Throughout my life I’ve struggled to find meaning. I’ve wondered, am I alone in this? I’d like to hear what others have to say. Particularly others that are more knowledgeable in philosophy.
More than fair odds, life is a random fluke of chance, and it has no meaning. Some people see this as depressing, but I see it as an opportunity to create the meaning you want in your life.
Why am I wrong?
The most logical explanation would be to be able to acknowledge any of our potentially most barbaric desires or behaviors, and even go as far as to suffer to abstain from them, for a purpose outside of ourselves; God or not.
Nop, you’re not alone. Meaning is made up, it doesn’t exist outside of our minds. You’re going to have to create your own.
The most logical explanation is to strive to be as selfless as possible.
Self is the only thing we can be sure of, being selfless is possibly altruistic but could also be putting the only thing you can be sure of behind things that may not be important to ones being.
Not to say that being selfish is the way to be but giving all yourself away or keeping all for yourself are very unbalanced ways to get through the world, balancing the give and take of life is the path to living a peaceable life.
I think to make life about peace for the sake of myself would to only confine all the potential that the opposite would have to offer otherwise—to myself, like most people. Vanity for the sake of everything else is the only desire worth seeking, because it’s the only one that doesn’t end in inevitable disappointment, due to all desire for oneself being temporary, and selflessness the only one that holds the potential of even lasting forever.
Might I interest you in absurdism?
+1 for absurdism
You now:
no meaning :(
You after absurdism:
no meaning! :)
seconding this. i come back to myth of sisyphus if i ever feel overwhelmed by a lack of meaning
Selflessness is the meaning; God or not.
Leo Tolstoy’s non-fiction—Confession, What I Believe, The Gospel In Brief, The Kingdom of God is Within You.
“I’ve struggled to find meaning” could mean quite a few things. You’re not giving people much to work with.
But here’s something with respect to one interpretation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx’s_theory_of_alienation
I’d like to read what Marx had to say about this.
I suppose Marx’s discussion on alienation is less about some ultimate meaning of life (which many people have already talked about here) and more about how people find meaning in their work, their humanity and the wider world, and how the way our society currently works alienates us from those things and from finding our own meaning, instead pushing us to act like cogs in a pointless machine. For example, if someone’s waking hours are mostly spent making useless things for people they’ll never meet, or denying people medical coverage, they’re going to develop a very different sense of their meaningfulness than someone who builds houses in their neighbourhood, or who grows or prepares food for their family and friends. Both are labouring in order to survive, but the latter can see much clearer how their actions matter.
(I’m probably butchering it, this isn’t a theory I know much about, so check to see if someone else has corrected me)
Makes a lot of sense. I can’t help but feel like a lot of the work people do is completely detached from their own community. Which inevitably begs the question, if it’s so detached is it even worth it?
Please consider Leo Tolstoy’s non-fiction—Confession, What I Believe, The Gospel In Brief, The Kingdom of God is Within You.
Reason it’s so vague is just because I lack the proper philosophical terminology to express it.
I don’t think there is any higher meaning or purpose to life, we just exist here for a little while. I don’t personally see that as a negative. My view is that we are free to pursue our interests, and to create our own purpose for ourselves. Try different things, find hobbies, read books, listen to music, and so on. See what things you really enjoy doing, try do more of that. My experience is that creating things, or improving yourself in some way tends to be rewarding.
Given that religion exists I’d say you’re not alone in seeking meaning.
There are parts of your brain that exist for the sole purpose of identifying why things happen, imagine the advantage an organism has that can spot patterns in their environment and make predictions based off of what they’ve seen.
Unfortunately sometimes that hard wired part of the brain seeks to find deeper meaning in places that provide no meaning.
Shadows don’t exist, but we see them, they have no purpose because they are nothing but an emergent phenomenon.
An asteroid travels through space for millions and millions of miles in the depths of nothingness between galaxies. It is never seen by a sentient being and is far enough beyond the range of gravitational affect of everything that it’s influence is less than a single decaying atom. Why is that asteroid there, what is its purpose? It exists to exist.
You are a bundle of atoms destined to lose cohesion, revel in the beauty of it.
Selflessness is the most logical explanation; God or not.
You are a bundle of atoms destined to lose cohesion, revel in the beauty of it.
I don’t see beauty in any of it though. It’s mostly ugly, and gross.
That’s cool too, you’re somehow 7-8 octillion atoms that collectively agree that they’re ugly, neat
“You are a bundle of atoms destined to lose cohesion, revel in the beauty of it.”
Yes, maybe this is all that there is…and it’s not so bad?
What is it you seek? What is it you lack? It can be helpful to look into these questions carefully. It can also be helpful to take time to look at the exact moment-by-moment experience of this life that appears lacking. After years of philosophical study and years of trying to convince myself I wasn’t dissatisfied, I stumbled upon Zen and found these kinds of investigations helpful.
After thinking about it, a life with comforts is all I need. Ac, heat when it’s cold, some fresh veggies and that’s pretty much it
Zen, I’ll have to look in to this. Moment by moment experience as well.
“What is it you seek?”
I suppose this may be the problem because to be honest, I’m not sure.
I know nothing, but to me, there is “why,” and there is “how.” The why can never be proven and the how is fact. Religious institutions try to tell you “why” you are here, but they can not. They can only tell you why they think you are here.
In 1 billion years, there is a very good chance that we will not exist, so what’s the point to any of this? Literally that. YOU are why any of this has a point. If you want to sit and stare at the stars, then that is why you are here. But then that is me telling you why you are here.
Why will always lead to how, which will lead to why, which will lead to how, that leads to why, then to how…ad infinitum.
From the movie “City slickers”. The meaning of life is one thing. And that is whatever you are doing.
Just the thoughts you were wondering about, from a stranger in the wires.
The most logical explanation is to strive to be as selfless as possible; God or not.
I would say that is the most useful interpretation of why we are hare. I try to live my life based on this but it can be challenging.
Why would one need meaning? That’s confusing.
