As I first looked at this headline on the HN front page, it had a perfect "42" comments.
(I hate to ruin it, but it was bound to happen anyway).
A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
51–60 of 261 posts
Re: A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
#52I didn't find this to be a very useful article. It takes steps to create an abstract-symbolic definition of meaning, but doesn't develop it further and also doesn't use it again in the rest of the article. At least half of it could have been left out, therefore.
The conclusion is also rather trite, and seems to adopt humanity's tendency towards techno-optimistic hubris as a proxy for meaning. The conclusion doesn't support the thesis that science can lead us to meaning. I can appreciate the complexity of human society by reading the Koran, or going to a death metal concert. I don't need science for that.
Science is truly great, it is the most successful and useful paradigm for organising knowledge. But I don't think it is a path to meaning, no matter how much you romanticize it. It's just as likely to kill us all and destroy the planet as it is to save it, the former being considerably easier than the latter.
Re: A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
#53> 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…
Guys, he's not talking about the Scientific Method. He's talking about Reductionism. As recent as a few centuries ago, it was in no way obvious to us that the universe was made out of Atoms and Math (as opposed to say, Adam Kadmon and Divine Inspiration). Continental Philosophers spent tons of energy on these types of questions.
Re: A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
#54Really enjoyed this. I love how practical, humble, and respectful (even of religions, which I really appreciate) uncompromising nihilists tend to be. I happen to be a Christian, so I could go on all day about meaning, but if I could say one thing, it's this: We all die, and it's more than likely even humanity will die out as well (even if it's at the heat death of the universe). You've pretty much rejected the possib…
All of it is deluded.
Re: A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
#55Really enjoyed this. I love how practical, humble, and respectful (even of religions, which I really appreciate) uncompromising nihilists tend to be. I happen to be a Christian, so I could go on all day about meaning, but if I could say one thing, it's this: We all die, and it's more than likely even humanity will die out as well (even if it's at the heat death of the universe). You've pretty much rejected the possib…
I think the (seeming) existence (or open question) of meaning hints at least at something "spiritual," but I think it's an extra stretch to paint it as some proof of theism and by association religious beliefs, some of which are (in a secular context) ethically debatable (but which are unable to be debated simply by nature of being deemed "sacred" and the debating of which is considered "blasphemy")
Personally, I think "music" is probably the most succinct example that our existence may not be purely materialistic in nature (... as I crank up my techno of debatable quality lol)
Laws have survived secular debate and been made stronger by it; medicine has survived secular debate and been made stronger by it; why would religious beliefs (if indeed they have something true and useful, nay, meaningful about the world to say) not potentially be made stronger by seeing "what remains standing" after fierce, intellectual, honest, secular debate? They could even start with "the puzzle of 'meaning'" and work from there. Sacrifice the more extreme/intellectually-weak beliefs to save the others, I say! ;)
But beware, there is a rocky road there, which you elect to base religion on: a very interesting blog post linked directly off of this one (http://meaningness.com/nebulosity-of-meaningness) talks about "intense meaning" in the context of an affair.
Re: A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
#56Really enjoyed this. I love how practical, humble, and respectful (even of religions, which I really appreciate) uncompromising nihilists tend to be. I happen to be a Christian, so I could go on all day about meaning, but if I could say one thing, it's this: We all die, and it's more than likely even humanity will die out as well (even if it's at the heat death of the universe). You've pretty much rejected the possib…
Based upon how you used it, I doubt that you and I could even agree on something simple like the meaning of the word "objective".
Re: A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
#57I recommend reading Schopenhauer's Studies in Pessimism and Wisdom of Life to anyone interested in open-minded treatise of the subject so individually complicated as the meaning of the one's own life. It may sound gloomy, potentially distressed, yet, it offers philosophy that you'll not find consoling, but very helpful as you're growing your own meaning.
Re: A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Thus, no problem.
The fact that if it fails to cause a fast death, it causes a big deal of suffering to the individual is not out of irony. But is still not a problem for it.
Re: A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
#59Really enjoyed this. I love how practical, humble, and respectful (even of religions, which I really appreciate) uncompromising nihilists tend to be. I happen to be a Christian, so I could go on all day about meaning, but if I could say one thing, it's this: We all die, and it's more than likely even humanity will die out as well (even if it's at the heat death of the universe). You've pretty much rejected the possib…
Well, barring space transit, humanity will be wiped out by the Sun long before the heat death of the universe, if not by some other catastrophe first.
I am Christian as well, but I didn't think the article handled religion well. In Christianity, "God's chosen people" are the tribes of Israel, not Christians. In Christianity, the meaning of life is love, something you don't have to be a Christian to believe or understand, so you certainly wouldn't have to cling to Christianity to hang on to this meaning.
Buddhism is about relieving suffering. Something that you don't have to believe in Buddhism to understand. You don't have to cling to Buddhism to believe that your meaning in life is relieving the suffering of others.
Anyway, the paragraph about religion and meaning didn't ring true for me.
Re: A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning
#60Really enjoyed this. I love how practical, humble, and respectful (even of religions, which I really appreciate) uncompromising nihilists tend to be. I happen to be a Christian, so I could go on all day about meaning, but if I could say one thing, it's this: We all die, and it's more than likely even humanity will die out as well (even if it's at the heat death of the universe). You've pretty much rejected the possib…
Based upon how you used it, I doubt that you and I could even agree on something simple like the meaning of the word "objective".
What was the point of your comment?