Live a meaningless life · 4:10am May 2nd, 2012
Some pony stories collided in my mind and produced a thought. My own Pony Tales: No Regrets, plus my earlier, unpublished and abandoned "Moving On" (about what Twilight does when Celestia gets a new pupil), are both about Twilight realizing that being the best student isn't enough to build a life on, and searching for meaning to her life. In the other, Shutdown, (spoiler) Twilight discovers she's living in a simulation built for other peoples' entertainment.
Lots of people say they want their life to have a purpose. In Shutdown, Twillight's life really does have a purpose. Which I think proves that everyone who says they want their life to have purpose, or meaning, is lying. A purpose is either someone else's purpose, which you have been assigned - which turns out to be very unpleasant! - or it's your own purpose, which you have constructed. Most of the people who say they want to have a purpose, don't really want the first kind and would be very upset if they found out they had one; and they reject the second kind - that's why they're talking about wanting a purpose in the first place! Otherwise they'd simply make one up.
You know who never worries about what their life's purpose or meaning is? Kids. Because they're busy having fun. We start worrying about our purpose when we get older and life starts sucking and being boring and we look for quick, easy, mental tricks to play on ourselves to not mind it so much. Looking for a purpose makes it sound like you're doing something exciting. But actually finding you had one would be horrible.
If you're looking for a meaning to your life, it's just a sign that you aren't having fun anymore. Stop looking for meaning, and have some fun.
"and they reject the second kind - that's why they're talking about wanting a purpose in the first place! Otherwise they'd simply make one up."
Or the purpose they've come up with isn't good enough to them. I can tell myself right now my purpose in life is to be king of the world; we both know that's not going to happen.
"actually finding you had one would be horrible."
That would depend on the purpose. Some people have made peace with the futility of existence, having discovered/created life's callings they can accept.
"Stop looking for meaning, and have some fun."
What is the point of having fun? Can't you simply will excitement and happiness into your consciousness? Aren't you telling yourself to have fun merely as a default?
What is the point of doing anything?
"What is the point of having fun? Can't you simply will excitement and happiness into your consciousness? Aren't you telling yourself to have fun merely as a default? What is the point of doing anything?"
Good questions, that can't be dealt with very well in comments on a blog.
No, you can't will yourself to be excited and happy. I think you know that already.
When you take something like fun, that is a positive qualia, you don't need to ask what its point is. You would if you were a biologist, or an evolutionary psychologist. But as a human, fun is a reward your genes made your brain give you for doing something they have their own ulterior motives for. You can ask how "fun" compares with other rewards you get for doing other things, like helping other people, or doing things that convince you that you're a good person. But if instead you deconstruct fun to look for some "point" beyond what evolution gave you, you won't find anything there. Be grateful you can have feelings at all. It's pretty amazing when you think about it.
115516 these sorts of questions are dangerous in part because they can lead to very dark answers very quickly.
1641738 Yes. I suppose the big question is whether technological changes will require us to answer those kinds of questions anyway.
1641761 you mean like life extension stuff?
1641768 I was thinking more of the ability to "reprogram" our brains, and our desires.