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what is the meaning of life?

 
 
Dux
 
  1  
Reply Mon 7 Jul, 2003 06:38 pm
wolf wrote:
If we recapitulate all this, I think we're pretty close to life's meaning. Now on to the meaning of the universe. Very Happy


True wolf, we are the only philosophers who are starting to work in team! :wink: :wink:
0 Replies
 
BoGoWo
 
  1  
Reply Mon 7 Jul, 2003 10:03 pm
Hey, Dux;
How are the accommodations in that ivory tower of yours; if we are going to work as a team, my first proposal is that the universe is just a nice roomy place to relax, and that my lads is the "meaning of life"! Laughing
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Dux
 
  1  
Reply Mon 7 Jul, 2003 11:58 pm
I have 20-25 years to be a team worker! Very Happy

& how about to start the work after relaxing in the beach, at least that's what I'll do! :wink:
0 Replies
 
wolf
 
  1  
Reply Tue 8 Jul, 2003 05:07 am
mmm... la playa de Mejico
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wolf
 
  1  
Reply Tue 8 Jul, 2003 05:11 am
Is this where you're at? Shocked

http://www.ctu.com.ar/Imagenes/Imagenes_Gif/playa_mejico.gif Cancun, Mexico
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sweetcomplication
 
  1  
Reply Tue 8 Jul, 2003 06:15 am
Hey! That looks like a scene a couple of miles from 'where I'm at'; and I'm near the Central Coast of California!
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cavfancier
 
  1  
Reply Tue 8 Jul, 2003 07:01 am
Uni-verse,
the poets curse.
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sweetcomplication
 
  1  
Reply Tue 8 Jul, 2003 07:04 am
Oh, goodie, cav appears! This reminds me that I think being happy because of good friends and whipped cream is the true meaning of life Laughing !
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truther75
 
  1  
Reply Thu 28 Oct, 2010 02:25 pm
@anastasia,
(perhaps this discourse will shed some light on the subject)


DIVINE ARTISTRY AND THE BEAUTY OF THE ABSURD
A discourse on the flawed concepts of meaning and purpose

written by: Remnant


The quest to understand the meaning and purpose of existence has perennially perplexed and eluded humanity. But in all our incessant searching is it possible that we have missed one salient notion? Perhaps meaning and purpose are erroneous concepts, contrived by a captive race of the human order, in a desperate attempt to connect with essence and comprehend the infinite. As futile a task this might seem to be, we have proven relentless in our inquisition. It seems it is our birth right to wonder, to ponder, to ask, and yet the more we search the less we find. We are as children dancing on a razor blade of ignorance while writhing into the void. Still, we retain the hope of someday being adorned with wisdom and given the answers to our most fundamental questions; what is the meaning of existence, and what is our purpose? It is my intent to go beyond this banal line of interrogation and reveal the heart of the matter through an alternate perspective. I propose that these questions are flawed in nature. Perhaps meaning and purpose are only diversionary anomalies, produced from ignorance of a divine artistic design. It is from this sentiment I will attempt to apply a different method of scrutiny, to delineate a case for the divine artist and reveal that perhaps we have been misguided in our approach of using the fallacious concepts of meaning and purpose to understand human existence.

Who holds the artist responsible? Should judgment and critique be given a voice to protest artistic expression? When a painter paints a picture, does she have to have a reason? When a musician plays a composition, does it have to make melodic sense? When a poet creates a sonnet, must it come to a logical conclusion? Free flowing beauty in words, in pictures, and in sounds all bare witness that meaning is marginalized in regards to the infinite. When one is part of the infinite, one can never reach a true purpose or meaning, because in the infinite these concepts are terminally elusive. Meaning and purpose are bound by the limits of time, once time is removed from the equation there is no logical end, therefore no meaning or purpose. Once the concept of time is put into perspective, it becomes apparent that any idea of end purpose is rendered impotent. Now, imagine you are the painter, stroking the canvas in a visceral display of beauty in complete autonomy, bound by no restraints, free from any limits. What would your artistic purpose be? Perhaps there is no need for purpose or meaning in your creative endeavor, but rather to simply display beauty. Under the assumption that there is a universal creator the idea becomes vivid. I have drawn meager comparisons to human artistry, but the artist of whom I am focused on is divine. That being said, we move forward with the notion of deity being the master artist. What then if this deity choosing in a beautiful, yet terrifying and horrific display, created an indescribable work of art that is the universe, including the human condition, and all of the physical and metaphysical elements, making every creature on the earth and in sea and sky, every sunset, every mountain and awe inspiring landscape, every strand of DNA in all its complexity, the systems of order and chaos, the constellations and all of space and time, the tragic and the comedic, every palpable emotion, every concept and negation, every paradox and perception, every thought of consciousness and the faculty to communicate and comprehend. Indeed, this is a very short list and unable to suffice in portraying the magnitude of the divine artist. Comprehending the infinite with a finite perspective is an exercise in futility. So, how do we bridge the gap between the infinite and the finite mind in order to understand?

Enter the absurd.The more one examines creation and scrutinizes what is, the more the absurd becomes apparent in all things, fatally perforating the concepts of meaning and purpose. The absurd is the master stroke of the artist, through which true wonder is shrouded in mystery. Why do we debase our lives and existence with demands for meaning? Why don’t we beckon the questions of what is the meaning of meaning? What is the purpose of purpose? I propose that we are hybrid beings made of flesh and that which is infinite, being displayed on a multi-dimensional canvas that is stretched into eternity. This is the wonder to which we must concede, not in sacrificing reason and logic, but in the amalgamation of these within the creative design. Reason and logic are endowments that are merely the interface of creation unto itself and the creator, with which we are to perceive yet not understand, to touch but not to grasp, and partake as participants in the magnum opus that is existence. Through the vehicles of pleasure and pain, understanding and confusion and all that embodies the physical and metaphysical realms, we are made not only spectators, but also living-breathing works in the art of the infinite, an evolving creation that is painted day by day, minute by minute and second by second. But what is the art of the infinite? Doesn’t even artistry debase the divine artist, who defies classification? Doesn’t the divine artist exercise the freedom to annihilate even the very concept of concepts!? True artistic expression can never be fully realized unless the artist is operating under total autonomy, a statement that I’m sure most artists would concur with. Autonomy is essential in order for the artist to retain authenticity in their work. That being said, I propose that all of existence is merely a work of art, of which there need be no meaning or purpose attached. This notion should not make us feel disturbed, but awe stricken in the realization that we are participants in the greatest of artistic endeavors, which is evolving existence, continually made manifest before our eyes. So, is it not a practice of insanity to derive meaning and purpose from an evolving work of art!? Why do we question beauty delivered in the hand of the absurd? Perhaps because we don’t see the beauty in our narrow view of the universe, we are like the novice who tries to decipher the work of Van Gogh, Pollock or Dali. We see pain, suffering, chaos and horror as things in which need a remedy, and perhaps a remedy is part of the divine manifesto, which galvanize these impetus’s, thereby producing beautiful byproducts; such as empathy, benevolence and altruism. Through these examples we see the creative process at work even through our most loathsome experiences. However, this does little to ease our minds in regards to a loving and divine over seer, one who is supposed to be out for our best interests, and what of ethics and moral responsibility? Is the divine artist immune to moral and ethical scrutiny? I propose that the divine artist cannot be subjected to ethical and moral scrutiny, because from the artist the very creation of the ethical was originated; thereby nullifying its restraints over the creator. The artist can not be restrained by the very work he creates. Once again I will stress that unfettered autonomy can not be overstated. Everything that is, is, because of the autonomy the artist retains, including the most undesirable aspects from the human perspective, all of which resides under the ultimate creative jurisdiction of deity.

Now that we are aware of the imperative, which is autonomy for the artist, should we abolish art altogether; thereby thwarting the dangers and discomfort it can produce? Or, do we embrace the latitude of creativity and succumb to the absurd, venerating the artist, who resides in autonomous divine mastery? This writer is compelled to the latter.
JLNobody
 
  1  
Reply Thu 28 Oct, 2010 03:38 pm
@truther75,
To simply display beauty. The best way to justify our existence.
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truthseeker66
 
  1  
Reply Wed 17 Nov, 2010 09:50 pm
@anastasia,
We are here to bring others to the Lord, (save lost souls). We are here to "glorify god."
CalamityJane
 
  1  
Reply Wed 17 Nov, 2010 10:08 pm
@truthseeker66,
No, we are not! You might be here to glorify God, but some of us have found life more meaningful without glorifying a myth.
cicerone imposter
 
  1  
Reply Wed 17 Nov, 2010 10:30 pm
@CalamityJane,
Not only a myth, but one nobody has been able to prove even exists. They must refer to the bible that he is the creator, and also exists.

No more miracles, floods, getting turned into sand, virgin birth, and a snake that talks.

0 Replies
 
farmerman
 
  1  
Reply Thu 18 Nov, 2010 06:33 am
@truther75,
That piece could have been more compelling in one paragraph. It was, like spendi, too in love with the sound of its own voice to make a point
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Setanta
 
  1  
Reply Thu 18 Nov, 2010 06:41 am
@truther75,
Your boy Remnant (oh please) is a lousy writer.
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north
 
  1  
Reply Thu 18 Nov, 2010 01:19 pm
that life is just as much of the Universe as galaxies , stars , moons , asteriods , etc , anywhere it can it will take hold

and , more importantly , that there is also a different kind of energy in this Universe , not just the physics of the quantum world ,or high energy physics ,obviously
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north
 
  1  
Reply Thu 18 Nov, 2010 01:31 pm

this does not mean in any form of thinking does this mean that I'm for god

I'm NOT

for those that still think I'm though , I pose this question :

if there is a god , why is there no life on the moon ?, because god is NOT all powerful , all being , the Universe its self etc

life can only take hold where the enviroment is enough to allow life to become and alot more than a fraction of a second
north
 
  1  
Reply Thu 18 Nov, 2010 01:46 pm

we don't respect life because we don't look at the bigger , much , much , much , bigger picture

we just don't think of the Universe beyond our blue sky enough , take note and remember our place in even our galaxy
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Cyracuz
 
  1  
Reply Thu 18 Nov, 2010 01:56 pm
@north,
You're not for god?
north
 
  1  
Reply Thu 18 Nov, 2010 01:57 pm
@Cyracuz,
Cyracuz wrote:

You're not for god?


didn't I explain this ? I did
 

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