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Ask HN: How do you justify your existence?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you justify your existence?

#31
post #23

(Warning: Semi-religious response) We are, as Lutheran theologian Philip Hefner once put it, "created co-creators" doing our infinitesimal bit in advancing The Great Project of the last 13.8 billion years (that we know of), helping to build a universe. https://www.questioningchristian.com/2006/06/metanarratives_...

ask a religious question and don’t be too surprised :)

a good answer though.

Re: Ask HN: How do you justify your existence?

#33
post #30

13.8 Billion years ago, the universe was created in a magical moment that we have yet to understand. 370,000 years after that, it cooled down enough to finally let protons bind to electrons, and the first atoms formed (99% hydrogen, 1% helium). 100M years after that, much of that hydrogen gas collapsed into stars, which underwent nuclear fusion to produce helium, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and other heavier elements u…

Best thing I've read on HN. ty

Re: Ask HN: How do you justify your existence?

#34
Many of us were born with with significant talents useful for one of the history of the world's most lucrative professions. I believe we have a bit of duty to do good for most of the rest of the people who never had the same chance, to live high quality of lives for all of us.

Re: Ask HN: How do you justify your existence?

#35
My parents had sex which resulted in me being born. They raised me according to the mores of their culture. I met a woman, had sex with her which resulted in my children being born. We raise them according to the mores of our cultures.

I do not need anything more - nor less - to 'justify' my existence.

The real question here would be to whom people would 'need' to justify their existence. That may be a role more suited to imaginary cloud people - ${god} - than to real-life ones who can and certainly will abuse such power to their own advantage.

Re: Ask HN: How do you justify your existence?

#36
As far as I can tell, I didn't ask to be born.

As far as I can tell, I don't need a permission to exist. As long as I can secure the criticals -- food, water and sleep -- then nobody can deny me my right to exist (except if they actively pursue and kill me).

And absolutely surely, 100%, with zero chance of being wrong, I know I'll die sometime in the future.

As far as I can tell, everything else is optional. Our intellectual and pleasure pursuits are to make the entirety of our existence more fun or fulfilling.

If you are showcasing the XY problem here and are actually asking "what's the meaning of your life?" then sure, many people can tell you theirs but it's questionable if that will help you discover yours.

If you are a rich / middle-class USA software-related engineer with a lot of money to spare who is bored... well... just go travel Brazil, Eastern Europe, South-East Asia. Maybe don't consider Bangladesh because you can get very depressed.

Point is: go grab some perspective. I've noticed many Americans on this forum who get pretty well-off in terms of money and then become passive and depressed.

That's very fixable. If that's your problem then fret not: there are literally millions of places and likely hundreds of millions of people in whose lives you can make a true positive difference. I'd suggest go out there and give it a try or two.

Re: Ask HN: How do you justify your existence?

#37
My moral framework is be happy and do no harm, and that extends to preserving others from receiving harm.

I’m the guy who will rescue ants from drowning in the pool (do no harm) and make life decisions that equate to increased happiness. I manage my own time and never let those take it from me.

I believe that others should be free to be happy as well. I also will go out of my way to take on bullies, legally of course. Everyone deserves to be happy and that’s what makes me happy.

The end. :-)

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