A discussion between philosophers at a bar.

Pietro: it seems that when people get old, they either become a grumpy old person or a happy old person.

Baruch: this appears true to me.  Why do you think it is so?

Pietro: I believe it has to do with the fear of death.

Baruch: interesting.  The more one fears death, the more that they become miserly, for they know their death is near.

Pietro: and at the same time, the more that a person accepts that they will die, the more likely they will live every moment to the fullest, and therefore be happy.

Friedrich: [tuning into the conversation from another table.]  There is also an element related to the past in their attitudes.  The miserly are filled with regret.

Pietro: I see.  It is hard to be positive if you feel that you’ve made too many bad choices in life.

Friedrich: yes, it is.  As a thought experiment, let us imagine that we live the exact same life over and over again, infinitely, down to every decision and detail.  How would you live your life differently?

Pietro: ahh, I like this idea.  It is a useful way to think about our actions.  We must live in a way that allows our future selves to be happy about what we have done.

Friedrich: correct.  And we must also choose to love what fate has handed us.  We often regret our own decisions, and we can also despise what fate has given us.  Both of these attitudes bring us anguish.  We must love ourselves, our decisions, and our fate.

Baruch: this is a pleasant way of seeing the world, as it is built upon love.

Friedrich: and it is necessitated upon seeing our lives as finite, and our decisions as infinite.

Baruch: how seemingly contradictory, yet ethically important.

Pietro: it is.  And from a personal perspective, it tells us that to grow into a happy old person we must not fear death, for it is inescapable, and at the same time we must live in such a way that we do not regret our actions.  

Friedrich: this feels right to me.  

Baruch: and right to me as well.

Pietro: it is not an ethical imperative built on our duty to others, but built on our duty to ourselves.  To live a happy life, we must listen to our conscience.

Baruch: there is no more compelling reason to be good than one’s duty to oneself to remain happy into old age.

Pietro: and as people live longer and longer lives, this becomes increasingly important.

Baruch: agreed. 

Pietro: philosophy is so easy to talk about and so hard to enact.  I may regret this tomorrow, but . . .

The trio orders another drink and moves on to a different topic of discussion.