#1, Deb. Put it this way, say I said to you, 'ok what is the meaning (or
if you like, purpose) of life?' As I've been pointing out all along, you
(or whoever) simply could not give an answer .. (Like, for instance, if I
asked .. what is the meaning/purpose of a refrigerator? one could say 'to
keep things cold', what is the meaning of an air bag, 'to prevent cranial
injuries') ... correct me if I'm wrong, but your answer would have to be
along the lines of "well, let's look at the meaning of the word meaning and
lets consider that in some sense you may not have to have a meaning to have
a meaning because [for example] belief, or even just existence, like a
rock, in and of itself can constitute meaning", etc etc. Like, remember I
was saying "there's no god - unless you have to define god as having no
reality or effects and being purely beyond understanding" or "there's no
santa, unless you look at the basis of logic and correctly point out that
anything could be true" .. similarly .. there's no meaning (or purpose),
unless you define meaning in far out ways.
Again Deb, (as I've said from the start!) one could, indeed, have an
enjoyable, um, perhaps metaphysical discussion, on, the " nature of
'meaning' " and "the word meaing", and, whether, something (point #1!) that
randomly stuimbled together with no creator or purposeful force (humans,
rocks) can be said to have a 'meaning' --- but, as I've been pointing out
all along, that discussion doesn't negate the crystal clear answer "No" --
just like, if I assert two plus two is crystal-clear four, _of course_ you
could have a big mathematical discussion about how whole numbers are bunk;
or, if I assert "there's no Santa", _of course_ you could have a big sort
of logic discussion on the ultimate bounds of knowledge and certainty.
_Of course_ in some sense there 'is' or 'might be' a santa, but if a kid
wants to know if there's a santa, you say 'well, no'. _Of course_ in some
sense, two plus two equalling four is a logical joke, but if you're doing
your checkbook you just want to know that two plus two is in fact four.
_Of course_ in some sense you could attribute meaning to anything or any
concept, but life (unlike refirgerators) has no meaning.
[Again, if you doubt what I say, just formulate an answer to the question
'what is the meaning of life'? You won't be able to give an answer like
'to keep things cold' or 'make money' or 'cleans the floors' -- your
answer will run 'well in a certain sense meaning could be said to arise
from and in the context in and of itself due to .. etc'. Again, just so
you don't think I'm disagreeing with you, that IS an intriguing topic of
discussion. The ultimate basis of whole number theory is an EQUALLY
interesting topic of discussion - but still, two plus two _is_ four, you
know?]
>JP -
>
>You claim that it is "obvious" that there is no meaning to life.
>You claim that this is as "obvious" as the fact that there is no
>Santa Claus.
>
>Are these things "obvious" because:
>1) empirical evidence proves it to be so.
>2) through the exercise of reason, you have concluded that it is so.
>3) you simply 'know' it to be so, with neither proof nor rational
>effort.
>4) you simply 'know' it to be so, because __<insert and state your
>reasons here>__.
>
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I can't complain, but sometimes I still do!
- Joe Walsh