The sum of both bad AND good experiences too. And honestly, I think "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus" answered the meaning of life question the best. It's to leave this world better than when we found it.
Kartoon12, I actually don't find that a very satisfying answer if you think it through. Billions of years from now, nothing you or I do will matter unless the universe has real, objective meaning. Furthermore, how can making the world "better" even be possible without a fixed definition of good and evil?
Hm...well, "the world" doesn't necessarily have to literally mean "the planet". It could simply mean making your own world, as in, your own life, or someone else's life, a bit better. I'm paraphrasing a bit here, but I remember this quote (I forget who said it or where it was from), but it went something like, "I think everyone, somewhere deep inside, wants to save the world. But it's also perfectly okay if you only save one person. And it's also okay if that someone is you."
As for what "matters", yes, in a sense, what we're doing now may not matter in a million years. But right now, in this moment, it does. Or at least I think so. And again, I think of this story I heard, about a bunch of starfish washed up on a beach, and a boy was throwing them, one at a time, back into the ocean. An adult came up to him and said, "Why are you even bothering? You can't save them all. Why does it matter?" And the boy threw back another one and said, "It mattered to THAT one."
When I say "the world" I usually mean reality, rather than any particular planet or species.
If something is only meaningful in a fleeting moment to a vapor such as ourselves, I wouldn't say it's meaningful at all.
This is not to argue that life is meaningless. It is rather to say that your argument reveals our deep-seated desire for meaning, but your presuppositions don't provide a basis for one. But before I blather on ... Does that make sense so far?
KarToon12: What I'm trying to say is that "we create meaning and purpose for ourselves" is a great way to say there is ultimately no meaning or purpose. You may be able to distract yourself from that long enough to stay sane, but generations raised on that philosophy resulted in serious upheaval throughout the 20th century.
![[1]](https://img.comicfury.com/comics/120/11b5bac9242c0693a65de37dbaa35b091867827960.jpg)
As for what "matters", yes, in a sense, what we're doing now may not matter in a million years. But right now, in this moment, it does. Or at least I think so. And again, I think of this story I heard, about a bunch of starfish washed up on a beach, and a boy was throwing them, one at a time, back into the ocean. An adult came up to him and said, "Why are you even bothering? You can't save them all. Why does it matter?" And the boy threw back another one and said, "It mattered to THAT one."
If something is only meaningful in a fleeting moment to a vapor such as ourselves, I wouldn't say it's meaningful at all.
This is not to argue that life is meaningless. It is rather to say that your argument reveals our deep-seated desire for meaning, but your presuppositions don't provide a basis for one. But before I blather on ... Does that make sense so far?
KarToon12: What I'm trying to say is that "we create meaning and purpose for ourselves" is a great way to say there is ultimately no meaning or purpose. You may be able to distract yourself from that long enough to stay sane, but generations raised on that philosophy resulted in serious upheaval throughout the 20th century.