The Meaning of Life Found!
This post is a reaction to what someone commented on one of my other posts that I feel was good fodder to write about. Initially I was surprised by the comment, but what should I expect from writing on such a touchy, personal topic? What they said was this:
I think the Internet has given a voice to someone who needs more experience in what life truly means before he can comment on it in his recently learned University speak.
Now don't misunderstand why I'm centering this comment out. It's not becuase of his disagreement with my opinion that I'm drawing attention to it, but I am doing so for two reasons: first, it is a nice seguay into what I'd like to discuss, and second, it is probably the most useless, subjective and completely-void-of-thought comment you could make (it's entirely gut feeling; emotional). I welcome dissention as long as they're well thought out, nicely constructed arguments, but to merely make a speculation about what you think I'm like, well, that's an entirely different - and unwelcome - story.
Focusing on what the comment says, they claim that I need more experience in what life truly means. Saying this implies that the author of the comment must have some idea, if only vague, of what life is "truly" about. This also implies that life has only one main purpose or meaning behind it, both assertions I have a problem with.
I'm not claiming to have any idea about the meaning life, nor did I ever claim anything of the sort in any of my previous (nor, hopefully, future) posts. In fact, I've been hovering somewhere between the realm of absurdism and nihilism for quite some time now, which means that I'm having a problem even seeing any possible meaning from the universe at all. You see, nihilism says that there is no objective nor subjective meaning at all. That's it, no meaning. Yet we, as logical beings, are looking for some meaning, forever to be frustrated in such endeavors. Absurdism, which I now identify more with, says that this clash is called the Absurd; the fact that we keep looking for meaning where there is none is utterly ridiculous (aka absurd). Where it differs from Nihilism is that the individual can find some subjective meaning that is not at all objective, since there is no objective meaning (their relations to each other, theism, and atheism is nicely laid out here). Having said all of that, I think this critic may have found some form of meaning, but to assert that I lack the experience to have come to my own conclusion is a faulty one becuase they're saying that I haven't come to the one meaning (that is, the true meaning) which would stop me from making such faulty claims. Whether I have or have not come to a conclusion about the meaning of life could not be derived from what I had said. All they can conclude is that I haven't reached the same conclusion as them.
We can also look at this from an agnostic sense that ties nicely in with nihilism and absurdism. Let me be clear, agnosticism is not a religious stance by itself. It's just not. Agnosticism is saying whether something is knowable/provable or not. That's it. Do you believe toast is better with jam or butter? You believe it's jam, but you're still forced to be an agnostic on the matter because the truth is that we're dealing with something that is so subjective that it's inherently improvable objectively. In such circumstances, all we have is our opinion. Apply the same argument to God; Do you believe? Yes, no, regardless of facts. Now, Do you think we can ever prove or disprove their existence? Yes? then you're a pure (a)theist; No? Then you're an agnostic (a)theist. To say that you're an agnostic is sidestepping the question while hardly addressing it.
Now that that's clear, I could take the stance that the meaning, there or not, can never be found. I'm agnostic on the meaning of the universe, which would make me an Agnostic Absurdist.
So there you have it, Annonymous Critic. Despite your best efforts to hit'n'run with a mind numbing thought vacuum, I've managed to use your "criticism" in a productive way. Thanks again.
Now THAT, we can be thankful for! Sometimes the best answer is to accept the Absurd.
“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” - Albert Camus