Two statements. Do they have the same meaning?

1. 87

   tsmogposted 10 years ago

   Two statements. Do they have the same meaning?
   
   Survival is success.
   Success is survival.
   
   Does one survive by being successful?
   Or, does one succeed by surviving?
   
   Logic says Survival = Success
   and, Success = Survival
   
   But, is their difference with meaning? Or, indifference. Is it circular reasoning?

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2. 62

   cjhunsingerposted 10 years ago

   tsmog
   Everything (existence) is my our definition and  more precisely, my our individual definition, as to our own wants and needs. 
   For one stranded on a deserted island with only meager rations to survival, that he survives is success. But, there may come a time when this individual no longer thinks that mere survival is a success story and either ventures into the ocean, possibly to die or be rescued or simply gives up and commits suicide.  Suicide than is success. All things change all the time--the only constant.

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3. 71

   dashingscorpioposted 10 years ago

   Success is having achieved a (dream or goal) you set for yourself.
   Survival is not exactly "aiming for the stars" but if that is all one is looking to do then I would say each day they wake up to a new sunrise they are indeed successful.
   In my opinion survival simply means to "exist". There are only 5 things an adult needs to survive. (air, water, food, shelter, and clothing). All five of the aforementioned items can be had in any jail or prison across the land.
   Success in my opinion should be about wanting to do more than simply "survive". It' has more to do with the (pursuit) of dreams, goals, wants, or desires (beyond) one's basic needs.
   Homeless people (survive) everyday but if I would not call myself a "success" if I found myself to be homeless/surviving day to day.

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4. 76

   alancaster149posted 10 years ago

   Maybe we should go into this from the back end and define 'failure'.
   The ultimate failure is ceasing to be, i.e., death. It's not an indication of anyone's failure in life, it's an indication that the vital organs have given up the struggle.
   Start from that point and you get a wonderful:perspective. All life is success of a kind, whether it's in a miserable existence or as a high-flying whizz-kid, tycoon or whatever.
   You've cheated death, despite the odds. You might even have courted death, in abseiling from Staffa in the Orkneys, in mountain biking around a disused quarry or around the chalk cliffs of Beachy Head. You might have been in the Forces, in Afghanistan - my cousin's son Henry* in the Royal Signals has been there, on three tours of duty and lived to tell the tale and now he's started a career in diplomatic communications. Is that a measure of success in face of the odds? His marriage - to someone else in the Forces - broke down under the strain of separation. They're both still in the land of the living, they've both seen action and got out in one piece.
   In a positive frame of mind the future's rosy. That's success. Negatively, well, look at the possibles - there are enough variants to 'play about with'..
   
   * Name changed to preserve privacy.

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5. 0

   sheilamyersposted 10 years ago

   I'm thinking the meaning of those two sentences would depend on the mindset or situation of the person saying or writing them.
   
   Imagine a mill worker during the Great Depression. He's barley able to feed his family because his pay is so low. But he does feed them enough to keep them alive. The family not starving to death, their survival, is the height of the man's success. Survival = success.
   
   Now look at it from the mill owner's perspective. His family would be in the same situation as the employee if the company goes under, so he works hard to not only keep the customers he has, but also gets more to build a cushion (margin of profit). By being successful, he and his family will stay alive. Success = survival.

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6. 0

   Daveadamposted 10 years ago

   Success to me means to become successful at something, & that something could be anything....Survival to me means what we need to do to survive, & that's to find things we love doing & to learn to control ourselves properly....Success won't feed a man stranded on a desert island, but fishing would....So survival could be fishing, eating, drinking etc, & the necessary skills we need to survive....& if we have them we can "successfully survive", but it's not circular reasoning....Which just for the fun of it, because i have a good example of circular reasoning which is: Saying I'm right, because I'm never wrong is circular reasoning. :-)

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