What's the meaning of life?

[Belindi]

The meaning of life is to be happy, that's why we search for meaning, so that we can be happy.

Have you read and understood Sy Borg's splendid analysis of where Earth, and homo sapiens with it, is heading? If so how could you not be discontented?

[Whitedragon]

The meaning of life is to be happy, that's why we search for meaning, so that we can be happy.

Have you read and understood Sy Borg's splendid analysis of where Earth, and homo sapiens with it, is heading? If so how could you not be discontented?

If we knew what is the meaning of life, how will it change life? It's like asking why is there pain and suffering; albeit we have many answers, they do not solve the problem.

Instead of looking for answers, shouldn't we rather look for solutions?

[Belindi]

The meaning of life is to be happy, that's why we search for meaning, so that we can be happy.

Have you read and understood Sy Borg's splendid analysis of where Earth, and homo sapiens with it, is heading? If so how could you not be discontented?

If we knew what is the meaning of life, how will it change life? It's like asking why is there pain and suffering; albeit we have many answers, they do not solve the problem.

Instead of looking for answers, shouldn't we rather look for solutions?

Looking for solutions is why philosophy is an academic discipline.

[Whitedragon]

The meaning of life is to be happy, that's why we search for meaning, so that we can be happy.

Have you read and understood Sy Borg's splendid analysis of where Earth, and homo sapiens with it, is heading? If so how could you not be discontented?

If we knew what is the meaning of life, how will it change life? It's like asking why is there pain and suffering; albeit we have many answers, they do not solve the problem.

Instead of looking for answers, shouldn't we rather look for solutions?

Looking for solutions is why philosophy is an academic discipline.

Perhaps, it doesn't feel that way when we watch people dealing with the questions. It seems more we find answers that cannot be put into practice, because some of them are just answers.

Can we deconstruct the forum question into smaller parts? It seems hard to answer the question if we don't begin by asking what is life in itself, or how it fits into the rest of the cosmos. Do we sometimes still view us as singular?

It seems that many of the possibility spaces that govern
cosmology and quantum physics have to apply to us too. In evolution we have / had a whole cosmos evolving. In the end it seems we are co-creators along with everything else. That at least is one explanation for the burdens we have with life, in that natural selection is freedom to deviate, but within boundaries.

If this is a useful explanation, I don't see the answer remedying our plight, hence the problem with answers.

I'd say our best solution for the hardships with life is "love." Support from family, friends, government and community. It doesn't solve all our problems, but it makes it less lonely and much more bearable.

[Belindi]

Have you read and understood Sy Borg's splendid analysis of where Earth, and homo sapiens with it, is heading? If so how could you not be discontented?

If we knew what is the meaning of life, how will it change life? It's like asking why is there pain and suffering; albeit we have many answers, they do not solve the problem.

Instead of looking for answers, shouldn't we rather look for solutions?

Looking for solutions is why philosophy is an academic discipline.

Perhaps, it doesn't feel that way when we watch people dealing with the questions. It seems more we find answers that cannot be put into practice, because some of them are just answers.

Can we deconstruct the forum question into smaller parts? It seems hard to answer the question if we don't begin by asking what is life in itself, or how it fits into the rest of the cosmos. Do we sometimes still view us as singular?

It seems that many of the possibility spaces that govern
cosmology and quantum physics have to apply to us too. In evolution we have / had a whole cosmos evolving. In the end it seems we are co-creators along with everything else. That at least is one explanation for the burdens we have with life, in that natural selection is freedom to deviate, but within boundaries.

If this is a useful explanation, I don't see the answer remedying our plight, hence the problem with answers.

I'd say our best solution for the hardships with life is "love." Support from family, friends, government and community. It doesn't solve all our problems, but it makes it less lonely and much more bearable.

The question "What's the meaning of life" usually refers to a) people's subjective experience of life, or else b) what God's or gods' intentions are. The question is seldom c)biological, as proper biologists would not phrase it so.

You yourself deal with the question like a) and that's okay. However "less lonely and more bearable" is questionable as an attribute of love. True, "less lonely and more bearable" is an attribute of affection, but love is not comfortable and absolute love is unknown in human life.

[Whitedragon]

To Belindi, on previous post to me.

Thank you for the reply,

Love was in quotes and can be replaced with charity or communal support / assistance. Of course love is unknown by many, which is why the solution escapes us, making us split hairs on such subjects.

The meaning of life itself seems like once we find it, it may be no more than a useless trinket we'd chuck in a toy box and then what? ... a white elephant. I wager to say should we find the meaning of life we'd give up on it, as it definitely will require some work or sacrifice on our side.

Something popping into my head now. No one knows what is the meaning of life - that's why we search. Does that mean no one who ever lived got anything about life right? This puts the question in the same category as faith, whether we are religious or not...

[Pattern-chaser]

I don't think it's a matter of "we let the Earth die".

Until the Sun changes its cycle, as you've described, the fate of the Earth is in human hands. We won't "let" the Earth die; we will actively kill it, as we are currently doing, and have been since the Industrial Revolution, maybe longer.

I don't think we are killing the planet, we are just robbing ourselves of an environment in which we can live ...

I accept your correction. ... But we are also robbing all the other living creatures of the environment in which *they* live, too.

[Belindi]

To Belindi, on previous post to me.

Thank you for the reply,

Love was in quotes and can be replaced with charity or communal support / assistance. Of course love is unknown by many, which is why the solution escapes us, making us split hairs on such subjects.

The meaning of life itself seems like once we find it, it may be no more than a useless trinket we'd chuck in a toy box and then what? ... a white elephant. I wager to say should we find the meaning of life we'd give up on it, as it definitely will require some work or sacrifice on our side.

Something popping into my head now. No one knows what is the meaning of life - that's why we search. Does that mean no one who ever lived got anything about life right? This puts the question in the same category as faith, whether we are religious or not...

However 'love' be defined and labelled, I still think that less lonely and more bearable is a paltry motivation compared with universal love.

[Sy Borg]

Have you read Sy Borg's splendid analysis of where Earth, and homo sapiens with it, is heading? If so how could you not be discontented?

Thanks Belinda, but re-reading it, I find all the typos and incomplete edits confusing at times.

I am not sure that one needs to be discontented. While I love nature, I also appreciate that it is cruel and terrible. Ultimately, life is a game where each entrant is constantly trying to keep suffering and death at bay, although they are eventually inevitable.

Humanity adds reason and spirituality to the equation in the hope of conquering that suffering, either via philosophical or spiritual acceptance of these pains potentially leader to better things.

Who is to say that biology is the end point of development? It may be an immature and turbulent high consumption phase leading to more settled, mature forms. To that end, I evolutionary progression (despite Gouldian denials). If humans are to be superseded by some of our number through access to better tools, just as other great apes were surpassed by humans, is that objectively a bad thing?

Further, is it bad to be part of this extraordinary awakening of matter, from organic chemicals complexifying into cells, leading to ever greater sophistication? In one sense, it's a harsh burden, in another sense it's pretty cool, almost a privilege.

[Belindi]

To Belindi, on previous post to me.

Thank you for the reply,

Love was in quotes and can be replaced with charity or communal support / assistance. Of course love is unknown by many, which is why the solution escapes us, making us split hairs on such subjects.

The meaning of life itself seems like once we find it, it may be no more than a useless trinket we'd chuck in a toy box and then what? ... a white elephant. I wager to say should we find the meaning of life we'd give up on it, as it definitely will require some work or sacrifice on our side.

Something popping into my head now. No one knows what is the meaning of life - that's why we search. Does that mean no one who ever lived got anything about life right? This puts the question in the same category as faith, whether we are religious or not...

No man is omniscient and each man knows only his own perspective. Some perspectives are more real than others.

What is the criterion for reality? The matter of the criterion for reality is addressed within the pages of epistemology: how can we know stuff.

[Whitedragon]

To Belindi, on previous post to me.

Thank you for the reply,

Love was in quotes and can be replaced with charity or communal support / assistance. Of course love is unknown by many, which is why the solution escapes us, making us split hairs on such subjects.

The meaning of life itself seems like once we find it, it may be no more than a useless trinket we'd chuck in a toy box and then what? ... a white elephant. I wager to say should we find the meaning of life we'd give up on it, as it definitely will require some work or sacrifice on our side.

Something popping into my head now. No one knows what is the meaning of life - that's why we search. Does that mean no one who ever lived got anything about life right? This puts the question in the same category as faith, whether we are religious or not...

No man is omniscient and each man knows only his own perspective. Some perspectives are more real than others.

What is the criterion for reality? The matter of the criterion for reality is addressed within the pages of epistemology: how can we know stuff.

I at least know that I assume I know, based on what people like Shadguru says, that he often sat in front of a glass of water for hours and still not know what it is.

Should there be some truth in that and I don't know what's water, I am far more trumped by the big questions, not that I don't seek them.

Someone very wise, I'm sure wiser than us all once shared the meaning of life with me. That's all that ever made sense. I would love to repeat it here if I knew it would be cherished as much as I cherish the person.

Out of respect for her I'd rather share my own meaning of life I adopt from other less sentimental figures in my life. Shakespeare's Hamlet says, "in form and in *moving* how express and admirable ... in *action* how like an angel...* Hence the meaning of life is to do the hard work, be productive, do your part - don't be idle. Which is very much the same as what Dr Jordan Peterson says too.

Personally, I've found my happiness, so i don't have much questions about anything anymore. My mind is mostly empty these days and I feel wholesome. I stick to what I say, the answer is love, however we wish to understand it ... it's really true and it really works.

[Sy Borg]

Ultimately, the question does not make sense, although it's a nice conduit for interesting conversations.

What is the meaning of work? What is the meaning of play? What is the meaning of consciousness? What is the meaning of music? What is the meaning of love? These are not quite coherent questions, which is why responses can tend towards self-help rather than analysis.

For instance, the reply "love" above is a excellent answer to the question, "How can you cope with life's travails?". When we consider what love actually is, we have an attractive force in nature, along with gravity, EM (opposite poles), the strong nuclear force, chemical bonding etc. So love comes under the broader category of connection. Over time, connections form between entities in nature, and love is one of the ways that connections can happen. (Hate is another BTW).

Is connection the meaning of life? No. Too much connection leads to a lack of freedom, eg. crystals, controlling relationships. Entropic forces that break connections, inconvenient as they are, are necessary to maintain freedom within bonds. Thus, a little cynicism allows one who loves not to be exploited to the point that their capacity to love is drained from them.

Logically, then, the primary dynamic of life (and probably everything else) is balance, though it's not a "meaning" as such.

[Tegularius]

Personally, I've found my happiness, so i don't have much questions about anything anymore. My mind is mostly empty these days and I feel wholesome. I stick to what I say, the answer is love, however we wish to understand it ... it's really true and it really works.

It doesn't get much better in life than that. Let meaning speak for itself without having to search for it, which is neither conducive to peace nor happiness. I don't believe it particularly unnatural that in any active search for meaning we often end up more retarded than enlightened.

[Belindi]

Ultimately, the question does not make sense, although it's a nice conduit for interesting conversations.

What is the meaning of work? What is the meaning of play? What is the meaning of consciousness? What is the meaning of music? What is the meaning of love? These are not quite coherent questions, which is why responses can tend towards self-help rather than analysis.

For instance, the reply "love" above is a excellent answer to the question, "How can you cope with life's travails?". When we consider what love actually is, we have an attractive force in nature, along with gravity, EM (opposite poles), the strong nuclear force, chemical bonding etc. So love comes under the broader category of connection. Over time, connections form between entities in nature, and love is one of the ways that connections can happen. (Hate is another BTW).

Is connection the meaning of life? No. Too much connection leads to a lack of freedom, eg. crystals, controlling relationships. Entropic forces that break connections, inconvenient as they are, are necessary to maintain freedom within bonds. Thus, a little cynicism allows one who loves not to be exploited to the point that their capacity to love is drained from them.

Logically, then, the primary dynamic of life (and probably everything else) is balance, though it's not a "meaning" as such.

'Love' is a word with various meanings. Cy Borg has defined love as negentropy. I had to Google for that word

Negentropy is reverse entropy. It means things becoming more in order. By 'order' is meant organisation, structure and function: the opposite of randomness ...

If God were a physical force then God would be negentropy, according the above definition of negentropy from Wikipedia.
Similarly in social life if you know what the opposite of love is then you know what love is.
Whitedragon too has found connectedness to be love.

It's true, Sy Borg, that socially if you are too gregarious or too reliant on others then you fall foul of the more autocratic religions and other forms of gullibility.
I don't think hate is the opposite of love; hate is a psychological component of love. I think fear is the opposite of love. And for this reason I endorse discontentment as the motivation that makes us active for social change / intolerant of fear. I agree with your remarks on connectness, however there is not enough social connectedness between tribalists and universalists.

[Whitedragon]

Ultimately, the question does not make sense, although it's a nice conduit for interesting conversations.

What is the meaning of work? What is the meaning of play? What is the meaning of consciousness? What is the meaning of music? What is the meaning of love? These are not quite coherent questions, which is why responses can tend towards self-help rather than analysis.

For instance, the reply "love" above is a excellent answer to the question, "How can you cope with life's travails?". When we consider what love actually is, we have an attractive force in nature, along with gravity, EM (opposite poles), the strong nuclear force, chemical bonding etc. So love comes under the broader category of connection. Over time, connections form between entities in nature, and love is one of the ways that connections can happen. (Hate is another BTW).

Is connection the meaning of life? No. Too much connection leads to a lack of freedom, eg. crystals, controlling relationships. Entropic forces that break connections, inconvenient as they are, are necessary to maintain freedom within bonds. Thus, a little cynicism allows one who loves not to be exploited to the point that their capacity to love is drained from them.

Logically, then, the primary dynamic of life (and probably everything else) is balance, though it's not a "meaning" as such.

"That their love isn't drained from them." I actually needed to hear those words today regarding some personal stuff. I agree. Love helps a lot, but then there is personal energy and general resources. I think it's a good core value though, the world may be more likely to come apart from greed and apathy then love.

- Thank you for casting some light and reminding me.