I'm a slightly intoxicated, so forgive me if I'm not quite my usual polite self, but ..
Quote:
Originally Posted by cardboard adolescent
I'm arguing that his post defeats itself. If everything is just about survival, why are we even having this conversation?
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In my last post, I wrote "meaning" with apostrophes. The reason is our existence is a consequence brought about by a cause. That's all it requires - we don't need a meaning to exist and personal goals aside, there is none. The closest we can get to real universal meaning is procreation. At least it's something all our ancestors did, much the causal reason we're here and something we have adapted to doing.
You've stumbled upon the meaning of life and now you want to tell us about it. The reason I want to oppose you is not just that I feel what you write is wrong, I think it's pretentious and ignorant. It's oh so appearant that you don't really understand the scientific theory and reasoning you oppose. You write about survival tips for example which is pretty inaccurate. You write about how could we even debate this if language was only for survival?
By writing these things, you only showcase your lack of understanding. One of the basic lessons in evolutionary biology is that it's not about the survival of the individual. It's about the perpetuation of genes. When you understand evolution, it becomes clear that it's an ongoing process of cause and consequence that over time gives rise to a progressively higher organisation and more advanced forms of not just molecules like DNA and proteins, but behaviour and even culture.
It's not an easy subject and it can't be summarized in a forum post as there are countless books out there about it, but really - it's something you should look more into. You may think science is bogus, but it does give a feasible answer to many ultimate questions. You know philosophy so you probably know about proximate and ultimate causality. Proximate means closest to. For example; why do you have five fingers on your hands? Because when you were at the early fetal development stage, cells configured themselves so that you ended up with five fingers. That's a proximate answer. It answers the question, but on the other hand it doesn't - not really. Why do you have five fingers on your hands? Because at some point many tens of millions of years ago, there were different amount of digits out there but your ancestors through evolution ended up with 5 and it was a good strategy and they had sex and so did their descendants and you have inherited it from them. That's an ultimate answer. Why are we on this planet? My answer was an ultimate one. Yours was a vague attempt at a proximate one.
The reason you are confused I'm guessing is because foundations of your beliefs and thoughts are rather shaky - for example they are probably based much more on proximates than ultimates. However, you can't understand one without understanding the other. In other words, the things you believe lack a proper foundation. I find it slightly irritating (ignorant) when people think you can understand human psychology, our goals and the meaning of our existence when they don't even have the faintest idea where we came from in the first place.
In one and the same thread, you manage to write that you discovered the meaning of life and then you lost it again. The only clear thing I can gain from that is that you're confused more than anything.