Philosophy

Questions tagged [meaning-of-life]

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Life without unfulfilled wishes?

Here's the conversation I was having with a guy: Me: May all your wishes come true. Him: [Maybe not all of my wishes should come true, as I fear the finality of a life without wishes.] So, in this ...
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The view from the universe if meaning changes, but also subsists [closed]

I understand that the view from everywhere is a nihilistic problem for philosophers like Nagel (who denies it has authority in question about 'meaning' and life). Our projects just have no meaning ...
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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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3answers
266 views

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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Personal and unviersal existential nihlism

Let's say Alice has logically arrived at existential Nihilism, which is the philosophy that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value (wiki) This carries two claims, Alice's ...
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What is Nagel's definition of 'The Absurd'?

Why does Nagel consider life to be absurd? And correct me if i'm wrong but it feels like he's telling people to live life despite life being absurd? Why does he do that if that's the case?
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4answers
248 views

Become immortal - blessing or curse? [closed]

This question is really important for understand what's actually matter to us as humans. Having a limited life span is factor by which everyone of us is driven to something (goals/dreams/fulfilling ...
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4answers
129 views

What is the point of acquiring knowledge when time would take it away soon enough?

After spending hours and hours of researching on different aspects of philosophy, not to mention the effort, here is my question: What is the point of acquiring knowledge when time would take it ...
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4answers
196 views

How to live the present instead of just surviving?

When I was younger, I always tried to imagine how my future would be, and how it would feel like. I tried to imagine how my relationships would be, how my house would be, what my job would be, etc., ...
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79 views

Was every nihilist philosopher yet unhappy with it?

Let's use a comparison. For this I will show my own views on it: My life is meaningless. I play games for a meaningless joy. I listen jokes for a meaningless laughter. I want to change this world ...
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2answers
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Schopenhauer on the unworthiness of life

In which book and section does Schopenhauer say that "life is so short, questionable and evanescent that it is not worth the trouble of any major effort"? I often see this quote attributed to him, ...
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210 views

Why do humans make infants? [closed]

Considering that humans are the most intelligent species on earth, why do humans make infants? I cannot understand the reason why humans make infants, when humans can't predict whether the ...
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48 views

How does regret work for the people who have lost their memories, by accident or some other reasons? [closed]

The person who has lost his or her memories will have no regrets, then how would he learn the lessons of life? I have asked the same question in Psychology and Neuroscience SE as well. What I am ...
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1answer
315 views

How does free will give life “meaning”?

Many people have suggested that if we don’t have free will, then life is essentially meaningless because everything we’ve ever thought or done has already been determined. I’m not sure why determinism ...
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What's the meaning of the meaning of life? [closed]

Let's say that the meaning of life is X (avoiding evil, fulfilling our desires, obeying God, fleeing the pain of the fear of the death, collecting turtles – anything). What is the meaning of X? Even ...
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3answers
124 views

Why does striving to achieve my goals make me suffer so?

I am continually confused by my desires. Normally I love being alone, watching movies and eating snacks--just living life. But I don't know what devil has possessed me to desire more, to achieve more, ...
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139 views

What does love mean in the true sense?

I feel love is not just about enjoying each other's company. It's more about caring for the other person and always longing to see them happy. But in this endeavour to see them happy, we tend to get ...
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4answers
176 views

How one should live a peaceful life knowing this fact that there is no meaning of life? [closed]

So I am going through philosophical path and I think I am deep into it now days , That old question "What is the purpose of living when we are going to die one day" was eating my mind but Then I found ...
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2answers
160 views

How can i become obsessed with some meaning to life that i find rational? [closed]

-Background: I see something for example like living for others or trying to change the world (in a non-violent way) is an genuine meaning to life,however i'm not obsessed with these meanings that i ...
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3answers
104 views

Introspection to look for what I'm missing [closed]

I'm new in this area and I would like to ask some questions about introspection. About me I'm 22 years old. I'm bachelor in computer science. I live with my parents, I'm the only child, I work for ...
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1answer
113 views

How to measure the success of a human? [closed]

Okay so media portrays "naive" views on successful people: money, power, good looks. However, in a more holistic way, what features ought to define the success of a human as an animal? I would say ...
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2answers
97 views

How can a meaningless life be sufficiently good in other ways such that its (objective) quality's not unusually bad?

Source: The Human Predicament: A Candid Guide to Life's Biggest Questions (1 edn, 2017). p. 20 Top.   There is sometimes also thought to be a connection between meaning and the quality of life. ...
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If we forget why do we acquire knowledge which by the way gets outdated?

We learn then we forget. It might seem to be a waste of precious time subtracted from life. Some time ago I started to write every day two things (yes, only two) I learn every day. One column for ...
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3answers
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Is it sure that there is always room to improve ourselves?

There is always something that is stuck in my mind. I am afraid that one day... I mean what if one day, we know everything and did everything to improve ourselves and there is no more room for ...
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222 views

Is our “meaning of life” fundamentally different from that of other animals?

Whatever the "meaning of life" may be (I interpret "meaning" as "purpose" here) is for us, Homo Sapiens, do we assume the "meaning of life" for humans differs fundamentally from the "meaning of life" ...
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116 views

How can a Gestapo officer 'have a meaningful but immoral life'?

Source: What's It All About?. (2007 1 ed.) p. 176 Top - Middle  Although I have drawn on Sartre in this book, I have not claimed that authenticity is the only or even the most important virtue ...
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600 views

Why is everyone seeking satisfaction?

Is it just me, or why is everyone seeking some kind of personal notion of satisfaction? It seems to be a better life mentality to relish in the cold reality of accepting the inevitable pains of life. ...
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5answers
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If all of us are going to die one day why should we care about the feelings and emotions of others?

We are taught to care for others' feelings and emotions. We must exercise certain deeds hailed in holy texts. Why do such things matter when we all will die one day?
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Classifications of life purposes

Can all life purposes be classified as a mixture of some of the following four areas? Hedonism Making an impact in your physical reality Fulfilling the plan/desire of some supernatural entity (or ...
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2answers
795 views

Is good the absence of evil or is it the other way round?

Is good the absence of evil or is evil the absence of good?What do religions tell us?
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116 views

if god is there why is there suffering? [closed]

Whenever I look around myself and see suffering I feel god cannot be real.If god is real then why is there so much suffering and poverty?
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What analytic philosophy books on the meaning of life are there?

Because almost every book on meaning of life is in continental philosophy or religious.
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194 views

Why do we associate youth with life, and old with death? [closed]

Also youth is optimistic, but childishness is condoned? Age and experienced should make one wiser and be able to take advantage of life yet it's youth (whom has not really lived yet) that we ...
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6answers
914 views

Why do we search for a meaning in life

Why do we search for a meaning in life? I assume that religion arose because of the desire to give meaning to life. Maybe this prerequisite is already wrong ;) Since we do not know what is the ...
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3answers
2k views

What is the meaning of sadness?

What does it mean to be sad? It just occurred to me that this is the (pseudo?) existential question that is making me sad.
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What do atheists believe in? (in layman terms)

Issue I travel quite a bit and am often asked about my religious beliefs. I am atheist. I found it hard for some religious (or spiritual) people (whatever religion) to accept the concept of atheism ...
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6answers
519 views

When is happiness enough?

I think we'd agree happiness is not always the summum bonum. We can each, I think, imagine a very evil person who is happy in their evil, but is living badly. Perhaps likewise, a very good person, who ...
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559 views

Attitudes towards life or philosophies of life [closed]

I've discovered two subsets of the set of all people. I do they think are well defined, meaning that every element in the set of all people can be categorised as belonging to either one of the two ...
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Why argues Wittgenstein: If someone has solved the problem of life, and believes everything quite easy now, he can see that he is wrong?

Source: The Meaning of Life: A Very Short Introduction (1 ed 2007) by T. Eagleton. p. 50 Middle - p. 51 Top. We can always ask, after all, why someone should want to know the meaning of life. Are ...
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350 views

What meant Gilbert Ryle by ‘nothing chatters’?

Source: The Meaning of Life: A Very Short Introduction (1 ed 2007) by T. Eagleton. p. 26 Top. The sham swamis and phoney sages of our time stand in for various more conventional gods who have ...
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337 views

Can Nietzsche's “will to power” make a person's life meaningful?

People seem to find some sort of "meaning" in Nietzsche. My question is, more specifically, can someone's "will to power" make their life meaningful, according to him? Does Nietzsche address anywhere ...
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What types of arguments convert nihilists to existentialists?

I will not pretend this question does not have personal significance to me, but that need not to be overly elaborated. By studying cases in which existentialists attempt to give advice to nihilists (...
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Why some people are boring and some are interesting? [closed]

Why we basically group people into interesting and boring (or any other), can anyone share some of their experiences related to this?
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Various Philosopher's Perspective on the Meaning or Purpose of Life

I'm teaching a high-school philosophy club at the school I work at, but the problem is that I haven't had any real formal education in philosophy and have only a novice knowledge of the subject, which ...
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What do Nietzsche's bogeymen say about the meaning of life?

What do Nietzsche's bogeymen say about the meaning of life? Specifically, is it characteristic of his "last men" to be unconcerned whether their happiness is meaningful, or even embrace the ...
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2k views

According to Kant, What is the Purpose of Human Existence?

After reading Kant's Idea For a Universal History, I've become intrigued by Kant's notion of Nature guiding the dealings of men towards a "perfectly rightful civil constitution." Although the ...
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Could I please request an introduction to philosophy of pessimism?

Everything from essential texts, interpretations of the absurd, eternal return, interpretations of suicide and religion, and it's influence on the arts. And, I know I am asking a lot, but I'd like to ...
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511 views

Absurdists/Nihilists/Existentialists take on as to why there is no intrinsic meaning to life

So, I just got into absurdism (formally-as a "branch" in philosophy, though I had been thinking in similar terms for a longer period now), and currently am reading "The Myth of Sysiphus" by Albert ...
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Was Marx an existentialist?

Obviously someone like Marcuse is often lumped under both 'Marxism' and 'existentialism'. What about Marx? I ask myself a lot how there can be any meaning to life when death is inevitable and ...

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