But what about the struggle to live? Why keep on living in this world that we have created? How can one find any meaning in this fabrication?What fabrication is that? Our struggle to live is genetic. You imply we have a choice. Whether we find meaning in our lives has no impact on our iinstinct to survive. Meaning is conscious, the struggle to live is not. I mean the world and rules humans made for themselves
It's funny that you say "to live is to suffer", when presumably you've had a nice breakfast, sat down at your laptop with wifi and internet access, and so on. And I think in another thread you were the guy that had no kids. So you've never had a sick child who was suffering. You sound like a pampered baby. You sound like ME thirty years ago. Quit the "woe is me" crap and get out there and live. Do something nice for someone, even if you don't know why you're doing it. Just do it.He sound like a whiny little kid. Dude was born in the most prosperous society in history and complains like he's suffering. He should visit some countries where people really have it bad. Maybe then he would realize how lucky he is, put on some big boy undies and work to improve the world instead of whining about how pointless everything is.
It's funny that you say "to live is to suffer", when presumably you've had a nice breakfast, sat down at your laptop with wifi and internet access, and so on. And I think in another thread you were the guy that had no kids. So you've never had a sick child who was suffering. You sound like a pampered baby. You sound like ME thirty years ago. Quit the "woe is me" crap and get out there and live. Do something nice for someone, even if you don't know why you're doing it. Just do it.He sound like a whiny little kid. Dude was born in the most prosperous society in history and complains like he's suffering. He should visit some countries where people really have it bad. Maybe then he would realize how lucky he is, put on some big boy undies and work to improve the world instead of whining about how pointless everything is. That dodges my question and the link I provided. Also why bother to do anything if it's just pointless? I would rather be them because then at least the problems I have would be more real and I wouldn't be thinking about this for weeks on end. Nothing can distract me from this, despite what you might claim with your suggestions.
He knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s perfectly capable of seeing that tiny Buddha site as the joke that it is.
He knows exactly what he's doing. He's perfectly capable of seeing that tiny Buddha site as the joke that it is.Did you even read the argument being made? You just dismiss things outright without reading them?
He knows exactly what he's doing. He's perfectly capable of seeing that tiny Buddha site as the joke that it is.Did you even read the argument being made? You just dismiss things outright without reading them? Yes I read it. It's a rambling rant. It makes a claim and keeps restating. There is no logic, no evidence. I did miss the follow up thought last time. It comes in a separate post, after the long one:
One final very important point I would like to make is that I have depression as well as severe chronic anhedonia (emotional numbness) in which there are never any brief moments of pleasure whatsoever. Therefore, I feel that my life is worthless and that there is nothing good about me or my life without my own pleasure and this is why I wish to discuss this issue and my personal beliefs.This is MattMSV7, aka Mozart Link, and as I have suspected for some time, you are him. Pretty sure that setting up double names is a violation of forum rules.
I would rather be them because then at least the problems I have would be more real and I wouldn't be thinking about this for weeks on end.Then sell everything you have and move to Ethiopia and become a farmer, or move to Bangladesh and become a street beggar.
I would rather be them because then at least the problems I have would be more real and I wouldn't be thinking about this for weeks on end.Then sell everything you have and move to Ethiopia and become a farmer, or move to Bangladesh and become a street beggar. Pretty bizarre argument isn't it? Not sure if I've heard that one before. He's not happy because his privileged lifestyle is meaningless. He sees that others who struggle for survival have a purpose, they want to live past 30, they want to make the world better so others don't struggle like they do. But that just gives him one more thing to be sad about; he's suffering because he doesn't suffer.
Ok, I will agree that you are asking a question of deep thought. I was sidelined because of the possible suicidal aspect of your statement.
Let’s break down where we are in your question.
- But it seems like we go through much pain and suffering to keep on going with our lives. Agreed.
- Sometimes that is met with little reward and yet we keep going. Agreed.
- So might say life is pointless and that we are just degrading bags of flesh who feel short changes when life is less than what we want it to so we make it out to be more than what it is. Disagreed.
- Is there little more to what life offers than breathing, reproduction, death. Yes.
- Is it a curse of the advanced mind to find purpose and meaning in the life that we live even though we live in a universe absent of it? Subject matter A.
- Is it a curse of the advanced mind to find purpose and meaning in the life that we live even though we live in a universe absent of it? Subject matter B.
- Is that why we create such complicated structures, rules, and rituals in order to feel like our lives have meaning (which is because of our advanced intellect)? Sure fits what the government does.
- Is there any meaning to the things that we do when the methods by which we judge such acts are rather arbitrary as are our judgments about the quality of the acts themselves? Too vague to understand the question.
- It seems like we live in a world of our own design to make life just be more than a struggle and more than simply reproducing. If true, I think that is what the Christian blueprint wanted.
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Are we hiding from some truth that living is a curse? First you have to prove life is a curse. Pain and suffering may not be a curse, it may just be part of living.
Could you take the time to review your “advanced mind” theory. Your curse seems to be connected to the “advanced mind”. Maybe it is more of today’s advanced technology giving us more to think about. Therefore an advanced mind is what we need to keep up with the technology.
I mean that unlike animals we need meaning in life to keep going. Advanced mind is in terms of human versus nonhuman.
He knows exactly what he's doing. He's perfectly capable of seeing that tiny Buddha site as the joke that it is.Did you even read the argument being made? You just dismiss things outright without reading them? Yes I read it. It's a rambling rant. It makes a claim and keeps restating. There is no logic, no evidence. I did miss the follow up thought last time. It comes in a separate post, after the long one:
One final very important point I would like to make is that I have depression as well as severe chronic anhedonia (emotional numbness) in which there are never any brief moments of pleasure whatsoever. Therefore, I feel that my life is worthless and that there is nothing good about me or my life without my own pleasure and this is why I wish to discuss this issue and my personal beliefs.This is MattMSV7, aka Mozart Link, and as I have suspected for some time, you are him. Pretty sure that setting up double names is a violation of forum rules. I can assure you that I am not that individual.
I can assure you that I am not that individual.I'll have to take your word for it. But you linked to him and claimed his argument was valid. That's enough for me to dismiss almost anything you say in the future. Any long essay like that should be able to be summarized. I doubt you could do that. If it can't be summarized, you should be able to pick out key points and provide additional background information and supporting evidence that would help me understand it. You can't do that either. You can search on Mozart Link posts and see where we ended with him. Once I found out he was MattMSV7 and had been posting his rants for years on forums all over, never accepting any feedback, and consistently altering his facts when it suited him, he quit posting.
That still doesn’t take away the absurdity of life. Regardless of how you dress it up it’s just eat, action, pleasure, repeat. You can try to clutch meaning and purpose like they’re life rafts but everything we do just boils down to the same mechanics. Without some outside force, life is meaningless and purposeless. Creating meaning is, ironically, the most meaningless thing one can do. It’s like deluding yourself.
The following is what someone said to me in regards to this matter:
You are 100% right that life is empty and meaningless and pointless - without God, that is. (I’m an evangelical Christian; so I did want to share my viewpoint on it.) Without God, life is indeed just like what animals are like - chemical stimuli, pleasure responses, nothing of significance, “sound and fury,” like Shakespeare says, “signifying nothing.” You are absolutely correct that, if one does not take God into account, that there would be no meaningful reason to go on living.
There’s a book that mentions a story like this - I unfortunately cannot recall the title - it tells a real story about a Russian man, who, during the Cold War, was in a subway in the Soviet Union with other commuters and felt intense despair when he thought about life and felt the same belief that you do - that life is meaningless and purposeless. But then he was suddenly hit by an epiphany - “without God life makes no sense.” And he walked out of the subway station with that sudden glow and revelation.
Also this link that slaughters meaning with the last few paragraphs.
http://www.rationality.net/meaning.htm
Also this link that slaughters meaning with the last few paragraphs. http://www.rationality.net/meaning.htmI'm not going to read all the details of your links, because they have been consistently terrible, but this one says, "be happy". It says there is likely no god. So, once again, you contradict yourself. You are saying happiness is a reasonable goal. This is what the conclusion of your article is "the only real success in life: Optimal, lasting happiness". How is that different from what I've been saying?
Because it says there is no point in making others happy or helping others. It also says that meaning is useless. Isn’t a life that jumps from one happiness to the other just hollow?
Because it says there is no point in making others happy or helping others. It also says that meaning is useless. Isn't a life that jumps from one happiness to the other just hollow?Okay. I asked you to go read something and you did. But it wasn't very long, and you just read to find sentences that you already agreed with. It doesn't say anything about how you find happiness. It certainly doesn't say that happiness is just satisfying your short term desires. I already covered long term happiness earlier. I'm not going to respond to whatever you throw up. You put something up about believing in God, then the next thing said God doesn't exist. You don't really care about anything. You just want attention. Go outside. I'm in the northernmost part of the country and it was 69 today. I'm assuming it's nice where you are.
I’m looking for a serious resolution to a problem that has been plaguing me for weeks. I feel hollow inside. Like the things I once enjoyed bring nothing, that my actions mean nothing.
What did you say about long term happiness?
“Are dreams better than reality” thread. Pg 7
"Are dreams better than reality" thread. Pg 7I looked through that and found nothing. If you are referring to that post cast I believe the link I posted pretty much neutralized it.