Sean Carroll, How Science Shows Us the Real Meaning of Life

[_Philo Sofee]

http://www.markrkelly.com/Blog/2014/05/ ... g-of-life/

Sean Carroll is a straight shootin son of a gun, and here he gives us much to reflect upon. Interesting views on the cosmos, life, and the meaning of life. And, the evidence is pointing to his conclusions, whether comfortable or miserable, the evidence is what determines the truth.

[_orangganjil]

I like Sean Carroll. Thanks for sharing. If you haven't seen it, you'd probably enjoy his interview on Joe Rogan's podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHMSvSqCDKc

[_Philo Sofee]

I like Sean Carroll. Thanks for sharing. If you haven't seen it, you'd probably enjoy his interview on Joe Rogan's podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHMSvSqCDKc

Thanks, I shall look at it

[Guest]

I could tell Sean my God is Truth and Love, and I think Sean Carroll would know where I'm coming from.

Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for? Robert Browning

[_MrStakhanovite]

The bad news is that the universe does not care about you. The universe is made of elementary particles that don’t have intelligence, don’t pass judgment, do not have a sense of right and wrong. And the fear is, the existential anxiety is, that if that purpose and meaningfulness is not given to me by the universe, then it cannot exist.

The good news is that that fear is a mistake. That there’s another option. We create purpose and meaning in the world. If you love somebody, it is not because that love is put into you by something outside; it is because you created that from inside yourself. If you act good to somebody, it’s not because you’re given instructions to do so, it’s that’s the choice that you made.

This is something I don't think I can believe anymore; that the fictive narrative of a human life imbues that life with meaning. Reading Nietzsche is probably what made me skeptical of human intention and how it plays right into nihilism.

[_Symmachus]

This is something I don't think I can believe anymore; that the fictive narrative of a human life imbues that life with meaning.

I can't claim any deep philosophical reading on any of this, but I'm always nagged by a persistent "so what?" whenever I hear/read things like "We create purpose and meaning in the world." The problem for me is not the "meaninglessness." I am not entirely clear what "meaning" means, for one thing—presumably, that everything we're doing points to some larger purpose, but that can go on forever. Suppose we all win the celestial lottery—so what? What larger purpose does a celestial existence have? And what larger purpose does that larger purpose have? And on and on. If a celestial existence is our goal because of some sense of bliss, then how's that different from just getting high? It seem like a pretty pointless existence all the way down, as far as meaning goes. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.

The problem I've always had, as I say, is not the lack of some elusive meaning in life but the fact of just being in life. Most of the time, even when I'm happy and enjoying my family or any of the good things in this life, I still feel like Theognis:

As for earthlings,
the best of all things
is never to have been born,
never to have seen the light of day.
But once born, best to cross
the gates of Hades
as soon as possible
and rest under a heap of earth.

Reading Nietzsche is probably what made me skeptical of human intention and how it plays right into nihilism.

Could you elaborate a bit, or point me where I should go to understand this point?

[_Chap]

Most of the time, even when I'm happy and enjoying my family or any of the good things in this life, I still feel like Theognis:

As for earthlings,
the best of all things
is never to have been born,
never to have seen the light of day.
But once born, best to cross
the gates of Hades
as soon as possible
and rest under a heap of earth.

Naah.

I like being alive, and to my absolute delight the people I know and love seem to like me to be alive! So I intend to keep on having fun as long as I can, and keep being nice to all the people I can.

Death is always there waiting if I ever need it. But to be, for a little space of time, conscious - a tiny spark in the infinite emptiness, and to understand it to some extent at least - it's AMAZING!

[_Symmachus]

Naah.

I like being alive, and to my absolute delight the people I know and love seem to like me to be alive! So I intend to keep on having fun as long as I can, and keep being nice to all the people I can.

Death is always there waiting if I ever need it. But to be, for a little space of time, conscious - a tiny spark in the infinite emptiness, and to understand it to some extent at least - it's AMAZING!

It's a sign of how far away I am from the feeling you emote here that I can't tell whether this is sarcasm or not.

[_Gadianton]

I don't really buy the way Carroll puts it but I generally agree. Practically speaking, a person who is too hot can't will herself into cooling down, and neither can she just decide on the fly that her friends and pets don't mean anything to her. We're as built to find meaning in life as we are to climb mountains or go to sleep when we're tired. The way Carroll put it is typical, but it has that ring of: we're going to make a decision and go out there and build meaning. It's an undertaking of harrowing agents. That makes for an easy alternative reading of fooling ourselves into thinking we have meaning.

The only way to avoid making life meaningful is to fall into depression etc. Normal operation is to make life meaningful.

[_Chap]

Naah.

I like being alive, and to my absolute delight the people I know and love seem to like me to be alive! So I intend to keep on having fun as long as I can, and keep being nice to all the people I can.

Death is always there waiting if I ever need it. But to be, for a little space of time, conscious - a tiny spark in the infinite emptiness, and to understand it to some extent at least - it's AMAZING!

It's a sign of how far away I am from the feeling you emote here that I can't tell whether this is sarcasm or not.

No, it isn't. I'm sorry to hear that you would rather be on the other side of the gates of Hades, though.

So, what, in general terms, is currently keeping you in this world? Must be something, since we do have a choice, do we not? Any of us can decide to walk through those gates, should we wish to.