Discussion Are you Nihilist or a Pessimism?

[bagel12]

I read this as the meaning of life is death. I mean we're all going to end, right? Not just us as humanity, but the universe itself. All of our influences, creations, and marks we left on the world will end.

The meaning of the universe is to decay, to end, to dissipate. This all points towards pessimism than to nihilism.

I will concede that I'm mixed up emergence, entropy, and the study of thermal dynamics. However reading what you wrote and glancing at what you posted, didn't really change my view.

your viewpoint makes sense, and i see how entropy supports your viewpoint. i wasn't trying to change your view, just trying to be helpful and clarify concepts.

the difference for me is that, in my view, the fact that things decay or end doesn't determine philosophical meaning for me. kind of like how, just because the sky is blue, doesn't mean there is a deeper sense of meaning behind it. on a cosmic scale i think that life is basically a runaway chemical reaction, and i don't see philosophical meaning behind every chemical reaction. to me, there's no deeper meaning behind these things, they just happen to exist the way they do. i find this freeing because i can choose my own sense of meaning or value if i choose.

 

[Canto XIII]

your viewpoint makes sense, and i see how entropy supports your viewpoint. i wasn't trying to change your view, just trying to be helpful and clarify concepts.

the difference for me is that, in my view, the fact that things decay or end doesn't determine philosophical meaning for me. kind of like how, just because the sky is blue, doesn't mean there is a deeper sense of meaning behind it. on a cosmic scale i think that life is basically a runaway chemical reaction, and i don't see philosophical meaning behind every chemical reaction. to me, there's no deeper meaning behind these things, they just happen to exist the way they do. i find this freeing because i can choose my own sense of meaning or value if i choose.

This is my impression too. Apart from the feeling of freedom.

 

[bagel12]

This is my impression too. Apart from the feeling of freedom.

i get that. more often than not it's existentially depressing to me. but sometimes i go "fuck it all the rules are made up" and that can be fun for a little while... until the meaninglessness comes back

 

[_Gollum_]

I lean more towards pessimism and negative utilitarianism. I care deeply about ethics and morality but I don't think any of it is "objective." It's human-made. Similarly, I also don't believe in an objective meaning to life or the universe. I also reject, however, the idea that people should thus "make their own meaning," including "revolting against the absurd." I think if there is no objective meaning then all that's left is cope. The body will do whatever it can to get us to fulfill our biological imperative to survive and reproduce, and makeshift "meanings of life" are one of its many sneaky tools. Peter Zapffe wrote about this, how humans use four main tools to cope with their overabundance of awareness. It's a pretty short read, would highly recommend.

 

[Canto XIII]

i get that. more often than not it's existentially depressing to me. but sometimes i go "fuck it all the rules are made up" and that can be fun for a little while... until the meaninglessness comes back

Yes, I feel you. It is liberating at times.

 

[thefarter]

neither. just have to kms cus there's no way to live with or . idk. move on from being doxxed yayyyy

 

[Canto XIII]

I also reject, however, the idea that people should thus "make their own meaning," including "revolting against the absurd." I think if there is no objective meaning then all that's left is cope. The body will do whatever it can to get us to fulfill our biological imperative to survive and reproduce, and makeshift "meanings of life" are one of its many sneaky tools.

I agree. Leopardi talks about this as well.