I was just thinking about this the other night while watching insects outside the window while making a late supper.
Some of the bigger insects were eating smaller insects. They were all attracted to the light, so the predators could expect more prey - food.
I was thinking about another hoard of insects that appeared a couple of weeks ago. They looked disgusting. A neighbour told me not to worry, that they only live 3 days, lay their eggs, die, and they'll be gone for another year. They're gone now.
Thinking of those insects, I wonder if they would think they or their lives have "meaning"? What on earth could it mean for one particular one of those insects to live with precisely the genes he or she has? Could it be reasonably assumed that "God" has a "plan" for each and every one of those? Does that plan involve them encountering others of their kind, others they prey upon, or escaping or providing a meal for a particular predator? Does "God" Save them from dragonflies or from flyswatters, just so they can encounter another insect of their kind and intact in some way? That seems pretty ridiculous to think that anyone could be so interested in the life and times of each of those silly insects that live 3 days. What makes me think that anyone out there is interested in a particular person's job hunt, prayer, aunt's cancer, cousin's procreation? Or, interested in all of the people who live in a particular city? None of these individual insects' lives or deaths matter at all to anyone or anything else. Why do humans believe that we are more special than insects?
I've come to believe that life - or consciousness existing within some delineated set of chemical reactions - is a mere "accident" of nature, which has as a purpose to continue on that type of configuration for that set of chemicals. There is no real purpose to it, much less any "meaning" to it.
It's even less meaningful to me than to try to ascertain the "meaning" of some artwork - modern or ancient.
Some of the bigger insects were eating smaller insects. They were all attracted to the light, so the predators could expect more prey - food.
I was thinking about another hoard of insects that appeared a couple of weeks ago. They looked disgusting. A neighbour told me not to worry, that they only live 3 days, lay their eggs, die, and they'll be gone for another year. They're gone now.
Thinking of those insects, I wonder if they would think they or their lives have "meaning"? What on earth could it mean for one particular one of those insects to live with precisely the genes he or she has? Could it be reasonably assumed that "God" has a "plan" for each and every one of those? Does that plan involve them encountering others of their kind, others they prey upon, or escaping or providing a meal for a particular predator? Does "God" Save them from dragonflies or from flyswatters, just so they can encounter another insect of their kind and intact in some way? That seems pretty ridiculous to think that anyone could be so interested in the life and times of each of those silly insects that live 3 days. What makes me think that anyone out there is interested in a particular person's job hunt, prayer, aunt's cancer, cousin's procreation? Or, interested in all of the people who live in a particular city? None of these individual insects' lives or deaths matter at all to anyone or anything else. Why do humans believe that we are more special than insects?
I've come to believe that life - or consciousness existing within some delineated set of chemical reactions - is a mere "accident" of nature, which has as a purpose to continue on that type of configuration for that set of chemicals. There is no real purpose to it, much less any "meaning" to it.
It's even less meaningful to me than to try to ascertain the "meaning" of some artwork - modern or ancient.
