The Purpose of Life

Off Topic
101

Btw, I meant no insult to the debate itself. I was just trying to reply to Elano’s point that there mabe a higher power. My belief is that we will never know, so its a mute point to bring in.

I believe there’s a difference between asking What is the purpose of life?, and Who made us? One is a personal thing we have to find for ourselves, the other makes no difference in the long run.

Still going with the MMORPG point, when your character dies in a game, you don’t sit in front of the screen and explain, “Well I was killing time till my friends came over for drinks later. Sorry”

102

[quote]Brown_Lifter wrote:
.

Still going with the MMORPG point, when your character dies in a game, you don’t sit in front of the screen and explain, “Well I was killing time till my friends came over for drinks later. Sorry”[/quote]

hmmm, i don’t follow

103

lol. Hmmm. If we were created by a higher power, and it created us for a purpose, that purpose could be anything from being a decoration for his girlfriends bathroom or something beyond our imagination. It does our sanity no good to worry about that. Our own goals and dreams will always mean more.

104

I see, I see, yeah I subscribe to the theory that IF there is a force that “created” us, in the sense that it’s conscience and made us on purpose, then it has done so out of boredom, done so many other times in many other places in the universe, and probably has better shit to do than tell us how to live our lives.

105

[quote]Neuromancer wrote:
Vicomte wrote:
IvanDmitritch wrote:
Vicomte wrote:
Headhunter wrote:
Anyone who ever reads Nietzsche (really reads, not browses) will ever be the same again.

Absolute statements like these are idiotic, HH. Nietzsche is the opiate of intellectual dick-pullers.

Nice! If you don’t mind, I’m going to steal that one! Judging by this and your comment about Sartre, I’m guessing you don’t buy into the whole existential paradigm?

In any case, I do think there’s merit in the idea that, for the individual, life only has meaning when one decides to give it meaning. Maybe that’s the whole point. Whether you decide the meaning of life is about relationships, getting laid, finding god, or just having a good time, the point is it means whatever you decide it means. Makes sense to me anyways.

Actually, I’d describe myself as an existentialist. Unfortunately, existential writers tend to go a bit too far with their supplementary ideas. Not to mention they’re preachy as hell. A true existentialist would acknowledge that they could in fact be completely wrong, while guys like Nietzsche and Sartre are a bit too narcissistic for that. Camus was the most down-to-earth, in my opinion.

I’m not big on bigger-picture philosophy anyway. It’s not practical and amounts to pretentious bullshit. I like guys like Gracian, Epictetus, Machiavelli–stuff you can use in your life, rather than empty words that make you feel superior to other people.

Personally, I find the idea of a meaning or purpose of existence to be quite silly. Why does there have to be a meaning?

I’m also an absurdist.

Hmmmm…you’re a bit of a nihilist too,wouldn’t you say?

Like a cocktail of beliefs.[/quote]

I would, at least morally. Obviously no one can put an absolute label on their beliefs. Existentialism, Absurdism, Nihilism, even solipsism to an extent–they all shed some amount of light on how I feel about the whole go-round.

Naturally I’m an atheist as well, though I do accept the possibility that I may be wrong about the higher power schtick. You may think that makes me an agnostic, but while I admit I may be wrong, I’m quite certain there is no intelligent higher power. I find it would be rather ridiculous of me to not think I could be wrong.

Higher power arguments make little sense to me. People think there needs to be some higher power for some reason I cannot understand. Why can’t it end with us? Why am I not the greatest being in existence? Or, more accurately, why can’t I be? Perhaps the unexplained wonder of the universe lies within myself, rather than without. In a situation where there are only two possibilities about which one knows absolutely nothing, logic dictates they are both equally likely. I simply sit on this side of the fence. If you like to believe in a higher power, that’s fine. It’s a valid assumption. However, I must ask you(I’m speaking generally) why you find it so difficult to imagine yourself and your fellows as so powerful. If God can be as a god, why not us?

The creation of the universe and whatnot is a tricky subject. Anyone who says it must have been orchestrated by some entity is being ignorant. If we had to be created by some specific being or power, than logic dictates the being or power itself must have likewise been created by something. If you say ‘It was always there’, then you can say the same about the universe it allegedly created. I have little concern with it, myself, as I don’t believe it matters, particularly. Not to mention there are no answers to be had.

So, as far as a purpose or meaning to life, I believe there is none. I also believe there need not be. Can you ascribe it with your own purpose or meaning? Certainly. Then it becomes the meaning. I’m loathe to do this, however, because as it is, my meaningless and purposeless existence has the freedom of a blank slate, while one who defines their purpose is then confined by their definition. Once again, I see no reason to limit myself in such a way. In this way, all purposes and lack thereof become my purpose. I like to think of it as an abyss filled with colorful balloons. I know what you’re thinking. Is it still an abyss when it’s full of colored balloons?

Yes. It’s just got fun stuff in it now.

106

[quote]Vicomte wrote:

However, I must ask you(I’m speaking generally) why you find it so difficult to imagine yourself and your fellows as so powerful. If God can be as a god, why not us?

[/quote]

It is not hard to imagine, I just think it is far less likely. The universe is so friggin’ big. Unimaginably big. So mutherfucking big and full of shit. We don’t have the “power” to create that or mess with it at all. We can do little things like bond atoms and split particles or whatever but what about the big stuff? How can it possibly be done by us?

It makes more sense for a god to take a blank slate of a universe, add some rules to control the mass, blow up a huge chunk of something, and throw some life on the first planet that turns up habitable that would start as microscopic cells and evolve over billions of years to be humans. Then they could use us for puppet shows and pets.

That is not my theory. I do not believe that. I am just saying, that to me, it is more logical than us being the powerful gods as you are theorizing.

As far as the who created god thing, I dunno how to answer that one.

107

[quote]elano wrote:
Vicomte wrote:

However, I must ask you(I’m speaking generally) why you find it so difficult to imagine yourself and your fellows as so powerful. If God can be as a god, why not us?

It is not hard to imagine, I just think it is far less likely. The universe is so friggin’ big. Unimaginably big. So mutherfucking big and full of shit. We don’t have the “power” to create that or mess with it at all. We can do little things like bond atoms and split particles or whatever but what about the big stuff? How can it possibly be done by us?

It makes more sense for a god to take a blank slate of a universe, add some rules to control the mass, blow up a huge chunk of something, and throw some life on the first planet that turns up habitable that would start as microscopic cells and evolve over billions of years to be humans. Then they could use us for puppet shows and pets.

That is not my theory. I do not believe that. I am just saying, that to me, it is more logical than us being the powerful gods as you are theorizing.

As far as the who created god thing, I dunno how to answer that one.[/quote]

It’s turtles all the way down, brother.

108

Anyone interested in this. Tune in your AM radio to Coast 2 Coast AM!!! This topic is being discussed right now! here it picks up good on 1340 but there are a bunch of stations that pick it up. The law of probability.

109

… And it sounds like a bunch of Bologna…

110

[quote]elano wrote:
Vicomte wrote:

As far as the who created god thing, I dunno how to answer that one.[/quote]

INEFFABLE. INEFFABLE. INEFFABLE!

111

my purpose in life is to live like genghis khan.

112

[quote]
As far as the who created god thing, I dunno how to answer that one.[/quote]

Everyone knows its Chuck Norris!!

“Chuck Norris discovered a new theory of relativity involving multiple universes in which Chuck Norris is even more badass than in this one. When it was discovered by Albert Einstein and made public, Chuck Norris roundhouse-kicked him in the face. We know Albert Einstein today as Stephen Hawking.”

“For some, the left testicle is larger than the right one. For Chuck Norris, each testicle is larger than the other one.”

113

The purpose of life is Squats and Milk.

114

[quote]That One Guy wrote:
I see, I see, yeah I subscribe to the theory that IF there is a force that “created” us, in the sense that it’s conscience and made us on purpose, then it has done so out of boredom, done so many other times in many other places in the universe, and probably has better shit to do than tell us how to live our lives.[/quote]

→ xkcd: A Bunch of Rocks

[quote]Makavali wrote:
The purpose of life is Squats and Milk.[/quote]

Obviously, you are only partially correct because the purpose of life is to SQUAT TILL YOU PUKE.

115

[quote]Vicomte wrote:
Neuromancer wrote:
Vicomte wrote:
IvanDmitritch wrote:
Vicomte wrote:
Headhunter wrote:
Anyone who ever reads Nietzsche (really reads, not browses) will ever be the same again.

Absolute statements like these are idiotic, HH. Nietzsche is the opiate of intellectual dick-pullers.

Nice! If you don’t mind, I’m going to steal that one! Judging by this and your comment about Sartre, I’m guessing you don’t buy into the whole existential paradigm?

In any case, I do think there’s merit in the idea that, for the individual, life only has meaning when one decides to give it meaning. Maybe that’s the whole point. Whether you decide the meaning of life is about relationships, getting laid, finding god, or just having a good time, the point is it means whatever you decide it means. Makes sense to me anyways.

Actually, I’d describe myself as an existentialist. Unfortunately, existential writers tend to go a bit too far with their supplementary ideas. Not to mention they’re preachy as hell. A true existentialist would acknowledge that they could in fact be completely wrong, while guys like Nietzsche and Sartre are a bit too narcissistic for that. Camus was the most down-to-earth, in my opinion.

I’m not big on bigger-picture philosophy anyway. It’s not practical and amounts to pretentious bullshit. I like guys like Gracian, Epictetus, Machiavelli–stuff you can use in your life, rather than empty words that make you feel superior to other people.

Personally, I find the idea of a meaning or purpose of existence to be quite silly. Why does there have to be a meaning?

I’m also an absurdist.

Hmmmm…you’re a bit of a nihilist too,wouldn’t you say?

Like a cocktail of beliefs.

I would, at least morally. Obviously no one can put an absolute label on their beliefs. Existentialism, Absurdism, Nihilism, even solipsism to an extent–they all shed some amount of light on how I feel about the whole go-round.

Naturally I’m an atheist as well, though I do accept the possibility that I may be wrong about the higher power schtick. You may think that makes me an agnostic, but while I admit I may be wrong, I’m quite certain there is no intelligent higher power. I find it would be rather ridiculous of me to not think I could be wrong.

Higher power arguments make little sense to me. People think there needs to be some higher power for some reason I cannot understand. Why can’t it end with us? Why am I not the greatest being in existence? Or, more accurately, why can’t I be? Perhaps the unexplained wonder of the universe lies within myself, rather than without. In a situation where there are only two possibilities about which one knows absolutely nothing, logic dictates they are both equally likely. I simply sit on this side of the fence. If you like to believe in a higher power, that’s fine. It’s a valid assumption. However, I must ask you(I’m speaking generally) why you find it so difficult to imagine yourself and your fellows as so powerful. If God can be as a god, why not us?

The creation of the universe and whatnot is a tricky subject. Anyone who says it must have been orchestrated by some entity is being ignorant. If we had to be created by some specific being or power, than logic dictates the being or power itself must have likewise been created by something. If you say ‘It was always there’, then you can say the same about the universe it allegedly created. I have little concern with it, myself, as I don’t believe it matters, particularly. Not to mention there are no answers to be had.

So, as far as a purpose or meaning to life, I believe there is none. I also believe there need not be. Can you ascribe it with your own purpose or meaning? Certainly. Then it becomes the meaning. I’m loathe to do this, however, because as it is, my meaningless and purposeless existence has the freedom of a blank slate, while one who defines their purpose is then confined by their definition. Once again, I see no reason to limit myself in such a way. In this way, all purposes and lack thereof become my purpose. I like to think of it as an abyss filled with colorful balloons. I know what you’re thinking. Is it still an abyss when it’s full of colored balloons?

Yes. It’s just got fun stuff in it now.[/quote]

I’ve got to admit I’ve never though of the purpose thing that way. Where by defining your purpose, or purposes, you’ve now confined yourself to that definition. I’ve always been a purpose-driven individual, but that line of thinking is pretty refreshing to me.

And if we are gods, who are we gods over?

116

[quote]Vicomte wrote:
Neuromancer wrote:
Vicomte wrote:
IvanDmitritch wrote:
Vicomte wrote:
Headhunter wrote:
Anyone who ever reads Nietzsche (really reads, not browses) will ever be the same again.

Absolute statements like these are idiotic, HH. Nietzsche is the opiate of intellectual dick-pullers.

Nice! If you don’t mind, I’m going to steal that one! Judging by this and your comment about Sartre, I’m guessing you don’t buy into the whole existential paradigm?

In any case, I do think there’s merit in the idea that, for the individual, life only has meaning when one decides to give it meaning. Maybe that’s the whole point.

Whether you decide the meaning of life is about relationships, getting laid, finding god, or just having a good time, the point is it means whatever you decide it means. Makes sense to me anyways.

Actually, I’d describe myself as an existentialist. Unfortunately, existential writers tend to go a bit too far with their supplementary ideas. Not to mention they’re preachy as hell.

A true existentialist would acknowledge that they could in fact be completely wrong, while guys like Nietzsche and Sartre are a bit too narcissistic for that. Camus was the most down-to-earth, in my opinion.

I’m not big on bigger-picture philosophy anyway. It’s not practical and amounts to pretentious bullshit. I like guys like Gracian, Epictetus, Machiavelli–stuff you can use in your life, rather than empty words that make you feel superior to other people.

Personally, I find the idea of a meaning or purpose of existence to be quite silly. Why does there have to be a meaning?

I’m also an absurdist.

Hmmmm…you’re a bit of a nihilist too,wouldn’t you say?

Like a cocktail of beliefs.

I would, at least morally. Obviously no one can put an absolute label on their beliefs. Existentialism, Absurdism, Nihilism, even solipsism to an extent–they all shed some amount of light on how I feel about the whole go-round.

Naturally I’m an atheist as well, though I do accept the possibility that I may be wrong about the higher power schtick. You may think that makes me an agnostic, but while I admit I may be wrong, I’m quite certain there is no intelligent higher power. I find it would be rather ridiculous of me to not think I could be wrong.

Higher power arguments make little sense to me. People think there needs to be some higher power for some reason I cannot understand. Why can’t it end with us? Why am I not the greatest being in existence?

Or, more accurately, why can’t I be? Perhaps the unexplained wonder of the universe lies within myself, rather than without. In a situation where there are only two possibilities about which one knows absolutely nothing, logic dictates they are both equally likely. I simply sit on this side of the fence. If you like to believe in a higher power, that’s fine. It’s a valid assumption.

However, I must ask you(I’m speaking generally) why you find it so difficult to imagine yourself and your fellows as so powerful. If God can be as a god, why not us?

The creation of the universe and whatnot is a tricky subject. Anyone who says it must have been orchestrated by some entity is being ignorant. If we had to be created by some specific being or power, than logic dictates the being or power itself must have likewise been created by something.

If you say ‘It was always there’, then you can say the same about the universe it allegedly created. I have little concern with it, myself, as I don’t believe it matters, particularly. Not to mention there are no answers to be had.

So, as far as a purpose or meaning to life, I believe there is none. I also believe there need not be. Can you ascribe it with your own purpose or meaning? Certainly. Then it becomes the meaning.

I’m loathe to do this, however, because as it is, my meaningless and purposeless existence has the freedom of a blank slate, while one who defines their purpose is then confined by their definition. Once again, I see no reason to limit myself in such a way. In this way, all purposes and lack thereof become my purpose.

I like to think of it as an abyss filled with colorful balloons. I know what you’re thinking. Is it still an abyss when it’s full of colored balloons?

Yes. It’s just got fun stuff in it now.[/quote]

Good post.

And in relation to your next post,it’s tortoises.All tortoises.They are the last link in your happy chain.

117

[quote]That One Guy wrote:
And if we are gods, who are we gods over?[/quote]

Ourselves, brother. That makes us gods of gods, doesn’t it?

118

And I still say tortoises suck hard on a metaphysical donkey dick.

Turtles FTW!

119

[quote]Vicomte wrote:
And I still say tortoises suck hard on a metaphysical donkey dick.

Turtles FTW![/quote]

Heretic!!!

120

[quote]THE_CLAMP_DOWN wrote:
That One Guy wrote:
Brown_Lifter wrote:

Those of you who respond to this thread with statements basically saying, “I don’t give a fuck and neither should you.” should stop posting in here.

OR

“But for fuck sake, shut up with the " we are here because of bla bla bla.” "

This is philosophy. There are no definates. No rights. No wrongs. Deal with it.

[/quote]

Hey Hey don’t get too carried away with the “no rights” and “no wrongs”. There may be no such thing as perfect objectivity (and I think Bronowski and Polanyi showed such an idea to be unintelligble anyway", but philosophy isn’t without rules - let’s not forget about logic.

It’s actually pretty easy to have a philosophy that in some way or another is simply wrong (e.g. if you claim there are gods and there aren’t, or if your training philosophy rests on your claim that you can bench 350 when you cant even hack two plates).

The goal of philosophical inquiry is to know the truth, but as many here point out, you’ll never be entirely correct, and you may never be able to prove your philosophy one way or the other (e.g. if it contains gods).

Saying that there’s “no right or wrong” in philosophy is tantamount to giving up the endeavor altogether - its a position known as relativism and Socrates does a wonderful job of tearing it to pieces through his opponent Protagorus in Plato’s Thaetetus.