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Hello, fellow Earthbound fan.
I recognize my own words in these, so I will reply to you first hand, with I have meant in my words.
I have said this in accordance with my observations here and in other "atheist forums" not to mention the people that I come across, and last but not least, my own parents, who are atheists.
I'm sure that many people will disagree, but I think the reason that atheists seek simple pleasures(I really don't know why you've brought up the subject of intellectual pursuits, some do it, some don't) is to fill an empty hole, the size of an ocean, with drops of water. Not to say all atheists are as these, some have adopted a greater purpose in accordance to what they do, some, who are scientists, have given themselves over to a greater purpose, and some, who might be politicians of any ideology, have given themselves over to the notion of furthering their ideology's political goals.
However, most atheists are just simply folk as I am. And simple folk find it difficult to have a purpose for living, so they require notions like either religion, political advocacy, or simply working for the goals of a notion that is bigger than their person(country, neighborhood, and etc.).
But really, the atheists I've met in my life are highly individualistic, disregard any notions that has anything to do with the public(such as morality) and generally bent on enjoying life as much as they can before finally expiring, because they lack the notion of sacrificing a portion of their simple enjoyments in return for a greater joy.
My greater joy in life is political advocacy. I have sacrificed much of my own happiness to further this cause. And my greater joy in death is afterlife. I again, feel that I have to sacrifice a portion of my own happiness to further this cause.
However I still don't understand what kind of a greater joy an atheist finds in life. Just to give an example, the atheists I've met here, deny the notion of heritage, which is to claim and be proud of your ancestors and their accomplishments. They claim that a man only ought to be proud of one's own accomplishments. Although I'm fairly certain that no man here has founded a city, became an important official, nor reached the highest degrees in arts&sciences, nor has done anything other than being the average joe.
And as an average joe, that lacks a purpose, they have said that the greatest purpose ought to be to live for the sake of living. Since they lack any restraints that are outside of the law, they find it easy to indulge or encourage the indulgement of many of the simple, and sometimes "guilty" pleasures of life.
To answer your question, there is a point of sacrificing your earthly pleasures for the sake of a greater cause, that will give you a sense of belonging, a sense of being a part of a greater whole.
I see the human as a being that has within itself the whole the size of an ocean. Everything that we do in life adds water to it. While certain things are nothing more than drops, some are as buckets of water, and some amount to tons of water. I've chosen to fill it with larger amount of water than simply drops, so if I have to sacrifice drops in favor of greater amounts of water, so be it.
The reason I have chosen this path is that I know that my life will not just be a number in the great multitudes of people that have come and gone, I will be a part and support to a greater whole in my life on earth, and I will have a reward in the afterlife. So I try my best to live my life according to these, which means I have to sacrifice perhaps a portion of my earthly pleasures, and become a being that is led by ideals and creeds, rather than its base instincts.
You know, I see a lot of big words masquerading as wisdom, and yet, on closer inspection, I find them to be more worthless that religious dogma.
In fact, the tune you are singing isn't original at all. It hits all the common notes of "sacrificing the earthly pleasure", "greater joy", "something bigger than oneself", "self-sacrifice", "higher cause" etc. The only thing that changes is which altar you'd have us sacrifice ourselves on - the altar of god or the altar of society. Well, I can achieve the so-called "greater joy" without sacrificing my earthly pleasures.
Here's how the thing called happiness works. You can be happy in any one or more of the following ways:
1. Pleasure
2. Engagement
3. Relationships
4. Meaning
5. Accomplishments.
Obviously, the person who hits the high notes on all five is going to be the happiest. And here's where you and the other theists go horribly wrong. You think that without god or society giving it to us, our life won't have a meaning. That only meaning to be found in life is by "sacrificing oneself in service of god or society". That only accomplishments that count are those made while serving this so-called greater good. And since atheists and individualists don't do that, all they have left to make them happy are the baser, earthly pleasures.
And that's bullshit. Plain and simple. Yes, I am hellbent on enjoying my life to the fullest and I happen to know that without a meaningful purpose to accomplish, I won't be able to enjoy life to fullest. That doesn't mean that that purpose has to come from outside myself. In fact, I have chosen my purpose with careful consideration - so as to minimize letting go of other forms of happiness. And you know what I've found - an average Joe who defines and lives for his own purpose, however mundane it may be - is much happier than someone who's had their purpose dictated to them.
And speaking of average Joes, if your heritage is the source of your pride, then your life must have been devoid of any accomplishments. Frankly, the pride I take in my capacity to cook good food is much greater than any pride I could hold for my ancestors who may have built a city.
