Questions tagged [meaning-of-life]
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Why people are still so much seeking status, instead of simply fairness and happiness?
In liberal democracies, basically, people don't need to fear getting killed at any moment, being put arbitrary in prison, or dying in misery. They, basically, can follow their personal path as they ...
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Which philosophers have defended both the claim that any attitude can ground meaning and moral error theory?
Which philosophers have defended both the claim that any attitude (a pro attitude to anything) can ground meaning and moral error theory? It may even be the the received view among the population in ...
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When someone profits from injustice, is life less meaningful?
Obviously most philosophers (and lay people) would consider injustice morally wrong^, but does it debase the meaning of everyone's life, just the beneficiary, just those that lose out or no-one's?
I'd ...
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Can life have meaning when all your happiness is from a clear illusion?
When all your happiness is from a clear illusion, is your life meaningless? I am not talking about intentionally living a lie, because I don't mean lying to yourself about it, but feeling as if it ...
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Should we feel shame for living a meaningless life?
Should we feel shame for living a meaningless life? What if it's due not only to factors beyond our control but something like virtue?
I only ask because I'm worried I will never escape the cycle of ...
user67302
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'I want to be with you in heaven'
If you knew that suicide is not immoral, would it be virtuous to kill yourself - not because you were in pain and needed to escape - but merely due to a wish to end yourself before you fell into vice?
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If it doesn't matter to you whether something is AI, then do you matter?
If it doesn't matter to you whether something is AI, then do you matter? I won't bother clarifying every inference (there's a few) that is being made there, if only because the conclusion is very ...
user67155
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What is the best metaphor for not being able to die?
There does seem something out of the ordinary, strange, about having thoughts and feelings, let alone mine. Allow me to say that my rarity makes me valuable.
So dark matter - which makes up 27% of the ...
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What would be a reasonable response to this take that we shouldn't ponder abstract propositions about the meaning of life?
X says: “That moment when you realise that you've spent your entire life endlessly pondering abstract propositions about the meaning of life instead of actually feeling like you've led a meaningful ...
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I am struggling to believe there is anything good in humanity: can you help?
I feel neither like a sinner nor sinned against, but I am struggling to see any good in anyone or myself. I am reminded for the 100,000th time of "mankind is a bridge", and that's what we ...
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Is "what's the point?" the same as asking "what is the meaning of life"?
Is "what's the point?" the same as asking "what is the meaning of life"? I know I said both phrases, so I should know right? But I feel the former much more than the latter. Is it ...
user66697
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was Camus right in saying 'There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide.'?
I think he was saying 'What makes life worth living?'. I do think that's important, but aren't other questions 'serious' too?
For me my topics I care about are meta/norm ethics, theology, metaphysics. ...
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Did Kierkegaard believe that we should live seeking meaning and not happiness?
Before I pose my question I want to say two things:
I have no formal training in Philosophy
I searched for similar questions but found none, please excuse me if this is a duplicate
I saw a YouTube ...
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A newbie's highly thought-upon plan for starting philosophy [closed]
How's it going guys, I hope you're all having a great time!
Greetings, to all the great minds here!
I would really appreciate your help with my entrance to the infinite world of philosophy.
First, I ...
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Any neuroscience-informed takes on the meaning of life?
Can science tell us objectively what the meaning of life is?
Are these the fellows to unlock the mystery?: dopamine, oxytocin, cortisol, seratonin, endorphins
I'm not sure of the status of ...
user65720
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Can a desire to leave a legacy be a form of 'other-worldliness' which should be subject to scrutiny?
I know of Nietzsche's criticism of afterlife-thinking.
I think Nietzsche himself may be guilty of this thinking -- not in terms of a Heavenly afterlife, but with desiring influence of his writings ...
user65720
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An Eternal Reward for Our Actions - Are There Strong Incentives to do Anything
I'm wondering:
Humans are mortal. Death seems to nullify any gains made by the self to the self.
Humans are subject to natural impulses towards actions (for example, we are compelled by natural ...
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What does it mean to truly fail at life?
What does it mean to truly fail at life? I only ask because I suspect I have. It is not that I am immoral or even inauthentic, but it seems that all I can do is encourage attitudes and behaviours, in ...
user65758
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Is it correct to say that all work is only an instrumental value and therefore it matters not whether or not someone can do it?
Another follow up Q to this series:
If all work is automated, what will humans be able to do?
Do humans need some agency over the world around them for their lives to have some sense or purpose?
It'...
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Is there a universal, timeless and deeply compelling reason to pursue anything?
Don Jack has a job, a few friends, often goes to the gym, and has ambitious dreams of participating in life. Often he finds himself questioning whether he continues to pursue these things. The chain ...
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How much suffering is needed for an overall happy life?
Premise: I have not studied Philosophy, and maybe I am out of context.
My question arises from two simple considerations:
Empirically, there seems to be no true happiness without some suffering (...
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Is the very idea of having objective meaning a logical contradiction? [closed]
Meaning by definition cannot occur unless it is subject to one's mind. But if something is subject to one's mind and interpretation, how can any sort of meaning be objective?
Even if every person on ...
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What to make of "time" and "time rightly spent" in the context of "the purpose of life"?
Friedrich Nietzsche in his Thus spoke Zarathustra told us a man should become a "overman" or "ubermensch" i.e. someone who believes in nihilism of universe (believing that life has ...
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Do humans need some agency over the world around them for their lives to have some sense or purpose?
This is a follow up to this question I was told to revise: If all work is automated, what will humans be able to do? After consideration I think that the only way to salvage that question is to break ...
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What is the difference, after death, of a 90-year-old and a one-year-old?
If there is a person who died at the age of 90 and a baby who died at one year old, what is the difference between them afterwards? They are both in a state of nothingness, they cannot remember or ...
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Should one abstain from a behaviour because they know why they engage in it?
I'm 16, I don't study psychology in college, only biology, chemistry, physics and maths, but I find evolutionary psychology incredibly interesting, because it's the only psychological theory that ...
user63990
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How to know what life is?
What we call ‘our life’ is about a period of time from birth to death. During that period, some might like to devote themselves to certain virtues, some to the religions-promised afterlife, some to an ...
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The definition of life
The prevailing biology of the modern era describes life as a system. A system is defined a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network. The NASA definition of ...
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Were there philosophers who viewed nihilism in a positive light?
I’d like to know if there were philosophers who proposed the basic presupposition of existential nihilism as the reason to live life passionately. Put otherwise, were there philosophers who explained ...
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Outstanding allegories/definitions of body and life
The most famous definition of the human body is Plato's soma-sema, a prison, a tomb, a burden, then an archetype of perfection, a tool by which to reach balance: many are the allegories used by ...
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Is this an argument against an experience machine?
Is this an argument against an experience machine, that the things we value inside of it only matter to us?
I'm trying to be practical about having strange concerns, and wondered whether their ...
user61846
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What is the relationship between values and meaning (in life)?
Please correct me if you think I am wrong, but it has become apparent to me that meaning - in the senses of significance of one's own life, purpose and sense-making - and values are inextricably ...
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Is meaning/purpose necessary? [closed]
This may be a very basic question but I haven’t seen it arise here at stack exchange, so I thought I’d ask.
Do humans necessarily have purpose or meaning? Can we function without it?
If not, then how ...
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If everything ends one day why don't we end it today?
Is there any doctrine that gives the reason why to wait till the end of the world?
I'm 18 and not depressed.
I am not asking about the purpose of life. I'm asking why should we fulfill the purpose of ...
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Can we say, the logical person does not care so much about worldly things but most people are not logical?
This question is about life.
If we look at the current world, so many people care about money, or power, or fame, or all of the above.
However, if we do believe in reincarnation, or that we'd ...
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Consequences and importance of the "No Free Lunch Theorem"?
So I was watching this and was wondering about the consequences and importance of the "No Free Lunch Theorem"
David Wolpert: that if I have any particular reasoning algorithm be it in say ...
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Should one learn everything?
I like to learn a lot of things. Like dance , magic tricks , business , physics , geography , chemistry , biology , maths. Just everything. Definitely , you understand that all of these topics take ...
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How should you live when you have options?
If you have the opportunity to earn money easily (for example just doing dropshipping, or selling oil reserve) which requires less self control and discipline. And the other is by doing difficult job (...
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What are philosophies of life?
From Wikipedia:
A philosophy of life is any general attitude towards, or philosophical view of, the meaning of life or of the way life should be lived. The term is generally used in an informal sense,...
user53142
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Question for philosophers - How would you call the following view of the meaning of life?
Question for philosophers - How would you call the following view of the meaning of life?: "There isn't much point in assessing the intrinsic or extrinsic value or meaning of life. Accept life as ...
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Is life the story without an author?
Many people ponder on the meaning of life, so do I.
Since I was young I was bothered by how closely fiction resembles the real world and at the same time how it is fundamentally different.
Though I've ...
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What is the motivation of all individuals to stay alive?
What keeps an individual alive?
If we make the following assumptions:
There is nothing after death, only black. No heaven, no hell, no rebirth.
So we don't take anything with us after death and ...
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Are there any reasons for an individual to live if he hasn't got any needs? [closed]
Assuming this individual doesn't require basic needs (eating, drinking, etc...), and he can't feel any other needs like, the need for love, the need to be alone for a moment, the need to seek ...
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What is the "scientific" purpose of existence?
I am interested in reading anything that tries to tackle scientific views on existence. There are plenty of great works that discuss human meaning and purpose. However, I am more interested in ...
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Is murder wrong accross the board? If not, when?
Is it wrong to murder anything, in any circumstance?
If sometimes its justified, based on species, circumstance, self defense, ideology, when is it considered wrong?
What is the justification for ...
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Could NIetzsche be read as saying Aufheben is the meaning of life?
It is unclear what the 'will to power' means, and if it is about the world
The will to power doctrine seems to claim that everything that exists
rests fundamentally on an underlying basis of “...
user46524
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Is it better to have big goals in life?
I am interested in philosophical arguments about goals. Specifically, is a life without great goals necessarily inferior? For us to have a "good life", must people set "admirable" goals?
Please ...
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Is there a field of study for AI inspired goals for humans?
I'm not very familiar with this kind of formal philosophy discussions so please excuse my unpreciseness.
I know that the Artificially intelligent agent we have been putting the most hopes into ...
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What is the meaning of life in the Myth of Sisyphus?
In The Myth of Sisyphus and other Essays, Albert Camus seeks to answer the question of the meaning of life. To do this, he plays on the idea of the "absurd," the conflict between man's search for ...
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Source of a Russell quote about purpose and meaninglessness
The following quote is attributed to Bertrand Russell:
Unless you assume a God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless.
The reference for the quote is:
Bertrand Russell, quoted in Rick ...
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