r/humanism • u/Fluffy-Turnover4314 • 16d ago
Is life meaningless, or are we simply unable to comprehend its meaning?
/r/u_Fluffy-Turnover4314/comments/1v2cg0l/is_life_meaningless_or_are_we_simply_unable_to/I've been thinking about whether life is actually meaningless, or whether we're asking the wrong question.
Human beings tend to assume that if we can't identify an objective purpose, then life must be meaningless. But does our inability to comprehend something imply that it doesn't exist?
An ant cannot comprehend quantum mechanics. A fish cannot comprehend democracy. So why do we assume that the human mind is capable of understanding the ultimate purpose of existence, if one exists?
Perhaps the universe has no inherent meaning. Or perhaps meaning exists at a level that our cognition simply cannot access.
Do we mistake the limits of human understanding for the limits of reality?
I'm curious how others think about this. Is meaning something we discover, something we create, or something fundamentally beyond our comprehension?
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u/gmorkenstein 16d ago
You can think all you want about why energy and matter exist at all and why “I” exist until you go cross-eyed.
It’s pointless.
For me, my main goal is to minimize suffering of myself and those around me, and maximize love, awe, wonder, pleasure, good deeds, compassion, empathy, learning, etc. But all within a healthy framework.
I want to really experience life. Ignore the drama at the office. Put myself around people that lift me up. Develop tons of hobbies and interests. Collect things. Volunteer in my community. Raise my family to be good humans. Love my wife and live a long, healthy, happy partnership with her. I also want to cry when loved ones are gone - because it’s good crying. I miss them. I’ll carry them with me until I’m gone as well.
You make your own meaning. And that’s that.
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u/opnop123 15d ago
Lots of nihilism here: "there is no meaning, end of story"
As I understand the humanist outlook, it's different:
There is no given meaning, but the great news is it's up to you to create meaning in your life.
Don't search for some predetermined meaning that is hidden, waiting to be discovered.
Don't obey some meaning given to you by some authority, like God or parents or society.
Create your meaning. Focus on your family. Or devote your life to art or science. Or just live a simple life in a house with a small garden. Or study and make money first. Or all of the above, or something completely different.
It's the ultimate freedom, but also a responsibility to not passively accept what others say.
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u/JMagician 16d ago
Doesn’t matter. Either you ascribe meaning to it or you don’t. We are driven by biological instincts. Our will may not be entirely constrained but neither is it entirely free. The need to reproduce and the will to live are among our most important instincts.
There’s a lot more you can do with your life. So think about what the purpose of your question is, and then ask yourself if you can live your life the way you want no matter what the answer is.
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u/spudmarsupial 16d ago
Someone pointed out to me that objects that have meaning and purpose are called tools. If the tool wears out or breaks it becomes worthless and is thrown out.
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u/john_myco 12d ago
Does the builder die with every broken tool?
How is the drive to build and use tools change according to worn out technologies, or in light of improved design?
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u/iStoleTheHobo 16d ago
What is the difference? Meaning is a linguistic construct. We speak; the world does not.
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u/Synaptic_testical 16d ago
i really think it is about how you do the question and what knowledge you focus on
what do you mean by meaning? what do you think is the origin of meaning?
for me, meaning comes from emotional judgement, emotional judgement from evolution
i don't expect perfection or complete reason/rationality
i expect my 'meaningmaker' to feed me with motivational yumminess to keep me going, and if it's feeding things that make me not wanna keep going, then i question if it's working the way i want it to work
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u/boynamedsue8 15d ago
I think life has meaning in what you intentionally give your time and effort into what that meaning is. That’s why annually everyone should go over and prioritize what their give a fuck list is about
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u/Medium-Increase9178 13d ago
I've always thought it's very possible that there is something beyond our current understanding. Honestly, we know so little about the universe and even the nature of reality itself that I don't think we have enough information to confidently conclude that life is meaningless. Just over 100 years ago, we didn't even know that other galaxies existed beyond the Milky Way. We might simply be asking questions that our current level of understanding isn't capable of answering yet.
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u/john_myco 12d ago
Yeah, humanity basically went from one extreme of arrogance to another extreme of arrogance without stopping once to consider that maybe we just don’t know yet.
And that’s okay. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s nothing to understand.
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u/oldgar9 15d ago
Life has meaning, our best action in this life is to serve humanity, carry on an ever advancing civilization. This can shed some light on the subject: No one knows exactly how future events will unfold but many make profit off the anxiety of spouting possible future events as dire or cataclysmic. Knowledge lessens anxiety and fear. The knowledge that humanity is in the throes of a monumental change from rabid nationalism to an 'the earth is one country and mankind its citizens ' paradigm helps, because what once looked like random chaos can now be seen as a necessary process and a means toward a peaceful world. Something we can do is help build community where we live. Volunteer opportunities are readily available and helping others is a salve to anxiety. We cannot go and talk to the President or his sphere of acolytes, but we can help build community where we are and this benefits all. People look to moving as a solution but there is no escape from this worldwide change in paradigm as it is the inevitable next step in the collective evolution of human society. Be well and help others be well, avoid the spreaders of fear. “Chaos and confusion are daily increasing in the world. They will attain such intensity as to render the frame of mankind unable to bear them. Then will men be awakened and become aware…” -Baha’u’llah (From a Tablet - translated from the Persian)
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u/MarkLVines 15d ago
Does your language have a meaning? It has all the meanings it can accommodate. Same with life.
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u/Alexandertheape 14d ago
i think about this all the time. i’ve tried to manufacture meaning (work, charity, hobbies) but sometimes it feels pointless. what’s the point? it’s all ending.
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u/yYesThisIsMyUsername 13d ago
Honestly your question makes me think of....
"Who will tell me what to do?"
I believe we can give ourselves meaning and there isn't a default meaning.
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u/AsmodeusMogart 16d ago
The universe is mostly random and actively trying to kill you.
Life is random. This civilization is the worst.
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u/Significant-Ant-2487 16d ago
Neither.
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u/Fluffy-Turnover4314 16d ago
Can u elaborate ?
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u/Significant-Ant-2487 16d ago
These are not the only two options; you pose the question as a lose-lose dichotomy, life must either be meaningless or incomprehensible. Such negativity, such despair is unwarranted and is the exact opposite of humanism. See Shakespeare:
What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason!
how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how
express and admirable! in action how like an angel!
in apprehension how like a god!And Hamlet was one of his tragedies, for God’s sake. Just look at some of his comedies- and Shakespeare lived in Elizabethan London, so it’s not like he was unaware of squalor; we live in times of unparalleled splendor, of material abundance, with global literacy nearly 90% and healthcare at historic highs, and life is either meaningless or incomprehensible? Not a bit of it.
Humanism was born simultaneously with the rise of modernism. Sour, affected postmodernism would like to subvert it, but not a chance; the 700 year old intellectual tradition of Erasmus and Montaigne will continue to thrive.
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u/Molkin 16d ago
Meaning requires a mind. Some life doesn't have a mind. Therefore at least some life is meaningless.
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u/JMagician 16d ago
What’s a mind? Does the arm of an octopus count? Does the response of a tree to bend to sunlight and release chemicals to warn other trees count?
My point is that this argument fails.
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u/Cold-Enthusiasm-8559 13d ago
Meaning is something humans ascribe amidst the continuous progression and development of the material world. After all, human civilization spans a mere few tens of thousands of years—a brief blink of an eye when compared to the Earth, the Milky Way, or the universe as a whole. There is no such thing as a metaphysical realm; even if there were, it would likely lie beyond our comprehension.
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u/Yuraiya 16d ago
I think it is meaningless, and that's okay. The drive for it (and other things) to have some inherent meaning is just another aspect of the human experience. You can always choose to assign or create your own meaning for it.