Earlier quoted context omitted.
Finding meaning in pleasure sounds like Hedonism to me.
Ain't nothin' wrong with Hedonism.
There are many fundamental problems with hedonism, but hedonism avoids dealing with the problems because that's its nature.
A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
31–40 of 261 posts
Re: A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
#32> Science taught me that it's all just atoms and the void, so there can't be any deeper point or purpose to the whole thing; the kind of meaning most people yearn for — Ultimate Meaning — simply doesn't exist. I don't think that is something science can teach you. Science can give you the scientific method, but answering the question "Is the scientific method the only valid means of knowledge?" is philosophy not scie…
Confusing knowledge for purpose.
Or, understanding atoms (to this degree) is a long way from understanding a human being and our social and environmental context.
So, there's atoms and void. What are you going to do with your life?
(To the extent that's even a conscious choice.)
Re: A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
#33> Science taught me that it's all just atoms and the void, so there can't be any deeper point or purpose to the whole thing; the kind of meaning most people yearn for — Ultimate Meaning — simply doesn't exist. I don't think that is something science can teach you. Science can give you the scientific method, but answering the question "Is the scientific method the only valid means of knowledge?" is philosophy not scie…
>It seems the author is trying to smuggle in a particular philosophy under the guise of science.
I couldn't agree more.
Further, I'll add another reason why one might find trouble with that statement: It seems that because of the usefulness of the scientific method, as far as I can tell the effect on human psychology appears to be such that we are in a time and place where we are buying into the idea that the ratio of x: human understanding, to y, the body of knowledge necessary for answering such questions the author considers is getting reasonably close to 1, otherwise the author would not say that.
It seems it may be the case that it is entirely possible there is even other intelligent life in the universe, who upon encountering us attempting to answer difficult questions, would regard us as we would regard our pet cats sitting in front of a book on particle physics.
Even still possible is that there is intelligent life lying outside our observable universe, or even outside our universe entirely, regarding us in a similar manner.
In the framework of our current knowledge, we look into the past at our forebearers and consider how much more we know; yet, they too looked into the past at their forebearers, and considered the same.
Re: A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
#34An excellent writeup, slightly distorted by its title. If you are concerned with meaning and try to find it and explain it, you are by definition not a nihilist.
Re: A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
#35Embrace the abyss, but stay human.
Re: A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
#36I think, that meaning can be only defined in the case, when one is immortal. If I'm mortal, everything I do, good or bad, is meaningless for consciousness, because it will cease to exist and everything that will happen after death will have no effect on it. Any meaning, that's is defined while one is mortal is no more than illusion, in which people immerse themselves for whatever reason.
Let me explain that you are in fact immortal. First, you have to see that there is no reason for your brain and my brain to have different "souls" (whatever that may mean). It only appears to you that we are different beings because there is no strong neurological connection between our brains. But there is a connection (albeit very weak), in e.g. electromagnetic and gravity forces between our brains. The universe, o…
> Let me explain that you are in fact immortal. [...] so for all practical purposes, you are immortal.
That is not how the vast majority of people define "immortal".
Unless you're aiming for some kind of uplifting, motivational speech?
Re: A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
#37I think, that meaning can be only defined in the case, when one is immortal. If I'm mortal, everything I do, good or bad, is meaningless for consciousness, because it will cease to exist and everything that will happen after death will have no effect on it. Any meaning, that's is defined while one is mortal is no more than illusion, in which people immerse themselves for whatever reason.
Let me explain that you are in fact immortal. First, you have to see that there is no reason for your brain and my brain to have different "souls" (whatever that may mean). It only appears to you that we are different beings because there is no strong neurological connection between our brains. But there is a connection (albeit very weak), in e.g. electromagnetic and gravity forces between our brains. The universe, o…
> This means that we (and everybody else) will only die when the universe ceases to exist.
You're playing a trick there by jumping from brain to atoms, but people do not define themselves by their atoms, but by their consciousness which will not survive death making what you're saying about all being one rather meaningless. So..
> so for all practical purposes, you are immortal.
Not even close, because I cease to exist the second my brain dies and whatever happens to my atoms after my mind is gone is completely meaningless.
Re: A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
#38I've never had an issue valuing my life knowing that it has no eternally persistent meaning. A poor analogy, but I like to explain a finite life's meaning by asking if a movie is any less enjoyable knowing that it's going to end. Sure, eventually our existence is rendered meaningless but that doesn't make it meaningless for me, now. Call that an illusion if you want, but it's as concrete as anything you can prove. Be…
In a certian way of thinking, an externally persistent meaning is just an enforcement mechanism for slavery. When people talk about wanting to serve something bigger than themselves, they are implying that they aren't worth serving, that they can only achieve value by contributing to something, anything which is not like themselves. Is this personal devaulation necessary for a satisfying life? Another attitude is to…
>Selfish behavior is almost always short-sighted behavior.
Only with the assumption that leaving the world in a "better" state (and bearing in mind opinions differ wildly on what that means) is the correct thing to do in terms of value/meaning.
Like, to the extremist - violent pursuit of their ideology gives their lives meaning. Vilifying selfishness is a weird position to my mind.
Re: A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
#39Sarah wondered why people started avoiding her at cocktail parties after the publication of her book "Every Cradle is a Grave."
Re: A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
#40I've never had an issue valuing my life knowing that it has no eternally persistent meaning. A poor analogy, but I like to explain a finite life's meaning by asking if a movie is any less enjoyable knowing that it's going to end. Sure, eventually our existence is rendered meaningless but that doesn't make it meaningless for me, now. Call that an illusion if you want, but it's as concrete as anything you can prove. Be…
In a certian way of thinking, an externally persistent meaning is just an enforcement mechanism for slavery. When people talk about wanting to serve something bigger than themselves, they are implying that they aren't worth serving, that they can only achieve value by contributing to something, anything which is not like themselves. Is this personal devaulation necessary for a satisfying life? Another attitude is to…
Serving something bigger than yourself lets you be part of something greater than you could achieve on your own. No one man could have built the Golden Gate Bridge, or the IBM PC.