The meaning of life

[redacted]

Perhaps they were thinking of being true to their concept of "the meaning of life" as a personal "gain", which is less about getting something specific out of it than an internal consistency/integrity which could also register (in a flash) as a desirable outcome.

i'm not saying people are always conscious of why they do what they do. i'm just saying it all reduces to personal gain.

the bolded sums up my argument well.

Any way one analyzes it, I think overall to say that selfless acts do not exist is a massive leap and gets so into the realm of speculation that is causes analytical grid-lock. That makes it all just too easy to ignore. On a practical level, choices get made...and I think in many cases the evidence of selfish motivation is very flimsy/theoretical.

i'm not speaking practically, i'm speaking philosophically.

on a practical level, the word "selfless" doesn't literally mean that you don't derive personal gain.

i use the word "selfish" all the time (or "selfless"). it's a useful concept in human interaction. but we go into a different frame of reference when we delve into philosophy.

no matter what action someone takes, it's possible to reduce their motivation down to personal gain. even mother theresa, ghandi, etc. if we're speaking ethically, they're "selfless". but they still took the actions they thought would fulfill them.

 

[Jack Flak]

Example two unrelated people are walking down the street when a car jumps the curb and is comming straight for them. Instinctually you jump out of the way while pushing the other person with you.

No...
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In the moment there was not enough time to calculate the worth or potential bennifit of the act, it was just the act itself.

True.

 

[daniel777]

42

 

[Nonsensical]

Everyone has a different path in Life, out job is to take that path, stay on it, not let anything take you off of it, not to venture on any other path, and the end will come, and it will be glorious!

 

[Nonsensical]

Life is a path through a a dark forest where you encounter others, good and bad, and you learn, but when you make it out of the forest, and into the clearing, you have all of eternity at your feet!

 

[Shadowrose]

Everyone has a different path in Life, out job is to take that path, stay on it, not let anything take you off of it, not to venture on any other path, and the end will come, and it will be glorious!

Pfeh, I'd rather walk every path than just one. Who knows what you're missing!

 

[Blank]

Sorry about bumping an old thread, but a novel idea came to me while I was pissing:

Perhaps the meaning of life is in the experience itself.

 

[Edgar]

There is this thing that I just don't understand. You know it. That nagging question that takes over your entire being while you search for answers. But can you find any? Who knows when the answers lie within others perceptions. How am I to know that which others may be thinking? How am I to know the truth? No one wants to talk about it but it is always there, always taunting me with the fact that I may never know. I am loosing sleep and can't focus at work. I feel as though I am loosing everything I once was, down the rabbit hole, where I am pushed, pulled, proded by my need to know. I can't control it any longer the questions must be asked or I will never find peace I am obsessing. Searching for answers...........


Wait I don't know if I could even articulate my dilema as it holds so much weight on my soul. How do you verbalize that which you are most afraid of?

The meaning of life is that it ends.
So stop wasting it.

Deep breath here goes......Do these pants make my butt look big???

It's not your pants, hun.

 

[Mole]

The Three Meanings

There has never been a civilization not based on a religion.

This is because a civilization gives meaning to all its members.

Today there are three civilizations in the world -

The Western civilization which we might say is centred on Chicago,

The Chinese civilization centred on Bejing,

And the Indian civilization centred on New Delhi.

Each civilization bestows on its members the meaning of life.

So in the West the meaning of life is Christianity.

And in the East the meaning of life is Confucianism.

And in the Sub-Continent it is Hinduism.

So in the entire world there are only three meanings of life.

And the civilized man or woman knows the meaning of their own culture.

But many are so culturally impoverished that they don't even know the meaning of life.

"What", they bleat, "does it all mean?".

And so they are prey to every confidence man or woman that comes along.

 

[Fluffywolf]

The meaning of life is what you make of it.

I thought the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy was pretty damned clear about this.

The question you should ask isn't "What is the meaning of life." but "What is your meaning of life."

Obviously to a super computer the meaning of life is 42.