ShalmaneserIII t1_j67rb4t wrote on January 28, 2023 at 9:14 AM

Reply to comment by EducatorBig6648 in Cosmic nihilism, existential joy | Human consciousness, and our need for meaning in a meaningless world, is the source of both tragic pessimism and the intense joy we take in life. by IAI_Admin

Meaning is what you create right after thinking, "What's the point of this?"

Cats and rocks and ants don't reflect on that. Inanimate matter doesn't.

EducatorBig6648 t1_j67tpp4 wrote on January 28, 2023 at 9:49 AM

But there is no "the point" of anything.

Are you thinking of the myth of "purpose"? Cats and ants aren't egomaniacs like humans are so yeah, they don't reflect on that myth.

ShalmaneserIII t1_j67xfdy wrote on January 28, 2023 at 10:43 AM

Then what are people doing when they consider there to be a point to things- the things they do and the things all people do?

It's not something intrinsic in the world, it's a creation of humans.

EducatorBig6648 t1_j67y84o wrote on January 28, 2023 at 10:54 AM

>it's a creation of humans.

The myth of "purpose", yes. The myth of "importance", yes. The myth of "value", yes.

Meaning? No. Because none of those things are what meaning is. Meaning is intrinsic in the world. You cannot make the distance between the Earth and the Sun "meaningless" even if you invent a time machine and some means to make organic life existing on Earth impossible and go back in time with the former and use the latter on an Earth still forming because guess what? The distance between the Earth and the Sun plays a role in the Earth now never giving birth to life via your time traveler existence. This is what meaning is. Meaning exists as an intrinsic part of existence, even in a universe that yields no stars or planets this would reman unalterable fact.

Meaning is among the most real things there are. It is the basis of a dinosaur sensing danger. It is the basis of trees changing with the seasons. It is the basis of your eyes reacting to some parts of the electromagnetic spectrum rather than all of it. It is the basis of you even having a mind to even doubt its existence.

>Then what are people doing when they consider there to be a point to things- the things they do and the things all people do?

Being egomaniacs trying to make the universe revolve around them, that's what they're doing. Makes me wish mankind had gone sterile a very long time ago and rid the universe of such stupidity.

ShalmaneserIII t1_j685s45 wrote on January 28, 2023 at 12:32 PM

Yes, yes, those are things. But why do they matter to you at all?

And see, you're making meaning- humans are stupid. There's your meaning for you. Do you think a cat would agree, or a rock?

EducatorBig6648 t1_j68iwk2 wrote on January 28, 2023 at 2:36 PM

>Yes, yes, those are things. But why do they matter to you at all?

That's now how 'why' works. 'Why' is asking for a fellow organism's motive. You don't ask a rock why it is affected by gravity or the Sun why it emits deadly radiation in your direction or a thermonuclear explosion why it can come from something as small as atoms splitting or the Earth why it formed in orbit around the Sun. Those are questions of How (physics) and How It Came To Happen (history).

>And see, you're making meaning- humans are stupid. There's your meaning for you. Do you think a cat would agree, or a rock?

I have no idea what you're talking about. There's my meaning for me? Are you thinking in terms of like "What's YOUR truth, dear friend? Here, have some ganja while you ponder."