Rbz wrote...
inb4 jebus says "You need help!"
I lol'd.
On topic, we have emotions for a reason. They didn't just come about for no reason; it's evolution. We need to care about each other to form a society. That gets lost nowadays, since one person's actions aren't essential to the survival of a town, but it doesn't change the fact that if a person really didn't care at all about other humans, he could do a hell of a lot of damage.
You ask if not caring is healthy; despite sounding like a broken record, I have to say that it's not. If you truly, 100%, do not care about anything at all than your own survival, then you might be a psychopath. I doubt that's the case, however, as you posted this topic. On the other hand, if you've gone through some bad shit, and you've taught yourself to not care as a way of protecting yourself, you're just like many other people. You stray from the popular definition of "normal." Not caring about others can greatly inhibit the ability to start a family or have close friends, or anything else that requires you to trust and care about others. However, if you've never been interested in those kinds of things, why should you care? If you don't want a relationship or family, then where's the problem in not being able to have a good relationship? "Normal" does not equal "good." What's normal may be good for a lot of people but bad for you. If you're fine with never being close to anyone, you shouldn't do anything to change yourself.
Anyways, onto the topic of apathy in general. I've seen a growing trend lately. A lot of people act like it's cool that they don't give a fuck, as if it makes them a better person. I just see it as running away. They're scared of being hurt, so they build a wall around themselves. "My father's death won't hurt me if I don't care about him." But that neglects a large part of life. I've heard life metaphorically described as a dinner. Dishes are being passed around, and everybody wants to not take the bad-tasting vegetables and take a double-helping of steak. But that's not what life is. Life deals out good and bad, and you have to accept both.
If you refuse to get close to a person because that person will eventually die or leave, then you're keeping yourself from getting hurt, but you're also keeping yourself from feeling the job that comes from being close to another person.
Of course, that assumes that joy comes from being close to others. It may be that other people do not bring a person any joy. Generally speaking, friendships and relationships make people happy, but what about those that don't fit into that majority? Are they damaged and need to be fixed, or are they simply different? I've often thought about personality disorders and the idea that they may not be disorders but simple differences. I haven't come to any conclusion though.