Coolydudey
You could say that.
With this thread I'm planning to make a little go-to for all the myriads of people who suddenly realise that life is absurd and are having some crisis about it. I really don't think such time needs to be spent dealing with these crises on a case by case basis, unless someone is depressed or something similar which is a seperate issue anyway. So here goes.
Ok, you've realised life is pointless. Well done! You fall into a very small percentage of people who both have a brain and have actually used it for something! It makes so much sense! Now I don't see why this is troubling you so much.
Actually, I tell a lie. I remember precisely why this troubled me so much. The very way society functions, the very way you were brought up since you were a baby, and the way that so many of your preconceptions (particularly moral) stand on this arbitrary basis that suddenly crumbles all contribute to a hugely uncomfortable and jarring jolt to your worldview. You want things to be as they were before, you want to restore what you've lost so that things make sense again. It's naturally human.
I myself spent a long time trying to restore things. I eventually decided it wasn't possible. It was enormously liberating when I just accepted that life is meaningless, morals are arbitrary, etc. It's a completely, perfectly valid way to see the world. It will however take time to adjust, however you go about it.
Now, I insert some quotes from Nihilism.com which I just found, so that you can see that I am not alone in thinking that embracing such facts (or even going further as in the case of Nihilists) is productive, if anything.
"Our view is that by accepting nothingness, through nihilism, we can see what is of actual value and uphold it, bypassing the denial and illusion of this age. "
"As such, we are the ultimate minority. Almost every member of our species wants an existence focused on individual human drama and the need of humans to feel an outlet for their emotions and desires.
Instead, we offer them cold hard realism from the 10,000 year scale. Humanity is not much an achievement; it is likely we will self-destruct, as most intelligent species do."
Here I will disagree with the text. Every person does need a life somewhat focused on emotions and desires. I won't just offer you cold hard realism, but instead I will say that the way out of the crisis is to accept your emotions. Without emotions, the world is cold hard logic, there is no crisis on the one hand, no happiness on the other. I would suggest that since it's all meaningless you should just go ahead and try to be happy, instead of worrying about the meaninglessness of it all. And btw, for most people, trying to minimise total hurt to others (or even maximise their happiness, within reason) will help in that goal (of being happy), hence at least partially confirming a basis on which to accept some of classic morality.
What I'm saying boils down to:
You've realised it's meaningless. It's perfectly ok, that's very reasonable and you should accept it. And while you're at it, since life is meaningless, stop worrying about it and be happy.
That's my take on it anyway. Feel free to contribute guys. Now here's an interesting photo. It's going much further than me, saying what to do with your existentialism. It's even offering options to add a meaning to your life and much more, in essence disagreeing with me. Enjoy!
http://i.imgur.com/mabRf.jpg
Eventually you'll realise it's no big deal whether you think the world is meaningless or not... Who cares?
Ok, you've realised life is pointless. Well done! You fall into a very small percentage of people who both have a brain and have actually used it for something! It makes so much sense! Now I don't see why this is troubling you so much.
Actually, I tell a lie. I remember precisely why this troubled me so much. The very way society functions, the very way you were brought up since you were a baby, and the way that so many of your preconceptions (particularly moral) stand on this arbitrary basis that suddenly crumbles all contribute to a hugely uncomfortable and jarring jolt to your worldview. You want things to be as they were before, you want to restore what you've lost so that things make sense again. It's naturally human.
I myself spent a long time trying to restore things. I eventually decided it wasn't possible. It was enormously liberating when I just accepted that life is meaningless, morals are arbitrary, etc. It's a completely, perfectly valid way to see the world. It will however take time to adjust, however you go about it.
Now, I insert some quotes from Nihilism.com which I just found, so that you can see that I am not alone in thinking that embracing such facts (or even going further as in the case of Nihilists) is productive, if anything.
"Our view is that by accepting nothingness, through nihilism, we can see what is of actual value and uphold it, bypassing the denial and illusion of this age. "
"As such, we are the ultimate minority. Almost every member of our species wants an existence focused on individual human drama and the need of humans to feel an outlet for their emotions and desires.
Instead, we offer them cold hard realism from the 10,000 year scale. Humanity is not much an achievement; it is likely we will self-destruct, as most intelligent species do."
Here I will disagree with the text. Every person does need a life somewhat focused on emotions and desires. I won't just offer you cold hard realism, but instead I will say that the way out of the crisis is to accept your emotions. Without emotions, the world is cold hard logic, there is no crisis on the one hand, no happiness on the other. I would suggest that since it's all meaningless you should just go ahead and try to be happy, instead of worrying about the meaninglessness of it all. And btw, for most people, trying to minimise total hurt to others (or even maximise their happiness, within reason) will help in that goal (of being happy), hence at least partially confirming a basis on which to accept some of classic morality.
What I'm saying boils down to:
You've realised it's meaningless. It's perfectly ok, that's very reasonable and you should accept it. And while you're at it, since life is meaningless, stop worrying about it and be happy.
That's my take on it anyway. Feel free to contribute guys. Now here's an interesting photo. It's going much further than me, saying what to do with your existentialism. It's even offering options to add a meaning to your life and much more, in essence disagreeing with me. Enjoy!
http://i.imgur.com/mabRf.jpg
Eventually you'll realise it's no big deal whether you think the world is meaningless or not... Who cares?
