Ask HN: What's the Point of Life?
As I've grown older, this question has been consuming more and more of my thoughts. I like life, and I'm absurdly lucky. But what's the point of any of it?
HN seems uniquely good at philosophical questions, so I was hoping to get your thoughts. I thought about framing the question more, but honestly, "What's the point of life?" is the refrain that I keep coming back to. It would be nice to escape it.
172 comments
[ 2.7 ms ] story [ 282 ms ] threadNot everyone sees life as unending torment.
I don't see any way to justify that suffering just so that some can experience joy and happiness, which as far as I can see have no true inherent value.
Many people are hypocrites in that sense.
Personally I find that explanation circular and unsatisfying. So the goal of life is to get back to what you were before life began, what's the point ?
Is it OK to torture someone as long as you make sure to kill them afterward ?
In this view the ego self existed before, but only in so far as I exist as the character in a novel, while I am reading it. So I would say yes, it is OK to torture a fictional character if it makes sense in the context of the story.
In your view (or the view you are defending) is there any reason to be compassionate towards other beings ? If the answer is yes than that compassion should have extended to avoiding all manifestation so as to prevent their suffering.
If the answer is no, because they are just like characters in a novel, then there seems to be a very fundamental difference in morality between this view and most other spiritual teachings, which do teach compassion.
The idea that all manifestation should have been prevented to prevent suffering seems to take for granted, that the joys of life are not worth the suffering. I would disagree about that.
Yes, because that has always been my experience. I have never experienced a state of joy or happiness that seemed so good that I could see it as justifying suffering. I have however in the past experienced states of suffering so horrible that I would have given anything for them to end.
Maybe it is to say that when you turn and meet the eyes of another you already know that you're the same basic stuff. That's why you open your mouth and start talking. Because you know you'll get an answer back.
Perhaps the text is there to remind you of the significance of that intuition, and to look for generality in plurality, as a useful abstraction. There are other texts that seem to teach you the use of fear, vision, smell and taste, touch and feel.
Maybe it's a manual for your vehicle, and not some philosophical movement.
Just a thought.
Or
The point of life is to increase entropy.
Or
The point of life is to secure resources that allow that life to continue on in the way that that life decides to, based on that life’s structure
I like your first answer better, even if I agree with it less.
Maybe to decrease it.
Would that not lead to a frustrating life?
/micromanager rant
So, enforcing group identity and tribalism, basically. A lot of people do think of that as the point of life. Being a part of a group and living for the benefit of the group over oneself.
The religious fervor over enforcing style guides makes more sense if it is tied to people’s world view and philosophy of life.
But please don't harm yourself or anyone -- not now, not later.
I have learned for myself that life has purpose and is worthwhile, even when one can't move without pain and it is hard to maintain good thoughts -- such things can be learning experiences that help us move forward later, into the next life, when we will still be ourselves and can take with us the things we have learned and become (on the inside). It is so very worthwhile. I have commented more elsewhere in this discussion.
(edit: s/now/not/ )
I hear it is never lost, lest you're actually dead or in the process of.
So I don't know about that.
I've been struggling with "neurosis-based" depression all my life. They still don't have a cure for that. You know what the medical consensus is? Breathe.
That appeared in 2015.
And I have myself discovered Wim Hoff independently of medical science the year before. That got me started.
Maybe it could get you started too.
<3
It exists and as a result, so do you. Enjoy it, do what's right, and maybe we'll be lucky enough to be the first people for whom life doesn't end.
Discuss.
Also money and hard drugs /s
I found out that no, I can't actually manage that.
Maybe you can though. Are you trying right now? How's it going, if I may be so familiar?
It's up to you to decide what it is that matters to you but if you're looking for some universal direction then that will just lead to frustration.
If you're lucky and you have the resources then you're in a position to choose which I understand can feel overwhelming. I would just encourage you to consider the possibility that you've been given a gift and you should cherish it.
But it's true, right? If there's no point, then the conclusion is "This is pointless" for every experience. And it ends up feeling so hollow sometimes.
Relaxing and enjoying it is of course the antidote. But I'm starting to wonder if everyone is relaxing and enjoying life without purpose, and therefore our collective purpose is de facto "Netflix and chill."
There's nothing wrong with that, but it ends up feeling like "Well, I may as well sit around and play Dota; it's just as good as doing anything else, since it's all pointless." And that can't possibly be the proper mindset for life... Can it?
Find your own meaning since it is different for everyone was their point I think.
To be nerdy about it; this is a problem with many variables and one of your responsibilities is to figure out what they are. So if you're feeling overwhelmed with a sense of futility then it might be that you're experiencing some level of depression. You could be out of 'happy juice' and be wildly over stimulated. You need to name, and isolate those variables for yourself, so you can hear what some people call your 'authentic voice' which will give you some level of inspiration.
I realize this might sound hand-wavy. I can't give you any practical personal advice for obvious reasons, but I would really encourage you to change things up; change your surroundings. Try new things. Meet new people. Move your body around. None of it will feel good to start.
You may also be interested in reading or listening to work by Andrew Huberman who provides excellent lectures on various topics around brain chemistry and motivation.
Think questions like: "Why bother developing a skill if I'm not going to use it professionally?"
Well, learning this can just make you happy, and that's enough of a purpose if you want it to be. You don't have to make money out of it, it doesn't need to take you anywhere in your career, if you feel good doing something as hobby, why would that be bad?
"Ah, but there are people consider that procrastination"
Do you care what others think? How much to be in the way of you enjoying yourself?
Of course you need to make the decision if something is worth your time and is making you truly happy or just helping you escape reality.
Addictive things can give you short burst of happiness, but fill the rest of your life with misery. But anything can be an addiction. Just because it is to another person, it doesn't mean it is to you and vice-versa.
A crude synopsis is that you can create your own meaning while keeping the pointlessness of it always in view... you can live life, create art, etc. as a meaningless revolt against meaninglessness :)
I also wonder anyway, how would life with a point feel? It goes back to absurdity of human condition; you think you need a point but how does that work? Let's say you achieve the point of life when you are 53, what do you do then? :) Life with an absolute point is not actually a condition I can imagine :)
Without a point we are free to pursue whatever meaning we find important.
In a meaningless universe where you are essentially a powerless water balloon with some decision tree making abilities, the gift of “choice” and deciding what matters to you is really the only power you have.
If there is one, it can come from an external source or from our own subjective self.
The former is what traditional religions claim, and most settle on some form of "praising the Creator" as the point of life.
The latter is probably best captured by existentialism. I would recommend Camus.
If there is not one, then that is nihilism. I would recommend Nietzsche.
I think the choice is between God and Nietzsche. I picked God.
While I agree with the first part of your comment, I completely disagree with this statement. I'd say the latter is quite well captured by some eastern traditions such as Advaita-Vedanta or Buddhism, especially its essential aspects such as Mahamudra or Dzogchen.
The rather uncomfortable truth is that there may not be a point. But this, in some ways, makes it strangely comforting also, because the "point" can be whatever you define it to be. That's the way I choose to look at it anyway!
Not fantastic adventure, a very boring one. But hopefully it has some of the qualities.
I don't enjoy that question the OP voiced in the framing that he used. I think it's a misguided framing, that does not limit the question sufficiently that it might have a chance at an answer. Which would lead to quite some frustration, and so a life that is not as enjoyable as it might otherwise have been.
I think the impulse to ask that question should be used productively. As in, "What is the game? Here, right now?"
What is it about what I'm going to do now that I'm going to enjoy? How can I make what I'm doing play instead of work?
I think that works better as a general approach.
There is literature about it, by the way, and it could be good for you to explore it if you feel that way towards the matter.
But there is also Discipline to go with that.
That's like asking "what's the point of a frog?"
Said better than I could ever try.
The poster knows how to do induction.
You can worry about the meaning of life after you have secured its continuity. Prioritize.