Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

ox.ac.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

1–10 of 85 posts

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#2

Post by alecbz »

> you could be joyful but think your life is worthless

I find this hard to believe. At a certain point I think a lack of meaning in your life is going to make you day-to-day unhappy, whatever you’re spending those days doing.

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#3

Post by ThalesX »

alecbz wrote: post #2

> you could be joyful but think your life is worthless I find this hard to believe. At a certain point I think a lack of meaning in your life is going to make you day-to-day unhappy, whatever you’re spending those days doing.

I'm both a joyful person, and perhaps the futility of the entire Universe is what makes me so joyful in laughing at the meaningless of it all, while also appreciating the connections, insights and flames that are ultimately worthless.

> I find this hard to believe.

I would suggest you give Emil Cioran [0] some time. It sounds like the kind of person that you find hard to believe exists, so might provide some context.

----

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Cioran

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#4

Post by timoth3y »

alecbz wrote: post #2

> you could be joyful but think your life is worthless I find this hard to believe. At a certain point I think a lack of meaning in your life is going to make you day-to-day unhappy, whatever you’re spending those days doing.

>> you could be joyful but think your life is worthless > I find this hard to believe.

Albert Camus developed the philosophy of Absurdism around a very similar idea. A gross oversimplification is that in the grand scheme of things, logically and objectively our lives have no meaning, but our brains are wired to need meaning. The solution is to create that meaning for ourselves even while acknowledging that meaning is a delusion.

Re: How to Live a Happy Life (2016)

#5

Post by throwaway22032 »

alecbz wrote: post #2

> you could be joyful but think your life is worthless I find this hard to believe. At a certain point I think a lack of meaning in your life is going to make you day-to-day unhappy, whatever you’re spending those days doing.

In short, we can have short term meaning, without long term meaning.
Post reply on HN