Does life have to have meaning?

mariaalice

I know there was a thread on existence, but my question is different.

For example nihilism is always considered something negative and has contortions of depression, lack etc., however to me nihilism is a profoundly positive philosophy i.e that life is without object meaning and has no purpose, I find the idea that life is with out meaning very comforting.

However I do think that life even if it is meaningless has intrinsic value so maybe I am not a true nihilist.


The reason I think nihilism is positive is that it free you at a very profound level.

Black Swan

At risk of falling into the perils of a dichotomy, it may be useful to differentiate between passive and active nihilism. Passive focuses on nihilism as an end result, with nothing ultimately having meaning, whereas active nihilism can be thought of as a process and not an end in itself that can be used to deconstruct and evaluate (see Jacques Derrida) the meanings placed on persons, places, or things by cultures, social institutions, philosophers, political leaders, media, advertisers, etc; i.e, active nihilism can be a useful tool to critically review life and make more informed choices.

Akrasia

There is an answer to the question 'what is the meaning to life the universe and everything'

it's '42'

Now all we have to do is figure out what the question means.

What is 'the meaning' to anything?
What is 'the meaning' to a game of chess?
Is it a game to pass the time? A Sport to compete in? A tool for testing intelligence (including artificial intelligences)

There is no 'objective meaning' to life because there is nothing that is 'objective'
There are reasons why things happen
The reasons humans are the way we are now is because of the process of evolution coupled with a gazillion 'random' events in the evolution of the universe/solar system/planet/environment etc that have all created the conditions in which our species has evolved with our current anatomy and behaviours.
But reasons are different from 'meaning' Humans evolved because of all the factors that led to that evolution. Just because there is a reason, doesn't mean there is a 'meaning' and certainly not an objective meaning that can be said to transcend individual experiences.

Ultimately, our own lives are far too insignificant to have any cosmic impact beyond what we can affect in our own lives and the environment here on earth and in our limited space adventures.
Therefore, the meaning attached to our lives comes entirely from our ourselves. We can create our own individual subjective 'meaning' (ie, a a purpose for our own lives, whether to raise a family, to achieve high social or economic status, to make the world a better place for the future generatione etc) but none of these are objective, there is no Agency out there who will decide what is meaningful and what is not.

eternal

Akrasia wrote: »

T

Ultimately, our own lives are far too insignificant to have any cosmic impact beyond what we can affect in our own lives and the environment here on earth and in our limited space adventures.
Therefore, the meaning attached to our lives comes entirely from our ourselves. We can create our own individual subjective 'meaning' (ie, a a purpose for our own lives, whether to raise a family, to achieve high social or economic status, to make the world a better place for the future generatione etc) but none of these are objective, there is no Agency out there who will decide what is meaningful and what is not.

I don't entirely believe this as there are multitudes of people who have changed other people's lives. No such thing as 'insignificant' as your choices affect others on a daily basis. The attitudes of a mother and father, for example, can ruin or make a kid's existence. True it is up to the peson but intrinsically that person 'knows' what they are doing and how it will alter those around them. Each and every day every small thing has wider repercussions which echo out and establish a life code for living. So we all die in a huge sphere of forgetfulness but karma does exist and there has to be some kind of knowing which exists living in the minds of those who are unwilling to change or help other human beings. Yes, you use the word 'cosmic' but we are small in the face of infinity but enormous in the face of life.