why phrase the question as "what is the meaning of life"? a more accurate phrasing would be "why does life exist"! that can be answered unambiguously!

quote:

Originally posted by Magnetonium Meaning of life? Make as much money as you can, fuck as many women as you can, kill and steal from as many people as you succeed without getting caught, destroy and damage as much of environment as you succeed, close your eyes to the world's problems and issues, plug yourself into the mainstream television style living, grow up and be like the Hollywood and TV stars and everything everything else that they tell you to do by the higher-ups.

ROFL ... such cynicisim, I wish I didn't feel it too.

quote:

Originally posted by Magnetonium Meaning of life ... well, human spirit has been strongly squashed and suppressed over the generations. We are becoming more like fucking machines and lacking the things more and more that make us human. We dont even treat each other like humans anymore, in some part. Meaning of life ... well, its to do whatever the fuck THEY tell you to do and think, thats what I say. Its a war against human spirit, aspirations and way of life that was originally intended for us. We act less and less human with more generations to come. And thats the best way to control humans. Love, spirituality ... well, those things have been suppressed and controlled by our leaders since organized church came to power. They herded us, make us fight each other, divided us to control us better. If you think that getting a car, a house, a high-paying job is meaning of life ... well, I doubt that. You will never be fullfilled. Those are not the things that human mind, human spirit desires. We will never be free ...

"They" heard us, "they" make us fight... who are they? Is the meaning of life to become one of them?

42

quote:

Originally posted by atbell ROFL ... such cynicisim, I wish I didn't feel it too. "They" heard us, "they" make us fight... who are they? Is the meaning of life to become one of them? 42

People are sheep. They do and like and enjoy what they are told to do. For example, look at music. Whatever is playing on the radio is the best shit according to the PEOPLE. Tomorrow something else will play, and it will be the best shit. In 10 years from now that music will be crap. Same for the television. People believe anything. You can easily manipulate people and make them believe what happiness and meaning of life is, just like organized religion did. They (who are in charge and make all the rules) can convince you that buying a car with the loudest stereo is happiness. They can convince you that dressing and acting like a gangster is happiness. And so on ... and tomorrow another act will be called happiness /... see my point? But its not true. If you look at the bigger picture, its a lie.

Meaning of life for most part is very animal in nature ... its to do what others are doing. People rarely look up to their own ambitions and feelings to sense what they really want and need in life. They often cant do it because of all the limitations and restrictions in life. We live in sort of a jail, where you have to work, pay taxes, attend certain things, own a house/rent a place, do this and that, and your own life is secondary. Thats like living in a jail outside a jail. Out world is like one big prison system out of which we cannot escape. Humankind is becoming imprisoned into this decadent type of living, where one day we will cease to exist as entities with feelings and love. We spend so much of our lives working, busy, stressed and such that we dont ever know the real world or our true feelings anymore. Thats not life. Thats just existing ...

Magnetonium, you will take geat pleasure in this, I think: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Why_D...y_Themselves%3F

quote:

Originally posted by AlphaStarred Magnetonium, you will take geat pleasure in this, I think: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Why_D...y_Themselves%3F

Tolstoy was a genius. I read many of his books and that article, yes, I've come across it. Very good article it seems, definitely my kind of reading material. I dont feel like reading the whole thing right now, but I see your point ;-) but I dont like to stupify myself ... I dont like to myself, I dont close my eyes to the problems and I certainly dont want to be a sheep. People smoke and drink because the society is shit and then know it, so they do it to forget and ignore it for the time being, right? Its not fixing any problems and not making life better ... its only delaying the moment of truth. We have to eventually face the truth and learn to live with the world on your own terms. I am planning to live in a more productive, more human way of life. No alcohol or smoking for me, please ;-)

quote:

Originally posted by Magnetonium People smoke and drink because the society is shit and then know it, so they do it to forget and ignore it for the time being, right? Its not fixing any problems and not making life better ... its only delaying the moment of truth. We have to eventually face the truth and learn to live with the world on your own terms. I am planning to live in a more productive, more human way of life. No alcohol or smoking for me, please ;-)

That's all very well, and admirable too, but Tolstoy's point of view is entirely different. Definitely check it out when you've a chance, you won't regret it. I'd posted it in the COR a while back and most people were opposed to it, as far as I remember. That was amusing, too.

The meaning of life for any self-contemplating life form is to discover the essence of its own existance.

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by Krypton The meaning of life for any self-contemplating life form is to discover the essence of its own existance.

Good luck and fare thee well!

quote:

Originally posted by Krypton The meaning of life for any self-contemplating life form is to discover the essence of its own existance.

maybe, but what about a slug, a slug does not need to discover the essence of its own existence to have meaning in its life, it only needs to survive long enough to procreate to have meaning in its life!

quote:

Originally posted by TranceDevotee maybe, but what about a slug, a slug does not need to discover the essence of its own existence to have meaning in its life, it only needs to survive long enough to procreate to have meaning in its life!

A slug is not a self-contemplating life form

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN i dont see any really powerful outcomes (in a cause and effect context) of any of the modern thinkers i encountered at school. its all academia now -influencing schools of thought no doubt- but effecting measurable change in society? i remain unconvinced. i think the changing social or political zeitgeist to be more a result of public access to information than it is anyone's particular "new" philosophical inquiry. but maybe that's just me. money & technology is what is shaping the modern era, not philosophical discourse.

Today's age of technology is a direct effect of the works of mathematicians and physicists who themselves were first rated philosophers. Physicists from Galileo, Newton down to Einstein and Neil's Bohr were interested primarily in understanding the workings of the universe. Mathematicians like René Descartes, Laplace, Pascal were all motived by philosophical thought. Works of these great philosophers helped bring in the age of technology.

Leave aside the technology aspect. Who were responsible for developing the various forms of governments and the economies ? People today are being motivated by philosophies of men who lived until about 50-60 years ago. In my opinion, it takes time for a philosophy to affect the world and the effects are seen well after the philosopher's death.

Today the society is driven by information technology. Globalization is changing the way people think. But there is still a fundamental need for philosophers, who provide what I will call "thought leadership" to the society. They are the fountainhead of ideas that affect the society. Ordinary men who have access to information, by themselves, cannot provide this type of a robust thought-structure on which the society can move forward.

___________________

Download and review ! Omega_M - In the Mix (Beta Version)

Originally posted by twilightki : It feels like something you'd listen to at 4 in the morning, or listen to in your car while you're going in a tunnel.

The Meaning of life=To reproduce