Do the same with mankind... Universe has no meaning without man?
2006-11-14 08:39:31 · 6 answers · asked by semaver c 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Who says it has meaning?
It's meaningful to you and me, and the the rest of the sentient beings that know what "having meaning" indicates.
But beyond that, it just is. We impose meaning upon it.
Sorry if this is upsetting, but consider it a chance to look for the meaning that holds the most promise for yourself.
2006-11-14 08:41:48 · answer #1 · answered by NHBaritone 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Life without God has no meaning.
The meaning we assign to life is a pretense based on thin air.
If the entire sequence of existance comes down to... big bang, an expanding universe, the freak formation of life, the next big bang... it's all over, then there's no such thing as one moral choice being better than another in absolute terms. Jim Jones did as well as Billy Graham. Adolph Hitler did as well as Ghandi. John Wayne Gacy did as well as Mother Theresa.
Cheat on your wife? So what? Kill your neighbour? So what? Devote your life to hedonism, ignore your children, flush your goldfish down the toilet... yada, yada, yada...
It just doesn't matter. The only thing that could prevent you from doing exactly whatever your instincts or desires prompt you to do... are social mores and laws... which are as insubstantial, ultimately, as the choices and behaviors they prohibit. You can have 300 million people in favour of one ethical position and one person in favour of another... but in absolute terms, they weigh exactly the same.
Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you shall die.
Unless...
...Meaning and purpose are dictated by something outside of ourselves.
2006-11-14 17:47:38 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The universe DOES NOT have meaning in and of itself, It was not created, it simply is. Now to look at mankind... like the universe mankind has no intrinsic meaning. HOWEVER... since we have cognition, we are able to assign meanings to things. The only reason anything has meaning to us is because we assign that meaning ourselves. Life has meaning to us because we are alive.
The moral, something doesn't have to have intrinsic value to have meaning. Meaning is in the eye of the beholder.
2006-11-14 16:49:20 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
First question - Why should the universe have meaning? Sounds like wishful thinking to me.
Second question - Why should the universe only have meaning because of mankind? Sounds like hubris to me.
2006-11-14 16:42:51 · answer #4 · answered by Alan 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you can't find meaning without your religion, you have a serious problem. And it isn't the lack of religion.
2006-11-14 16:50:45 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Excellent question. Cannot be answered though, no one knows anything for sure.
2006-11-14 16:53:04 · answer #6 · answered by Gorgeoustxwoman2013 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋