism is the idea that people are not born with a fixed purpose or identity and rather create meaning through their choices and actions. On the other hand, essentialism refers to the idea that there is an “essence” to our being, suggesting that an unchangeable aspect of ourselves precedes our birth and plays a role in determining our future identities.

The Oracle of Purpose is an ancient and trusted mechanism that assigns individuals their life roles based on an early identification of their talents. They are expected to train for and fulfill their assigned role throughout their lives (e.g., diplomat, scientist, caretaker, warrior, etc.) at the expense of pursuing other talents. Those who defy the Oracle often face exclusion or punishment.

A Karmic Score refers to a point system that measures your good and bad deeds. Points are given for any physical action a person undertakes. The Karmic Score weighs out the weight of each action and assigns a score which is accurate to each action. If your good deeds outnumber your bad deeds, your score will be a positive number, while if your bad deeds outnumber your good deeds, your score will be a negative number.

(1) Epicureanism argued that pleasure was the chief good in life. Hence, Epicurus advocated living in such a way as to derive the greatest amount of pleasure possible during one’s lifetime, yet doing so moderately in order to avoid the suffering incurred by overindulgence in such pleasure. Emphasis was placed on pleasures of the mind rather than on physical pleasures. Unnecessary and, especially, artificially produced desires were to be suppressed. Since the political life could give rise to desires that could disturb virtue and one’s peace of mind, such as a lust for power or a desire for fame, participation in politics was discouraged. Further, Epicurus sought to eliminate the fear of the gods and of death, seeing those two fears as chief causes of strife in life. Epicurus actively recommended against passionate love, and believed it best to avoid marriage altogether. He viewed recreational sex as a natural, but not necessary desire that should be generally avoided. (2) Epicurus laid great emphasis on developing friendships as the basis of a satisfying life. While the pursuit of pleasure formed the focal point of the philosophy, this was largely directed to the “static pleasures” of minimizing pain, anxiety and suffering. ""When we say . . . that pleasure is the end and aim, we do not mean the pleasures of the prodigal or the pleasures of sensuality, as we are understood to do by some through ignorance, prejudice or wilful misrepresentation. By pleasure we mean the absence of pain in the body and of trouble in the soul. It is not by an unbroken succession of drinking bouts and of revelry, not by sexual lust, nor the enjoyment of fish and other delicacies of a luxurious table, which produce a pleasant life; it is sober reasoning, searching out the grounds of every choice and avoidance, and banishing those beliefs through which the greatest tumults take possession of the soul."""