Of course being Ps, the lazy bastards never came to a conclusion and just left the entire argument at "meh". That is not acceptable to me so since I can't legally restrain them and force them to come to a decision, I decided to bring their discussion here.
That is a really perplexing thing to say. Has he been dead before? Well he must've been alive to experience it, therefore there is no such thing as death.The only reason he doesn't kill himself is because it would be stupid since there's really no difference between being alive and dead.
sramana said:First of all, there is no such thing as life. It is a figment of our imagination.
sramana said:In essence, what an organism, including us human beings, actually is, is a temporary, fluid cluster of various physical and chemical processes. There is no such thing as life - therefore it is utterly absurd to postulate that there exists any "meaning of life" outside of those meanings that we create ourselves.
Living is a process. While perceivers may think that the journey is just as, if not more, important than the destination - it is the destination that defines what a journey is. Analogously, it is our intention, self-chosen purpose, or goal that defines our particular process of living.
I agree with your friend, that a moment of life is eminently better than nothingness. This is because each type of existence has its own perfection and can attain a greater, or lesser degree of its own type of perfection. When you see a beautiful tree, it is a wonderful creature; and a tree that has flourished, flowered and borne fruit is even better to observe because it has attained a certain fullness of tree-ish perfection.
What is the perfection of a human? In terms of what we have in common with other mammals it is to see an elderly couple surrounded with children and grandchildren - perhaps -. In terms of what makes us unique from other animals is to have attained wisdom - that is, a profound understanding not only of what what surrounds us, but of truth itself. And having attained wisdom, to have shared in its goodness.
...The only reason he doesn't kill himself is because it would be stupid since there's really no difference between being alive and dead.
Pardon my language, but BULLSHIT. If you never existed, people wouldn't know you. You were conceived, born, records printed in a hospital. Raised by parents, or someone, maybe had siblings or other present family members, friends neighbors, schoolmates, co-workers. People have memories of YOU. YOU impact OTHERS. Vice versa, you have memories of OTHERS. They impact you. We are all shared experiences. If you never existed, you wouldn't know what it felt like to be alive. You wouldn't know those depressive suicidal feelings, or any other feelings you had before. If you die, you will cease to influence the world, and the world influence you, no matter how significant. /rant
Good or bad, sometimes we get what we dont deserve. Now, we can communicate all over the world some of the good things we got that we dont deserve and even spread the gracefulness of the universe, which in itself is something we havent deserved. Even in all the horrible acts humanity has performed, we have progressed to now and are still progressing. There is no entitlement, but that doesnt matter.The universe does not owe you an answer or ultimate meaning. Being alive is gift enough. It is up to you to create your own meaning.
Good or bad, sometimes we get what we dont deserve. Now, we can communicate all over the world some of the good things we got that we dont deserve and even spread the gracefulness of the universe, which in itself is something we havent deserved. Even in all the horrible acts humanity has performed, we have progressed to now and are still progressing. There is no entitlement, but that doesnt matter.