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The Meaning of Life

Virtual ghost

Complex paradigm
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Messages
19,769
Meaning is just an extension of human survival instinct and therefore it doesn't really exist in concrete physical reality.
 

Mole

Permabanned
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
20,284
The Enlightenment and Self Respect

Over the last 300,000 years we have made many plausible mistakes, but in the 18th century we started to reality test the plausible with evidence and reason. This is called the Western Enlightenment.

If you would like to join the Western Enlightenment, read "Personality Brokers" by Merve Emre, out of Oxford University.

If you wish to gain self respect, and leave servile conformity behind, then join the Western Enlightenment by applying evidence and reason to mbti with the documented facts in "The Personaliy Brokers".
 

rav3n

.
Joined
Aug 6, 2010
Messages
11,655
The meaning of life is freedom from meaning. To be truly free, you must be irrelevant.
 

Polaris

AKA Nunki
Joined
Apr 7, 2009
Messages
2,529
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
451
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
The purpose of life is to exist. Ironically, this requires giving up the self.
 

1487610420

Permabanned
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Messages
6,431
 

I Tonya

Rythym of the night
Joined
Jun 24, 2018
Messages
567
MBTI Type
ESTP
Enneagram
539
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
Death, if not there would be no meaning to life.
 

Lark

Active member
Joined
Jun 21, 2009
Messages
29,569
Death, if not there would be no meaning to life.

I'm not sure that I would make death the pivotal point in life, do you mean like the idea of the "good death" that native Americans had or other warrior cultures had? That honour or endurance mattered more than life itself? I do find some of those histories or that sort of cultural idea completely horrifying.

Perhaps you mean the finite nature of life? This also could be true, I have been thinking about that lately, for some time I used to say to people that I thought settling down and having children, a family and home making of a sort, had passed me by but it was a jarring experience when I reflected at the point when that was most true.

I've heard it said of people by friends who work in corrections that "they had no plan", which makes sense, most of the people they are talking about definitely are chaotic neutral or chaotic evil, some of them are neutral evil but that's more rare, but I think that this can apply in a more general or broad sense to most people. Like the idea that "you are going to die one day so get your skates on, make plans and execute them, waste not a minute, momento mori and carpi deim", even among those that are exercising that level of awareness, does not EVER seem to execute smoothly.

Of the one or two examples that I know of for definite who had a sort of five or ten year plan, get the qualifications, get the experience, get the jobs, build the CV, make the connections, get married, have children etc. etc. one or two of those people suffered major bouts of depression when they accomplished it all. Its something that didnt go unnoticed to me, even when they did not describe it as such or label it as such themselves (in one case actively avoided labels of that kind by keeping up the mother of all fronts to everyone). So, they've been cautionary tales on that and I dont worry that I've let spontaneity run away with itself in my own life.

As they say life is what happens when you are making other plans. The Cohen Brothers movie A Serious Man is all about this I think.
 

Kanra Jest

Av'ent'Gar'de ~
Joined
Jun 30, 2015
Messages
2,388
MBTI Type
ENTP
Enneagram
4w3
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
Death, if not there would be no meaning to life.

One would then assume life would lose all meaning in immortality. Which is ironic that scientists, obsessed with pursuing such a thing, hope to immortalize and thus give it 'more meaning'.
 

I Tonya

Rythym of the night
Joined
Jun 24, 2018
Messages
567
MBTI Type
ESTP
Enneagram
539
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
I'm not sure that I would make death the pivotal point in life, do you mean like the idea of the "good death" that native Americans had or other warrior cultures had? That honour or endurance mattered more than life itself? I do find some of those histories or that sort of cultural idea completely horrifying.

Perhaps you mean the finite nature of life? This also could be true, I have been thinking about that lately, for some time I used to say to people that I thought settling down and having children, a family and home making of a sort, had passed me by but it was a jarring experience when I reflected at the point when that was most true.

I've heard it said of people by friends who work in corrections that "they had no plan", which makes sense, most of the people they are talking about definitely are chaotic neutral or chaotic evil, some of them are neutral evil but that's more rare, but I think that this can apply in a more general or broad sense to most people. Like the idea that "you are going to die one day so get your skates on, make plans and execute them, waste not a minute, momento mori and carpi deim", even among those that are exercising that level of awareness, does not EVER seem to execute smoothly.

Of the one or two examples that I know of for definite who had a sort of five or ten year plan, get the qualifications, get the experience, get the jobs, build the CV, make the connections, get married, have children etc. etc. one or two of those people suffered major bouts of depression when they accomplished it all. Its something that didnt go unnoticed to me, even when they did not describe it as such or label it as such themselves (in one case actively avoided labels of that kind by keeping up the mother of all fronts to everyone). So, they've been cautionary tales on that and I dont worry that I've let spontaneity run away with itself in my own life.

As they say life is what happens when you are making other plans. The Cohen Brothers movie A Serious Man is all about this I think.

Hm, I wasn't really thinking that... Nor have I seen that movie A Serious Man.

I think I gave the more edgy answer that's true but not for all cases. Some think of life as a content experience, others commit suicide in similar situations because "that's no way to live."

I kinda meant if life was eternal there wouldn't be much meaning to it without death. It is limited and crucial in every moment spared; tho, no matter who you are or what you do it will end.

When in a more positive mood, I see life to be lived as a creative processes. We are born with the ability to create and procreate, such a phenomenal experience. It really is meant to be happy and not be full of regret, in all circumstances. When we regret too much and aren't that happy, death is near.
 

draon9

Active member
Joined
Jan 27, 2015
Messages
1,176
Enneagram
6w7
Instinctual Variant
so
the meaning of life is enjoying life to the fullest and the bonds that youve developed with people. it is about people coming together to help each other out,regardless of their race or skin color or religion because at the end of the day that stuff dont matter,it is a title. the meaning of life is not about knowledge,but what can you do with that knowledge. it is never about being right all the time, it is about picking what is the best solution for a serious situation because every situation is different and maybe that advice may not be the best for that situation. meaning of life is about true freedom, being to face your own demons and be in touch with yourself
 

Tomb1

Active member
Joined
Jun 15, 2011
Messages
994
There is no meaning to life other than the meaning an individual willfully chooses to give it.
 

Pionart

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 17, 2014
Messages
4,039
MBTI Type
NiFe
There is no meaning to life other than the meaning an individual willfully chooses to give it.

So the meaning of life is to choose to give meaning to life? (haha)

I guess if you view meaning as an emergent phenomenon of the human mind, and existing only in the mind of that individual, then maybe. Is that like saying there is no "red" other than the redness perceived by the observer? That's kind of a meaningless statement though, isn't it? Red still exists in the world of forms, and many observers (though not all) will perceive the same redness in the same object, as if that red were "contained" in the object (red exists in the world of forms because there had to be a colour red for the mind to perceive it. Are there exceptions to that rule? Perhaps, in the case of true creation).

It so happens that we exist on the same earth, together. This notion that meaning is a purely individual phenomenon seems strange to my ears, because our purposes are all interconnected. I can choose to give meaning to something, but does it integrate with the overall story taking place on a macro level? If it doesn't, then surely I've wrongly assigned meaning, because it was incompatible with reality.

If I choose to give meaning, is it true meaning? If I choose to never willfully assign meaning, is my life meaningless? It seems to my ears that meaning is something that goes beyond the individual.

Could you elaborate on the rationale behind your assertion?
 

Tellenbach

in dreamland
Joined
Oct 27, 2013
Messages
6,088
MBTI Type
ISTJ
Enneagram
6w5
I'm with Tomb1 on this. There is no universal meaning of life. Each individual finds meaning (or not) that is particular to his circumstances. Some find meaning in helping people; others find meaning in hurting people and screwing up the world and some find meaning in improving themselves through meditative contemplation and artistic creation.

For me, I find meaning in sharing knowledge that may help the less fortunate among us make better life decisions. I'm the one who leads the thirsty donkey to water.
 
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