The successful ask & attempt to answer: What's the greatest possible sacrifice for the greatest possible good?
[Over time...] the answer is become increasingly deeper and profound.
[Exploring & answering this question allows you to...]
Conjure up a variety of potential representations of your future self.
Lay out how those future representations of yourself are...
Likely to succeed or...
Likely to fail.
You can curtail the potential "yous" in the future that will fail.
And embody the ones that will succeed.
[While simultaneously...]
Conjuring up a representation of your current state (of being) and determining for yourself (because of your undo suffering) which elements of your (pathetic) being you need to be given up so you can move forward into that (successful) future.
That's the ultimate question...
"We believe that the future can be improved, we believe that it can be improved as a consequence of our sacrificial work." - Quote
We conjured up this remarkable idea - "the future exists".
We can see it even though it's only potential.
And "we (believe we) can adjust our behavior in the present in order to maximize our probability of success in the future."
Well, the idea is something like...
if you want the future to turn out, ultimately, well.
That idea is wrapped in metaphysical speculation and religious imagery, but it still remains practical to consider.
Put another way...
Contract for: Reasonably expect to receive in return in exchange for your commitment.
Of your "ultimate goal"
Concept Continued - 12:46
"So then why isn't that we don't aim at what's best and make the sacrifices that are necessary in order to bring that into play?"
Observations before the conclusion...
Life is hard.
It hurts people.
It's rife with limitations. And some of it's arbitrary, some of it's unjust, and some of it's worse, some of its malevolent, which is even worse.
It's not surprising that that combination of vicissitude [negative change] can turn people against being.
Vicissitude (change, alteration): a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.
No matter your amount of suffering (your lot in life) you never have a justification to turn away from the good. And deep down people know that.
13:26-13:57 - "But I think even when that happens, and even when people have the kind of history, that if they revealed to you, you would say, well, it's no wonder you turned out that way. The people who turn out that way still know that it's wrong. They still know that, however deep their own suffering, however arbitrary their own suffering, however much that's caused by the malevolence of others, as well as the tragedy of existence, that that does not in any way justify their turning away from the good."