The Meaning of Life

[Votto]

...the movie city slickers. In it, Billy Crystal goes to a ranch out west in a mid life crisis as he tries to determine what the meaning of his life is all about. He runs into this cowboy who seems to have a great many answers to life and Billy asks him what the meaing of his life is. The cowboy then holds up one finger. Perplexed Billy asks what the finger represents. The cowboy responds "one thing". Billy asks what the one thing is. The cowboy retorts, "That is for you to decide".

Ahh, what it 'represents' not what it means.

What it refers to.

Curses. Correction noted.

Say, you are not my wife at the other end are you....?

 

[BreezeWood]

Oh dear, another fundi reincarantionalist who refutes evolution.

Not really, I consider evolution theory as fairly well proved. But I also think the soul evolves.
The soul and body evolve together, pushing each other forward. There would be no point in evolution going backward, so we do not become animals. But according to some spirit teachers I have studied, animals evolve toward perfection in their own right, and they do not become human.

I think the universe is a realm of experience created for us to spiritually evolve in, and we are the ghosts in the machine. We survive physical death, and reincarnate thousands of times, until achieving enlightenment. After which we continue to evolve as immortal beings in the spirit world.

I reject the biblical and quranic notion that we die and are judged to go to heaven or hell.
Such a system where we were judged on just one life, would have injustice built into it.

Dajjal: But according to some spirit teachers I have studied, animals evolve toward perfection in their own right, and they do not become human.

... and they do not become human.


have you ever met a Terrier ? - seriously.

Dajjal: I reject the biblical and quranic notion that we die and are judged to go to heaven or hell. Such a system where we were judged on just one life, would have injustice built into it.

no hell -

our physiological forms reside conditionally in the Everlasting allowing our Spirits the time to free themselves upon completion ... why then would a Spirit seek another body it would then have to struggle again to "get out of" ?

 

[Unkotare]

These posts would be a lot easier to read if people knew how to use the quote function.

 

[Dajjal]

no hell -

our physiological forms reside conditionally in the Everlasting allowing our Spirits the time to free themselves upon completion ... why then would a Spirit seek another body it would then have to struggle again to "get out of" ?

The spirits say the afterlife consists of many different planes, which are at different stages of spiritual development. We go to the plane, or realm that suits the stage our soul is at. Lower realms are dark and dismal and could be described as hell, but higher realms are heaven like. The spirits that inhabit these planes of existance can go down to a lower plane to visit it, but they cannot rise to a higher plane because they cannot bear the light. In order to progress spiritually so that they can rise higher they have to reincarnate. Because the spirit world has no pressure or challenges like this world does. Also because we have karmic debts that have to be settled before we can progress, and we cannot pay karma in the spirit world because of its neutrality.

 

[Unkotare]

 

[RoccoR]

Wiseacre; et al,

The principle question ("What is the meaning of life?") presupposes that life was created by an intelligence with an intended purpose; (maybe) a Supreme Being (SB). If this is the case, then the human cannot know the meaning of life until the SB reveals it in some definitive and demonstrative way; a way in which no human may rebut (it becomes a latent devine purpose).

(This does not seem to be the case. There is no universally accepted theme or guide for humanity to follow. The various belief structures have different interpretations on life, how it should interact, and how it should culturally evolve; as well as the value of life.)​

If life is merely a consequence of a combination of chemical elements - that eventually came together to form the building blocks of what we call "life," and that "life" evolved over time - in the right environment, to eventually form a homo sapien, then there is no specific purpose to life. It is a natural consequence -- out of the formation and processes of the universe.

• What is the meaning of life?

-----------------------------------​

• And the meaning of your life in particular?
• So, can we assume that you have at least some decisions over what your life means?
• A couple hundred years from now, who's going to know or care about us or what we did?
• That being so, what should we be concentrating on here and now?

(COMMENT)

The follow-on questions are indeterminate issues related to (but not limited to) consciousness and the synaptic spark behind creativity, intelligence, self-awareness, and cognitive interpretations of the observable reality as it is individually perceived; to include the concepts of history and legacy.

It is the sentient concepts of history and legacy that drives the latter questions (supra). In this, not all humans are bound. Some simply do not care what history says about them or what legacy they leave behind. Thus, it is not a universal set of concerns with no set answer.

Most Respectfully,
R

 

[PretentiousGuy]

What is the meaning of life?


Why do you assume meaning? Some nihilists would say that life takes on whatever meaning you assign to it while I would argue that is not meaning but a transient feeling. The question is so frequently asked that it has almost become the cliche of philosophical discourse. It very much irks me to see the question.

 

[Unkotare]

What is the meaning of life?


Why do you assume meaning? Some nihilists would say that life takes on whatever meaning you assign to it while I would argue that is not meaning but a transient feeling. The question is so frequently asked that it has almost become the cliche of philosophical discourse. It very much irks me to see the question.

Is your being very much irked something that anyone reading this should give even a tiny bit of a shit about?

 

[PretentiousGuy]

What is the meaning of life?


Why do you assume meaning? Some nihilists would say that life takes on whatever meaning you assign to it while I would argue that is not meaning but a transient feeling. The question is so frequently asked that it has almost become the cliche of philosophical discourse. It very much irks me to see the question.

Is your being very much irked something that anyone reading this should give even a tiny bit of a shit about?

If you dont give a shit why post that you dont give a shit? There are plenty of posts that I dont give a shit about and if I commented on them I would be here forever. Seems like a waste of time to post this. Unless you wish to advertise that you dont give a shit, in which case a shit is probably given.

 

[Unkotare]

What is the meaning of life?


Why do you assume meaning? Some nihilists would say that life takes on whatever meaning you assign to it while I would argue that is not meaning but a transient feeling. The question is so frequently asked that it has almost become the cliche of philosophical discourse. It very much irks me to see the question.

Is your being very much irked something that anyone reading this should give even a tiny bit of a shit about?

If you dont give a shit why post that you dont give a shit?

Because I gave a shit about posting that I don't give a shit, and because you needed to know how insignificant what irks you really is.

 

[PretentiousGuy]

Is your being very much irked something that anyone reading this should give even a tiny bit of a shit about?

If you dont give a shit why post that you dont give a shit?

Because I gave a shit about posting that I don't give a shit, and because you needed to know how insignificant what irks you really is.

Feel better unko?


C'mon unko there is something else that is irking you. No one gets pissed at someone merely opining on an internet forum. What is it? If it is with the content of the post have at it. If it is something else spare me the details and take your anger somewhere else.

 

[Unkotare]

If you dont give a shit why post that you dont give a shit?

Because I gave a shit about posting that I don't give a shit, and because you needed to know how insignificant what irks you really is.

Feel better unko?


C'mon unko there is something else that is irking you. No one gets pissed at someone merely opining on an internet forum. What is it? If it is with the content of the post have at it. If it is something else spare me the details and take your anger somewhere else.

What are you talking about? You're the one who declared himself 'irked.'

 

[PretentiousGuy]

Because I gave a shit about posting that I don't give a shit, and because you needed to know how insignificant what irks you really is.

Feel better unko?


C'mon unko there is something else that is irking you. No one gets pissed at someone merely opining on an internet forum. What is it? If it is with the content of the post have at it. If it is something else spare me the details and take your anger somewhere else.

What are you talking about? You're the one who declared himself 'irked.'

You are the one acting like you are irritated, unko. I didn't like the question and you threw a tantrum. It was kind of amusing in the randomness of it all.

 

[Unkotare]

Feel better unko?


C'mon unko there is something else that is irking you. No one gets pissed at someone merely opining on an internet forum. What is it? If it is with the content of the post have at it. If it is something else spare me the details and take your anger somewhere else.

What are you talking about? You're the one who declared himself 'irked.'

You are the one acting like you are irritated, unko. I didn't like the question and you threw a tantrum. It was kind of amusing in the randomness of it all.

Who brought up being 'irked'? Simple question.

 

[PretentiousGuy]

Unokatore you have spent considerable effort and several posts trying to demonstrate that you do not give a shit. Quite a length to go to when you don't give a shit.

Furthermore it is an internet forum, the sole purpose of the site is to opine. I find the question to be overused and presumptuous. Don't care? Fine. Then what are you doing here? I suspect your purpose is to troll.

 

[Unkotare]

Why didn't you answer my simple question? Who brought up being 'irked'?

 

[PretentiousGuy]

I did bring it up, anyway I've entertained this trolling far to long; time to allow others to get back to the actual topic. Whatever you wanted from this I hope you got it.

 

[Unkotare]

I did bring it up, anyway I've entertained this trolling far to[sic] long; time to allow others to get back to the actual topic. Whatever you wanted from this I hope you got it.

"Too long"


Maybe the meaning of your life should be to learn English.

 

[anotherlife]

What is the meaning of life? And the meaning of your life in particular? Mankind has been wondering about that for a very long time. Many religions say that your life is pre-determined, whatever happens is God's will. Which may be, but some of those religions also say that we have choices to make, if and you make the wrong ones then salvation will not be yours. So, can we assume that you have at least some decisions over what your life means?

Leaving aside the questions of religion and salvation, I do think each of us is responsible for deciding what the meaning of our lives is, and acting accordingly. A couple hundred years from now, who's going to know or care about us or what we did? That being so, what should we be concentrating on here and now?

My opinion is that the meaning of our lives depends on the impact we've had on those we share our lives with. Making the world a better place for somebody, even one person, is not a bad place to start with. Not everyone agrees with this of course; many are more focused on self-enrichment or aggrandisement. Personally, I have no problem with this up to a point, improving your standard of living and that of your family is okay by me. So long as you are not doing so at the expense of others that is.

The other thing is more of a self-actualization thing IMHO. Trying to make yourself into a better and smarter person is not a bad thing either. Nothing wrong with a little more wisdom. How you spend the time you have is the real meaning of your life; spend it wisely.

Very interesting. Rarely is this question asked.

I am amazed how much our birth family environment determines our lives, potentially. In some cases, such as mine, it determins it 99.9%, so I don't even get to ask this question, and also half the people on earth don't get to ask this question for the same reason.

But if we assume that we can ask, then I guess I speculate, that moving on lightly with minimal interference onto our environment/people is the best life possible. This is not achievable fully, because we all feel pain and hunger, but the closer we get to this, the more meaningful our life is.

It is a great achievement if we can beautify something, probably the only thing that we can do, considering that every work and effort is a zero sum game. It is especially interesting, that most of the time beautifying something is the same as not doing anything about it ... which brings us back to the need of moving on lightly as above.

It is possible that life has a purpose, but it is always unknown, and most people are eager to adapt the attitude of bullies to declare what the purpose of the self is and what the purpose of the other people around is. In practice, most people don't get a meaning to their lives, they just pay the cost of the meanings of others' lives forever.

(I know the above view may be unpopular, my literature teacher got pissed of by it too, but I would like to risk it here for an answer to your VERY interesting question. Maybe there will be message board members here to discuss about it. )

 

[Wiseacre]

" It is possible that life has a purpose, but it is always unknown, and most people are eager to adapt the attitude of bullies to declare what the purpose of the self is and what the purpose of the other people around is. In practice, most people don't get a meaning to their lives, they just pay the cost of the meanings of others' lives forever. "


Each of us can create a purpose for our lives, with or without a belief in God or a religion. It may well be that some peope allow others to define their life's purpose for them, like suicide bombers for instance. Whether most people do or don't decide for themselves the meaning of their own life is debateable. Ultimately we have the choice, if we let someone else make it for us then that's unfortunate.