That's what I'm wondering. I have my own views. What do think the point of it all is? Sans 42... that's a given.
Evolution. You could say the universe is trying to understand itself if you want? Regardless of your views on such things, life evolves and will continue to do so. You could say, the meaning of life is in the eye of our children. You can take that statement anyway you would like it to mean.
Life has no meaning, nothing has a meaning. It all just happened, take it as an accident, accidents happen. Then comes a question like why should we keep ourselves alive, in existence, if nothing has a meaning? It is a choice and since we do exist why not? No better one as to why keep existing: to survive, stay alive, learn and become smarter and more advanced and evolve over time. That's from intelligent life's point of view. Animals on the other hand have their "programming", which is to reproduce and therefore survive and is essentially the same. The only difference is they cannot really control it while we can.
FAIR WARNING The moment this thread becomes an even slightly heated debate, it will be closed with a resounding "Clank."
The meaning of life is something that will differ for every individual, however in the end it might not be that important to find a higher purpose. On a related note, I think that according too much importance to happiness is a recipe for disappointment; life is a cycle of ups and downs and there is no way around it.
I guess if you think there's meaning, it does, if not it doesn't. That seems fair. Either that or the answer is 42.
The related question I sometimes hear is "Why are we here?". And then I wonder "Are we really here?", then "If not here, then where?" Related to that, I think "Where am I?", followed by "Who am I?", and finally "Am I?", which is where Descartes began (if he really exists). Working backwards, I am, I'm me, I'm right here, yes we are, and (finally) I still have no idea why we are here. But at least I made it this far.
Sheridan: "What do you want?" Kosh: "Never ask that." ... Kosh: "Who are you?" - thematic quotes from Babylon 5
what do you mean by '42'?... are you referring to the hoary old joke where the answer to a question is a shouted out number, referring to a stock list of answers? as for your question, my answer is: nobody can possibly know the answer to that question... or even know if there is any 'meaning' beyond what each of us gives to our own individual time on this earth... those who claim to know are only guessing, or parroting some made-up or wishful-thinking 'answer' supplied by their religious founders and leaders [no offense intended]...
I find life to be an ethereal Interstate highway. I get to do the journey, I get to rest for the night, and I might find something of great importance on the other side. I might also crash and burn. Fearing a thread lock, I'll leave it there. But don't waste any 'gasoline.' Your tank does empty.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as the "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything".
Why do you assume it was meant to be funny rather than saying the answer has no meaning if it's simply 42 and using a literary reference to do it.
I'm an idiot. For a second I thought you where the OP. Sorry, I've had a lot on my mind lately and, brain fart. Haha. I've changed my post.
No need to say your sorry. No offense was taken and I was just teasing you a little, hmm or was I? I could be teasing now. Or you're just imagining the whole thing. after all none of it really has any meaning does it. Or does It. Now I'm so confused.
According to Descartes, I am the only thing that provably exists, and your words are nothing but my unconscious asking my consciousness that question. Or maybe you are the only person who exists and my words are just a fragment of your unconscious.
Descartes to Hume, Philosophy can be a bitch. We all must be damn smart since if no one else exists we’re coming up with a lot of knowledge out of thin air. Hmmm, Maybe I have amnesia I don’t know I knew all this stuff from the beginning. Or you did and I’m something you made up. The more you think about the #^%&#@, the more confusing it gets. That’s it, it’s a plot to keep us confused, created by the ruling elite who are hiding the meaning of life from us all.
You seem to have little faith in the decorum of this site's members. You should be encouraging open dialouge without fear that it would devolve into a debate. In fact i think such a question is the least debatable thing you could talk about. Even if one would to say 'the meaning of life is dorritos and that's that,' it's not like anyone would try and change his mind. That being said the meaning of life is to learn life, become a PhD in it. Earth is a soul school. And probably just an entry course.
Chuck, There is plenty of history on this site behind my warning. This is not a debating site. We discourage arguments, and discussions that are likely to become arguments are closely monitored. The bad feelings that come from arguments don't go away quickly, if at all, and do not promote the spirit of cooperation we seek to maintain. These rules are in place to limit hostility on the site, which the site owner has seen destroy other sites. There are many other sites that encourage debate, and no one has said you must abandon all other sites to join this one. Trying to be all things to all people is a fatal mistake for a site. This is not the site for brisk debate, and will not become such a site.
But it is possible to debate issues vigorously and still have respect for your opponents. It's possible to debate without hostility, but with respect. It's a healthy thing to do. You can battle someone to the end of your strength and still shake hands at the end of the twelfth round. You might even learn something valuable doing it. I think we should be able to do this on this site without fear of being banned or censured in some way. We're intelligent and creative people. Let us debate! It only becomes a problem if we just start calling each other names and spreading hate, which I don't think anyone here is going to do.
+1 Tell me about it. right before I came here I watched the best Harley forum on the 'net turn into a fan-boy site because of poor management by the owner/admin and newer mod who let the power go to his head. While I'm not a big fan of "the heavy hand" on most things, I've seen almost two dozen forums destroyed or become meaningless over the single issue of moderating. Politics and religion are on the short list. The debate on "which Jessica" takes third as far as I'm concerned. Hey, it's Jessica Rabbit, hands down.
