171–180 of 213 posts
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Interesting—this is the first time I've came across someone with my own viewpoint. I'm not certain if there's a name for it. I figure it's a form of pantheism. For me, certainly, it's the only thing which makes sense.
It’s actually something about a billion people believe. They’re called Buddhists. You might like the writings of Thich Nhat Hanh, which I probably misspelled.
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>>no one has a basis for saying what they chose is worse than anyone else's choice. Of course they do! If your parents were killed by Stalin you probably have an opinion one way or the other. That is exactly what this thread is talking about.
Okay, you're right - I can use any basis I want. There's no shared basis I can legitimately use to argue with them, though, if they don't happen to share my chosen values.
More and more, I have come to think that debates are better for convincing undecided bystanders than convincing the other person you're debating with. At least for arguments or debates held online or in a public space.
One-on-one you might be able to show someone a new value system if they're willing to sit down and talk about it, though.
Wikipedia has a page on the Timeline of the far future[1]. It lists a ton of physical and cosmological things that are predicted to happen based on our current understanding of physics. A really fun read that always takes me down a rabbit's hole of phenomena wikipedia pages. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future
There's a video on that. The end of the universe: https://youtu.be/uD4izuDMUQA This is so weird to think that for most of its life the universe will be empty and cold. Like what's even the point of all this, of life, of us, if in the end nothing matters, everything decays into nothingness.
Basically, you can't say that the value of every moment depends entirely on the value of future moments, that just prevents the actualization of any value. The present has to count for something.
Wikipedia has a page on the Timeline of the far future[1]. It lists a ton of physical and cosmological things that are predicted to happen based on our current understanding of physics. A really fun read that always takes me down a rabbit's hole of phenomena wikipedia pages. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future
But I also think we probably don't yet know enough about the universe and it's very possible most of the things in the future of that page are incorrect.
For one thing even our ideas of thermodynamics and quantum mechanics were developed in the last century, and much like Newton's theories have loopholes, it's very possible (I'd say likely) that our understanding of quantum mechanics and GR is grossly incomplete.
I wouldn't even put it out of the question that simple "axioms" like energy+mass conservation are a special case within a grander scheme of things. The big bang itself violates that, and we still haven't the slightest clue what dark matter and dark energy are.
It's also worth noting that red dwarfs last for a VERY long time, i.e. trillions of years. We have one in our cosmic backyard at Proxima Centauri. If we can figure out how to move in the vicinity of one, we'd have a few orders of magnitude more time to figure out the future.
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There's a video on that. The end of the universe: https://youtu.be/uD4izuDMUQA This is so weird to think that for most of its life the universe will be empty and cold. Like what's even the point of all this, of life, of us, if in the end nothing matters, everything decays into nothingness.
Thinking about this stuff is what prompted my thinking about things like suicide. The Universe is so vast. So much space, most of it with only the barest wisp of gas. Most of the solar systems we see in the night sky may not have life (we don't know yet). And yet here we are, a rare event in a vast Universe. In the end it doesn't matter what you do. What you accomplish or did not accomplish. What awards were won or l…
> I want science to give us a sense of wonder. There is this great line from the film Contact that I think Jodie Foster delivers, along the lines of "the universe is so large and we are so small and therefore insignificant, but also incredibly precious." Most of the matter and energy content in the universe is dark matter and dark energy. And therefore what we can see — stars, us — we are what's abnormal about the universe, and we are therefore incredibly precious. So I think that there's something really majestic about being able to situate ourselves in context of this incredible thing that is the universe.
(apologies, this is probably only a free listen in Canada) https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/mar-27-covid-pandemic-origin...
Without observers, the universe would be completely without meaning. We are the most significant thing out there. We make it interesting, by being interested.
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Similar experience here. Learning about astronomy was a psychologically traumatizing experience. After a few years of ceaseless low-key existential crises I think I finally ended up better off, with a healthy perspective of my place in the universe and an appreciation for what a miracle it is that we have the chance to observe anything at all. The writings of Carl Sagan helped greatly. But I fear I could have just as…
Is nihilism or hedonism bad? A lot of people already live their lives for pleasure (hedonism) - people work their entire lives to earn money to either enjoy / vacation / sex / etc. Nihilism is considerably rare but I believe that's because it's opposite to hedonism, in a way.
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It helps to think of time as a dimension. Sure, you, anyone or anything will not last measured on this dimension. But it still has a span. You would not call objects meaningless or less beautiful just because they physically end at some point in space. Why is time so different? It is just the fourth dimension of their shape, giving them a more unique character.
I came up with similar thoughts after losing someone I loved. Helped immensely to think of time as a dimension. Even though I'm trapped on a one way course, those previous moments still exist. Even though the person I loved is dead and I'll never talk to her again, those moments of her life will always exist. As far as I know, nothing can ever erase it. There will always be a place in the universe where she's alive a…
I've become a big believer in this view. A valuable upshot of embracing eternalism is that it makes it much easier not to regret the past or worry about the future, though some believe it encourages risky behavior.
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We already have so much nihilism, it's hard to imagine it being possible to turn the dial up further.
I don’t see this. Many people in my country are religious, and believe that God (the Christian one) has a plan for them—-the exact opposite of nihilism.
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The way I think of the universe is: we are the universe discovering itself, gaining consciousness and trying to figure itself out. Our fears are exactly the same as the universe’s. Our curiosity and wonder, also the universe’s. RN, this universe is a child, maybe a baby, and the way it’s expanding, it’s processes and consciousness will simply be on a much different time/space scale, require less energy (cold dark uni…
Interesting—this is the first time I've came across someone with my own viewpoint. I'm not certain if there's a name for it. I figure it's a form of pantheism. For me, certainly, it's the only thing which makes sense.
Wikipedia has a page on the Timeline of the far future[1]. It lists a ton of physical and cosmological things that are predicted to happen based on our current understanding of physics. A really fun read that always takes me down a rabbit's hole of phenomena wikipedia pages. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future