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by laserlight 1261 days ago
Does the universe enjoy having feelings, hopes, and dreams? This kind of thinking is anthropocentric and doesn't generalize to any scale. Consider cancer cells thinking that their goal (growth) is good for the organism, because, after all, they are part of it.
1 comments
piedar 1261 days ago
As a tiny representative of the universe, yes I do enjoy having feelings, hopes, and dreams. If nihilists find this to be meaningless, perhaps we simply disagree about which of us is the cancer.
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A4ET8a8uTh0 1261 days ago
It it is an interesting conversation to me even if it moves into a philosophical realm, where I have little to no experience. Why would we think of ourselves as the representatives of the universe, whereas we are closer to resembling atoms at the scales involved ( and even that seems to embellish our relative size ). Does having feelings, hopes and dreams bestows the status of an envoy? Nihilists do not see things as meaningless, which may carry negative connotations ( 'the cancer part' ). Rather, things are devoid of meaning. Nihilists recognize that meaning is not inherent, but rather ascribed by the person experiencing the feeling.

I will admit that I chuckled at the cancer comparison. How does the universe consider, which cells are 'good'?

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piedar 1261 days ago
If you show a skyscraper to an ant, should he abandon his queen because their little hill is too insignificant to matter? Or should he jump back in and build the best damn nest in the city? I just don't think relative scale is really important - even a galaxy-striding star-snacking titan would grapple with the same problem of meaning.

> Nihilists recognize that meaning is not inherent, but rather ascribed by the person experiencing the feeling.

That sounds reasonable, so here's an attempt at a synthesis. The universe is huge and mostly empty, but here we have a tiny patch full of life and self-ascribed meaning. Does the universe prefer life? The part that's alive certainly does! So don't let it fall to ashes just to appease the void. I think that's the best answer a mere mortal can give.

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