The meaning of life

[nihilistic_dragon]

Has anyone here went from basically being a nihilist to actually finding any meaning in life?

 

[ma0]

I found the meaning of life ages ago, it's 42.

 

[Namelesa]

Some people find meaning in religion as they feel like they are serving a purpose for a higher power but for me that makes me feel worse as I think God(s) would be evil for making this painful world and I don't want to believe my suffering is caused by something powerful that we can't begin to comprehend. You may also not see that there is any evidence for the existence of God and so are an atheist and cannot find meaning in religion.

Aside from religion I think there could be meaning to supporting and helping others get through life as you are lessening other people's suffering and making this hard thing that is life easier on them. More and more lives will keep being created and experience suffering no matter what we do as other humans and animals will keep procreating so I would say there could be purpose in making people's lives easier.

 

[JustHere1]

I think the meaning of life is quite simply just your own. And living and surviving are two different things - would you call both life? And what is death then to you? These answers fill in the blanks a little bit. We are our own reason and meaning individually - so, if life is All Things that live, have we forgotten the dead? Do the dead live in any way? And if life is what you see, what about what you don't see? If life is All Things including that which has gone, are we always alive and part of this? Or are we gone when we choose? Or more simply, the meaning is just what moment you choose to apply the feeling of life towards. Maybe we're all making little bits of life every day, and that is why it feels so meaningful, or devoid of meaning entirely.

 

[Mirrory Me]

Following your dreams and wishes- learning your way.

 

[timf]

One can see a sort of Darwinian view of the purpose of life in a get whatever you can philosophy that leads to a consumptive life best summed up by the bumper sticker, "He who dies with the most toys wins".

Altruism (helping others) can provide greater satisfaction, but without an object, altruism can turn into serving self. Political systems such as Communism or Fascism often attempt to get people to serve the state as they would in a religious system.

Religious systems often draw strength from cultural tradition.

If one uses religious or political systems as a starting point rather than a final answer, the might prove more useful.

To find a purpose one has to first decide if the universe was created or if it created itself, the next question would be what should we do in an unrestricted environment. The various utopian experiments throughout history all ended in failure. This points to something intrinsically wrong in us that damages anything we collectively attempt. Since we are all born helpless, ignorant, and selfish, one might conclude that we have yet to evolve past selfishness.

As has already been cited, the creator view is often rejected because it is assumed that the existence of suffering. The assumption is that a good God would not make his creation suffer. However, upon closer examination the only way a creator could prevent suffering would be to make his creation one of robots that only do what they are told. If we are created with free will, it would seem inevitable that we would be selfish and begin to harm ourselves and others.

It would seem at first that both the created and uncreated views lead to a world of suffering from which the nihilist would conclude that all is pointless. However, there is a path out of this quandary. If one were to hypothesize a creator, one would have to consider why he would create beings that should be expected to run amok without some plan to recover at least some.

If one investigates various recovery theories such as Islam's achievement system with it's five pillars. Christianity with it's redemption system, or Hinduism and Buddhism with it's karma and reincarnation, one has to consider that the information you get is usually presented with accumulated contributions by humans often over centuries. As a result, one has to cut through all sorts of distortions.

If one looks for clues to the purpose of life in religious systems, one would have to consider what it was in humans that would constitute a salvageable characteristic. would it be achievement, improvement, an elevation of truth over self, or some other characteristic..

It would seem that a purpose derives from how one sees creation. A good starting point might be a ruthless search for truth.

 

[Blue Dream]

No. TBH I find nihilism liberating in the sense that I don't need to lose my mind over a career, relationship, kids, possessions or how I measure up to others like most people do. I don't need to buy into the "your life only has worth if you're useful" narrative society drills into you and I can just explore at my own pace without worrying I'm "falling behind". I don't need to cling to an afterlife for solace because I've accepted there's nothing after. I just live and let live because I don't need an omnipotent asshole to threaten me and order me around to function and be constructive.

However if you're trying to escape nihilism, or find a more constructive ontological alternative look into secular Buddhism. They are quite similar at the core.