>If I am an Engineer and I assign the wrong strength value to steel then my
>bridge will collapse, if I am "wrong" when I assign a positive value to a
>goal what collapses?
I think every gene or meme has an automatic goal of "replication", and every
individual has an automatic goal of "survival". Failing those goals means
failing all goals, as the actor isn't around to accomplish them. Obviously
people can and do adopt goals contrary to those fundamental goals. Indeed,
your genes, memes, and you aren't all in cahoots on particular issues, and
under such circumstances one of the actors has to get stuffed. But if you
choose a goal which leads to your death, you (the individual) have obviously
made a mistake, although some of your genes or memes might actually score big
by your death.
Like you, I'd be disturbed if there were some God which wanted to stuff goals
down my throat. I have never understood why Existentialism, which holds that
there is no inherent meaning to the universe, and that we have to create our
own meanings, is considered "depressing". To me, the alternative is
depressing.