"Why do you live?" My favourite movie quote from Harry Potter

[Meatpie]

All humans alive now on Earth burn roughly 8,000 kilojoules a day, 5.5 kilojoules a minute.

All this energy ends up released as heat in the universe. You take in food & drinks go to the gym and work out like crazy.

Even if you sit in front of your PC all day you still do you work on the universe and release heat.

Every day of your life.

This released heat increases the total entropy of the universe.

We are only alive because our bodies serve as heat engines to the universe. Organized into a stupid meaningless civilzation we are now burning more fossil fuels than ever before, moving faster, living longer....population increasing all the time hungry for energy.

I know it's hard, everyone wants to think their life has a meaning.

When you die your memory is erased all your experiences erased forever. But the universe doesn't care about your memory & feelings, your brain moved your body around, served it's purpose.

When you die it's like you never existed.

But your body served its purpose, however negligable your corpse did indeed help increase the total entropy of the universe.

You may rest in peace now.

 

[Waikiki]

If you want to believe that we all evolved from an amoeba splashing out of the ocean on to some sand and mutated, which ultimately resulted into man, that's your right. (Of course it doesn't explain where the ocean and the amoeba got there...but I don't judge). The final truth is that man is different from every other form of life because we grow and get better and wiser with every year of our own life, and as the only creatures in history to ever develop intellect from one generation to the next. For anyone to think we'll go the way of the dodo bird isn't paying attention to what intellectual creation - something has to make us the one form of life that improves with every generation, and with every decade of our own lives. Nope, I don't think we're here to just add heat to the world. I believe we all continue to come back over and over and over. Smarter and more creative than the generation before us. Nope, I don't believe we're "gone" after we die.

 

[TommyRoss]

Nice.

I like this one from Mars Attacks even better:

"What do you want us to do?"
"Die."

 

[Meatpie]

I don't believe we're "gone" after we die.

What do you believe happens when you die then?

 

[ukon]

The Eternal question . The meaning of life or as some would say Life the universe and everything (and 42 as the answer is an enigma)
Ah Entropy a conundrum for sure but a process that is also probably eternal, I don’t see our heat as being an important factor when compared to that generated by the sun and there are countless suns in countless galaxies in the universe, to me it is just the simplification of everything through the process of what I would call decay, everything in the universe is very very slowly degrading or decaying trying to achieve the simplest forms of matter , the timescale would be mind blowing.
Actually Harry gave one of the more plausible answers. people have been struggling with the question from the beginning of history and the answer of course is whatever justification you want to assign to it , if it floats your boat that’s good enough . Its not that deep and meaningful at all though philosophers theologians and academics have been trying to formulate a universal answer and will continue to debate it . My answer may sound overly simplistic but that’s the way I rationalize it to myself and others for although the intricacies of biological life are complex the living of it , the experience of being alive varies from individual to individual but ultimately life is to be lived for whatever period you have , just get on with it , make the most of it , as they say “ you are a long time dead” sure contemplate the big question but don’t let it rule your life , you could miss out on some wonderful experiences .
Yes death is inevitable and yes we have served the purpose of giving the individual the chance to experience LIFE. If there are any other purposes then they must be part of a plan (experiment, scary) or just plain Entropy.
Death is the culmination of life or Death is the end result of life.
Another great thought provoking thread , thanks Meatpie.

 

[Meatpie]

everything in the universe is very very slowly degrading or decaying trying to achieve the simplest forms of matter

That's the wrong way of thinking ukon.

The universe started off uniform & simple entropy means things are going from simple to complex, order to disorder.

How far can it go we will never live to see.

I told you that the meaninglessness of human life is the most difficult thing to accept. In fact it's such a difficult concept you can get all messed up, lose your motivation, become suicidal even.

I highly recommend to all CDG members to keep believing their lives have a purpose, keep posting!

 

[ukon]

Thanks for the reply Meatpie and regarding the first 2 points you are absolutely CORRECT , I confused myself somehow and thanks for making me check it out again . The decay part is ok but possibly not the best way to describe it . Low Entropy = Order =Simple and High Entropy =Disorder = Chaos and everything is moving from Low to High Entropy ie Order to Disorder as per the 2nd law of thermodynamics. How far will it go we will never know , Absolutely .
The meaninglessness of human life maybe a problem for some but as I indicated originally not for me infact I dont see it as meaningless at all, I just dont need a great long explanation. I'm fine living life as it comes . I can justify my meaningfulnness by being here on this site having this conversation and thanks for that. Living life moment by moment.

 

[PiercedChest]

the meaninglessness of human life is the most difficult thing to accept. In fact it's such a difficult concept you can get all messed up, lose your motivation, become suicidal even.
I highly recommend to all CDG members to keep believing their lives have a purpose

For me the meaninglessness of life isn't difficult at all to accept. That is: I think there's no supernatural or hereafter of anything like that. That doesn't mean our lives are without purpose, but that purpose is only in the here and now, in our social relationships, in our own intentions.
When we die it's all over for us (thankfully). And if all humans died tomorrow the universe couldn't care less.

I can see no fundamental difference between humans and other animals. If life has no 'purpose' for spiders then it doesn't for us either.
The idea of (only) humans having a soul that 'survives' after death is for me too silly to take seriously. Soul/spirit/mind is just a working brain in action. When the brain changes (brain damage, Alzheimer, ...) the 'personality/soul/...' changes too. When the brain stops the 'soul' is gone forever.

Entropy to me has little or nothing to do with 'purpose of life'.
It is a physical concept that is simply there (like energy is), and living human bodies are subjected to it just like piles of sand are.
If the big bang theory is correct, the universe started out with very low entropy, which has increased ever since (and still does).
How the universe will end (if at all) is still very speculative: the accelerating expansion of it for example was only discovered this century (and I don't think it will be the last surprise the universe has in store for us!). I'm grateful I won't be around then.

 

[Meatpie]

I can see no fundamental difference between humans and other animals. If life has no 'purpose' for spiders then it doesn't for us either.

I love spiders. They have relatively slow metabolism but still they release small amounts of heat and contribute to the total entropy of the universe.

The life of a spider is absolutely meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

Human life is meaningless. It's very very very hard to come to terms with it.

 

[PiercedChest]

The life of a spider is absolutely meaningless in the grand scheme of things.
Human life is meaningless. It's very very very hard to come to terms with it.

Yes, I know many people think so, and I respect their struggle. Strangely, when I came to think this way it was more a liberation than something abhorrent.
I'm so relieved (at least that's how I see things) we don't have to either suffer everlasting torment or sit on a cloud plucking a harp!!

Still, that doesn't make our life meaningless at all during our lifetime! It's our relationship to our fellow human beings we're close to that can make our lives quite meaningful.

I wonder how spiders think about these matters (they can't, and don't know what a blessing that is ).

 

[Lycanthrope]

All the atom that makes up my body, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, iron, etc all came from the stars that lived and died billions of years ago. Yet their corpse has coalesce into my being, I am merely star stuff that has gained consciousness, a fragment of the Universe looking back at itself. I found that thought endearing, perhaps by will or by accident the Universe seeks to better understand itself

 

[PiercedChest]

All the atom that makes up my body, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, iron, etc all came from the stars that lived and died billions of years ago. Yet their corpse has coalesce into my being, I am merely star stuff that has gained consciousness, a fragment of the Universe looking back at itself. I found that thought endearing, perhaps by will or by accident the Universe seeks to better understand itself

Very beautifully phrased. I wish other artists (writers, poets, ...) would take up your example!

 

[Waikiki]

I get the part about us all being made up of atoms and subatomic particles. The edges of the "known" universe is measured by the cosmic dust refracted from it's outermost limits and which grows farther by parsecs faster than the most sophisticated astrophysics have yet developed. But know one knows what lies beyond the known universe. It's like energy = mass x the speed of light squared. You're accurately (and reliably) certain of measuring energy but with the speed of light SQUARED - when nothing can move faster than a photon. Thats like saying "infinity squared". BTW: it still doesn't explain where the atoms came from in the first place. I think there's much more to man than a collection of protons, neutrons and electrons. That's just my two-cents worth. But it makes the meaning of life seem an exhilarating quest for knowledge. My body is just the house I live in.

 

[mtndudesf]

For me the only defensible philosophical position is that of an agnostic. Not too narcissistic to take any theory or ideas seriously, yet not too humble to ignore the fact that reality exists as a shared experience with a group of people.
Life's meaning is the collective total of this reality, not of consequences but of wonder and sensations. Live in here and now, search for novel vision and ideas, experiment, explore.