One of the numerous philosophical topics that interest me is "the meaning of life". I consider it an important idea that people should mull over at least once in a while. So, here it is for b77: what is the meaning of life?
Wikipedia's article
There are, as the wikipedia artcle illustrates, a wide variety of considerations to answer this broad question. Religion, philosophy and science all attempt to answer the question with some degree of authority (depending on the view), although the enigmatic nature of the question always leaves it open.
What do you think is the meaning of life? You can describe it in relation to one of the views on wikipedia or in your own way, whichever suits you.
I have grown to embrace a more existential or absurdist answer to the 2nd great question. Life is inherently without meaning. We create any and all meaning in our lives because we're the only ones who actually care what it means. A hurricane smashes into the coastline with little care for the impending death and damage, but without malice. It smashes into the coastline because that is what hurricanes do (always a cop-out answer). Life is nothing more than a series of events built upon preceding events (very much deterministic). You end up in the hospital because you got hit by the car because you failed to look both ways because you rushing to make a meeting you were late to because you didn't hear your alarm because you were out drinking the previous night and in a drunken slumber because you were celebrating your best friend proposing to his girlfriend of five years . . . etc, etc. It has nothing to do with fate, destiny, the norns or god.
This isn't to say that I don't find value in the things I do, or the jobs I work, but I don't pretend that it isn't me creating the meaning in them. You find meaning in what you give meaning.
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I hope people have some desire to disucss this topic here. I will admit a little bit of envy that spiritual and philosophical discussions do seem to flourish over at HoF. I would like for b77 to have some as well.
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Alternate answer to the penultimate question: 42 or 47 if you like Star Trek: TNG. That's right, I'm stealing the Doulgas Adams answer before anyone else uses that as their entire post.