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What's the point of life?
- Thread starter Koopakiller
- Start date
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la flama blanca
Banned
sorry
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
I'm an atheist, and it can be pretty depressing to think that eventually the sun will swallow the earth and, even if we escape that as a species somehow, eventually the universe will end and so nothing our species can ever accomplice will last.
That shit bothers me.
But, for me, the prime directive is to master my self. To not give in to laziness of mind and body. To try to impart that shit to my kids.
After that, use whatever resources I have available be they physical or emotional to try to minimize the suffering of those I love or need, including myself.
After all that is done, and while it is being done, try to minimize the suffering of people who provide no direct benefit to me or the people I love or need. I firmly believe that when one of us is lessened, we are all lessened. However, we have to be practical and have priorities.
It would be immoral in my opinion to help a stranger over my children, because I love them. To me it would also be immoral to help a stranger over my children's mother because, even though I don't personally care what happens to her, my children will not thrive if she does not thrive.
Basically to me the purpose of life is to try to help the people you love reach their inevitable death with a minimum of suffering. If there are spare time and resources while doing so, you should help those who you do not love. Not because there is an eternal reward, but because if too many people suffer too much for too long eventually things will get violent and nobody will be having a good time then.
All anybody can hope for is to reach the grave at peace with themselves and not suffering more than they have to.
That shit bothers me.
But, for me, the prime directive is to master my self. To not give in to laziness of mind and body. To try to impart that shit to my kids.
After that, use whatever resources I have available be they physical or emotional to try to minimize the suffering of those I love or need, including myself.
After all that is done, and while it is being done, try to minimize the suffering of people who provide no direct benefit to me or the people I love or need. I firmly believe that when one of us is lessened, we are all lessened. However, we have to be practical and have priorities.
It would be immoral in my opinion to help a stranger over my children, because I love them. To me it would also be immoral to help a stranger over my children's mother because, even though I don't personally care what happens to her, my children will not thrive if she does not thrive.
Basically to me the purpose of life is to try to help the people you love reach their inevitable death with a minimum of suffering. If there are spare time and resources while doing so, you should help those who you do not love. Not because there is an eternal reward, but because if too many people suffer too much for too long eventually things will get violent and nobody will be having a good time then.
All anybody can hope for is to reach the grave at peace with themselves and not suffering more than they have to.
I like this one. I will answer with this from now on.
zoleristec
Member
There's none.
gollumsluvslave
Member
Something is better than nothing.
lol this is how the majority of neogaf fights.
This sounds pretty accurate.
Escape Goat
Member
Thanks, Doc Brown.
Soodanim
Member
Perfect.
Life is like a video game. You are the player and the world is your playground. However, the character you play as is entirely random and you have to deal with the advantages/disadvantages this character have. You may be born as a tiger and tigers look cool. If you play as a house fly though, then you really don't have a choice but to do fly things. Being a tree sucks in the human point of view, but if you're a tree, you really don't have the ability to give a shit about what you are so it's all cool. But yeah, your game might be limited depending on what you are. But overall, it does not matter. It's just that judging others is part of a human's game.
I'm really glad I was born as a human being though, because we have the luxury to appreciate and wonder and care about all this.
So what is the point in playing this game of life? I have no idea. It may be pointless, but it may be more pointless to think that life is pointless. So just try to live the way you want and make it enjoyable for yourself.
I'm really glad I was born as a human being though, because we have the luxury to appreciate and wonder and care about all this.
So what is the point in playing this game of life? I have no idea. It may be pointless, but it may be more pointless to think that life is pointless. So just try to live the way you want and make it enjoyable for yourself.
Prax
Member
I try to keep it simple if I ever end up wondering what the point in life is.
I pretty much just think: To live, learn, love, create, and enjoy.
There's no real "point" to life, but as long as you are alive, you may as well enjoy it and not be a total buttface hindering other people's enjoyment as well. Helping other people enjoy life seems like a good choice too.
I pretty much just think: To live, learn, love, create, and enjoy.
There's no real "point" to life, but as long as you are alive, you may as well enjoy it and not be a total buttface hindering other people's enjoyment as well. Helping other people enjoy life seems like a good choice too.
Winnie the Pimp
Member
Seriously... whatever i could say about this subject, Carl Sagan has already said it better, so what's the point?
Existentialism fuck yeah
what?
Existentialism, as in the school of philosophy pretty much boils down to what you say(of course there's a lot more to it but you know).
I was saying I agree with you
Existentialism, as in the school of philosophy pretty much boils down to what you say(of course there's a lot more to it but you know).
I was saying I agree with you
Hah I didn't know what it was, I'm reading the article on wiki right now and yea it's pretty much what I'm saying.
SirIgbyCeaser
Banned
The meaning of life is: To find happiness, understanding, and love. To be independent and achieve a life you'll say when you're older that you are proud to live.
There is this trick, this incredibly hard thing to do. Which is finding what you're meant to do. Where you're meant to be. Existentialism says that there is no meant to be's, or destiny. But if you feel like you're on that track. You are onto something you might never want to let go.
There is this trick, this incredibly hard thing to do. Which is finding what you're meant to do. Where you're meant to be. Existentialism says that there is no meant to be's, or destiny. But if you feel like you're on that track. You are onto something you might never want to let go.
Phat Michael
Banned
To me the point of life is make a difference in the world.
At the end of it all if someone asked you "what have you contributed to the world?" then i think you should be able to have a good answer.
it doesnt matter whether that is just "i brought a smile to peoples' face" or "i do work for charity" or whatever.
I think the point is to make a difference. To me that's the major point as well as building a strong CV to say you have accomplished your lifes goals.
At the end of it all if someone asked you "what have you contributed to the world?" then i think you should be able to have a good answer.
it doesnt matter whether that is just "i brought a smile to peoples' face" or "i do work for charity" or whatever.
I think the point is to make a difference. To me that's the major point as well as building a strong CV to say you have accomplished your lifes goals.
It's pretty much the logical conclusion to the despair brought on by the loss of god.
i.e. god = meaning to life: Life = test for the after life.
No god = no meaning to life: life ends the same irrespective of how its lead = nihilism.
But Nihilism + innate desire to live and survive irrespective of how illogical it is = make the best of life while you live = existentialism.
Existentialism is the logical end of our innate desire to strive, to survive, to live despite the senselessness of life itself. To make the best life we can, because you might as well while you're granted the opportunity to do so.
With that been said... how does humanity as a whole achieve its existentialist end? What is our 'best' end game? What is it that we should strive towards?
And my answer to that is - post scarcity. The point at which the bullshit ends and life *truly* begins.
Instead of an unruly resource constrained world where we fight over limited resources and the influence that those resources creates - we gear society towards one of creative experientiality.
Providing each and every human the ability to create, manipulate and engage in the experience of their own choosing as fully as they possibly can.
To a degree... this is always where we've been gravitating. It is the nature of progress - but it's something that's in a way happened more by accident, more as a tertiary affect of some other economic tangent, but one that has always been essential in how we define an 'improvement' and 'progress'.
So... post-scarcity looks like this:
High quality VR; Matrix style, except without the crazy robots enslaving humanity, and without weird arbitrary rules that cause you to die in VR. Best of both worlds - engage in unreal and unlimited experiences, freedom to still participate in the real world.
New economic growth predicated on the idea of sustainability; We don't possess anything of worth in humanity, until it can be reused for as long as we need it. Currently, we have negative economic growth in this sense.
Green Energy - The new world sustains itself off energy that doesn't trash the world - it captures the energy that is already so abundant all around us; taking it from the very air itself.
AI maintenance and governance - With sustainable robot parts and sustainable energy powering those robot parts, and with sufficient intelligence to take care of our menial tasks - including the day to day running of society and civilization - we can see work for what it really is; bullshit that we do for some of the day so that we can ideally do something else for the other part of the day.
Of course some people will be lucky enough to find meaning in their work - but this is a rarity even in this day and age, and it necessarily cannot be for the majority of people.
With these elements in place - humanity is truly free to make the best of life as we wish. You want to be a race car driver? Jump into a VR race club and race to your hearts content. You want to rule a kingdom? Jump into a VR medieval kingdom simulation, and command your serfs in an enlightened manner that only someone from the 3rd millenia can. You want to expand the bounds of human understanding and knowledge? You're welcome to do so!
When we achieve this... we are not at an end of things to do - only the beginning. The meaning of (this particular stage of human) life then, is to find a way to cut out all the bullshit... so that we can live life to its best.
there is no meaning to anything
humans give meaning to things
therefore life is what you make of it
my personal meaning to life is to find meaning in life and to help others do the same
Canis lupus
Member
Trying to make contacts with aliens. Humanity should make efforts into making inter galactic travel possible.
We would all be vaporized.
Well it's a fact that life kinda wants to reproduce and evolve so there's that at least.
to make do with the time you've got, not to worry about what happens after you die. after all, it's not the destination, it's how you get there.
we're all just minutes in time on a grand scale. i mean the average life of a human is say 75~? psshhh please, planets made of gas have existed for billions!
we're all just minutes in time on a grand scale. i mean the average life of a human is say 75~? psshhh please, planets made of gas have existed for billions!
ThaneKrios
Banned
It's like playing Minecraft, you can do whatever you want.
To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.
I dunno, but I was depressed, anxious about my future and generally didn't enjoy life when I left med school for law school (thanks, dad), quit that and hopped from major to major without aim, ambition or hope.
Went back to a different med school half a year ago and now I stand as a Titan, I feel content, capable, confident and good. I think my purpose in life is to help others for all people have done to me, even people I haven't met and that will never know I exist. Society as a whole is something marvelous and I want to give back. I'll never understand some people's attitude about being the masters of their own life and everybody else being leeches, that's just not true.
Anyway, now I have the power to heal in the foreseeable future again and the chance to make people better.
That and probably having children is what my life should be, it seems, and I'm okay with that.
PS: Oh, and coming fresh from a mandatory job in a hospital, it seems the authority to say when girls can or cannot get more painkillers or go smoke/eat/drink and making sure they are treated right is a total panties melter.
I dunno, but I was depressed, anxious about my future and generally didn't enjoy life when I left med school for law school (thanks, dad), quit that and hopped from major to major without aim, ambition or hope.
Went back to a different med school half a year ago and now I stand as a Titan, I feel content, capable, confident and good. I think my purpose in life is to help others for all people have done to me, even people I haven't met and that will never know I exist. Society as a whole is something marvelous and I want to give back. I'll never understand some people's attitude about being the masters of their own life and everybody else being leeches, that's just not true.
Anyway, now I have the power to heal in the foreseeable future again and the chance to make people better.
That and probably having children is what my life should be, it seems, and I'm okay with that.
PS: Oh, and coming fresh from a mandatory job in a hospital, it seems the authority to say when girls can or cannot get more painkillers or go smoke/eat/drink and making sure they are treated right is a total panties melter.
Canis lupus
Member
Why?
That's not the point of life. It's just what life does. Perpetuation is never the goal - simply the mechanism by which other things can be achieved.
Because the human nature is savage and infernal. Any higher intelligence would immediately contain us or worse.
That sounds spiritual.
Napalm_Frank
Member
Friends
and vidyagaems
Herbspiceguy
Member
To overcome the baggage of issues that we all have to deal with, which leads to more love & joy.
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