Do you believe there even is a meaning to life?
What meaning do you believe in (if you believe there is meaning)?
Why?
I'm interested in everyone's different views/opinions.
(Personally I don't see a meaning to life, so just have fun with it).
If you need help forming an opinion read this.... [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaning_of_life[/url]
I like the "To live forever or die trying" quote from this wikipedia article, it could also mean to make the world remember you in some way.
Everyone is wrong and you will die. Or you won't. I don't know.
[QUOTE]I like the "To live forever or die trying" quote from this wikipedia article, it could also mean to make the world remember you in some way. - Lonestriper[/QUOTE]
But when you die your life means nothing to you, so why make it have meaning to others in the future, and how long will your meaningless legacy last?
Meaning is a subjective term and does not apply to the objective universe. Meaning, value, quantity.
Meaning can also be found in the spiritual realm, where one can find significant livelihood in the experience of religion.
I believe that the meaning of life is just to exist. Meaning it's up to the individual to make decisions on how they interpret that question.
IMO the meaning of life is to advance technologically. That would lead us closer to the answer if "What is the meaning of life" was a question with a definite answer.
Ps- inb4 42
[highlight](User was banned for this post ("Meme reply" - Craptasket))[/highlight]
The question starts with asking what is "Meaning"?
Meaning is, as far as we can tell, purely a human construct, knowing this questions have to be asked. What is "the" meaning, or is that even a proper question? What does a meaning impart to our lives? What role can a human centric concept play in a universe that is this vast? For me, these questions just beg more questions and don't lead to many answers.
I think we're small, insignificant motes of dust floating in the universe. The observable universe alone is larger than any human being can ever comprehend. It contains more matter and more things than can ever be comprehended. And it isn't the end of the universe. It is simply all we can see. There is very likely more beyond it. When I start thinking of these scales I'm baffled and blown away by the sheer statistics of the universe. In our eyes, we have more atoms than there are stars in the galaxy. What does this mean for the sheer shape, size, and scope of this universe we inhabit? What can "Meaning" even mean in this large context? I don't think we have a meaning, I think it's up to us to be the living organisms that we are and as much of an anamoly as we are, we're an inevitable conclusion of simplistic systems having infinitely large feedback loops that we can't really comprehend, like the scale of the universe itself. Meaning, being a human concept, is human centric, is defined by our biology, our evolutionary history that drove our brain to function in the complex, problem solving way it does that we interpret as our stream of conciousness and self awareness. If this is true, which I believe it to be, then how can any concept we come up with as simple, and as complex as meaning ever hold true? We use our observations, our predictions, our evidence and knowledge of how things impact one another to draw together some strong theories and concepts as to how things work, cause and effect, a basic element of the universe. As far as we can tell though, why, meaning, purpose, is not a basic element of the universe. It is a result of us, and because of this, this human centric question, I don't know if there can even be an answer.
My favourite quote on the topic is from Carl Sagan. "We are a way for which the universe to know itself"
Autism
[highlight](User was permabanned for this post ("Gimmick" - Swebonny))[/highlight]
As was slightly addressed in the OP, the title of this thread assumes life has a meaning. A more pertinent question would be "does life have a meaning?", or possibly "does life have an objective meaning"?
From my perspective, life has no intrinsic meaning since "meaning" is a human creation. As human beings we tend to find patterns in nature and try to explain why those things are the way they are. It is perfectly normal to look at humans in relation to animals, plants, Earth, etc. and experience discomfort at the thought that all this exists for no reason.
If I [i]had[/i] to guess what the meaning of life was (if there was indeed some meaning out there), it would seem to be solely to reproduce and pass on one's own genes.
Anime, of course. XD God's gift to the modern world!
[highlight](User was banned for this post ("this is not how you should post in mass debate" - Orkel))[/highlight]
For those of you saying that this page assumes life has a meaning your wrong! It states at the top...
[QUOTE]What meaning do you believe in (if you believe there is meaning)?[/QUOTE]
Meaning there may or may not be a meaning.
And if there is a meaning, what is it?
Please tell me your ideas... is there even a meaning, if so what is it?
I dont think there is a meaning to life either. I believe the big bang happened and i believe we are alive today simply by chance, that any type of life in the universe is simply by chance. We die and thats the end, as a whole like when the sun incinerates the earth and eradicates any traces of life that ever existed, and by chance a new "earth" will emerge and the previous earth will be just a lump of space rock.
probably the only meaning in life is what you give it, religions tell us there's a grand plan or that we are part of some cosmic machinery, science tells us that we are the longshot that evolved to the point where we can pontificate, to some extent we probably are part of some grand cosmic machinery where life springs up and pushes on and on, but we are probably the outlier there, a different solution to being the top preditor, one that has only evolved once.
just look on the bright side of life, make this place a good place to live in and maybe thats all the meaning that there needs
PS: just got in a massive car wreck that i probably shouldn't have walked away from so i'm in a weird mood today
[QUOTE=Itolkweed;45598962]and i believe we are alive today simply by chance, that any type of life in the universe is simply by chance.[/QUOTE]
I would love to believe this, the only thing that makes me believe otherwise is the following statement. "Who, or what, created the material that started the big bang?" [I]Because there must have been something.[/I]
[QUOTE=Griffalo;45600150]I would love to believe this, the only thing that makes me believe otherwise is the following statement. "Who, or what, created the material that started the big bang?" [I]Because there must have been something.[/I][/QUOTE]
Why? Why "must" there have been? It could very well be that our understanding of causality is not useful at that scale.
I'm fairly certain we can't really understand that using purely human perceptions and conceptions
[QUOTE=Griffalo;45600150]I would love to believe this, the only thing that makes me believe otherwise is the following statement. "Who, or what, created the material that started the big bang?" [I]Because there must have been something.[/I][/QUOTE]
Even if the Big Bang has an external explanation, as you work your way up the explanatory chain you'll eventually find a structure that exists without external dependencies.
[QUOTE=Ziks;45600429]Even if the Big Bang has an external explanation, as you work your way up the explanatory chain you'll eventually find a structure that exists without external dependencies.[/QUOTE]
I agree, something as new and profound as the knowledge of the beginning of the universe would make any philosopher have the vocabulary of my 3 year old, why? Why? Why? But but but WHY? There will always be questions to be asked which is what makes science interesting, sure we can figure out exactly how the universe started one day but then that would lead to more questions and those answers will be questioned.
Asking what's the meaning of life is like asking when you have stopped beating your wife. It's a loaded question, you assumed that life has a meaning.
What's the meaning of an ant's life? Or a carrot?
42.
[QUOTE=Silly Sil;45607524]Asking what's the meaning of life is like asking when you have stopped beating your wife. It's a loaded question, you assumed that life has a meaning.
What's the meaning of an ant's life? Or a carrot?[/QUOTE]
That made zero sense. Well actually, i thought the question was about life in general, not any specific form of it.
I see no meaning so it really depresses me.......
ugh.......
Well at least I can have fun along the way :)
[QUOTE=mushroompizza;45658377]I see no meaning so it really depresses me.......
ugh.......
Well at least I can have fun along the way :)[/QUOTE]
I don't see why it's depressing. Not having a meaning doesn't mean we can't make our own meaning of life. We can pursue whatever we are able.
On this actual topic. We are merely just chemical reactions, huge amounts of chemical reactions, making other chemicals and getting new chemicals, so we can keep producing the chemicals we need to "live". It's quite interesting when you think of things on a very small level, and scale them up.
i always thought the meaning of life was to find meaning
[QUOTE=Scum;45674284]i always thought the meaning of life was to find meaning[/QUOTE]
I've never understood this line of thought. If that is actually the case, then you're done. You've figured out your meaning and can stop living.
There isn't one. Everyone has to figure out their own subjective meaning to their lives.
[QUOTE=sgman91;45674318]I've never understood this line of thought. If that is actually the case, then you're done. You've figured out your meaning and can stop living.[/QUOTE]
Why would you stop living? You seem to think finding the purpose is done as soon as you understand that you have to find a meaning. I think you don't understand the idea.
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;45674967]Why would you stop living? You seem to think finding the purpose is done as soon as you understand that you have to find a meaning. I think you don't understand the idea.[/QUOTE]
Let's start with the original statement: "The meaning of life is to find meaning."
By saying that statement you have already found meaning, namely, the act of finding meaning. It's a self fulfilling statement. One fulfills the requirements of the statement as soon as one declares the statement to be true and, generally, once something has fulfilled its purpose it has no reason to continue existing. Here's a quick diagram I made to try and explain what I'm saying:
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/uwn1r9e.png[/IMG]
[QUOTE=sgman91;45675073]Let's start with the original statement: "The meaning of life is to find meaning."
By saying that statement you have already found meaning, namely, the act of finding meaning. It's a self fulfilling statement. One fulfills the requirements of the statement as soon as one declares the statement to be true and, generally, once something has fulfilled its purpose it has no reason to continue existing.[/QUOTE]
I get that you think that. It doesn't make it so. Simply understanding you are to find your own meaning doesn't mean you have found your meaning.
I don't agree with the statement we are to find our own meaning, but you're discounting it based on something that doesn't make sense. The self fulfillment of "finding" a meaning isn't had on the "understanding" of the concept.
[editline]12th August 2014[/editline]
Yeah your diagram, to me represents a misunderstanding of the idea. Meaning in the left most place isn't the same concept of meaning as in the right most side of the diagram.
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;45675099]I get that you think that. It doesn't make it so. Simply understanding you are to find your own meaning doesn't mean you have found your meaning.
I don't agree with the statement we are to find our own meaning, but you're discounting it based on something that doesn't make sense. The self fulfillment of "finding" a meaning isn't had on the "understanding" of the concept.[/QUOTE]
I'm arguing against nothing more than the specific statement that I quoted. It is logically self-fulfilling. The only way it wouldn't be is if "the meaning of life" is a distinct separate concept from meaning in general, which doesn't seem to be the case since the meaning of life is simply meaning for life, the only type of meaning that we are talking about.
[QUOTE=sgman91;45675108]I'm arguing against nothing more than the specific statement that I quoted. It is logically self-fulfilling.[/QUOTE]
if you're arguing against his specific grammatical use of that, then you know that's a weak argument.
I'm taking your arguments as an argument against the concept of finding a meaning for yourself entirely.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.