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My opinion: meaning comes from religion and philosophy, not a job. Do a reasonably good job at work and take your career seriously, but don’t think it’s somethi

My opinion: meaning comes from religion and philosophy, not a job. Do a reasonably good job at work and take your career seriously, but don’t think it’s something that it’s not.

tempguy9999 7y ago
Honest Q: where does that leave me as an atheist? As one such, the only meaning I can find in life is "it's about other people, and sentient creatures. Treat them well" There is nothing else.
- bigred100 7y ago
  Well then you have to figure out what treating someone well is. Which probably takes a lifetime and more of living and studying religion and philosophy. And then a lifetime of getting yourself to actually do it.
  - tempguy9999 7y ago
    The meaning of treating someone well does not take a lifetime of hard work to comprehend. In the tale of Rabi Hillel, "that which is repugnant to you, do not do to others". I believe the bible says something similar. I'll bet anything the koran does too, and every religious text. I believe that humanist texts say much the same though I can't find it now. For fun, here's the first tenet from the satanic temple https://thesatanictemple.com/ https://thesatanictemple.com/ "One should strive to act with compassion and empathy towards all creatures in accordance with reason" But that's beside the point, really. I was hoping for an acknowledgement that I could be a moral entity without the influence of religion. A bit of bridge-building would have been welcome, and much needed in these times.
  - __blockcipher__ 7y ago
    I would argue that treating someone well doesn’t require a lifetime of book study. Rather it requires the opposite, to see the person fully as what they are _right now_, and to respond accordingly without a trace of ideology. To do anything else is to be engaging with your idea of the person, and your own idea of what is “good”, rather than what actually is.
- namarie 7y ago
  They did say religion AND philosophy...
- ben509 7y ago
  You don't have to agree with the bible to read it. You can read between the lines to see how the stories portray the human condition. They were real people who repeatedly promised to do better, and then failed, and then tried again. They may be wrong about the existence of a deity, but still have understood some essential truths about the meaning of life.
  - __blockcipher__ 7y ago
    You could say that about any book. You could get the same lesson from A Song of Ice and Fire, etc. Not saying the bible isn’t worth reading, but rather that your point kind of rings empty. As humans we can find meaning anywhere.
    - ben509 7y ago
      Those books weren't lived by millions of people.
- dogcomplex 7y ago
  Do you care about the future of humanity as a whole? There's your religion
- neilv 7y ago
  > As one such, the only meaning I can find in life is "it's about other people, and sentient creatures. Treat them well" Unless that reduces to what you want for its own sake (e.g., you want to treat all sentient creatures well for its own sake, or you want something else for its own sake that follows from treating all sentient creatures well), then it sounds like you have a religion, whether or not it involves a deity. Example: lots of people enjoy and want to be nice to dogs -- and not because anyone told them it's good/moral to be nice to dogs, or that society would work better for everyone if everyone is nice to dogs and everyone has to do their part, etc. That seems like wants separate from religion or philosophy. Unless Edie Brickell was right, about religion being the smile on a dog. Then maybe we simply want religion.
- JesumPerMariam 7y ago
  There is no meaning in atheism. The simple answer is to become religious.
enkid 7y ago
But they should at least be compatible
soganess 7y ago
My preconditions/assumptions: 40 hour a week for work 3 hour a week for commute 8 hours of sleep a night 2 hours a day outside of work for your meals 7*24-7*8-40-3-7*2 == 55 This leaves you 55 hours a week. This obviously doesn't including errands and lord forbid you have make your own food or take care of a child. It also doesn't account for quality of hours(Ex: the hour right after waking up or right before bed are less productive). Not to mention you might want to have sex regularly or just be social with your friends. I haven't even account for basic grooming like showering or brushing your teeth. So you've got 55 hours a week of being tired after a day of work to live your life. Assuming you work starting at the age of 18 and retire at 64 you have a working lifetime of: (52*55*(64-18))/(24*365) = 15 years All of which you are tired from work. I'm with you 100%, people should be fulfilled outside of work, but its not hard to see why people want fulfillment at work. There is not a lot of life left after it. Lets not even try to do the calculations for those doing the 50-60(or worse) hours a week because of two jobs or a startup or what have you.

My opinion: meaning comes from religion and philosophy, not a job. Do a reasonably good job at work and take your career seriously, but don’t think it’s something that it’s not.

tempguy9999 7y ago

Honest Q: where does that leave me as an atheist? As one such, the only meaning I can find in life is "it's about other people, and sentient creatures. Treat them well" There is nothing else.

bigred100 7y ago
Well then you have to figure out what treating someone well is. Which probably takes a lifetime and more of living and studying religion and philosophy. And then a lifetime of getting yourself to actually do it.
- tempguy9999 7y ago
  The meaning of treating someone well does not take a lifetime of hard work to comprehend. In the tale of Rabi Hillel, "that which is repugnant to you, do not do to others". I believe the bible says something similar. I'll bet anything the koran does too, and every religious text. I believe that humanist texts say much the same though I can't find it now. For fun, here's the first tenet from the satanic temple https://thesatanictemple.com/ https://thesatanictemple.com/ "One should strive to act with compassion and empathy towards all creatures in accordance with reason" But that's beside the point, really. I was hoping for an acknowledgement that I could be a moral entity without the influence of religion. A bit of bridge-building would have been welcome, and much needed in these times.
- __blockcipher__ 7y ago
  I would argue that treating someone well doesn’t require a lifetime of book study. Rather it requires the opposite, to see the person fully as what they are _right now_, and to respond accordingly without a trace of ideology. To do anything else is to be engaging with your idea of the person, and your own idea of what is “good”, rather than what actually is.
namarie 7y ago
They did say religion AND philosophy...
ben509 7y ago
You don't have to agree with the bible to read it. You can read between the lines to see how the stories portray the human condition. They were real people who repeatedly promised to do better, and then failed, and then tried again. They may be wrong about the existence of a deity, but still have understood some essential truths about the meaning of life.
- __blockcipher__ 7y ago
  You could say that about any book. You could get the same lesson from A Song of Ice and Fire, etc. Not saying the bible isn’t worth reading, but rather that your point kind of rings empty. As humans we can find meaning anywhere.
  - ben509 7y ago
    Those books weren't lived by millions of people.
dogcomplex 7y ago
Do you care about the future of humanity as a whole? There's your religion
neilv 7y ago
> As one such, the only meaning I can find in life is "it's about other people, and sentient creatures. Treat them well" Unless that reduces to what you want for its own sake (e.g., you want to treat all sentient creatures well for its own sake, or you want something else for its own sake that follows from treating all sentient creatures well), then it sounds like you have a religion, whether or not it involves a deity. Example: lots of people enjoy and want to be nice to dogs -- and not because anyone told them it's good/moral to be nice to dogs, or that society would work better for everyone if everyone is nice to dogs and everyone has to do their part, etc. That seems like wants separate from religion or philosophy. Unless Edie Brickell was right, about religion being the smile on a dog. Then maybe we simply want religion.
JesumPerMariam 7y ago
There is no meaning in atheism. The simple answer is to become religious.

enkid 7y ago

But they should at least be compatible

soganess 7y ago

My preconditions/assumptions: 40 hour a week for work 3 hour a week for commute 8 hours of sleep a night 2 hours a day outside of work for your meals 7*24-7*8-40-3-7*2 == 55 This leaves you 55 hours a week. This obviously doesn't including errands and lord forbid you have make your own food or take care of a child. It also doesn't account for quality of hours(Ex: the hour right after waking up or right before bed are less productive). Not to mention you might want to have sex regularly or just be social with your friends. I haven't even account for basic grooming like showering or brushing your teeth. So you've got 55 hours a week of being tired after a day of work to live your life. Assuming you work starting at the age of 18 and retire at 64 you have a working lifetime of: (52*55*(64-18))/(24*365) = 15 years All of which you are tired from work. I'm with you 100%, people should be fulfilled outside of work, but its not hard to see why people want fulfillment at work. There is not a lot of life left after it. Lets not even try to do the calculations for those doing the 50-60(or worse) hours a week because of two jobs or a startup or what have you.