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Does it matter?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Sitri, Oct 19, 2013.

  1. Sitri

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    Does anything matter? Say I save somebody's life. That's great, but all I did was buy them some time. They'll die anyway, and when they do will it matter that they didn't die earlier? Death is death, the dead don't do anything so why would they care when they passed. Say I did more than that. Say I somehow usher in a golden era of humanity, free of war and poverty. I will still die, then what do my accomplishments get me? A fancy stone with my name on it, that's what. Even my accomplishments will fade. What does a golden era mean when the earth is dead and gone? When the universe inevitably collapses, what does anything matter? Everything is gone, so comparatively I had about as much effect on the universe as a grain of sand...
     
  2. Nick07

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    (*hug*)

    Our life doesn't matter if we don't make it meaningful. We ourselves need to give our lives meaning. It doesn't need to influence whole universe. It still be good enough if we make a good impact on OUR universe and the people in our little world :slight_smile:

    hang in there Sitri :kiss:
     
  3. Data

    Data Guest

    Yup.

    The difference is while you're alive for 70 years, the fruits of your accomplishments continue to benefit humanity, and you can take pride in it. Even after you die, society was advanced because of what you did.

    Nothing will matter once the universe ends. Nothing at all. In order to really understand life, you have to zoom way in to ONLY planet Earth because as far as we know this is the only place life exists. It's on this planet that everything you are, and everything you can be exists. You can be ordinary or extraordinary, and the difference between those is only on this planet. Once you realize that, you can remove the end of time from the equation.

    Tesla, a man who gave us modern electrical layouts and format has touched the lives of SO MANY people since he standardized AC current and sold the patent to Westinghouse. He's dead. So what? His LEGACY lives on everytime you plug in your Iphone. That's the key.

    So life is worth giving a good hard shot to do something good for the world. In the end nothing will matter good or bad, but for the future people of Earth your contributions can be the next step toward advancing ourselves as a species!
     
  4. June Cleaver

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    You MUST matter because you are here! There are people all around you that are in some sort of need that you can make the difference to... Just look around you and help all those you find, being the best human you can be and that is quite enough to give you all the legasy you need! June
     
  5. Foxface

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    It's really a question of your personal philosophy. And no answer is really wrong. Do you feel having a legacy makes you more or less immortal? Do you believe that all accomplishments are meaningless? Do your actions to help others make a difference in other people's lives therefore making them important?

    Really these questions are just to make my point that the decision is ultimately yours. My personal feeling is that you have made a difference in another living being and therefore it is important. But that's the point...it's MY opinion. Yours may vary or be the same

    Foxface
     
  6. resu

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    Sounds like you're having a bout of nihilism. The thing is, yes you're going to die, but what are you going to do in the time between now and your death? Living is much, much harder than dying, which is why I think the death penalty is the wrong way of punishing heinous crimes. However, to live does not mean to only suffer. You can find the good in yourself and the things around you.

    Take for example that person whose life you save. Yes, you have only postponed their death, but what if that gave them more time to spend with their family, maybe their children/grandchildren, or do something that they had always dreamed about but never had an opportunity to do? In such a case, then their "second chance" at life will have been very meaningful.
     
  7. Prima

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    Nothing you do can matter at a universal level, because 'mattering' is a mental concept, and doesn't exist outside of our minds.

    You can, however, do things that matter to other people. You can improve their lives, make them happier during their time alive. You can do things that matter to yourself, too. The universe doesn't care if you have a huge impact on it, but if you saved someones life, they would care, and so would their family and friends.
     
  8. Siarad

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    I went to a talk by Alan Moore (author of From Hell, V for Vendettaetc) and he was talking about life and death and said that his new theory on it is that time and the timeline of our lives is just another dimension. He said something along the lines of "I'm 6 foot 1 and that's the dimension of my height. It doesn't bother me that I don't exist in the space above my head or below my feet because my whole experience of existing is within the dimensions of my height." He went on to say that it's the same with the timeline of our lives and he said "What if we bounce between these two points - the point we're born and the point we die?". He suggested that your life might happen again and again, the exact same way every time and asked how that might affect the way that we live our lives, describing it as the very best picture of an 'afterlife' - the very best and the very worst moments of your life happening over and over forever and to ask yourself as you make choices - would you want this to be repeated forever?

    It's stuck in my mind since as, even if it's not something you believe, it is a good way of thinking about how we exist and act in the world.
     
  9. Hrantou

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    Well sure, I mean I doubt 1,000 years from now anyone will know your name, or mine, or even the presidents name.

    But still, never underestimate the affect one moment, or one decision can have on the course of history. What you do does matter. It might not matter on a universal level, but what you do today does have an affect on tomorrow.
     
  10. Sitri

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    Sorry, I'm not usually such a downer. Every once in a while I get these weird mood swings where I stop caring about anything. They usually only last a few hours. Funnily, I never get like this when I have an actual reason to be upset, only when everything is going fine.
     
  11. Z3ni

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    Well of course we are all going to "die" sooner or later.. But think about it.. you have this "Opportunity" to live... as a free willed/minded being.. Enjoy it while it last.
     
  12. AAASAS

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    Life is a selfish act of making yourself feel good. There is not point to anything after you die, but there is a point while alive.

    Who cares if your accomplishments are remembered, all that matters is you enjoyed your life.

    I realized everything you are saying years ago, and it made me feel better. It is nice to accomplish things and have a positive impact, but that doesn't signify a good life. The only thing that signifies a good life is if you enjoyed it.

    Yes you will be gone one day and so will everyone else, but the universe is made up of inanimate material with most likely very little life spread around, so actual existence is for the majority not be conscious. 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% of the universe isn't alive, so I don't see how you think it's such a big deal that you won't be. You are made up of atoms that started out as energy, turned to hydrogen, and developed further into other elements through nuclear fusion. Life really is just a coincidence, and there is no need to be done about it, just be happy you got to be, and didn't stay a solitary element or compound.

    Everything and everyone is star dust. So it is only natural that you will ultimately end up that way.
     
  13. Hexagon

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    I'm actually inclined to agree with you here. I try to ignore it as much as possible though.

    Something someone once told me when I was feeling this way: The point of it all is porn.
     
  14. starfish

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    My personal philosophy, is that nothing really maters.

    Anything I do will be superseded by others and forgotten in time. The sun will go nova and vaporize the Earth, and eventually the universe will reach entropy and when the last ember of the universe grows cold it will all be over.

    Sounds depressing. No, it is awesome. We fight out mortality and try to become immortal. We speak of our legacy as a way to make ourselves immortal. That is a lot of pressure to put ourselves under.

    Instead I embrace my mortality. I will die, and will be forgotten. Given time any influence I had on this world will be diluted by others. The freedom this give me is awesome. I am free to be awesome and live my life. I no longer have to worry about mistakes and errors as I know the will all be erased. I don't have to worry about what others or society think of me and my life. I just get to live my life and enjoy it.
     
  15. chercheur

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    I dunno, I see profound meaning in our existence, just by looking at the cycle of things in nature. It's about constant growth and renewal. It's very beautiful. Yes, we fade and we die, but it's only to make room for new generations..and who knows, reincarnationists would say we're making way for our own rebirths. Either way, going on and on forever in the same mode of existence would be pointless, wouldn't it?

    For me, my personal beliefs are complex...I do believe that our self awareness survives after death, either on another plane or through reincarnation, however I recognize it's very possible that death is the end of our self awareness..and that's okay, too, cause death is something I can never experience, so I'm not afraid of it.

    Regardless, these are answers we can never know the answer to. What we can do is make the decision to fill every moment we have with beauty; experience all life has to offer, love, lust, joy, laughter, soak it all up while you have the chance, and try to impact change as much as possible to make progress for the next generation so they, too, can experience all of this at an even greater and more intense level.

    Honestly, the knowledge of my own death and the relative meaninglessness of each of our own current existences is what allows me to follow my heart and experience life without fear; because there's nothing holding me back. There's no ultimate goal to shoot for other than happiness, so if I *want* something and think it will make my life *better*, I go for it. I guess you could say our lack of meaning, in the grand scheme of things, is what makes my life more meaningful, to myself.

    Read the work of Epicurus...he has a very beautiful perspective on the purpose of our lives.
     
    #15 chercheur, Oct 20, 2013
    Last edited: Oct 20, 2013
  16. insidemymind

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    Your point is well-taken and it's a very mature viewpoint. However, I think this issue has more to do with your own values/ideals/morals. Do you value life? Would you get something out of of assisting someone else? Personally, I feel like life has as much meaning as we give it. For example, if one were to believe life is pointless, everything we do would have no meaning as a result. However, if one were to simply live day-by-day, we could create meaning for ourselves, whatever that may turn out to be. I hope this makes sense to everyone.
     
  17. Argentwing

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    Wow. I was gonna come in and offer my opinion, but there are some great replies in here!

    My gf often embraces the mental trap of thinking that because something is bound to end, its entire existence is folly. But in this fleeting world we are fleeting creatures, whether we find meaning or not. The reduced point of view is that I'd rather spend my life in a way that's fulfilling for its duration rather than sit for a lifetime lamenting mortality.

    I've got to simplify it down some more: You either get one ice cream cone whose enjoyment is memory in five minutes, or no ice cream at all because you imagine the sense of loss after finishing the cone is too great. Which is it gonna be? :S
     
  18. AtheistWorld

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    Someone's been reading Nietzsche.
     
  19. Data

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    UGH my God, he's a fucking idiot. I read lots of Nietzsche as a HS assignment (regrettable) and we came to the conclusion as a class that his many contradictions of himself dented his credibility. He's an awful writer.
     
  20. AtheistWorld

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    The one thing he did right was prove (at least in my view) that god isn't real. But overall I agree that his philosophy is awful.