Jan 17
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the stars are in our hands
On atheism, purpose and 'something greater'
In reference to this:
What is it about people who can't understand that there doesn't need to be a higher power or greater meaning to life other than what we already have?
So many people say 'I could never be an atheist because it would be so nihilistic to believe nothing has meaning'.
Who says that not believing in god or a higher power or 'something greater' eradicates 'meaning'?
What is this purpose everyone keeps looking for?! This justification that everything you do must 'amount to something greater'. Greater than what? There is a value judgement in that statement that implies that this, being alive, loving, eating icecream, watching movies, making friends, building buildings and cars and creating paintings, isn't enough and there must be something more.
It is my opinion that the creation and perpetuation of the idea that there must be 'something greater than life as it exists and a great organizing principal to which our lives all contribute to' is precisely why no one appreciates life as it exists right now, right here and why no one takes joy in the mundane and finds beauty in the temporary but miraculous thing that is human conciousness and life. There is no future port of entry. The journey is the destination. Not to put too fine a point on it but YOU HAVE ALREADY ARRIVED.
Why do you need something greater than that? The chances of any of this happening is infintessimally small! Organization from the chaos of the great cosmic soup? The likelihood of that is as close to zero as you get. And yet there still must be something more than that? What more could you possibly want?
Forest. Trees.
For the record, I'll go 1 mile further up what the OP considers to be the nihilist superhighway and state that not only do I not believe in souls (which clears up where they go, what happens to them or whether or not dogs have them) but I don't even believe in a self. There is no 'me'. And I ain't even mad!
Beat that!