Life is pointless

[Mole]

So, you're the futuristic version of [MENTION=3325]Victor[/MENTION] ?

As I write, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are building the world's largest, most advanced and most expensive radio telescope to answer this very question.

Fortunately Australia leads the world in radio astronomy. And creating a telescope that reaches from South Africa, across the Indian Ocean, across Australia, across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand, will enable us peer down the throat of a Black Hole, find out why the galaxies are accelerating away from us, and answer the question: what is the universe made of. And we will be able to listen to the many billions of planets that are more than likely to harbour life, even intelligent life.

We are sure to be in for big surprises.

 

[Elfboy]

Life is a chemical process that happened as accident billions of years ago. Life doesn’t have an intelligent creator, it’s all blind and crude forces of the nature creating all forms of life we know. It’s mere product of random chance, it’s impossible for it to have any meaning.
All our feelings are just mechanisms of gene machines that serve as motivations to make us exist long enough to allow a DNA molecule to make one more copy of itself. But allowing this DNA molecule to replicate itself infinitely is absolutely pointless.
We can do what we want but we can’t choose to want what we want. As robots of genes we are biased and prejudiced towards life in a way to keep surviving and reproducing irrationally. We are slaves of a senseless will to live.
Why don’t we choose to think of our biases and prejudices and try to overcome them? Why not to overcome this life?

of course, objectively, life, and anything else for that matter, is pointless. the very definition of objectivity makes the possibility of a completely objective/scientifically functional world that does have meaning impossible. the only meaning life has is the one you give it. that's why I've stopped thinking about such depressing things and decided instead to do something that has meaning to me, however irrational that meaning might be.

Edit: "Reason is a wonderful servant, but a horrible master"...just some food for thought

 

[siltha]

Life is nothing more than meaninglessness and distraction, if you think there’s something beyond distraction and meaninglessness you are a religious person. You can keep deluding yourself or accept the truth of life. We already have the knowledge that life is just chemistry out of control replicating itself; there is no mystery or magic here. Life doesn’t contribute for anything, it doesn’t accomplish anything. It doesn’t have purpose, importance or value. Biology doesn’t have a superior status over non-biology. It’s nothing more than an amoral mindless manifestation of energy and matter in a ruthless universe. Life is just a meaningless and useless anomaly.

On other hand we have distraction. Humans make their sensory gratification a reason for live. There’s a common misconception that life is to be enjoyed and you have to remain alive otherwise you will be “missing out” the joys of life. However there is no deprivation of these pleasures in the non-state of non-existence. It’s impossible to be “missing out” something if you don’t exist. No pleasurable life is preferable or better than non-existence. I also don’ t see a point in succeeding as individuals or societies once we have identified ourselves as a crisscrossing mesh of memories, sensations and impulses. It’s absolutely pointless to achieve anything once we have this understanding. We are nothing more than a collection of memories.

I don’t know how someone can reconcile with the illusion of life. Few years ago when I became atheist I was very depressed because I had found out that god was an illusion. When I was Christian I believed that there was a god taking care of me, he was helping in the battles of life and was preparing for me an eternity of unaltered bliss and joy. As I was very depressed a friend of mine asked what benefit I had from being an atheist and if believing that god exists makes me happy that’s what I should do. I told my friend it wasn’t a matter of being benefited or not I had discovered that God didn’t exist and I just couldn’t reconcile with an illusion. As an analogy, how can one reconcile with the illusion of life? How can one sacrifice the truth to live a funny illusion? Is it preferable to live an illusion if it makes you happy?

I believe we are rationally immature. It’s not about enjoyment but enlightenment. What really matters is to overcome our biases, prejudices and dispel our illusions for enlightenment. The conviction of the rightness of life over death is a mass delusion.

The most rigorous objectivity is indifferent to the consequences of objectivity.

 

[Munchies]

lol what is with the shallowest philosophy thread getting all the attention. Well i know that when you make a thread with negative value it gets peoples attention more than a positive one. but really? this forum is fucked right in the face

nihilism (the main point of the thread) is pointless in itself, because it is an outlook WITH NO GOALS

IF YOU HAVE GOALS< LIFE ISN'T POINTLESS

CLOSE THREAD

 

[Jonny]

At the heart of any rationale is a set of axioms which must be taken as truth and built upon; try to find some ultimate meaning for life and you will be sorely disappointed. Take heart my young friend, your existential crisis will likely pass, and you will again be able to find joy in your meaningless life. You are not alone.

 

[Nicodemus]

Take heart my young friend, your existential crisis will likely pass, and you will again be able to find joy in your meaningless life.

Distraction is key. Be a busy bee!

 

[Rasofy]

lol what is with the shallowest philosophy thread getting all the attention. Well i know that when you make a thread with negative value it gets peoples attention more than a positive one. but really? this forum is fucked right in the face

Sir, we are here discussing the meaning of life. And that's like more important than all the other things that are important.

 

[Munchies]

Sir, we are here discussing the meaning of life. And that's like more important than all the other things that are important.

meaning of life is ultimately subjective; get better at painting, increase endurance and all that meaningless crop..

If it was to be a thread about objective goals of life, such questions should be asked;

What is the purpose of the human race?
Where should the human race be heading?
Is eugenics a plausible goal for the future outcome of humanity?
And if there is an objective goal for humanity, isn't democracy just a scam since the mindless citizens do not follow such objective goals?
Is globalization a real goal?
What is more important, revolution or evolution?

 

[Rasofy]

meaning of life is ultimately subjective; get better at painting, increase endurance and all that meaningless crop..

If it was to be a thread about objective goals of life, such questions should be asked;

What is the purpose of the human race?
Where should the human race be heading?
Is eugenics a plausible goal for the future outcome of humanity?
And if there is an objective goal for humanity, isn't democracy just a scam since the mindless citizens do not follow such objective goals?
Is globalization a real goal?
What is more important, revolution or evolution?

Sorry, but the answers would still be subjective. We're doomed.

 

[RDF]

[...]The conviction of the rightness of life over death is a mass delusion. [...]

It’s not a question of whether life and death are right or wrong. It’s just a question of states of being and non-being. You’re here for the moment, so enjoy it. It’s just a question of what you do while you’re here.

Life is about egos. An acute awareness of the fact that life is highly temporary and ephemeral would probably argue for an attitude of tamping down one’s ego a bit and going with the flow, i.e., a somewhat zen-like attitude. No reason struggling if there is really nothing to struggle for. Just lay back and observe.

But others survey the same landscape and come to other conclusions, for example., experience everything and live large, or rational hedonism, or whatever.

It’s all one and the same. There’s no right or wrong answer. It’s just a question of being stuck in a state of beingness for a while. No reason to stress out trying to get rich or famous since it all ends in death. But also no reason to go hang yourself trying to be dead all the quicker, since death is no more right or wrong than anything else. Death isn’t a goal; it’s just another state of being/non-being.

 

[Stanton Moore]

Life is pointless when viewed from a rational perspective which, important as it is, leaves out more than it includes. On that basis, there is necessarily more to be known than reason permits. Life has no utility, or purpose beyond its own selfish survival. And yet so much of life is full of beauty and joy that cannot be understood from that perspective. So maybe what [MENTION=15777]siltha[/MENTION] needs is to radically change his perspective to include consideration of the existence of beauty and joy.

 

[Red Herring]

I don’t know how someone can reconcile with the illusion of life. Few years ago when I became atheist I was very depressed because I had found out that god was an illusion. When I was Christian I believed that there was a god taking care of me, he was helping in the battles of life and was preparing for me an eternity of unaltered bliss and joy. As I was very depressed a friend of mine asked what benefit I had from being an atheist and if believing that god exists makes me happy that’s what I should do. I told my friend it wasn’t a matter of being benefited or not I had discovered that God didn’t exist and I just couldn’t reconcile with an illusion. As an analogy, how can one reconcile with the illusion of life? How can one sacrifice the truth to live a funny illusion? Is it preferable to live an illusion if it makes you happy?

Ahhhhhhhh, you left out that vital piece of information. This explains a lot!

You were raised with a daily dosis of candy and now that you have decided to live on fruits and vegetables alone, you suffer from sugar withdrawel.

Had you started out as an atheist rather than falling from faith, you would not be disappointed by this discovery. You would see nothing wrong or undignified about it, not miss that warmth of religion at all and happily go about your life, probably basing it on secular humanistic principles. The alternative to religion does not have to be cold materialist nihilism. You have simply been conditioned to believe that.

 

[yenom]

Life is like an blank sheet of paper. The choices you make everyday is like what you write or draw or paint on that blank sheet of paper.

If you say the blank sheet of paper is meaningless, of course it is meaningless because its blank.

What you speak of is a form of fatalism and nihilism. I think you should visit a psychologist.
The drive to exist is what makes us human.

 

[Munchies]

Sorry, but the answers would still be subjective. We're doomed.

no. I'm pretty sure the powers that be already answered those questions

 

[Santosha]

It’s not about enjoyment but enlightenment. What really matters is to overcome our biases, prejudices and dispel our illusions for enlightenment.

If it is all meaningless, why would enlightenment trump enjoyment?

 

[Mole]

It's about epistemology or how we know.

For instance, if we know through literacy, we know through a point of view. So we unconsciously make the distinction between the point and pointless. So some know the point of life and some know it is pointless.

On the other hand, if we know through the telegraph, the telephone, radio, television and the internet, we know through the shared feelings of the electronic tribe. So we make the distinction between with it and without it. So some are with our shared feelings and some are out of our shared feelings.

So to say, "Life is pointless", is to reveal we are literate - that's all.

 

[Orangey]

I guess it is a characteristic of the weak-willed, upon learning of their own impotence, to choose to whine instead of celebrate.

 

[Burger King]

You were raised with a daily dosis of candy and now that you have decided to live on fruits and vegetables alone, you suffer from sugar withdrawel.

Had you started out as an atheist rather than falling from faith, you would not be disappointed by this discovery. You would see nothing wrong or undignified about it, not miss that warmth of religion at all and happily go about your life, probably basing it on secular humanistic principles. The alternative to religion does not have to be cold materialist nihilism. You have simply been conditioned to believe that.

This may be true for some people, for example, "me," as my parents were indifferent to religion and never imposed this stuff on me. And so I never had that "sugar withdrawel" (I like that analogy btw). However, I came across someone, a long time ago, who used to complain about how her parents never instilled any religious belief on to her. She said that she would've benefited from it, that it would've given her some structure and guidance in life. I like [MENTION=3325]Victor[/MENTION]'s point of view...I think. Problem is I'm not sure if I'm interpreting what he is saying, correctly, half the time.

 

[Orangey]

However, I came across someone, a long time ago, who used to complain about how her parents never instilled any religious belief on to her. She said that she would've benefited from it, that it would've given her some structure and guidance in life.

Moral weakling.

 

[Totenkindly]

I guess it can help, but at some point one has to take charge of her own life and create her own structure and/or direction.