This blog post is dedicated to dk, who asked me an interesting question in the comments section of the previous post. It is likely that I may not answer the question completely, but here's my take on it. :) For a purely moral point of view, I'd point you to my other blog which I'm trying to slowly and steadily build up and present what might be a basis for an individual to develop his own moral system.
Living on the edge can be a philosophy of life. Have you ever got onto a roller-coaster ride? If you have, you have a very small glimpse at the kind of pleasure it might give you. Very small, though. Because there's a slight difference between a 5-10 minute ride, and your whole life. :)
If the brain in conjunction with your heart, guides you to live life on extremities, then you're probably doing fine. As long as, after every experience, you evaluate the consequences, your brain is likely to take corrective measures. For instance, if you slip while handling a crazy snowboarding trail, and get fractures, you'll take care next time. Or, at least, you'll know to be more careful when you take out someone else with you, and prepare them for the situation.
Picture this: You must have seen lots and lots of the Guinness records. If you imagine, these people can't achieve what they've done without taking major risks. And, at the end of the day, did they really need to take the risk? You and I can't judge that, because they live to see the results.
Following the heart really is important. And, we shouldn't forget... Id, ego and superego would play their role in both your mind and your heart. (Unless you stick to the old school of thought that says it's scientifically only the brain that influences both emotions and thought, not the heart. ) This means your train of thought would be something on the lines of:
Id: Lets race on the road!
Ego: Ok, we can't overtake this guy with what we've got under our hood.
Superego: We should slow down a bit, before we cause someone harm, or we should be very alert to ensure we don't.
Not quite there, but you get the idea. (And, if I got my terms wrong, I'll remind you I didn't have sociology in my graduate course. :P) But what's most important is not just whether you live on the edge or not. What can change things is whether you can clearly understand what your heart says to you when you listen. And for that, I think each of us has a moral system that we build up over time. How do we build it up? My other blog tries to answer just that, but has a long way to go.
