(February 5, 2013 at 8:34 am)AtlasS Wrote:Quote:My question is not what is the meaning of life, because I don't feel you can give meaning to life and I think life just is.
Hi : ) I'm not an atheist, but I have an answer to your question.
Life is all about good deeds,either you believed that or not. Life's value is a variable at all times ; you are the one who evaluate its worth.
Your life would worths what you do in it. It isn't a personal touch or a delusion, it is true that people who invent, help & benefit other people (or even animals or plants) are feeling better about themselves.
For example, opening up a school for the poor or gardening some cherry trees would give you a reason to wake up every morning, feeling that your life is worth living.
It's very different to see a child laughing after playing with his mom, and another one crying because he/she got raped by a pedophile.
Life "is" all about good deeds. Despite the existence of religion, if we thought for a moment that life is about "our pleasure", it would be the dark ages again.
I usually try to just igonor BS. But in this case I cannot. What you say is self serving unadultrated BS. You wrote platitudes to make yourself look good and to help keep "good deeds" the Christian Brand. It is not that doing good deeds cannot make one feel good or lend meaning for ones lives. But that it is not a significant contributor for most peoples' "feeling of worth and meaning" and is not something many people do. Most people primary means (99.999) of making ourselves feeling good and pleasure is albout ourselves: from eating, working, being affectionate with therir partner, having other relationships, carreers, planning the vacation. But it is not a material component of 99.99999% of people. Look what it took to pass universal health care... look how many people take advantage of the disabled and elderly, what it takes to pass funding for education. You think hardened criminals or starving people are going to take meaning from "doing good"? If we are going to mature as humans, we first need a honest understanding of who and what we are. We are primarily self serving animals that have developed language and technology to better vail our intent and server ourselves. Those platitudes you are spouting is part of the vail... like the Ms. America that responds to, "If you could have one wish?" with "world peace". It's self serving, what the wish is to, say the right thing so she can win the contest. Only through a real understanding of the true nature of ourselves can we develop ways to encourage our basic animal instincts to better provide good for all, and help the human race survive and flourish (and I don't mean to reproduce more so we can completely destroy the planet before we get off of it). JD
