This is a thread dedicated to the discussion about the meaning of existence (assuming there is one) inquiring minds want to know; so lets discuss it the questions..... what is the meaning of existence? what's the point of reality? whats the reason we all exist? why is there sentient life forms? whats the point of intelligence? and how come there is an unimaginably GINORMOUS universe with billions of stars and planets? or better yet why is there also an infinite amount of alternate universes? and ultimately what's the point of existence? assuming of course there is a point..... i do have some theories of course, but i would like to hear your thoughts...... any ideas?
There is no meaning. No point. We are insignificant specks in the infinite scheme of things. People who think we actually have a meaning are deluded.
Well, through carefull thought and lots and lots of free time, I've decided that the meaning of existence for you all is simple. You see, if you think about it, the amount of energy needed to run this Universe with all it's sentient creatures, running amuck at the same time, each with their own POV (what they are currently seeing, in your case it's a computer screen, for another it might be the TV, etc.), their own view, ideas, thoughts, actions, past, future, present... On top of that you have giant celestial bodies which operate on a very complex and very well thought out set of rules. This brings us to the main point. Which is more likely to exist, enough energy to power all of which I mentioned above, or enough energy to power only one sentient entity? The correct answer would be the latter. That is why, when you think about it, it truly makes sense that you (or in my case, I) are/am the only person alive, and we are in turn creating the world we live in either because we are bored, we are lonely, or we are fascinated by our imagination. You might think this is complete garbage and will most likely try to prove to me that you exist, but please refer to Rene Descartes' famous quote, "I think, therefore I am." While you may claim that this does in fact apply to you, in my eyes, it does not. For all I know, I thought of you, which only further solidifies the fact that I exist and you don't. This would make me a sort of computer, which will brings us to our next point. If you've ever played an RPG, you know that things go on even when your character isn't present. You catch all the chickens, put them in the coupe for the poor lady, she gives you an empty bottle and then you walk away. You come by the next "day" and all the chickens are out of the coupe. What the heck just happened? In the game, a man may have broken the fence, however, the game never actually simulated a man running across the town with an axe and chopping the fence in half. Instead, a series of code aranged the enviroment so that the fence would be broken. What I'm trying to get at with this analogy is completely off-topic, but still is interesting if you become drawn to the "I think, there for I am," and the "I'm the only one that exists," philosophy (I admit that I do not agree with what I posted above, but I'm always trying to find a way to make the theory so perfect it's hard to resist). Einstein says that time is relative, the easiest way to explain this would be to say that I drive to a friend's house while my friend waits for me there. When I get there, he/she asks why I took so long, when in fact, to me, it seemed like I only took a short amount of time getting there (e.g. "time flies when you're having fun). What I want to know is: When you're not physically observing something (listening, smelling, taisting, seeing, feeling), are they still there? Do things stop existing once you stop experiencing them, a well developed code then running its course and setting up the scene for when you next arrive? It's an intersting concept if you're into philosophy, but if you're not, then don't bother reading what I just spewed from my brain. I believe we're on this Earth because, quite honestly, we can be. No one'll care if we've been here or when we've been here or why we've been here a hundred years from now, so you might as well just kick back and have fun.
Pretty much what da shiz wiz said, just waiting for proof of life beyond Earth to concrete that belief. If you want to get philosophical about it though, IMO the meaning of existence is whatever you attribute it to be. To serve some higher power, to do 'good' in the world (or 'evil'), to change the status quo, to reproduce, to find love, or even something (relatively) simple like to write a novel, whatever floats your boat. It's subjective to each individual. Personally, I settled on mine a while ago. I want to be able to lie on my death bed and be content that I lived my life, that I didn't waste a moment, and overall, that I was happy. That is, if I don't get hit by a car tomorrow
Of course, but then that's why I have the happy clause in there that supersedes the wasted time part. I wouldn't say playing video games is a waste of time, because I enjoy it and it makes me happy. Plus I may eventually want to get into the video game field somewhere down the line. It's like... Plan C
lol I think BR has a point. As I read his short story I agreed at points. I just can't pinpoint exactly what I think his point is, since one could think so much of all that. But I mean really, what are we? We're physical things, thoughts are merely chemical reactions within our brain. That doesn't make us all of a sudden have a meaning. All species branched out from a single ancestor. Chances are that this ancestor could not think as we do. Do you think an ant you just crushed has a meaning in life? If the ant has no meaning how can you? We're not so different from ants.
That's a completely different can of worms. Love, hate, fear... all emotions are just chemical reactions in our brain. I want to know exactly what clicks in my mind that makes me see a female and be like "Holy crap, I want her to have my babies," and then in the same sentence see an awesome, gorgeous car and be like "Holy crap, I want that car to have my babies." Basically, what is it that makes us love one member of our species more than the rest, but also makes us love other completely lifeless things?
i suspect that the meaning of existence in general is to simply exist forever; nothing more nothing less.... the whole point being to simply perpetuate everlasting life in one form or another... which is why i disagree with the big bang theory not really the bang part but the part where eventually as the universe expands it will get to a point where it snaps apart and existence as we know it will simply cease to exist..... i theorize that the universe not only expands it also collapses as if it was the heartbeat of existence i have absolutely no idea what could even possibly negate the expansion of the universe other then a random idea that all matter and energy that was created by the big bang eventually by means of gravity will begin to collect and as it collects it will begin to collapse back into the center of the universe even though it is constantly expanding during this process? idk but anyways once all the matter and energy begins to collect more and more will inevitably be pulled in and once it all collects into a single insanely huge galaxy with an unimaginably huge black hole at the center that could maybe create a force capable enough to reverse the expansion of the universe and pull everything back into the unimaginably small ball of existence from which everything began and of course reach a point where the big bang will once again explode and form existence as we know it; only to repeat the process over and over again.....infinitely thats of course assuming the universe expands and collapses naturally...... the other theory i have is tries to also explain the whole point of sentient life forms in the universe. if the meaning of existence is to simply exist infinitely and we ultimately realize as we evolve and expand our understanding throughout the galaxy that if left alone the universe will definitely reach a point where it snaps and everything ceases to exist naturally, then you could deduce that the whole point of sentient life forms is to play an integral role in facilitating the everlasting part of existence, as in its up to sentient beings to in fact trigger the initial chain reaction that ultimately will negate the expansion of the universe and begin to reverse the process and thus collapse the universe back into the small ball of matter/energy which will eventually get to a point where the whole process will repeat once again. idk why im compelled to share this random theory and i dont have any data to back it up but regardless if its true or not it would make one awesome sci fi show, movie, book story...right?
Umm...well...I haven't really ever wanted to do a car like it's Jessica Alba lately, so I think...umm...that you'll have to venture into that dilemma on your own time... To me Love just seems like it's a chemical reaction that causes you to want to have sex pretty much. Probably popped up in one of those random mutations that turned out to be beneficial to Humans. But all animals mate, and have mating calls and such. So what if they love too? Thing is since our point of reference extends only as far as we have experienced, we can never know if animals do or don't love.
@cubytes Maybe I misunderstanding a little, but if our meaning is to perpetuate everlasting life, shouldn't we be trying to stop the universe's eventual little collapsing game so we and everything else don't die? Unless the universe gives us some kind of "IOU a 1-up" for helping it
