What is your personal theory on life?
Are we here for a reason?
Has a god created us in his own image?
Do we really know the reason behind life? Do the people in power know the reason behind life?
I went through an atheist/nihilistic phase, but recently I am starting to turn back. Nothing of life makes any sense. We are created by a higher power, and the science that we can observe (Evolution, DNA, emotional feelings) are all tools used by God.
I'm not sure what I am.
I believe there's no concrete evidence for either side of the argument, and we can only truly find out if there really is a Heaven/Hell or an afterlife of any other kind after we die. I would like there to be a Heaven/Hell because honestly the thought of there being nothing after death is quite terrifying.
I guess I'm technically in the "agnostic" category, but again I'm not entirely sure.
That black hole in your pic is the black pill. Life is an accident of molecules coming together in a certain way. Conscience is an accident of enough neurons coming together. Life has no purpose. Life is suffering. God and religion were created because purpose is needed to create a society. Now that atheism is taking over we are witnessing the collapse of social cohesion.
how is consciousness an accident of enough neurons coming together? why do you believe that rather than it being something more, another element to the world?
was meant for
Whatever happened, we're here now. The universe goes its way, but the universe does not have the ability to choose where it goes.
We, as creatures that can make choices have the power to make of this universe something. Use that power to make good in the universe.
>Conscience is an accident of enough neurons coming together. Life has no purpose. Life is suffering. God and religion were created because purpose is needed to create a society.
What is the grand scheme of things? Obviously no one knows, There is more to life then what when can just observe.
How was this all an accident? If there is matter in the Universe, then how can, what we perceive as "nothing", become "something".
Ask yourself, why are we here? Just ponder on the thought of existence. None of it makes sense. We know nothing.
I can't bring myself to think like that man. I don't want to feel like life is all for nothing.
What reason do we have to believe it is such. When we look at other high primates and dolphins they seem to have a conscience just not as complex a one as we do. Nothing exists that points to conscientiousness being supernatural.
>Ask yourself, why are we here? Just ponder on the thought of existence. None of it makes sense. We know nothing.
That's pretty much just as bad as nihilism.
Good. Don't ever let the delusion of purpose fade. Once you become nihilistic and black-pilled it's impossible to go back.
No big or trascendent reason to exist other than whatever goal or dream you decide to follow.
No god.
No afterlife, you die and that's it.
I don't even know man. There seems to be some sort disconnect between the quantum world and the macroscopic world
I like to think God made us in his own image, though I don't get too caught up on the details. I try to accept Jesus, and I'm gonna fail every time I try on my own.
I suppose reincarnation is also a possibility; being reborn as a brand new baby from a brand new womb without any memory of your previous life.
I believe it because it can't just be explained by material science. It allows for willful decision making that is not dependent on raw chemistry -- free will. Yes, other animals have a consciousness to. Even the most insignificant life forms probably have some kind of consciousness. Humans just have more consciousness, and therefore more free will.
>Being this concerned about something that doesn't even matter
>Being so new to philosophy that you resort to nihilism and don't think of any alternatives
Everything else you wrote points to a desire for absurdism, research Albert Camus, ffs, not the retard entry level nihilism on /r9k/ or twitter.
Not necessarily, but I can see where you're coming from.
Its more of an acceptance that Life is extremely complicated, and that as humans, we are confined to such a small amount of information.
I am a theist, and I do believe there is a purpose to all of this. something or someone has created the universe, whether it be a computer simulation, a God, etc.
Nobody fucking knows and nobody can ever know.
Believe whatever you want but you don't know.
>I believe it because it can't just be explained by material science.
God of the gaps
>free will
Why do you think free will actually exists. Everything points to it not being possible. Also consciousness just means we are aware of our own existence and experience. Consciousness does not necessitate free will.
Oh wow, aren't you so smart.
Anyone who believes they're on the track to the answer of life is flat out wrong. All philosophies hold the same weight.
>I am a theist, and I do believe there is a purpose to all of this. something or someone has created the universe, whether it be a computer simulation, a God, etc.
Do you believe this because you have a logical reason to or do you believe it because accepting that there is no purpose is just to depressing?
...
>No afterlife, you die and that's it.
But the influence of your life remains in this universe FOREVER.
No matter what happens, death is a peaceful thing right?
> All philosophies hold the same weight.
Some are more logical than others. Nihilism is probably closer to the truth than Abrahamic philosophies. Abrahamic philosophies are more logical than Scientology.
>free will doesn't exist
please explain
Perhaps it's greater than anything our mere human minds can grasp. We will never have the ability to know or understand and in that is a beautiful simplicity.
>I believe it because it can't just be explained by material science.
That's more evidence for disbelief than belief.
Life is meaningless
Why would you think that?
Every situation is what you make it, as corny as that sounds. One man's hell can be another man's heaven. If your "soul"/consciousness/mind is at peace and if that soul somehow carries on to a different state or plane of existence when you die then its probably safe to assume that you'll still be at peace there no matter if its a "heaven" like the Christian heaven or your in the pits of Tartarus from Greek mythology
Define "meaning"
your life is meaningless. God's isn't.
He doesn't know if free will exists or not. He's assuming consciousness derives from within this physical reality, which if that's the case then yeah free will, in the strictest definition of, doesn't exist. But if conciousness is derived outside of this reality and just using your mind as a window to access this reality then free will could very well and probaly does exist.
>We are created by a higher power, and the science that we can observe (Evolution, DNA, emotional feelings) are all tools used by God.
Same, OP
Everything in the universe is atoms interacting. Humans are just a collection of atoms that follow physical laws. This means that with enough information all of our actions could be predicted ahead of time. This means that our actions are not free.
Free will would also necessitate that there is some non-phyical force that we use to make decision. This force is not bound by the laws of physics but somehow we have access to it and can interact with it. This is sometimes called spooky metaphysics because we are claiming something weird and non-empirical exists just to solve a problem.
A common response to physical laws being determined is that quantum mechanics isn't deterministic therefore it could flow for free will. This is wrong. Quantum mechanics follow probabilistic laws. So it does not allow for true freedom, just more determined options. Also our actions operate on the macro scale where quantum mechanics doesn't.
>Why would you think that?
Because according to Atheists: you can't think or feel after you die. There is nothing to feel, no sadness, no pain.
According to Christians: You are sent to Heaven if you are a good enough person and spend eternity meditating or what have you.
Either way, there is no more pain after death, so it must be a peaceful thing.
Overthinking
The thread
Even if consciousness derived from outside of physical reality this does not mean free-will is suddenly possible. There are a ton of theological problems of how a god could be all-knowing and all-powerful, but somehow we can still be free.
Funny thing is how can you assert there is no pain after death when you never experienced death?
Don't ask why we're here - accept that we are. God's something bigger and more complex than anyone can wrap their head around. You have an average of around 75 to 80 years in this mortal existence - make the best of it. Try to leave it better than you found it, and hope other people do the same.
There's no way to know
But there is honor in being good to good people.
There is positivity in a strong community.
We're fortunate to live in a time when we can choose to live simply and not give in to decadence, or strive as hard as we want for wealth
We can choose to live by a code of morality or not
The reason behind life is to live.
Dont worry about whether there's a god or gods or not.
If you live well and choose to live with righteousness over apathy I believe you'd be in good standing with a higher power.
If you want to worship, do so. If not, don't. Focus on doing well and you'll do your species a good service.
I'm am agnostic but I do everything I can to live well by the positive teachings of all walks of life. I lift spirits of my Christian friends and stand by them when they need me. I say merry Christmas because it's not about the tradition. It's about honest to goodness meaning the damn words.
Bottom line, live a good life. Listen to advice. Weed out the bad shit and adopt the good in people. I think you'll be happy living that way, and I think it would make any god appreciate you.
I am an Atlantian that chose to reincarnate at this time to be a healer. I will not share my life, but many aspects of it have led me to a position and expectation of providing true healing, which is not medicine.
Listen to the creator. Empty your glass, so it may be filled. Meditate and learn to separate mind from consciousness. You'll start to read the messages, it really does feel like you're in the matrix. Just remember, you're something much more channeled though a holographic universe.
We don't have any biological purpose. I don't see any metaphysical system net for us, when we die. We fall eternal into nothingness.
But in life, we must live with spirituality and with a deep sense of community. Stuff that lacks on the modern age.
'Empty your glass, so it may be filled'
I'll drink to that
How can somebody be so positive there is no God if they've never died before? All those "I've died for a couple minutes and saw blahblahblah" stories are full of shit because once you die, Heaven or no Heaven, you're dead. Not "oh, but only for a few minutes". You only lost consciousness in those few minutes. That's why I don't like both overly confident Atheists and Christians.
Why are you so afraid of pain? Pain can be a great very rewarding thing. Do you lift weights or have you ever done martial arts with sparring involved?
For me, an existence with no pain would not be a heaven by any means. That sounds like an opiate-induced hell to me where you're in this fake bliss state like you're a heroin addict.
I believe this because of an emotional feeling, and emotions are very hard to describe, almost like describing colors. I wouldn't describe it as "depressing".
Its all really hard to explain, but I am trying my best. The connections you feel with certain elements, with certain choices you make in life. Things seem to line up. Love is a very powerful emotion, and love is what gives birth to new life, which is the most beautiful thing in humankind. You can chalk these emotions up to a tool that was used through natural selection for the overall survival of man, but I believe it was a tool created by something much more powerful.
Alot of it deals with personal experiences as I get older, which would take a long time to explain. I am admitting there is nothing logical behind it, just made this thread to dwell on the idea of life with others.
I know I am being very vague here, but your personal belief on existence is hard to explain, I am no Plato or Socrates.
Same here
Both same side of the coin
Agnosticism makes most sense
I never said there was an all-knowing, all-powerful god
I just think it's probably more likely that this universe is not the extent of all that exists. I think it's much more likely that another "reality" exists outside of here and obviously there is no possible valid extrapolation to be made about that reality because we have no way of knowing the laws of that reality unless you infer that theyre somehow similar to ours because if this universe has a creator then that creator derived our laws of physics from its experience.
If the source of the big-bang was outside this universe then we can't even begin to imagine what that source could be like.
>I believe this because of an emotional feeling, and emotions are very hard to describe, almost like describing colors.
This idea that how we perceive the world is unique to each of us is called (qualia).
>Love is a very powerful emotion, and love is what gives birth to new life, which is the most beautiful thing in humankind.
Love can be explained pretty well with chemicals. Regardless why is new life inherently beautiful.
Anyways I get where you are coming from. I think that both of us just have completely different qualia about the world. You see it as having purpose, I don't.
I suppose. But I wonder what Heaven would be like if you could still feel pain. I guess you'd be your same old self, only no longer able to interact with the living?
Those other realities could also be determined or they could not be. Regardless the universe we live in currently is deterministic as far as we know.
Any meaning of life must be derived from life itself. I find this similar to using a word in its own definition; it doesn't make sense. From this, I have decided that all life is ultimately meaningless and that our only goal as living beings is to procreate and carry on our species' miserable existence in our little corner of our vast, unknown universe.
And then I remember that despite this I can't even justify ending my life. So I drown out my thoughts with dank memes pretending I'm not having an existential crisis on a Greek financial advice forum.
Fuck. Why does anything even exist at all?
All life in the universe, is related. Life on Earth probably started because of meteors bombarding the surface, full of microorganisms and single cellular organisms. It may even be how we got water.
I imagine all across the universe this is how life starts for many planets.
There is no purpose of life or the universe. Well, maybe it is to exist
user, we aren't the first civ or people to ask these questions. Some, may have gotten much further than we have. Some, may have never gotten past sticks stones.
The important thing is that you're here to ask these questions. Curiosity has done a lot for mankind.
Who knows what secrets we may unfold in the massive ocean that is the universe.
>deterministic
No its not
We "know" at the most base level of physics, the wave function is a probability distribution.
Reality is probabilistic
>our only goal as living beings is to procreate and carry on our species' miserable existence in our little corner of our vast, unknown universe.
Why is that our goal. Why couldn't we just go extinct. Evolution has no purpose.
>And then I remember that despite this I can't even justify ending my life.
You can't justify living either. Justification means that their is purpose either way you could point to. It's nihilism all the way down.
>What is your personal theory on life?
your personal theory is relevant
empirical evidence is what matters
This is it
Avoidance of the truth
>probability distribution
At the base level. At the macro level it isn't probabilistic. Regardless does quantum level probability really give us the free-will we actually care about. No.
I don't know that answer but you can understand much of the world bullshit by just learning animal behaviour
seriously we are just animals, those who aren't animals probably doesn't feel human either and are marginalized by society
I personally believe that there is some really weird shit going on behind all of this, probably i'm in the agnostic category with some abrahamic influences
I also believe that the world will not last more than 30 years from now on, probably something bigger will happen (and if nothing happens then probably god doesn't exist, but if SOMETHING happens then it's very probable that some kind of god exists)
This has been my philosophy for as long as I can remember. Doesn't me me happy, nor sad. It just is.
Probably in a simulation. The universe may potentially be a self propagating computer designed by higher dimensional beings
I can't get scientific evidence, but the longer I live, the more I have become convinced that we are much more than just atoms that suddenly became conscious. We are the pinnacle of the universe (humans). Somehow we are much more than the sum of the parts. I think science needs to address some of the more strange things that we all know are there, but aren't explained by materialism. There is more. We all know it.
Zen is superior to all other doctrines :^)
Zen is simply nihilism
you grossly misunderstand zen
you are probably some western hippy who has read Zen from some very bad translated books
i think life as we know it is just one anomaly after another and there is no reason for us but we are just products of random chance
Life is energy, and energy cannot be created or destroyed. It just transfers to one form or another.
Einstein said that. I like to believe it. What makes you "you" is lost when you die; but the energy that you gave off will always exist. It's comforting.
Zen is pretty much saying that all (desire)life is suffering therefore avoid all desire and become a recluse. Zen is just stoicism but with colored togas instead of white ones.
>Once you become nihilistic and black-pilled it's impossible to go back.
Nihilism itself a delusion you fool.
There is no evidence to suggest this, in fact the evidence has been nearly proven the opposite.
Read "The closing of the American mind"
American Nihilism will always be defended as objective fact Americans on every level, its become the general consensus endemic to our population yet it is entirely unfounded and completely unreasonable.
You make a whole lot of claims in that post, claims which I am certain you can personally verify, and if that's the case then you can see how your credibility is strained.
You might cite some sources, of course, yet you must keep in mind they are without a doubt afflicted with the same brand of Nihilism that comes from America.
At the end of the day, all the scientists, all the philosophers, thinkers, and scholars unsurprisingly come back to the same old inescapable rhetoric of "maybe, but maybe not".
That's where we all are.
dont be a Buddhist
Rest assured user, such is not the case indefinitely.
Do you have any proof of this aside from your own opinion. and I mean proof that goes beyond mere suggestion?
>Created by Evolution
>Purpose is to spread life across the Universe. Does not necessarily need to be human life, but we are more than capable of genetically modifying bacteria that could survive on distance planets at this point
>We do not know the reason behind life, but we understand reproduction plays a very important role. We are fascinated by it at all times in our life.
I'm still an atheist. Religion is cute, but it gives no predictive capability. It's as useful as being a pagan without the stigma.
> I think science needs to address some of the more strange things that we all know are there, but aren't explained by materialism. There is more. We all know it.
I agree, science is just observing what we can see with out eyes. We need to dig deeper into more complex theories, but unfortunately I think they are to complicated for the human mind to understand.
Almost like testing a chimpanzee intelligence, There is some things that chimpanzees just cannot understand that is easy for humans to grasp. We are limited by our sense, and by our intelligence.
simulation
>what we can see with out eyes
was meant to be: what we can see with our* own eyes.
So life is just a higher being playing The Sims all day?
>There is more. We all know it.
EXACTLY.
"The heart has its reasons which the reason does not understand" -Pascal
Very profound sentiment from one of the greatest intellects to ever live.
It is not a defense of feeling, but an affirmation of a "higher" intuition. One which we all can sympathize with and understand intuitively.
Surely those who claim the earth is the center of universe are prepared to more than a geographical argument, home is afterall where the heart is.
We lived so blissfully, so ignorantly, that truth has escaped us.
We have focused so much on existing itself that we forget why we exist in the first place.
Our brain can only comprehend so much, it's only so useful.
However, Computers have created a lot data storing and processing that humans can not do naturally. Computers have greatly aided human understanding of the world.
No intrinsic point
No
No gods
No. No.
Point of life is to reproduce and survive
I can't really be trying to explain it to you over the Sup Forums senpai but if you want some rich and informative texts you can read D.T. Suzuki's Doctrine of No MInd and then Hubert Benoit's The Supreme Doctrine
stoicism and Zen share elements to be sure but you don't have to live an ascetic life in Zen, nor is all life considered suffering (rather that craving/attachment are the cause of suffering).
Teeny tiny pieces in a processor, trying to find a pattern to pi.
Zen, well, all eastern mysticisms are about suicide, abolishing the self.
make total peace and achieve total harmony so that one can reject evil itself, abolish suffering, but in the same stroke, reject good and abolish joy.
It is stoicism's last resort applied to the spirit.
>However, Computers have created a lot data storing and processing that humans can not do naturally.
Yes, maybe when we create artificial intelligence that trumps humans,then maybe they can give us the answer, but computers cannot think. They cannot ask "why?". They just compute.
I like my religion. I find it comfortable, but not in a controlling manner.
I think that in the beginning, God, or whatever you want to call some kind of benevolent force, set all the natural laws in order in such a way that they would play out in a pre-ordained way. And yet I also believe in free will. So it's pretty hard to reconcile those two, yet I do.
Also, as far as I know, it's impossible for me to divine my own purpose. Kind of like trying to observe an atom's position and velocity, you can't do both at the same time; while you're alive, you can't see your purpose because of your frame of reference. So maybe there is some big purpose, but you aren't capable of knowing it, or maybe there is none and this is all just some cosmic joke. I like to think it's the first one though. At the end of the day, it's all the same, you have to find your own purpose.
Existence is pretty fucking cool though. The odds are what, 1 in 10^2,685,000? That's pretty fucking nuts, so I have to believe it means, that on some level, it means I was meant to be here.
Also, it's really cool, how entropy trends towards more chaos, but once life arises, it trends towards more order. Really impressive stuff.
evidence, aside from "maybe or maybe not"?
Anything definitive and conclusive, absolutely determinate?
>rather that craving/attachment are the cause of suffering
what is there to life other than craving and attachment.
You were created to praise, reverence, and serve God; and by that means to save your soul.
I always found it weird that eastern religions are all about the abolition of desire and self, yet eastern cultures are more materialistic than western ones.
I didn't realize how many people on this site thought they knew a lot about Zen
Maybe it's because you speak in such figurative terms but I really don't think you get it. Zen does not require that you abolish joy. Zen does not require a figurative suicide. It has nothing to do with good and evil (manmade concepts)
>What is your personal theory on life?
It exists. Wherever and whenever the conditions are right, life will develop. The areas where these conditions are present, however, are very rare throughout the universe.
>Are we here for a reason?
No, we create our own reasons to live.
>Has a god created us in his own image?
No, gods do not exist.
>Do we really know the reason behind life? Do the people in power know the reason behind life?
There is no reason. We find ways to give meaning to our lives.
This. Hard to overestimate the importance of religion in social cohesion or to overestimate the importance of social cohesion to a society that wishes to thrive.
most people cannot see beyond their own nose.
The full range of human emotions and experiences
but without the need to cling to them
passing through happiness and melancholy, pleasure and pain, all alike
To continue:
What if the whole "God created us in his image" thing is a reference to creating itself? It just strikes me that so much of the Universe is destruction and entropic vacuum, whereas life is uniquely singular in that it trends towards more order and specialization.
Zen kills your individuality when it's in fact that the most important thing to make you be in the world. Christianity is better because they focus on doing things, on acting upon the world.
In fact all this shit about eternal consequences of your actions HAS to exist in a religion to make you actually feel like you are part of the world. Zen just kills your place on the world and makes you another cog
fuck that
>I like my religion. I find it comfortable, but not in a controlling manner.
I was brought up Christian, So if there was a meaning behind my life, It only makes sense that Christianity would be the answer.
I do find comfort in reading the bible. Going to church fills me with an explainable, happy feeling.
But then I realize the bible was written by man, and that when compared with scientific facts, you must intemperate the bible in your own words in order for it the make any sense.
I just settle on the belief that there is a god, but every religion on earth is just a single mans interpretation that people have chosen to follow.
Really? Like what?
Correct me if I am wrong but are computers not functioning solely on algorithms and programmed man-made information, limited by and only capable of re-creating our human capabilities?
Hell might not exist but the Spirit realm does. The good continues in other Worlds while Evil suffocates there own existence.