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The meaning of life


TripleA

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I am new to this site, and I would not think of myself as a philosopher, but I thought of the meaning of life. I couldn't find any other place to put the idea to the public, and I think I made the right choice.

The meaning of life is to improve. Improve on whatever you want, but as long as you improve on something that would make the world better in your eyes, it gives your life meaning.

Now fellow philosophers give me your thoughts on this idea, was it too vague, or it doesn't make sense?

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The word meaning is defined as what is intended by a concept or action. I don't think the natural world has meaningas there is no overall intention. For life specifically the meaning seems to be, in my opinion, to reproduce. It is the single most common drive all life seems to share. Beyond that on an individual level everyone must answer the question for themselves. Our minds are singular.

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4 hours ago, Ten oz said:

The word meaning is defined as what is intended by a concept or action. I don't think the natural world has meaningas there is no overall intention. For life specifically the meaning seems to be, in my opinion, to reproduce. It is the single most common drive all life seems to share. Beyond that on an individual level everyone must answer the question for themselves. Our minds are singular.

I guess in your sense, reproduction, would also fit in my meaning of life, since you are IMPROVING (by increasing it) the population.

As for an individual, people improve on things everyday, it wouldn't make sense not to. Every person's end goal is to improve something, weather it's for themselves or others

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9 hours ago, Manticore said:

I thought everybody knew by now that the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything is 42.

Of course but what's the question...

 

11 minutes ago, TripleA said:

I guess in your sense, reproduction, would also fit in my meaning of life, since you are IMPROVING (by increasing it) the population.

As for an individual, people improve on things everyday, it wouldn't make sense not to. Every person's end goal is to improve something, weather it's for themselves or others

Again, what is the actual question?

Can I not have meaning in my life, if I choose not to improve myself or others?

Why can't my life have meaning because I decide it does?

Edited by dimreepr
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1 minute ago, TripleA said:

I guess in your sense, reproduction, would also fit in my meaning of life, since you are IMPROVING (by increasing it) the population.

As for an individual, people improve on things everyday, it wouldn't make sense not to. Every person's end goal is to improve something, weather it's for themselves or others

Improving something is relevant concept. Humans believe we are improving our lives through industrialism and technology yet our actions are causing nurmerous species to go extinct. Additionally we are (to our knowledge) the first animal on earth with the ability and at times the inclination to whip ourselves out.

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2 hours ago, Ten oz said:

Improving something is relevant concept. Humans believe we are improving our lives through industrialism and technology yet our actions are causing nurmerous species to go extinct. Additionally we are (to our knowledge) the first animal on earth with the ability and at times the inclination to whip ourselves out.

I know improving things is different from person to person. Yet, it's still improving one aspect or another of the world around you

2 hours ago, dimreepr said:

Of course but what's the question...

 

Again, what is the actual question?

Can I not have meaning in my life, if I choose not to improve myself or others?

Why can't my life have meaning because I decide it does?

The reason I said the meaning of life is to improve, is to make a way for a person to feel their life is meaningful. You could say your life is meaningful, but you should think what made it so. In the end you probably improved something, if you think hard enough

 

49 minutes ago, Baron d'Holbach said:

Meaning of life is domination. War And conquer. 

 In order to dominate, you must improve your skills, military, or any other thing that you are using in domination. Your meaning would fall under mine.

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17 minutes ago, TripleA said:

I know improving things is different from person to person. Yet, it's still improving one aspect or another of the world around you.

Do people with body dysmorphia improve themselves or the world around them. What about people who suffer from depression and commit suicide?

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4 hours ago, TripleA said:

I know improving things is different from person to person. Yet, it's still improving one aspect or another of the world around you

The reason I said the meaning of life is to improve, is to make a way for a person to feel their life is meaningful. You could say your life is meaningful, but you should think what made it so. In the end you probably improved something, if you think hard enough

 

 In order to dominate, you must improve your skills, military, or any other thing that you are using in domination. Your meaning would fall under mine.

You are wrong on that. Primitive animals never had military or skills to dominate a foe. They used brute force. And by brute force I will win over you!

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Meaning of life is constantly changing -- it is part of growth and development. As such, I have had different answers in the past, and will probably have different answers in the future.

Since I believe in the goodwill of humans, the butterfly effect, the continuing change and unity within the universe, I tend to think that this world is about balance that exists as a spiral affected by my relationship and connection with myself, the people, the creatures, the nature, and the universe.

Thus, within that spiral of balance, I want to contribute -- by joining efforts with others -- to maintaining and improving the good conditions and achievements that those before us left for us, and that we in turn will be leaving for those who will come after us.

The above is determined by my will and attempts to understand, love, respect, accept, and forgive myself which will also help and allow me to understand, love, respect, accept, and forgive others.

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5 minutes ago, Moontanman said:

 

What is best in life?

To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.

Pharaohs, Nimrod the great , Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Nero Caesar, Genghis khan, Adolf Hitler, Josephus Stalin, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot,

And our future dominated leaders that will come on crush us!

 

I am just saying, this is life. There will be another maniac and could be the most lethal to us ALL!

Edited by Baron d'Holbach
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6 minutes ago, Baron d'Holbach said:

Pharaohs, Nimrod the great , Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Nero Caesar, Genghis khan, Adolf Hitler, Josephus Stalin, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot,

And our future dominated leaders that will come on crush us!

 

I am just saying, this is life. There will be another maniac and could be the most lethal to us ALL!

aren't you a ray of sunshine.. 

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To improve is the first step to "life." However, "life" is not created to be followed by steps- life, as humans know it, is being aware of the world around us. Improvement is what humans strive to do in order to thrive. Not survive, thrive. The meaning of thrive is to after all, improve. Life as a whole however, includes much more than us humans- and looking from a philosophical standpoint, the majority of what we humans believe is only based off of other humans. The only people who really never knew anything based off of other humans were those hunter-gatherers who first lived in Ethiopia, where they relied on and believed in the world around them, the environment. So I guess, to find the meaning of life, you would need to ask them. If you as me, life does not have a set "meaning". We live for each other- the only way we can "improve" is by comparing ourselves to other ones like ourselves- If an ape first "improved" by using stone tools, it is only an improvement compared to all other ape-kind. Take away the other apes, and it has neither improved nor degraded itself in any way because there are no others to have an advantage over in society. If we apply this to humans, the meaning of life, if I were to answer, would be to better ourselves as a planet, for humans alone do not make up even 1% of all life on earth, and therefore an improvement as a species alone would not benefit the biotic or abiotic community as a whole. What I am getting at is that the meaning of life is not only to improve, but improve as a planet

 

Probably sound like a maniac, but I'm not. Congrats if you read my paper by the way, its long. I like the idea you have here, and its well worth expanding.

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14 hours ago, dimreepr said:

Of course but what's the question...

 

Again, what is the actual question?

Can I not have meaning in my life, if I choose not to improve myself or others?

Why can't my life have meaning because I decide it does?

2b || !2b - that is the question.

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On 7/24/2017 at 6:42 AM, TripleA said:

I am new to this site, and I would not think of myself as a philosopher, but I thought of the meaning of life. I couldn't find any other place to put the idea to the public, and I think I made the right choice.

The meaning of life is to improve. Improve on whatever you want, but as long as you improve on something that would make the world better in your eyes, it gives your life meaning.

Now fellow philosophers give me your thoughts on this idea, was it too vague, or it doesn't make sense?

This is very like Nicomachean Ethics - Aristotle.  The ethos is to lead a virtuous life - that is to say in this context - a life which allows one to flourish and become all that one's potential might allow

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On 25/07/2017 at 1:17 AM, Baron d'Holbach said:

Pharaohs, Nimrod the great , Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Nero Caesar, Genghis khan, Adolf Hitler, Josephus Stalin, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot,

Florence Nightingale, Albert Einstein, Mohamed Ali, Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Queen Elizabeth II, Marie Curie, Charles Dickens. I can make my list much longer than yours.

As to the OP. The idea that the meaning of life is improvement is a very common one. Ultimately, unless someone discovers the Rule Book, the meaning of life is what each individual chooses it to be. (As an aside it is certainly not 42. The meaning, if numerical, is bound to be a prime number!)

 

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31 minutes ago, imatfaal said:

What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything?

Just in case you didn't get the reference

Thank you imatfaal. I did get the reference and my wayward attempt at humour was a way to subtle dig at the Infinite Improbability Drive which, I am confident, must rely upon irrational numbers, not primes. (I won't give up my day job.)

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4 hours ago, Area54 said:

As to the OP. The idea that the meaning of life is improvement is a very common one. Ultimately, unless someone discovers the Rule Book, the meaning of life is what each individual chooses it to be.

1

There is a rule book, it's been written many times, throughout history and in many different cultures/languages; essentially it says be kind to others and don't judge those that aren't.

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On 25-7-2017 at 3:22 AM, AndrewBrinton1 said:

 We live for each other- the only way we can "improve" is by comparing ourselves to other ones like ourselves

A lot of people would considerably improve their life by not comparing to others.

I also think technological advancement, eg using tools or finding a cure for cancer, could be a considerable improvement, regardless of other species to compare to.

On the big scale of things: our planet is not going to be around forever, so any perceived improvement will eventually be moot.

I find the entire concept of improvement as meaning of life a bit pointless, as nearly everything can be worded as an improvement. Increasing your comfort or happiness is also an improvement, even if killing others makes you happy.

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