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What is the meaning of life?
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this post was submitted on 10 May 2025
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The meaning of life is very simple: life has no meaning unless you create meaning. What that meaning is is going to differ from person to person.
The meaning I give to my life is to do everything I can to further human knowledge and to learn as much as possible myself.
For other people, it could be exploring the world, finding inner peace, helping as many people as possible, gaining power/money by any means necessary, etc.
All valid, some more well-intentioned than others. IMO if your goal is to do good by yourself and/or to others without actively seeking to hurt others, there isn't really a wrong answer.
This was just meant to be something funny to make people chuckle and then continue on with their day. I find my meaning in being an existential jester. To laugh at everything. May I be from joy or mockery or grim determination. So much so that I've told my wife that if she feels the need to give me a memorial plaque after my death it can only have one of two quotes on it. The first is attributed to Shakespeare's Marc Anthony: "Have I played the part well? Then applaud, as I exit." Or from Darkest Dungeon: "He will be laughing still, in the end."
I too revel in the absurdism that results from a mind evolved to fuck and throw big rocks trying to understand anything beyond the five little sense peepholes it's looking through. Hello out there, fellow pervert! I wonder what the outside looks like through your peepholes!
When I'm not looking out, I build logical graphs in my head that represent social concepts and how I fit into the world, especially along the 1 time dimension, and sometimes the graphs make me happy or sad, usually because of how well rested or caffeinated I am.
I hope your mind graphs are happy today (or whatever abstraction applies to your thought process).
Here is to existential nihilism. That one set me free because it’s not centered on obligation toward other people aka living my false self. My meaning is inner peace by self actualization.
A hundred percent. I used to just call myself a nihilist, because on paper it applies. But straight up self described nihilists are stuck in a dead end.
I prefer to use nihilism as a reminder that there are no ultimate loci of meaning and that anything I insist on having meaning needs to be justified.
Lol this thread. You can't just mention the meaning of life on social media without us armchair philosophers crawling out of the woodwork and uhm ackshually-ing all over the place.
We can expand that into our existence doesn’t need to be justified. Nothing wrong with philosophy. It’s the only thing keeping me sane.
Yeah, philosophy is pretty great. I love it.
Exactly. If there is a reason for our conscious existence, it is to observe and imbue with meaning. Otherwise the world just is.
You're what an internet turtle philosopher describe as "the pretentious dude at a party who thinks he's got everything figured out. Really now? You figured out the meaning of life and you're certain of it?"
Okay, then why do you care about human knowledge and want to learn as much as possible? What about the application of that knowledge?
Do you care about knowledge or wisdom?
To what end do you apply that knowledge?
To what ends will you acquire that knowledge?