Humans tend to arrogantly assume they matter when they don't. The human race as a whole does not matter, never mind any individual. People are even so arrogant they make up entities ("gods", "higher powers" etc) because they think they are SO amazing that there simply MUST be some all-knowing all-able being that intentionally designed and created them personally. Kinda hilarious, really. Like, bruh, get over yourself.
I am an observer I like iconic "translations" such as a gloomy night, brutalism in loneliness ..
I think the point of life is to experience this little slice of subjective experience from the unique viewpoint of you. Life isn't for escaping life, it's for living it
The purpose of life, just like the single celled organisms inside your body, is to contribute to the rebirth of the macro organism, the universe
But my answer to your question, bluntly, would be that there is no "point" to life that would be satisfactory to us, because the very ideas of purpose and meaning originate from within the illusion of the self as something separate from the entirety of existence..
Suffering and extreme hardship may help some people - the few who survive and come out stronger for it - find meaning and eventual happiness (usually at the cost of severe emotional/other traumas), but they hurt most people far more than they bring them any 'meaning'. Suffering is not required, and many people in "easy" countries like the Scandinavian countries seem to be quite happy with their lives.
But everywhere you look (at least on Earth) you see that life strives to exist-- even under the most improbable conditions.
If it turns out that Life is just a big joke, so be it. Let's do our best to make it a really good joke.
In the grand scheme of the universe, I love this perspective. In my life time, and your life time, and everyone elses life time, it's only a natural question to ask.
You're right - Fuck no, we're not special. Not in the sense that we have purpose. But where does all this beauty come from? Shady said,
I love this, too. Life perhaps is meaningless, but any abstract connection we can attach to any sort of perceived "meaning", in my mind, sheds light on how the human mind is incredibly creative, thus making us "special".
Special as in, no one will have the same perspective, fully. Isn't that beautiful? We all have something unique to contribute.
^ that's why I love these as well. And it strangely can coincide with Vastness's seemingly contradictory perspective, because in order to be able to contribute to this floating soccer ball, we need those unique experiences that xorkoth talks about. So duality, as I believe @Snafu in the Void mentioned, rings in my ears.
Vastness's post I'm referring to, for reference:
So far I liked the posts about the meaninglessness, the beauty, the uniqueness and the togetherness.
And this makes me wonder why suffering would even be necessary, for all of that to be true.
^ I agree here, because it takes a solid, healthy mind to even be able to think about this shit we're talking about.
Also, as jasperkent says, life strives to exist. I can see how suffering can make one stronger, or more experienced and using process of elimination to find "happyness", but suffering.. just don't feel like it's a requirement.
Lastly ^ , this IS a fucking joke.
If you can't make humor out of it, good fucking luck enjoying the short time you have.
Toilet paper has the purpose of cleaning my arse after taking a shit. It's not conscious and this is not open for discussion.imo, purpose implies a conscience
For the sake of all those imprinted andrex puppies on bog roll out there that's probably a good thing.Toilet paper has the purpose of cleaning my arse after taking a shit. It's not conscious and this is not open for discussion.
Mhm too esoteric and cryptic. How do you know? That sounds like a nice interpretation of your subjective view.The meaning begins with you. Everything else can flow from there. Sounds esoteric and cryptic, right? It is actually very simple, but the world has a way of tricking you into thinking otherwise...
toilet paper didn’t invent itself.Toilet paper has the purpose of cleaning my arse after taking a shit. It's not conscious and this is not open for discussion.
I don't see how purpose implies anything, and i'd bet most dictionaries would disagree as well
which does not make the toilet paper conscious.toilet paper didn’t invent itself.
someone sentient invented it, for the purpose of wiping shitty ass.
Everything is an interpretation now, isn't it? Everything is subjective, isn't it, outside the scope of "objective truth", which most would argue doesn't exist. Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human-like qualities onto non-human subjects, such as inanimate objects, plants, animals, etc., and doesn't apply per se, within the context of my self-referential comment. So in the absence of "objective truth", what are you left with? You are left with an interpretation of the self, which is what all human beings are confronted with ultimately. So you interpret, and I interpret. Welcome to humanity.Mhm too esoteric and cryptic. How do you know? That sounds like a nice interpretation of your subjective view.
How can meaning even begin with you when there's an ancestry coming before you, parents having planned your existence often long before you were ever a thing. People planned for your life and you step into what grounds they could make fit for you.
Myself im more nihilistic here. Do things and beings even need a purpose? Does it matter? I think it's highly anthropomorphised to look for meaning and purpose in the first place. It is because it is and I am because I am, does it need more?