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The Meaning of Life

Yggdrasil

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I think there is a singular meaning to life--loving others. Any other meaning is your own meaning, but it is inferior to that one.

No see love is also subjective, so trying to apply a subjective concept to all people wouldn't work.
 
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elman

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No see love is also subjective, so trying to apply a subjective concept to all people wouldn't work.

The word love has different meanings. When I use the word I am using the defintion of Jesus of helping others in need. That makes it not a subjective concept, but an objective one.
 
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Yggdrasil

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Yes but it is not a subjective kind of love. It can be observed and recognized by everyone. Unt Ich glaube Gott is nicht tot.

Except not everyone will agree that that kind of love is good or agreeable, so it is subjective.
 
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JSynon

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elman said:
The action I defined is objectively good.

What does objectively good even mean? An uninterested good? What!? (Und Gott ist definitiv zu mir tot.)
 
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Emmy

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Dear RecoveringPhilosopher. I cannot resist answering your ( I believe cynical answer to James JD message about being in utter darknes and seeing without eyes.) James was describing the place, Jesus had told us about, in outer darkness where there will be loud wailing and gnashing of teeth. Once we leave our earthly bodies, our Souls (inner man) will either go to God, into His Light, or they will go into outer darkness, where they can see each other with eyes different to our earthly ones, which we have left back in our dead bodies. There is an after life, and for those of us who have repented, who have exchanged our selfish and wilful natures, into loving and caring ones, God and His Light and Love are waiting for us, and our brothers and sisters too. The place in outer darkness is for those who do not want to return to God, and there we can see each other, wail with each other and gnash our teeth, for following the wrong advice, or our own selfish end. I say this humbly and kindly, and send greetings. Emmy, sister in Christ.
 
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elman

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But the outcome of those actions, and thinking behind them are subjective.
That does not make the actions subjective as to being good or not. Feeding a starving child is good. Your thinking behind that does not change that and the child living to kill someone because you fed them does not change your feeding them to an evil act.
 
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Yggdrasil

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That does not make the actions subjective as to being good or not. Feeding a starving child is good. Your thinking behind that does not change that and the child living to kill someone because you fed them does not change your feeding them to an evil act.

I'm going to play devil's advocate here, and say that letting the weak and starving to die is good. It rids the world of unfit humans. What is wrong with that?
 
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JamesJD

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I'm going to play devil's advocate here, and say that letting the weak and starving to die is good. It rids the world of unfit humans. What is wrong with that?

I note a "Christian" icon on your post, devils' advocate. Perhaps if you were suddenly an "unfit human" as you put it, due to losing a job or medical hardship, you might accept what the Lord said; "Whatsoever you do unto the least of my brethren, you do unto me". Lazarus was what you'd call "unfit" for survival, yet Christ raised him from the dead to suffer some more before going to heaven. Who has the right to decide who's unfit?
 
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Mysticus

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I note a "Christian" icon on your post, devils' advocate. Perhaps if you were suddenly an "unfit human" as you put it, due to losing a job or medical hardship, you might accept what the Lord said; "Whatsoever you do unto the least of my brethren, you do unto me". Lazarus was what you'd call "unfit" for survival, yet Christ raised him from the dead to suffer some more before going to heaven. Who has the right to decide who's unfit?
Catholic rooted Christianity is one of the most brutal of all faith based perspectives... I doubt I need to remind anyone of the Crusades, Inquisition, or Manifest Destiny.
 
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Yggdrasil

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I note a "Christian" icon on your post, devils' advocate. Perhaps if you were suddenly an "unfit human" as you put it, due to losing a job or medical hardship, you might accept what the Lord said; "Whatsoever you do unto the least of my brethren, you do unto me". Lazarus was what you'd call "unfit" for survival, yet Christ raised him from the dead to suffer some more before going to heaven. Who has the right to decide who's unfit?

Except I do not believe in god so that passage is meaningless to me. Explain to me without religion why letting unfit humans die is bad.


(again, I'm playing devil's advocate here)
 
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Mysticus

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Except I do not believe in god so that passage is meaningless to me. Explain to me without religion why letting unfit humans die is bad.


(again, I'm playing devil's advocate here)
From a biological perspective simply being sterile is considered unfit... meaning one is unable to have children. Would you think it is ethical to allow a person to die simply because that person is unable to parent a child?
 
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JSynon

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Dear RecoveringPhilosopher. I cannot resist answering your ( I believe cynical answer to James JD message about being in utter darknes and seeing without eyes.) James was describing the place, Jesus had told us about, in outer darkness where there will be loud wailing and gnashing of teeth. Once we leave our earthly bodies, our Souls (inner man) will either go to God, into His Light, or they will go into outer darkness, where they can see each other with eyes different to our earthly ones, which we have left back in our dead bodies. There is an after life, and for those of us who have repented, who have exchanged our selfish and wilful natures, into loving and caring ones, God and His Light and Love are waiting for us, and our brothers and sisters too. The place in outer darkness is for those who do not want to return to God, and there we can see each other, wail with each other and gnash our teeth, for following the wrong advice, or our own selfish end. I say this humbly and kindly, and send greetings. Emmy, sister in Christ.
I think we are all familiar with your mythology. Weak slavish people give up their lives in this world for some meaning in some other world to be thrust upon them. In this way they can feel like they are better than the strong and healthy souls.

I say this humbly and kindly

Don't you really mean, and I mean deep down in your inner abyss, that you are better and more fortunate than him? For what is humility but hidden and twisted pride?

elman said:
Feeding a starving child is good.

Again, what in the world does objectively good mean?

Mysticus said:
The Self-Awareness of the Universe... the Mind-of-God.

Wow. How does that give meaning? So we realize that we are all God or all One. What then? Still meaningless to me.

(again, I'm playing devil's advocate here)

Alas, offending the morality of an atheist is as dangerous as offending the faith of a true believer! It's wrong to let a starving child die? Ha! Wrong!? You can't see how artificial this concept is?
 
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Mysticus

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Wow. How does that give meaning? So we realize that we are all God or all One. What then? Still meaningless to me.
Perhaps you should ask yourself- If there were no observers, would there be a Universe at all, and if IT is that Life has no meaning for you... that's a problem no One can solve for you. Understanding cannot be given to another, Understanding can only be had by the Individual whom Understands.
 
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