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I know that this is my personal view on life, but: If you don't care at all about what happens after you're dead, what's the purpose of your life? You'll be dea

I know that this is my personal view on life, but: If you don't care at all about what happens after you're dead, what's the purpose of your life? You'll be dead and it won't have mattered a bit that you're been here.

mirimir 8y ago
Having fun is the best I've come up with. And yes, working on stuff that I care about. But that's part of what I consider having fun. Long term, I'll be dead, no matter what.
- konschubert 8y ago
  But see, that's my point. How can you or I find joy in building a better database or whatever if there will be nobody to use it in 100 years?
  - mirimir 8y ago
    OK, so let's say that you really care about this. Maybe consider what could you do about it. Instead of building a better database or whatever.
    - fredsir 8y ago
      I don’t think it matters as much if what you do in actuality ends up making a significant difference. What matters is that you did what you could. From the perspectives of future societies, you and I will be blips anyways, so that’s irrelevant. But how can one be contempt with knowing that they didn’t try to make a difference, and that their mark on the world disappears when the energy has left their body and their corpse has been burned and buried, I do not understand, because if you don’t (try to) leave anything of value behind, your existence is practically for nothing, except for maybe even a net negative.
      - mirimir 8y ago
        I agree. And I did spend a decade on it. But now my main focus is online privacy and freedom.
  - heurist 8y ago
    Joy is a mental process that has nothing to do with anyone outside of you. The fun is in building, thinking, designing.
scotty79 8y ago
You can just accept that life has no purpose. This removes anxiety about fulfilling your purpose. Nihilism can be a source of great comfort when practised by optimist. :)
- batiudrami 8y ago
  Acknowledging that life has no purpose (as I believe) does nothing to alleviate my concern for the future suffering of others, however.
  - scotty79 8y ago
    You could do some mind tricks with the use of nihilism to care less about their suffering but I think I agree with you. Optimism helps more with that. Just be sure that they'll figure something out eventually.
  - mirimir 8y ago
    If you're strongly moved, you could commit your life to doing something about it. But it's also important to keep in mind that none of this likely matters long term, on the scale of millenia. Future historians will likely consider these times as far more tragic than the fall of Rome. But that's how it goes.
- mirimir 8y ago
  In my case, not exactly nihilism, but est/Landmark. Basically, there is no innate meaning or purpose, only whatever you say that there is. As a biologist, of course, I'd add that there's selection for reproductive fitness. But that's readily ignorable, if you're paying attention.
- bigbugbag 8y ago
  Maybe from a selfish and individualistic point of view (which is one of the reason things are going in the wrong direction), but if you have empathy and care about others people and life forms it is a very different matter.
  - 8y ago

mirimir 8y ago

Having fun is the best I've come up with. And yes, working on stuff that I care about. But that's part of what I consider having fun. Long term, I'll be dead, no matter what.

konschubert 8y ago
But see, that's my point. How can you or I find joy in building a better database or whatever if there will be nobody to use it in 100 years?
- mirimir 8y ago
  OK, so let's say that you really care about this. Maybe consider what could you do about it. Instead of building a better database or whatever.
  - fredsir 8y ago
    I don’t think it matters as much if what you do in actuality ends up making a significant difference. What matters is that you did what you could. From the perspectives of future societies, you and I will be blips anyways, so that’s irrelevant. But how can one be contempt with knowing that they didn’t try to make a difference, and that their mark on the world disappears when the energy has left their body and their corpse has been burned and buried, I do not understand, because if you don’t (try to) leave anything of value behind, your existence is practically for nothing, except for maybe even a net negative.
    - mirimir 8y ago
      I agree. And I did spend a decade on it. But now my main focus is online privacy and freedom.
- heurist 8y ago
  Joy is a mental process that has nothing to do with anyone outside of you. The fun is in building, thinking, designing.

scotty79 8y ago

You can just accept that life has no purpose. This removes anxiety about fulfilling your purpose. Nihilism can be a source of great comfort when practised by optimist. :)

batiudrami 8y ago
Acknowledging that life has no purpose (as I believe) does nothing to alleviate my concern for the future suffering of others, however.
- scotty79 8y ago
  You could do some mind tricks with the use of nihilism to care less about their suffering but I think I agree with you. Optimism helps more with that. Just be sure that they'll figure something out eventually.
- mirimir 8y ago
  If you're strongly moved, you could commit your life to doing something about it. But it's also important to keep in mind that none of this likely matters long term, on the scale of millenia. Future historians will likely consider these times as far more tragic than the fall of Rome. But that's how it goes.
mirimir 8y ago
In my case, not exactly nihilism, but est/Landmark. Basically, there is no innate meaning or purpose, only whatever you say that there is. As a biologist, of course, I'd add that there's selection for reproductive fitness. But that's readily ignorable, if you're paying attention.
bigbugbag 8y ago
Maybe from a selfish and individualistic point of view (which is one of the reason things are going in the wrong direction), but if you have empathy and care about others people and life forms it is a very different matter.
- 8y ago