Year 8 Baccalaureate - Critical Thinking
In Critical Thinking lessons, the Year 8s participated in a Socratic Seminar; the topic of debate was to what extent is ‘YOLO’ (You Only Live Once) relevant. Kieran’s follow-up sums it up beautifully and we have included an excerpt below:
Does YOLO mean that you can do and express yourself in any way you like? By Kieran
The phrase YOLO is one that is up to interpretation. With many people believing in our most recent RS topic, nihilism, YOLO now has more significance.
For those who believe in optimistic Nihilism, they believe that you should do everything you want to achieve in life and live life to the fullest. A lot of those people embrace ‘YOLO’. This way of thinking encourages people to reach for their goals and to not be scared to express yourself. If this thinking is put into the wrong hands, many could abuse it and begin to do inhumane things which is a big negative to nihilism.
Another aspect is pessimistic nihilism, where people believe that there is only one life and that we are insignificant beings who have no purpose except to die. People who believe in this may see YOLO as a negative thing and express themselves in such a way. They may get extremely down and depressed and, in turn, hide away and let their aspirations rot. They could live a carefree life which may get them into all sorts of trouble.