what i find the most interesting is if you have a brain, instinct would prevent you from being an atheist or nihilist, i mean the only way to beat the system is to kill yourself, that is the only way to be a "true" atheist.
i cant understand why people cant just accept the fact we exist simply because we can.
I understand that this is quite the read, but if you can grudge through it, it may open your mind to new perspectives, if anything, new ideas. This is taken from my nihilism thread i made a while back.
Existential nihilism is the philosophical theory that life has no intrinsic meaning or value. With respect to the universe, existential nihilism posits that a single human or even the entire human species is insignificant, without inherant purpose and unlikely to change in the totality of existence. According to the theory, each individual is an isolated being "thrown" into the universe, barred from knowing "why", yet compelled to invent meaning. The inherent meaninglessness of life is largely explored in the philosophical school of existentialism, where one can potentially create his or her own subjective "meaning" or "purpose". Of all types of nihilism, existential nihilism gets the most literary and philosophical attention.
The idea that meaning and values are without foundation is a form of nihilism, and the existential response to that idea is noting that meaning is not "a matter of contemplative theory", but instead, "a consequence of engagement and commitment". The theory purports to describe the human situation to create a life outlook and create meaning, which has been summarized as,
"Strut, fret, and delude ourselves as we may, our lives are of no significance, and it is futile to seek or to affirm meaning where none can be found." Existential nihilists claim that, to be honest, one must face the absurdity of existence, that he/she will eventually die, and that both religion and metaphysics are simply results of the fear of death.
"There is no justification for life, but also no reason not to live. Those who claim to find inherent meaning in their lives are either dishonest or deluded, they fail to face up to the harsh reality of the human situation. Those who aknowledge the absurdity of existence, and decide to give their life meaning despite that fact, are the truly honest ones." -Donald A. Crosby
When i speak about no purpose, im talking about no inherent purpose... like nothing gives us meaning or purpose. The only thing that gives us meaning and purpose is ourselves, and how we choose to give it that meaning. I think most people who cling to metaphysics/theology/spirituality have a really hard time understanding that we give ourselves purpose, or maybe they just cant except that. Dealing with the absurdity of existence is extremely painful at the start, but it allows a sense of freedom within ourselves that i cannot quite describe, it allows us to be completely honest with ourselves... rather than pretending/lying to ourselves to make ourselves feel better, we gain a sense of accomplishment, courage, pride, freedom, complete honesty, because instead of giving ourselves false truths, we embrace the absurdity of our existence and continue to live happily (or some unfortunates decide to live unhappily) in spite the fact that our lives are inherently meaningless. Since we have gotten past this awakening, we can now move towards the bigger and better parts of our lives, living in the moment, living for happiness and to make others happy, etc. etc.
I completely agree with you, that science is wrong, a lot! Even Hawkins was wrong when he said that information is destroyed in a back hole, it took him 25 years to come to terms within himself.. but he held a conference and openly stated that he was wrong, and that he is going to use this information to further his study about black holes. And you are also right, we could be completely wrong about what we think we know... but it doesn't change the fact that our sun will die, nothing can change that, and as we look into the farthest corners of the universe, it keeps telling us, reminding us over and over again... nothing lasts forever, that everything is in a constant flux of change.
I think if the outcome is unknown, it is merely the best to assume only that which can carry the burden of proof to the highest degree of what we can know. Like how we know stars die, we know entire species can get wiped out in a matter of days. I think the question about assuming the worst or assuming the best depends on our individual preferences. Personally, i just like to live life as happily as i can trying my best to not do anything that impacts the environment negatively.
I think the next step in human evolution is our choice, we hold the key to unlock the door. I think the first step is when everyone can come to terms with absurdity, and still find enough meaning in ourselves to continue to live. I think once/if this step is made on a mass scale, the sudden realization of what we have been doing to ourselves and our planet will hit us, and hit hard. If we could only understand the absurdity of the human condition, i think we would finally make the step we should have been making a long time ago to help everyone in the world be healthy, have a place to sleep, food to eat, clean water to drink for everyone. This is all possable and more, but everyone is so worried about what to believe, its like we are all still children, its like the human race is in its child stage, arguing and fighting over things that hold no relevance over what is actually important in the world.
From my own experiences, ive come up with a theory for humans capacity to change.
1. The hardest, is to change because you want to. Have you ever tried quitting smoking cigarettes, or cannabis for that matter? It is extremely degrading to my ego, when i would promise myself i was going to make the change, yet i couldn't do it. It was so hard, so very hard to change because i wanted to rather than when i HAVE to.
2. This gets a little easier, but still pretty tough. This form of change happens when something in our lives gets to a point where if we don't change, our mental or physical health would be in jeopardy. For instance, when you find out you are starting to get lung cancer, it is much easier to quit smoking now that you have a more powerful incentive to quit, because it might save your life. And isn't it funny, that it sometimes takes the fear of death to make us decide to change?
3. The last is the easiest, this form of change happens when you are forced to change. For example, say you get put on probation, and by law, if you get caught smoking cannabis you are going to be spending some time behind bars that people made to keep humans in. This is a massive amount of incentive, i cant think of a time where change came easier for me... i quit smoking cannabis cold turkey straight up, easiest change ive ever made lol.
Now when you take a look at this theory of change, and instead of presenting it as individual change... and take it to a much larger level, mass population change, you can see that the concepts are very similar. Its hard to keep hold onto the thought of hope for humanity, when you understand fully what it takes for people to change... let alone a mass population to change. It seems to me, that the only way a population will change is from numbers 2. and 3. with 3. topping out at most probable. Im thinking that some sort of mass catastrophe must occur for larger populations to find the courage and incentive to change.
This is very sad, i know, i agree... it sucks. I wish it wasn't like this i really do, but this is why its so hard for me to hold onto hope for humanity to find the key to their own evolution. To put aside our quarreling, arguments and disagreements and focus on what is really important for humanities continued survival, and happiness.
... lollll
