Is existence meanigless ?

Question

Im an agnostic borderline deist, apart from that I whole heartedly believe in science. That being said, scientist now think that there were universes before this one, and there will be universes after. Since nothing anybody does will ever matter since the slate will be wiped clean, is all of this meaningless ? Does existence in and of itself have any value ?

Answer 1

80% of humanity, the religious folks, don't need to ask the meaning of life, the church tells them....the supernatural explanation. But the rest of us can't swallow religious dogma, because there's no evidence. Nobody can prove that there life after death, that people are tortured or rewarded after life or that there's invisible spirits running around.

I've come to two conclusions recently:

1. Life has no meaning
2. Life has a million meanings.

First, there's a certainty that death and annihilation awaits not only you, but the Earth in general. It's an astonomical certainty that our sun will supernova and leave the earth a burnt crisp, not to mention all the other extinction level events around the corner.

Second, the million things that give us meaning are the pleasurable experiences we can conjure up during the short period we are here on the earth, in the form of the relationships we have with our kids and other people, and the 'housekeeping' types of purposes. What i mean by that are the curing disease, ending hunger, improving literacy, reducing crime, preventing war, helping other kinds of things.

So the bottom line is, we only have a temporary meaning to life, to reduce pain and increase pleasure, other than that everything is lost to oblivion.

To be or not to be? "To be" is temporary and "not to be" is inevitable.....

Answer 2

Now the answer ... is plain, but it is so unpalatable that most men will not face it. There is no reason for life and life has no meaning.
— Somerset Maugham, (1874-1965)

The universe may have a purpose, but nothing we know suggests that, if so, this purpose has any similarity to ours.
— Bertrand Russell

I don't think we're here for anything, we're just products of evolution. You can say, “Gee, your life must be pretty bleak if you don't think there's a purpose,” but I'm anticipating a good lunch.
— James Watson (Nobel prize winner; co-discoverer of molecular structure of DNA)

Life has no meaning beyond this reality. But people keep searching for excuses. First there was reincarnation. Then refabrication. Now there's theories of life after amoebas, after death, between death, around death. Now you come back as a shirt, as a pair of pants. If Shirley MacLaine tells some brilliant guy, "There's an ethereal planet that sits right next to a delicatessen in Ethiopia and if you go shop there twice a day, you'll live forever," this putz believes it because he needs an answer from somebody. People call it truth, religion; I call it insanity, the denial of death as the basic truth of life. "What is the meaning of life?" is a stupid question. Life just exists. You say to yourself, "I can't accept that I mean nothing so I have to find the meaning of life so that I shouldn't mean as little as I know I do." Subconsciously you know you're full of ****. I see life as a dance. Does a dance have to have a meaning? You're dancing because you enjoy it.
— Jackie Mason

Life is but a momentary glimpse of the wonder of this astonishing universe, and it is sad to see so many dreaming it away on spiritual fantasy.
— Carl Sagan

Life should be lived so vividly and so intensely that thoughts of another life, or of a longer life, are not necessary.
— Marjory Stoneham Douglas

Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life.
— Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956)

From my rotting body,
flowers shall grow
and I am in them
and that is eternity.
— Edvard Munch (1863-1944)

There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.
— George Santayana (1863 - 1952)

Sacrificing the earth for paradise is giving up the substance for the shadow.
— Victor Hugo, (1802-1885)

Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?
— Douglas Adams

If you require further info on the Meaning of Life, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaning_of_life

Answer 3

Yes, nothing matters. Feel free to rape and pillage.

Seriously, does it really matter whether there's some "meaning" to life? Can we possibly know before we die? My answer to both questions is "no." Nonetheless, people should strive to lead a meaningful life -- we cannot know any different in this mortal existence, so it's best to just operate to the fullest degree within what we perceive as reality.

That beats the hell out of just moping around thinking nothing matters, n'est ce pas?

You'll die eventually. If there's an afterlife [as I believe there is], perhaps you'll get a nice "departing gift" of a revelation of all mysteries. And if there's no afterlife, you won't know it once you cease to exist -- you won't know anything, because you'll have no consciousness. So please, choose happiness and contentment, and continue helping little old ladies with their groceries and doing other benevolent acts.

Answer 4

Existence creates the purpose of itself. Think of it like a game where you're trying to do the best you possibly can only to have it wiped clean. What was the point? It was simply entertaining. There is no point to anything at all except what we make and in the supposed afterlife.

Answer 5

Dear borderline Agnostic,
It depends upon the way you believe. If one only believes on that that which surrounds you then one has only to reach as far as their reason, however if one can stretch ones mind and believe that there is a higher purpose to this existence than one can conquer death it's self.
By this I mean, if one believes he or she was created by a higher loving Intelligence then one can achieve a here after and know that all things are possible. His name is Jesus (Yeshua) and he did just what I tell you.

Answer 6

From my Experience, I've learned that life itself is the answer to that question: we're meant to discover our own meaning in this plane of existence, or rather, create a meaning.

Answer 7

Of course it is meaningless. Its naive for humans to assume theres a meaning in relation to their lives.
We live and we die and no one remembers.

Answer 8

I believe in God like I believe in the sun rise. Not because I can see it, but because I can see all that it touches.

Answer 9

Sounds like an existential philosophy to me...