My Life Philosophy
It seems we're far away from knowing the meaning of life or universe. Hence, universe becomes just a huge playground to do whatever you want!
Summary
I am a meaning agnostic ‒ I believe we don’t know what is the meaning (purpose) of life or universe, and even if there’s one. Moreover, we’re probably quite far away from knowing it. Yet, I’m deeply curious about it and would like to find out!
Because of our current ignorance I take nihilism very seriously. Moreover, I find it deeply liberating. Universe becomes just a huge playground where I can do whatever I want (within the laws of physics)!
What to do if you take nihilism seriously? The usual stuff people do on playgrounds ‒ play, have fun, enjoy! Responses like “greatly progress humanity and keep understanding universe”, or “squeeze as much juice from the fruit of life as you can” particularly resonate with me. All together I sum it up as: craft the life you want the most.
What life do I want the most is the topic of my next essay: Life Goals.
Meaning Agnosticism
I believe we don’t know what is the meaning (purpose) of life or universe, and even if there’s one. Moreover, we’re probably quite far away from knowing it. Yet, it doesn’t mean we’ll never find it out, we might or we might not — we don’t know!
I believe there’s an objective reality (see Fabric of Reality Chapter 4 on critique of solipsism) and we can understand it objectively better (General Relativity is objectively better than Newtonian physics at explaining reality).
I’m deeply curious about the purpose and origin of the universe: Is there a creator? If so, who created the creator (and who created that one etc.)? If there isn’t one, did something arose from nothing? But mainly: Is there meaning/ purpose to it all? Is some action more meaningful than other? One way Elon likes to put this question is: What is the question the answer to which is the universe?
It seems we’re are far away from conclusive answers to these questions (assuming conclusive answers are even possible, see Critical Rationalism or Beginning of Infinity Chapter 18). Most hypothesis I came across don’t hold on against basic criticisms. Thus, I conclude we don’t know what is the meaning or purpose of it all, nor if there is even one.
Optimistic Nihilism
Because of our current ignorance I take nihilism quite seriously. As not only it’s quite unlikely I’ll find the purpose to it all in my lifetime, but there might not even be one.
Let me clarify, nihilism just says there is no meaning/ goal behind it all, hence there are no better or worse actions. What it does not say is that you need to all of a sudden be sad because there are no rigid of rules on how to live your life, or that you should dye your hair black and become an emo.
Even with correct understanding of nihilism it can be seen as something sad, for example one of my closest friends had a small depression when he arrived at similar insights. In my case I felt instantly liberated to the extent it is hard to describe, the weight that fell of my shoulders is unimaginable. I believe I literally had serious brain restructuring in the two weeks where I understood and integrated this world-view. I wish we would’ve done a brain scan!...
The liberation came because I instantly started treating the universe as just a huge playground where I can do whatever I want (within the laws of physics)!
What to do then?
What is the usual behavior on a playground? Play! Have fun! Enjoy! And if you don’t see ways to do so you can always quit.
Here is a salad of responses that all seem reasonable to me:
Maximize our understanding of the universe.
Have as much fun as possible. Maximize your long-term happiness, your satisfaction/ fulfillment with the time you had here.
Do a bunch of epic, exciting, inspiring stuff.
Squeeze as much juice from the fruit of life as you can.
Live to your fullest.
Enjoy and savor every moment. The good and the bad as any experience is infinitely more than nothingness.
Basically, craft whatever life you want. Specifically, craft the life you want the most.
What life do I want the most? That is a question worth a separate essay: Life Goals.