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At any scale, or with any perspective, all things become meaningless. You live, you die, others do the same. Yet that rarely stops anyone from pursuing purpose

At any scale, or with any perspective, all things become meaningless. You live, you die, others do the same. Yet that rarely stops anyone from pursuing purpose or meaning, and for the ambitious, a legacy of any sort is the closest they'll ever be to reaching immortality, or relevance beyond their immediate sphere of influence. If you're purposeless, why shouldn't your decisions echo throughout history, and make you moderately less so on a less cosmic scale? Nihilism is an outgrowth of atheistic convictions, when adopted without a supplemental normative framemework that prescribes and justifies a system of values, or when adopted by the depressed or otherwise mentally ailing. I've seen no coherent argument that life should be considered sacred in the face of a universe devoid of meaning or purpose, whether one's own or that of others. The concept is hardly a cure for nihilism. Offering it as a more legitimate alternative simply because it's more comfortable or reassuring to many people occupying a nihilistic space.

jl2718 6y ago
I can't argue against this. Okay, another story: long ago I was in the Air Force, and I sat at lunch with a guy that was having his last meal before being shipped off to military prison, several years for admitting to taking LSD at a party after the fact. He told me he was looking forward to it, quiet time alone with his thoughts. Somebody very close to me called me two weeks ago and told me they didn't want to live anymore, and I told them that story, and they told me that it put things in perspective for them, and they were willing to keep going with that in mind. I've been pretty low. I've had a near-death experience. I can't rationalize the value of life versus the inevitability of death. But it just seems so pervasive in everybody that has come close. I should also mention that this guy, with everything taken from him, made to feel completely insignificant, was able to save maybe a few lives, and he'll never know about it.

jl2718 6y ago

I can't argue against this. Okay, another story: long ago I was in the Air Force, and I sat at lunch with a guy that was having his last meal before being shipped off to military prison, several years for admitting to taking LSD at a party after the fact. He told me he was looking forward to it, quiet time alone with his thoughts. Somebody very close to me called me two weeks ago and told me they didn't want to live anymore, and I told them that story, and they told me that it put things in perspective for them, and they were willing to keep going with that in mind. I've been pretty low. I've had a near-death experience. I can't rationalize the value of life versus the inevitability of death. But it just seems so pervasive in everybody that has come close. I should also mention that this guy, with everything taken from him, made to feel completely insignificant, was able to save maybe a few lives, and he'll never know about it.