Ask Lemmy

Aside from my own amusement (and I am easily amused), I press on in the service of negative utilitarianism.

Try to enjoy the last of the abundance, things aren't going to improve.

Sounds like you're in the Pessimistic Nihilist stage, you just need to process things and then progress yourself to either Absurdist Nihilist or Optimistic Nihilist

If theres no meaning, there's no pressure to live up to anything

I want to learn things and meet people and understand the world and humanity. I can never get even remotely close to doing as much as I want to in my tiny life, so I have to do everything in my power to allow myself to do as much as possible before I die.

I mean, there is no meaning in nature, it was man who invented it

Humans are of nature. Any meaning we find is the answer.

I'm glad there isn't a meaning to life. If there was a meaning, then I'd have to be doing that thing or be failing at existence. If no act matters, then I'm equally valid for doing my goofy nonsense as I am working hard or whatever.

The thing that shook me out of the existential crisis of understanding nihilism is that life had as much meaning before I was born as it will after my death.

Or in other words: we are the universe exploring itself - in playful exploration and/or aesthetic creation.

To me that gives license to do something interesting with the short time, resources and attention that I have available. I find experiencing new things or in new combinations fulfilling, as do I to help others make a positive contribution to the human experience (be it through positive societal change or practicing kindness).

Over the course of eternity, nothing means anything. But on a human scale, we can still profoundly (and not so profoundly) affect one another’s lives, and I think meaning exists there.

We build things that won’t last so others can build new things after us. We change each other in ways we often never see or get credit for, but that doesn’t make those effects any less real or meaningful.

I find it simultaneously sad and relieving that nothing we do will matter in a million years. Every embarrassing thing I've done or will do, everything I've fucked up or will fuck up, eventually it won't matter. Yes, I'm sad that my achievements also won't matter in the really long run, but there is an upside

The universe created us to bear witness to itself.

I guess it doesn’t matter to me? Why does there need to be a meaning beyond right here and right now and existing?

Optimistic nihilism is the way to go. We make our own meaning.

Might as well ask how we live when there are no unicorns. You just do. You tolerate the bad times. You enjoy the good times. It is only when you seek meaning and find it missing there is a hole in your desire. Accept the meaninglessness, take a dump, a nap, meditate, or do something else to break the cycle, and just move on.

I've never even quite understood what it is that people are thinking about when they refer to "the meaning of life." I mean - I know the definition - I know what the phrase is intended to communicate. I just don't get what it is that people actually expect.

I don't think I ever even considered the idea of life having some sort of intrinsic meaning until I was old enough to start getting into philosophy and discovered that not only do people believe that life has some intrinsic meaning, but that it's such a common belief that there's a sort of reflexive negative view of anyone who doesn't share that belief.

In spite of that, I saw and still see no reason to believe that life has intrinsic meaning (either empirically, logically or even psychologically) and more than enough reason to believe that it does not.

Now none of that's to say that my life is meaningless. It's stuffed full of meaning. It's just that all of that meaning is things I've found and adopted - none of it's intrinsic, nor does it need to be.

And I still don't really understand why anyone believes that it does need to be intrinsic. How is all of the meaning they're free to find and adopt not enough?

For whatever any of thaty worth...

The same way I live knowing that free will is probably an illusion. Beer still tastes good, my friends still make me laugh, I've still got to work to keep a roof over my head.

I have a family who loves me, and I bring joy and happiness to their lives. I can make their lives better, by being their for them. That's the meaning of my life. It's not what the world can do for me, but what I can do for the world.

I'm working hard to give my family a life I did not have, and I didn't have my family, I would not have a meaning with my life. I don't care for wealth or buying fancy things, I just care for improving the lives around me. I couls try to find more meaning in life itself, and I am trying to, but for now, this is enough for me.

But that's the best part of life! This way you can make whatever the fuck you want out of it and change your idea at any point as many times as you want.

Have you never eaten Pizza?

I suggest you try eat Pizza, that should clear this confusion right up.

There’s a song about this, at the end of Life of Brian.

Invent your own meaning. Don't listen to people who assert you should live life a certain way to fit their meaning.

There is meaning in life. It's what you make it. The meaning of life is to give life meaning.

There is meaning in life. Every action causes an reaction. We all influence the universe and history in ways we might never know.

Life is a big improv stage. Now you decide which character and role you play!

WDYM? The meaning of life is to cuddle dogs. 🤷‍♂️

I never understood why life has to have "meaning".

Eat, fuck, make babies. That's it.

My life has meaning. It has meaning for no other reason than I say it does, and no one gets to decide that for me. I do not purport to speak for your life, or the lives of those I care about, or my cat’s life, or my neighbors, the birds, trees, grass, germs, or any other living thing. I do not assign meaning to society, civilizations large or small, or things that have been built to benefit me. I can only speak for my life. And I say that my life has meaning. Nothing that has happened to me, nothing that has been said, done, built or destroyed, can take that meaning away from my life without my permission.

A life has no meaning in the same way that a blank piece of paper has no meaning. I give that piece of paper meaning by writing, sketching, coloring, folding, tearing…and perhaps ultimately destroying. Now that piece of paper has a unique history imprinted on it. It can be shared, displayed, hidden, or thrown away. But the whole reason I did anything to the paper at all was because it was meaningful in the moment for me to do so.

Just because there is no pre-planned, external meaning doesn't mean your life has no meaning.

Many people find meaning in family, friends, careers, projects, experiences, or just general enjoyment of life.

If my life has no meaning, then I can do with it whatever I want.

Of course there's inherent meaning in life. Meaning in life is an embodied sensation of being connected to the world that you're part of. Meaning of life, on the other hand, is a misapprehension of the term that suggests that everyone should be doing the same thing, as everything else is meaningless.

My meaning of life is to keep myself as distracted as possible until I die.

I pick a simple goal: have a good day. Then I generalize that: try to have as many good days as possible relative to bad days. You can generalize it further and try to ensure other people have good days too, if you're the empathetic sort.

Step 1: find your gifts

Step 2: share them with the world

Might I also suggest DMT

I’m an absurdist so I just hope the punchline is good

If nothing matters then you have nothing to lose