From: Twirlip of Greymist (phoenix@ugcs.caltech.edu)
Date: Tue Oct 08 1996 - 16:48:03 MDT
On Oct 8, 10:30am, Ira Brodsky wrote:
} Your first view interprets the word "meaning" as entirely subjective, which
} is certainly not what I intended. What I'm trying to get at is whether
} there is more to "the meaning of life" thah just a collection of various
} people's opinions. Can we come up with some objective purpose(s)?
I don't see how. Does the universe have objective meaning or purpose?
I don't see how, and then how does anything within it have meaning or
purpose, unless we give meaning to it? The universe exists. I exist,
and I'd like to keep on existing, especially to fulfill other goals
which I happen to have.
I like the views of Pratchett's wizards and witches: "Who am I? Me.
Where am I? Here. Where's here? Good question, let's take a look."
} Is there a third view? Does anyone here think there is a "purpose" to life
} that does not require the existence of a creator/god/punisher?
The most generalizable purpose of life is to make more life. That
little self-replication business.
} It seems to me that extropianism *does* assume a purpose. That purpose is
} intellectual and technological progress. Perhaps you can claim that is all
} still very subjective, but I think it isn't -- we just haven't yet
} discovered (or at least articulated) the objective part. Perhaps we need
If it's so objective, why is anyone not extropian? I can call myself
an extropian because the purposes described by Max More et al. coincide
with my personal purposes. This seems to be related to the question of
objective values, which I also don't believe in -- I can just expect
most life forms to value their existence more than mine, and to value
their generative process.
} What goes up must come down. I say "Forward and Outward!"
Exactly. Someone else says "Be fruitful and multiply!" Someone else
again says "Prevent all change, because that would require me changing,
and that would destroy me."
Merry part,
-xx- Damien R. Sullivan X-) <*> http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~phoenix
"Does it occur to you, the fallibility of CIT thinking? Flux-thinking.
You have prophetic dreams, remember? You can dream about a man drinking
a glass of milk. A week later you can see Yanni drinking tea at lunch
and if seeing him do that has a high shock-value, you'll super the
dream-state right over him, you'll swear you dreamed about him doing
that, exactly at that table, and even psychprobe can't sort it out after
that." -- Grant ALX, _Cyteen_, C.J. Cherryh
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