universal truth

is there a such thing as a universal reason?
or is everything by chance, luck, and according to perspective?
im so stuck in logic and finding truth
what if the answers just depend on perspective
i think that would drive me crazy! if there was nothing really to figure out if nothing is really correct anyways.
i think why i dont like that is because it would insinuate that we have no meaning to work towards and that everyone will achieve the same ending no matter what we do here on earth. making any form of action or thought pointless to an ultimate destiny. i like to believe that i effect my destiny here and ultimately. i have to believe. its almost similar to blind faith in a god. but if there is no truth all of this is worthless and meaningless. that is why i have this undying motivation to figure it all out. i have to figure out the universal truths. life is the ultimate riddle. i think as people get older they just come to accept what they dont know and just avoid thinking about it. hoping that life really has meaning and continues after death. i dont want to just assume something that grand of nature. that could bring great consequences for not knowing the correct or incomplete knowledge. what rewards could lie in finding the ultimate meaning or patterns of life, the universe and of all time/space/existence. the answers i have found in religion just dont satisfy me. they are too vague and dont really have strong support except the unassuring concept of blind faith which says nothing has to make sense for you to believe in it. i dont want to give in and accept things as they are. i just want them to make sense and satisfy my mind so i can relax and stop worrying about the ultimate meaning of all existence.

sometimes i think im just too obsessive.
sometimes i think im not obsessive enough.


does anyone else think this way?

I have been known to think that way...

maybe there is a universal truth but it is so vast and beyond our comprehension that in this body and lifetime none of us can ever totally understand it. Perhaps some get a glimpse of a part of it though.

I think Douglas Adams had it right...

There is a theory which states that if ever for any reason anyone discovers what exactly the Universe is for and why it is here it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

And then there are those who say that this has already happened

In no way am I knocking your need to know btw

My own reason for life - I am alive here and now, and at some point I will die. Maybe there is an afterlife, maybe I might be reincarnated (I get the occasional sense I've been about before), maybe there is nothing.

I won't know until I die what happens, but I know what the consequences of my actions are in this life, abeit not until many years later in some cases. Maybe we're just here to do the best we can, maybe it's a big cosmic joke, at the end of the day I have this life and whether it has meaning is up to me alone.

I think it is possible that there is not one single correct truth in every situation, but that there can be multiple, valid perspectives.

Ambiguity can be frustrating and a little scary, but it can also allow for a broader and more interesting view of things

As far as the meaning of life, again I believe that there is more than one single answer and that having multiple perspectives or ideas about it enriches one's view of life. For example, we may all be here to learn and to grow in our own specific ways. And we may also bring our own interests, and talents, and experiences to life that give life meaning for us. Also, we may find meaning in life through the love of family and friends. You and others probably have other perspectives on the meaning of life to add to, and enrich, these ideas. All of these can be held simultaneously as valid views on the meaning of life.

Does this make sense? I hope this feedback was able to help you

yeah i dont really think that everyone will have the same meaning because everyone has individual motivations. but i think that eventually it all leads to one place and i want to know in what direction im going and where that place is.
i completely agree with you ARIEL but i think there is more! i want more atleast. i dont feel like i have a full grasp on things yet. i am young though. so maybe that will help in time. thanks!

and to ARC i have never heard of that theory. when someone figures out the world it will change. i dont see why it would change if someone figured it out. interesting concept though!

i guess i just want a quick fix answer to things that take many years to learn and understand. ?? who knows!

knowledge is like the impossible thirst. you can never have enough.

Originally posted by arc I think Douglas Adams had it right...

There is a theory which states that if ever for any reason anyone discovers what exactly the Universe is for and why it is here it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

And then there are those who say that this has already happened

My paradigm requires me to add to Douglas Adam's observation...
...And it's happened numerous times already.

Originally posted by Ariel As far as the meaning of life, again I believe that there is more than one single answer and that having multiple perspectives or ideas about it enriches one's view of life.

Yeah, I try to see situations form different points of view. "You'll find that many of the truths we cling to depend entirely upon our own point of view."--Obi Wan Kenobi.
I find that it's easier to understand something if I can "step outside of myself" & look at it from different angles...Sort of like pretending that I'm *all* of the blind men at once, while they examine an elephant. If I were to use only *one* point of view, then I'm missing out on the extra information that could help me put all of the pieces together into a whole picture.
Take religion for example: I study a whole slew of different religions & different scriptures...And I find that, deep in the core, behind the contradictions & lies thrust into their scriptures, they mostly talk about the same beliefs & the same sources of inspirations. They're merely writing about different histories & different ways of viewing the same thing. Yes, there's many differences between the different religions, but they all (all of them I've studied, anyway) seem to share a common, basic set of concepts. The main reason that there *are* so many different religions in existance today is because they all have disagreements about the petty details.
Many times though, I wonder if I'm looking in *enough* different angles to see the whole thing...And most of the time I wonder this, I realize (or learn it later, the hard way) that I can never really see *all* of the angles...Never really know *everything* about any situation...At least, not during my mortal life here on Earth.
So, all I can do is the same that *anybody* can do...Do my best & hope that it's enough.

Originally posted by newparadigm ...i have never heard of that theory. when someone figures out the world it will change. i dont see why it would change if someone figured it out. interesting concept though!

Douglas Adam's wrote that philosophy intending *humor*...It's part of his five-book trilogy (That's an interesting story in itself) about the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. However, even though he approached the writing of those books with a sense of humor, he *does* put question to things that people *assume* they know everything about:
For example, in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, he questioned the vegetarian's concept of "eating meat is being cruel to the animal being eaten". As part of the storyline, he writes about an animal that was genetically created to *know* that it's whole purpose in life was to die for another person's table...And psychologically modified to be pleased with that idea to the point of being able to express that pleasure, clearly & distinctly.
"My liver *must* be tender by now. I've been force-feeding myself for months. Can I offer you something off my shoulder? Perhaps braised in white wine?"
"What? You're offering me your shoulder?"
"Of course sir...No one else's shoulder is mine to offer."
I'll just nip off to the kitchen & shoot myself now." Putting his hand on Arthur Dent's shoulder, the "meat" says, "Don't worry sir...I be *very* humane about it."
All of this is typical of Doug Adams...questioning the very *basis* of society and humanity in general. Talk about "different points of view"...
In a way, we must do the same for ourselves...If we're to learn any *real* truth about ourselves. HOw can you question anything else if you can't question yourself first?

Originally posted by newparadigm i guess i just want a quick fix answer to things that take many years to learn and understand. ?? who knows!

That seems to be a common problem nowadays...For (at least) the past few generations, people have been raised to want that "instant gratification factor"...
All I can say to this is, "Patience, Grasshopper."



[Edited on 3-3-2003 by MidnightDStroyer]

lol. grasshopper huh?
if you know the ultimate destiny of the world and know all the universal truths you are soon to be my teacher.

if not we can share patience together...