@@guillemvidal1958 Of course. But choosing to live even when you don't have an outside force that justifies doing so means that you feel your own internal search of joy and meaning is enough to keep living. Absurdism is a phisophy that truly celebrates what makes humans special
@@noahkarpinski1824 What makes humans special is the intelligence, absurdism is the epitome of lack of thought. It's the abandon of contemplation to be able to pursue that of which appears to be meaningful, and produces an effect of joy similar or equal to what's really meaningful.
Ironically, when you think back on his life, it turns out not to be meaningless. His ideas feel motivating. The fact that his ideas and works affect people till now give his life meaning.
You know something? Life isn't meaningless. There IS a purpose for this Earth and humanity, but it isn't what we see today. It has been promised for the nearby future. Check out jw.org for more details 😊 www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/wp20121101/purpose-of-life/
I like that everyone is joking with these funny quotes in the comments section of a video on such a deep philosophical concept. I think this is what makes us human. We all understood that if we start asking these philosophical questions, it will lead to despair. So we get on with our jokes and try to laugh whenever we can in this cruel and harsh world.
that depends, i think it's beautiful that life doesn't have inherent meaning. i wouldn't have it any other way. a robot has a purpose, living beings do not, and that's what set us apart.
And that's why faith in the Christian God is such an important thing in Kierkegaard's philosophy. Everything came from Him, and to Him we are going, so our supreme meaning is to be in touch with God through the only Saviour, Christ. By obedient and dependent faith we see God's goodness, looking backwards, and may proceed with hope, looking forward. But looking to our present moment seems rather absurd, for we will only understand each day as we see it in the larger picture of God being glorified in our lives, if we live to Him. Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling is a great work, even if somewhat hard to understand, in this topic.
3:00 the animation of the jumping off cliff suicide act is HILARIOUS! And it fits the narrative soooo well! For such a grim topic, I laughed my heart out and learned the lesson so well. Job well done, TED-Ed animators!
@@verityv5284 she is not laughing at the idea of suicide. She is laughing at the animation and i can say that animation was actually funny. Watch at 3:00.
On individual level, yes, but on collective level, you’re life is not useless, as you’re a link from previous to next generations (if you have children, ofc)
@@drjp4212 so you're saying having children gives meaning or is useful to society? either way, that could happen even without him, as many others would anticipate having children, obviously if everyone followed the ideals of meaninglessness, then there will be no world but the thing about the world is there will always be someone who is in opposite here an activist or people who didn't even think about this I hope you understand if you didn't just reply again to me (this applies to anyone seeing this), I will elabarote
To find meaning, you've got to find love, passion, for something, for anything. You've got to find purpose. If you can't find those things, then make it your purpose to find them. Unfortunately many people find neither of them in life, but by deciding not to live, they end the only change that they've got.
Life is meaningless: *sweats profusely You can create your own meaning: *breathes a sigh of relief That meaning is meaningless: *breaks down in the corner
If there was an inherent meaning, what would give it meaning in the first place? Is an inherent meaning really at all meaningful? Would it give anyone contentment if a meaning was just assigned to you? Ugh.
As someone who stared into the deep abyss of despair and considered ending it all a couple of times in my life, I am grateful I didn't go through with it. My life philosophy has matured over the years and nowadays I think it would be classified as a mixture between classical nihilism and Camus's take on existentialism. Against the universe's indifference and lack of meaning I choose to live my life as a middle finger to entropy itself. Even if nothing we will do will remain life itself took a gamble and went through with it. And if life itself lacks meaning that just means we're given free rein to give it one. All things strive!
"A senseless world with inspiration, rather than defeat"....so true.....isnt it better to work together and go higher instead of being selfish and get limited outcome???..won't more light be produced when one candle lights many others...instead of keeping its light to itself?that's what we need..a sensible unity in this senseless world
Sarcastically, selfishness is what perpetuates the absurd cycle of happiness and sadness. It propels the world to move forward. Without it, we will be truly meaningless. An intrinsic meaning of Humanity(or Species in general?) I can think of, albeit a pointless one, as it is a mere never ending cycle,is perhaps selfishness. To transcend that "meaning of meaninglessness", one has to learn kindness. But it takes time, takes so many reincarnations(XD if you believe so). And yet, not so many souls can relinquish the innate,raw, meaningless meaning bestowed/cursed upon us by the Universe.
@@manojmnaik8510 that's true....there must be challenges in life... that's what makes life more interesting....its like and endless race..the challenges might never end....and neither should our hope. our problems make us stronger....only if we fight them...
@@manojmnaik8510 While I agree that all people not being friendly poses a challenge(an interesting one perhaps)l I don’t think that that alone would be the peak of humans or life, there could still be disagreement(friendly disagreement), friendly competition, things that we don’t know or that we can improve, etc., if anything everyone being friendly would just accelerate our evolution, not stop it.
@@EclipseOfGod that's very true.....unity and compassion will accelerate our development...not end all problems for us...but ya it's a better option to evolutionize faster...
@Bob Taylor why would you get everything u desire?everyone doesn't get everything they desire...and still their life is shattered and violent and sharp..
“My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?” ― C.S. Lewis
@@rajashashankgutta4334 And how exactly might one come to develop such sense of what is just vs unjust in the first place? And by extension: how could anyone know what light, heat, and roughness are without direct experience of what is dark, cold, or smooth by contrast? If not for the experience/conception of both sides, neither one could exist at all. This idea of duality-neatly embodied by the concept of Yin & Yang-is present in anything that can be prescribed an opposite.
That is amazing. Because in Islam, we believe that the reason we were put in this planet is because as souls in the Ahira we wanted to take this "test" that even if we forgot all about it, we would somehow find our way back to God (Allah) But in order to do so, our memories were reset. So that whenever someone says "It's not fair, I never asked to be put in this world" they can't ACTUALLY make that claim. If you are an atheist or believe in any other religion, please no hate ok? We have to respect each other. Hehe :)
I find that whenever I'm in my depressive state I start questioning the whole purpose of life but when I'm back to normal, all the happiness I feel gives reason to life itself.
@@Warlord_Megatron That's not normal, are you okay? Normally my depresive episodes last 3 days at most, but they used to last months, there is not a only way to have depression Life can be worth it, specially if you know it gets better But yeah, don't talk about someone's life when you have no idea, implying that the best option is to stop living If you CAN relate to the lifestyle you said, ask for help, that's not normal
One of the most absurd things about life is how many people and familial generations live and repeat the same identikit formulaic lives (school/college/job/marriage/pet/kids), holding the same beliefs, and consider it to be meaningful without any self questioning. They’re not even close to leading conscious lives.
As much as I hate to say it, but that's the real matrix, we can view it either as a bad thing and a good thing at the same time. For civilization, this system assures us as collective beings to survive, but individually speaking it prevents us to reach our true limit. Like, not all of us are smart and got any clue about what to do and what not to do next, those people are saved by the system. On the other hand, there are those who become way too unsure than they need to because the system tells them to do exactly as they said. To me it's not absurdity at all, it all makes sense. But do I pity them ? Yes I do. Why ? well call me an optimistic Nihilist, to fully take advantage that life is meaningless is to treat life as a literal blank canvas that you can do anything you like and face the consequences of your own actions. That's true freedom, things that not all people have.
"The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves." - Alan Watts
@El Ángel Caído That's not the sick burn, and that's not something to be proud of. That's just a statement of your refusal to live your life. That's a statement of immense sadness. I hope you find the light some day brother.
If existence has no meaning, in the great or the small landscape, then the greatest show of rebellion against the absurdity of it is to choose to live embracing every experience and making your own purpose in life. Against the void, even if it will win at the end, we make our stand.
@@837haja that's what makes us miserable, there must be an explanation, otherwise nothing would be at existence. maybe our punishment is we cannot have the explanation, and we cannot even be at peace upon the realisation that we will never get an explanation, and also that we cannot comprehend there being an explanation, despite knowing there has to be one
but, objectively, it has no "meaning." You can't personify the universe, therefore you can't expect to be born with meaning. You may have goals, but there's no objective existential meaning.
There may be no reason or justification for life in the universe, but since we're here, we can CREATE meaning from making a more humane path to our eventual oblivion.
I had this thought that if one desires to find the meaning of life, isn't that already giving their life some meaning because they are living for something, and that is to seek out the meaning of life itself? It feels like this thought goes on a loop.
@@sarahy.2442 God is the creator of life, well, based on my beliefs, so I guess God is ABOVE and BEYOND life. I can't say for sure what would be the meaning of life if I was in the place of God because God is God, and He knows everything. Meanwhile, you and I are humans who has limited knowledge. We're like blind people trying to describe what colors are if we try to look for God's meaning of life. However, I don't look at the meaning of life from a religious point of view because I think that religion can't be taken literally but I treat it as a food for my soul, and one thing that can give MY life meaning :)) I hope that made sense.
"To ask what is the meaning of life is like asking where is the art in a painting, where is the art in a sculpture. The thing IS the thing. We imbue life with meaning like the artist finding beauty from a blank canvas, like the sculptor finding form from within a piece of stone." Becoming the Sphere.
The art in a painting or sculpture is there because it was made by an intelligent being with intent. This doesn't apply to a universe without an intelligent creator
If you were not born, another would be born in place of you. As he grows under same conditions/ circumstances/genes , it would be another you. So he could be wishing the same at this time, you may be that another. So you are bound to be born.
Humor is one of the ways we get by life. It is a means of escapism from the cruel world we live in, despite that it can also motivate people to keep on pushing forward, because it reminds us that there is something more to this world that each one of us should find by themselves. The proof of what I just said is that I came to this video sad and now after reading the comment section I’m in a better state. Just by typing this comment I feel a lot better since I’m producing something that may or may not be meaningful to the one reading it. Thank you all for commenting on this video and making me feel better.
"We have reached the moon, and we dived into the depths of the ocean, but we are afraid to look inside our souls ... because we feel ... that there we will find frightening contradictions." -Trans enabled
@@alchemist6819 What do you mean intuition works 'physically'? Maybe you think of 'Extraverted Intuition' as intuition. There is "Introverted Intuition' too. Look up these two terms. Suppose you are a student and exams are near and you really WANT to watch RU-vid videos. But what you really NEED to do is to prepare for exams. Now, it's understandable that there are many situations where it's not easy to point out what is needed to be done. So, for that, there is intuition which unfortunately is underdeveloped in most people.
Nobody else can decide what the meaning of life is, unless it's for themselves. Nobody can tell you what the meaning of life is, because you have to find that out for yourself. Whatever conclusion you come to is absolutely true. Whether its completely nihilistic or religious, that's the answer. That's the truth. Sure, you can be influenced by somebody elses answer. That's different than completely obeying it just because they said so/the majority says so, you know what I mean? Its seriously difficult for me to put this into words.
As Muslims ,the matter is different for us We believe in another life after death We believe in reward and punishment from our only God(Allah) (our creator) after death Life has a great purpose for us Please read about Islam
"The meaning of life is the life itself." All the simple thinks you take for granted like waking up in the morning without pain, meeting with your friends, drinking favourite coffee... I've lost those thinks because of the serious disease and I can tell you: I would give everything to have them back. Just experience life and enjoy what it gives you.
Don't worry, there is a purpose in our lives. We didn't just randomly pop into existence into a perfectly functioning world, where everything is catered to us. We were brought into existence from our Creator Himself. The next question we gotta ask is whether that Creator had communicated with us, and what does He want from us, if there really is a purpose 🤔🤔
@@marsdriver2501 this question is asked a lot. Think about it this way, we can keep going back and back. But there cannot be an infinite regress. There had to be a starting point that caused it. Imagine this scenario: you want to ask your teacher if u can press the button, but in order for your teacher to allow you to press the button, he must ask his supervisor, and then the supervisor must ask permission of the boss. Eventually the permission of letting you touch the button must come. But if there's an infinite regress, you'll never get to touch the button. Same thing for the universe, there had to be a starting point. Now to answer your question "who Created the Creator". This is an oxymoron. Because the concept of creation is created BY the Creator. You cannot explain the origin of cause and effect through cause and effect. I hope this helps. Also here's a short clip you should check out: twitter.com/DrShadeeElmasry/status/1088904195338653697?s=09
*"Does that mean life is meaningless? Was there even any meaning in our being born? Would you say that of our fallen comrades? Their lives Were they meaningless?"* ~Commander Erwin Smith
Quaritine has taught me so much philosophy as a 20 year old in South Africa. And I love to say I've grown more than ever before and have achieved my inner happiness. Thank you guys ❤️
The question that even existentialists fail to often consider, is the question of *how life can even have a meaning, when meaning itself is a man-made concept!* Think about it: *2+2=4 for example, is an expression that is only meaningful to humans.* (Atleast as far as we know) So how is it a stretch to think that meaning itself is a man made concept that may not be universally applicable? Isn't trying to comprehend the universal truth with a human brain, similar to trying to use your printer to do math? In a Modernist point of view atleast, this seems like the truth, that there simply isn't a truth that the rational human mind can find about the universe which is itself irrational
I would argue against irrationality-- the universe and its laws exist whether or not apes are around to talk about it. 2 + 2 will still equal 4, because given the premises, the following is experimentally verifiable.
noobtotale that’s not true. As albert Einstein once said: As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality. So maths is a man made concept and as such, it fails.
@Ezekiel Arincorayan His contention is, that without beings to interpret phenomena, the phenomena are meaningless, and hence irrational. Additionally, he thinks that this is an exercise in futility, as we might not be physically capable of comprehending the universe.
@@pabloorqueraisa8898 Yes, but just because it fails sometimes doesn't mean it's irrational. That it is able to make predictions and these can be verified in replicable and repeatable experiments means that there is some rationale. Otherwise, if it were all to chance, these trends would not exist. Sure, you could always argue that we've been had for this whole time, and that the universe really has no trends, but until you can show that everything that we have extensively studied and shown to follow the rules, does in fact break them all with large enough sample sizes, the universe is, as we can see, rational (and pointless).
This is a very important question that most people prefer not to answer. Death is the only certainty in life. Keeping this in mind everyone should thus try and answer this question. Try and research/ explore the many possibilities suggested by people. And a tip when trying to solve this question: Dont overthink, sometimes the answer is very clear but our overthinking stops us from seeing the truth that is very apparent.
@@chrisven899 I am saying that most people indulge in escapism instead of answering this question. You should try and find the answer to this question and keep your mind open and don't only think about yourself. Most of the individualistic frameset of thinking is another type of escapism
I believe "meaning" is a projection of human mind and it only exists there. Life itself doesn't have to have a meaning. In fact life is chaotic and it happens pretty much randomly. Its hard for us to understand, but human mind is still evolving and maybe one day we will be able to not seek for the meaning or purpose, see life as it is and accept it.
We cant racionalize the experiences, thats the problem we need to acept it, but even we have on our selves the will of order, racionalize and eternity, that makes us human, pesimism is a counter River simming against what makes us human, we cant racionalize the irrational
"Don’t downgrade your dream just to fit your reality, upgrade your conviction to match your destiny." - APJ Abdul Kalam I got motivated myself while searching for positive quotes in Google
Funny, when I was searching for Camus some time ago I hadn't found this video. But now YT suggested it by accident. This platform is kinda broken... This explaination is awesome. Simple and straight on the point.
Those questions are always so hard to answer... I often don't even know what people mean by "meaning" and when I ask I typically get no answer at all...
I always look at "meaning" as being a "purpose." In the grand scheme of things on the scale of the entire universe, anything and everything that happens on the planet earth is meaningless. But when you look at life itself our meaning in life is finding a purpose. Whatever job it is that you want to pursue in society gives your life a purpose, whether you are a teacher, a doctor, or a lawyer. Once you begin to pursue a career and have a career, now your life has meaning to it in the larger picture of society.
@@TheDhammaHub You need omnipotent to answer that. Any conclusion anyone makes can be disproven with information they are not aware of. For example, let's say purpose doesn't exist, because there's no creator to say it does. There could be one it's just that it's impossible to find out with the information that we have.
@F.B.I well u could say we are random molecules that work together but the reason we work is because we convinced ourselves there is a meaning maybe someone else made us in a simulation but then y r they there and how did they get there, after a while ull see no matter what there is no purpose
@@ifusubtomepewdiepiewillgiv1569 But that form of understanding creates a paradox. It makes it, so that you can't prove anything, which means your statement itself can't be proven. Ex:(What causes things to fall->What causes gravity?->What causes the cause of gravity?->what causes the causes of the cause of gravity?->etc.) It makes it impossible to come to any concrete conclusion.
In my highest belief I think there is a bigger picture to it. Every single thing happened for a reason , and its just that we cant understand the reason of it. The meaning if life is surely not to chase behind a currency that we gave valued and named it "money" and to reach a standard called "success" that we gave standard to. There should be a reason , but the problem is to find what it is.
Personally, I definitely believe that life is meaningless, and that we all (humans and all the living beings) are sort of a chemical accident, which happened on this planet (and may have happened elsewhere). But that also means we can give life the meaning we want it to have: we can give it meaning, for example, by fighting for just causes.
