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Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 8:41 pm
In your opinion. what is the meaning of life? I know this question has no simple answer, mostly because it's several questions in one.
What is the meaning of your personal life? What is the meaning of all life? What is the meaning to why we're here at all? (the universe)
When you break it down into these categories, the answers are easier to find. The meaning of your personal life is, as the name insists, very personal. And it's expected to change from person to person. The meaning of my personal life is Happiness. To find and share happiness with an open mind and an open heart.
The meaning of all life is simple for me. Reproduction to sustain and continue a species.
The answer to the last one eludes me. I think this is the mother of all question. What do you think for all of these? What is the personal meaning of your life?
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 1:29 am
There is no meaning to or for anything.
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 12:51 pm
zz1000zz There is no meaning to or for anything. Care to elaborate? Not much of a discussion if you don't explain. I am assuming you're going with the 'nothing has purpose' idea when speaking of the meaning of life, though what you said seems more personal interpretation than declarative fact.
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 3:46 pm
dragonmatt5 zz1000zz There is no meaning to or for anything. Care to elaborate? Not much of a discussion if you don't explain. I am assuming your going with the nothing has purpose idea when speaking of the meaning of life, though what you said seems more personal interpretation then declarative fact. There is no reason to assume there is any meaning to anything. I am not sure how that can be elaborated.
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 3:48 pm
Well, actually, she did state a very direct and sufficient answer. Many people simply believe that there is no reason for anything. And that's all.
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 3:52 pm
The meaning of my personal life is to accomplish as much as I can.
The meaning of all life, as I believe, is to work as a harmonic system.
As for the universe, I think this it is just an illusion of a deeper, more complex set of dimensions. We're "here" because we're aware.
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 4:05 pm
dragonmatt5 Care to elaborate? Not much of a discussion if you don't explain. Actually, discussions can continue without full linear development.  See what I mean?
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 8:43 pm
zz1000zz There is no meaning to or for anything. right, i forgot to take into account of the people who dont believe in anything. rationally i see that we could be here by mistake, but in that case, why not celebrate your being here in first place. saying that there is no meaning is like saying you wish you werent alive in my opinion. so i feel sorry for you. I chose happiness because it's something that everyone can relate to, and everyone, more or less, tries to get. no one likes to be unhappy
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 8:57 pm
zz1000zz dragonmatt5 zz1000zz There is no meaning to or for anything. Care to elaborate? Not much of a discussion if you don't explain. I am assuming your going with the nothing has purpose idea when speaking of the meaning of life, though what you said seems more personal interpretation then declarative fact. There is no reason to assume there is any meaning to anything. I am not sure how that can be elaborated. Well words have meaning, as do symbols. They have a purpose to express ideas in a way others can understand. The very existence of language is to fulfill a purpose and each word is suppose to have a meaning in order to express that. Saying there is no meaning to anything seems somewhat unexplained.
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 3:09 am
impossible_infinity zz1000zz There is no meaning to or for anything. right, i forgot to take into account of the people who dont believe in anything. rationally i see that we could be here by mistake, but in that case, why not celebrate your being here in first place. saying that there is no meaning is like saying you wish you werent alive in my opinion. so i feel sorry for you. I chose happiness because it's something that everyone can relate to, and everyone, more or less, tries to get. no one likes to be unhappySaying there is no meaning to anything does not mean one must not celebrate life. There is no reason happiness would have to be tied to some deep, philosophical mumbo-jumbo. dragonmatt5 zz1000zz dragonmatt5 zz1000zz There is no meaning to or for anything. Care to elaborate? Not much of a discussion if you don't explain. I am assuming your going with the nothing has purpose idea when speaking of the meaning of life, though what you said seems more personal interpretation then declarative fact. There is no reason to assume there is any meaning to anything. I am not sure how that can be elaborated. Well words have meaning, as do symbols. They have a purpose to express ideas in a way others can understand. The very existence of language is to fulfill a purpose and each word is suppose to have a meaning in order to express that. Saying there is no meaning to anything seems somewhat unexplained. I assumed it would be obvious I was not using "meaning" in the sense of a simple definition.
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 4:29 am
I'm guessing, from previous conversations I've had with zz1000zz, that I have roughly the same viewpoint on this subject as she does. So here's how I'd put it:
There is no inherent, objective purpose to anything. Purpose may be subjectively imposed from the outside, but there is no [determinable] purpose inherent in any object's existence. Things do what they do because they cannot do otherwise, governed by set laws and not some normative, teleological drive.
There is no underlying "meaning" to the existence of anything in that everything can [theoretically] be traced back to purely non-intentional, purely physical causes. All you can read from the universe, the only messages you'll get from it, are the laws that govern it. Existence is not a movie, not a fairy tale with scenes and speeches selected to deliver a moral; it is merely a dance of causality and inevitability.
Personally, I find this view to be very freeing, rather than anything to be depressed about. Without purpose, without meaning, I am free to do as I wish, rather than being beholden to any goal or moral beyond my power to change; my sense of self is not dependent on some external measure, not tied to whether I can accomplish some goal or attain some attribute. I can set and abandon my goals as I see fit and feel no unearned remorse for doing so.
For you whose life's meaning revolves around purpose, what will you do should you find your purpose fulfilled? Will you then become trash, to be discarded? What will you do should you find your purpose impossible to achieve, either by your own fault or by the machinations of fate?
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 8:24 am
zz1000zz dragonmatt5 zz1000zz dragonmatt5 zz1000zz There is no meaning to or for anything. Care to elaborate? Not much of a discussion if you don't explain. I am assuming your going with the nothing has purpose idea when speaking of the meaning of life, though what you said seems more personal interpretation then declarative fact. There is no reason to assume there is any meaning to anything. I am not sure how that can be elaborated. Well words have meaning, as do symbols. They have a purpose to express ideas in a way others can understand. The very existence of language is to fulfill a purpose and each word is suppose to have a meaning in order to express that. Saying there is no meaning to anything seems somewhat unexplained. I assumed it would be obvious I was not using "meaning" in the sense of a simple definition. Well I did ask you to better explain it. Not my fault I interpreted what you said in a more literal fashion when you wouldn't expand on it when asked. Layra-chan gives an interesting explanation while still acknowledging subjective purpose can be given to things. That makes sense concerning lack of moral or intentional purpose to things in the universe simply existing.
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 11:40 am
The caveat regarding subjective purpose is that neither zz1000zz nor I actually acknowledge it as having any actuality. Subjective purpose has very little to do with the object in question and is entirely a function of the person imposing such purpose, and hence has no bearing on any object's existence. In essence it is largely ignorable.
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 1:17 pm
Layra-chan The caveat regarding subjective purpose is that neither zz1000zz nor I actually acknowledge it as having any actuality. Subjective purpose has very little to do with the object in question and is entirely a function of the person imposing such purpose, and hence has no bearing on any object's existence. In essence it is largely ignorable. I don't know....Giving things subjective purpose can lead to mankind creating and influencing the universe on larger and larger scales. I would not say that such behavior of man to apply meaning to things is ignorable.
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 2:11 pm
Just for future clarity, there's a difference between meaning and purpose. Meaning is when something is symbolic of something else, in the sense of a word representing an object or thought. Purpose is more like a reason for something to exist, but also acts as a drive.
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