How We are Nihilists

reply to post by Itisnowagain

Surely that is about your style of writing - you don't say 'I.........
Read the opening post of all your threads.

That's because when I write, I am not having a conversation with someone. People are reading my opinion.

Aphorism
reply to post by BDBinc

 

Has a baby told you its a nihilist?
Or are you just telling us you think you are a nihilist so everyone is?
Do you remember being a nihilist baby or even how you felt about the world as a baby?
Maybe you shouldn't try to provide us with your opinion dressed up in a costume of "ALL babies have this [ insert your nihilism idea ] world view "

Has a baby told you he wasn't a nihilist?

You are the one making claims about everyone's (and everyone's babies) world views, shouldn't you have experienced at least one nihilistic baby [and everyones] nihilism confessional to make such a wild claim?
I am not telling people what babies world views are. This thread is much like when you told us what Hitler's spirituality was without him.
Key here is a baby did not tell you anything and yet you imagined all babies [and everyones]world view as your own.
So you want to label yourself nihilist, ok , but consider that 'everyone' does not want your label/worldview.

So you think you're a nihilist?

Aphorism
reply to post by Itisnowagain

 

Surely that is about your style of writing - you don't say 'I.........
Read the opening post of all your threads.

That's because when I write, I am not having a conversation with someone. People are reading my opinion.

So what is your point?

I think it's quite petty to think that one can speak for another. It's not only petty, but irrational, authoritative, assumptive and simply wrong. If one is comfortable operating in this manner, then who am I to say?

Read the opening post of this thread.
Have you heard the saying 'Pot kettle black'?

reply to post by BDBinc

So you want to label yourself nihilist, ok , but consider that 'everyone' does not want your label/worldview.

Well I labelled you a nihilist as well. How much meaning did you see in the world when you were born?

I am not telling people what babies world views are.

You're saying they are not nihilists. Or are you saying you cannot be certain, and I may be right?

reply to post by Itisnowagain


Who am I speaking for? I'm speaking my opinion.

Aphorism
reply to post by BDBinc

 

So you want to label yourself nihilist, ok , but consider that 'everyone' does not want your label/worldview.

Well I labelled you a nihilist as well. How much meaning did you see in the world when you were born?

I repeat, so you want to label yourself nihilist, ok , but consider that 'everyone' does not want your label/world view.

Yes I know you like to label everyone as having your opinion and world view even when they clearly disagree with your labels and ideas.

reply to post by BDBinc

I repeat, so you want to label yourself nihilist, ok , but consider that 'everyone' does not want your label/world view.

Yes I know you like to label everyone as having your opinion and world view even when they clearly disagree with your labels and ideas.

I hope you approach your own views in such a way. But from what I recall, you don't. More moral posturing.

Aphorism
reply to post by BDBinc

 

I repeat, so you want to label yourself nihilist, ok , but consider that 'everyone' does not want your label/world view.

Yes I know you like to label everyone as having your opinion and world view even when they clearly disagree with your labels and ideas.

I hope you approach your own views in such a way. But from what I recall, you don't. More moral posturing.

edit on 14-2-2014 by Aphorism because: (no reason given)

Not at all.
My disagreement on being called a nihilist by you [as you think you are one], is repeated by other members who also do not share your opinion that they ( & everyone) are nihilists.
I know you don't have my world view, I have not and would not claim that you or everyone does.
So it has nothing to do with moral posturing, as just from the thread count " everybody" are not nihilists, and yet you want to label everybody nihilists (including us that on record disagree with your opinion on what OUR world view is ) .
I don't claim my world view is everyones .
The vanity of such an idea .

reply to post by BDBinc


Denial of nihilism is the theme of my thread. Even now, it seems, this theme continues. As I mentioned in the OP, people hide their nihilism under certain disguises, so that they do not have to face its crushing blow.

So I must ask. What sort of meaning did you see in the world at your birth?

For you youtube philosophers who prefer videos to books:

Roberto Unger is a great living philosopher, who discusses nihilism.


I have no clue the merit of this video.

Aphorism
reply to post by BDBinc

 

Denial of nihilism is the theme of my thread. Even now, it seems, this theme continues. As I mentioned in the OP, people hide their nihilism under certain disguises, so that they do not have to face its crushing blow.

You just tell everyone( the babies whose world view you included) that they have a nihilistic world view and if they don't you tell us we are in denial.Oh the vanity.

What is the crushing blow you face as a nihilist?

reply to post by Aphorism


What is the meaning of meaning?

It seems there is an existential crisis.

Realizing there is no hope, no meaning or anything to do can feel like total despair. It is wonderfully awful.
It is about everything being lost. The hopes and dreams of the 'me' collapse. Everything that 'me' owns is lost.
'Me' is a rich man and it is said that a rich man cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. (24.00)

reply to post by BDBinc


What specific meaning or purpose did you see in the world when you were born?

reply to post by ImaFungi


There's a book somewhere out there with that title.

reply to post by Aphorism


You say that most people seek happiness more than wisdom. I say that there are 99 causes of happiness, so the real topic is what are most peoples interpretation of happiness, what do they do which causes them happiness? If they are trying to please their ego than maybe what causes them happiness can bring sadness to others. In that case I am in the category of fewer people because I have to understand what brings happiness and why it should bring happiness. Obviously people don't want to be sad, but it is the confusion and ignorance to what brings fundamental real and nature happiness and what makes a person laugh.

The actual root of happiness is a chemical in our mind called Serotonin, we produce it naturally from consuming nutrients. Simply, we can inject a substance in our body and become happy. Antidepressants can release this chemical, in that case a person could say ' I am happy but I realize that there is no cause for my happiness, in fact I realize the same things that made me sad but I still laugh, this could be viewed as stealing away my own integrity.'

We live in a world of fear and distrust, this fear comes from the lack of faith in others. There are reasons why we have emotions. If a person does not believe that mammals have a universal spirit in them then it will be hard to understand the cause of emotions and why they are there. Some people refuse to even be emotional. Emotions come from reactions, based on effects from experiences, but when interacting with people there is a spiritual connection that cannot be avoided subconsciously no matter how much the arrogance can create the chemicals that hide it. When we lie to each other and treat each other as if we were not spiritually connected it takes a toll on the mind body and soul. So really we should not be seeking happiness. If we were wise, we would be seeking well being. Well being is different than happiness, in well being you can actually be crying, but they are called tears of happiness, you are crying because of gratitude. And when we open up to this wisdom of ourselves we are on our way to experiencing these awakened positive attributes of life, we are on our way to being 'real' and not 'fake,' and certainly we are on our way towards loving the earth.

So yes there is love, yes there is a specific right and wrong, yea there is a specific reality to that being which is true and existing.

To those of a more adventurous mind, they utilize the chemical epinephrine for their excitement, in which they regard as pleasure. This is because every person has a unique amount of chemical reactions in the mind with the main neurotransmitting chemicals reacting with subtypes. There are as many neurons as there are stars in a galaxy so for every person to have a unique personality is not hard at all. The subtypes and reactions will determine if one person receives pleasure from sky diving or another receives pleasure from reading, if the sky diver receives pleasure from beer it is because they want to increase another chemical that slows down neurotransmission, equating it to relaxation but in that case they are fooled like the antidepressants - it is not real.

When we bring up religion, wisdom must kick in because if a person was educated in all the world religions without having wisdom they would be fooled also. We have to realize how much humanity has lied. We are truly liars. We just want attention, and we will say just about anything to get it. Religions are worldly centers seeking attention behind the name of God, but they have changed and formed in a worldly separation of spirits, a separation of earth. They have been planned for strategic growth the same as a worldly business. The divine house is more like an untouched rain forest, not a building that is a worldly business. Yet the original stories that sparked the religions are mostly true. The flood, Jesus, Moses, even Confucius were real parts of the history of earth. For example Jesus should be remembered, there should be crosses on these worldly businesses, but in us and in wisdom they are not to be judged by us. We know that they are not divine and belong to the world, but we know they serve a purpose and we are not opposed to that. In judging these things we are just bringing ourselves back down to the worldly level - because we are judging the world just as they judge the world.

Aphorism
reply to post by BDBinc

 

What specific meaning or purpose did you see in the world when you were born?

I am not a baby or a nihilist, you called me a nihilist you said everyone is a nihilist.
Everyone is not a baby( but ' everyone' includes babies ) as I am not a nihilist your claim about "everyone" being a nihilist is false.

Aphorism
reply to post by ImaFungi

 

There's a book somewhere out there with that title.

So you believe that the universe has inherent objective meaning, and humans share some of those meanings and values, and then also create their own, which in a democracy kind of way and even individual meanings, are objective because they exist when humans utilize them?

The thing then is how this relates to objective truth, how to judge value of meanings. Is it possible that all subjective meanings hold equal value? Subjectively when compared to themselves perhaps yes, but when you bring in the objective truth and meaning thrust upon 'what humans are,exist in and exist as, forced to do what they must do to continue to exist', then we can see that some subjective meaning in the face of objectivity, are not as valuable as meaningful things to withhold.

(I did ask my question earlier in a quite serious way, because the term meaning is just a word used to describe a complex and semi abstract notion).

Your perhaps most simple argument to the nihilist is when they say life is meaningless, they are proving it is not, because they are still alive, and it takes meaning to live, it takes going to sleep, getting food and water, taking care of yourself to mean something in order to still live, so obviously life is meaningful... Im not sure about that argument can probably be picked a part a bit. But I do believe the main crux of the argument is: What does meaning mean. Is reality apart from humans meaningful. Does reality with humans have meaning. Does humans interaction with reality have meaning beyond what the human thinks. Of course we know that humans interactions with themselves and others and reality has meaning, because we made up the word and we are the ones that experience meaning.

Aphorism
reply to post by BDBinc

 

What specific meaning or purpose did you see in the world when you were born?

What specific meaning or purpose do you see in the world now? What is the purpose or meaning of (your) life?

reply to post by Itisnowagain

What specific meaning or purpose do you see in the world now? What is the purpose or meaning of (your) life?

I mentioned in the OP (#5) that meaning and purpose are an act of nature, nature giving meaning to herself through us, which in turn is an act of her own expression, her self-portraits. All of these creations—knowledge, culture, society, religions, science etc.—are the result of our creative hands; and being forms of artistic expression, we still have the opportunity to experiment with them, make them better, make them worse, destroy them if need be, and most importantly, to facilitate the expression of nature through ourselves. I think giving purpose and meaning to live is our purpose.