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> any assumed meaning of our existence only matters while we're alive. What do you mean by this? It is obviously possible to have an impact that lasts after yo
by kaashif 1y ago
> any assumed meaning of our existence only matters while we're alive.
What do you mean by this? It is obviously possible to have an impact that lasts after you die and that people view as meaningful long after you die.
If the meaning of your life is to raise your kids well, that still matters after you die. Or if you invented calculus, or general relativity, or conquered Egypt and Persia, or wrote an epic poem read for thousands of years.
The world will go on without you, but it will be different, and maybe meaningfully so to those left.
- adastra22 1y agoI understood it to be a self-centered statement (meant to explain, not judge). “Meaning” is something that exists in your head. You care about the state of the world because your cares are a state of your mind. Kill the mind, and there’s nothing left to do the caring. The first objection is often “but I care about other people whom I will leave behind!” But yes, you care. Once you’re gone… there won’t be anyone left doing that caring.
- htfu 1y agoYour caring will be passed on, that's the point.
- IAmBroom 1y agoHow? If you care about that little red-headed girl you knew as a nearly-bald kid, and you die in a cabin in the woods, how is your care passed on?
- htfu 1y agoBy your interactions with them. Sure, after-the-fact caring won't result in any external effects, but a lot of caring is expressed in interaction which is indeed left with people. Who in turn have other cares and interactions influenced by those who cared about them. It's a chain.