Blog Numero Cinqo: Question related to topic

"Warring kings must die, the wandering earth is an insignificant speck, and the whole history of human race is only a blip in time. In light of this, how can we attach any meaning to what we do?" (pg. 186, Problems from Philosophy)

You could easily see that over the thousands of years knowledge and communication have been our main goal. At first things were taught, researched, books were made, and then technology sprung. We learn in the internet, and the TV. Right along side that you will se we have tried hard to communicate, we would send messengers, snail mail, e-mail, and now we can video chat on the internet. (idea by Nick Nac). This concept of our human goal as a whole makes sense, because it is something that we have really strived for. Another thing we have strived for a humans is being able to have a wealth of experiences, and sistering that is knowledge that comes along with it. Every individual experiences something of their own with there own reflection upon it. Sometimes this may prove to be a way for new worldly knowledge to be discovered. 

Lately we have had the goal of creating a home. We have found resources, used them and created things. Industries and more that now create a new goal for us as humans. It is solving global warming. The new human effort and purpose we have for our world is to pick up the mess we made. We are now trying to go green. Even then what kind of purpose do we ultimately have after all of this technology? Survival, perhaps that is the ultimate goal of every species. Survive what comes next. Compared to happiness... survival is the most important. 

Works Cited

Bones, Dem. "The everlasting human goal of attaining a meaningful existence@Everything2.com." Welcome to Everything@Everything2.com. 10 June 2008 .

Denniston , Derek . "peopleandplanet.net > mountains > overview > mountains: vital for human survival." peopleandplanet.net > population and environment issues. 9 May 2008. 10 June 2008
Heylighen, F. , and V. Turchin. "Ethics." Welcome to Principia Cybernetica Web. 24 Oct. 2000. 10 June 2008 .

 

Numero Quotro Concepts

Meaning of life a concept concerning the purpose and significance attributed to human existence or even one's personal life.

The meaning of life for Plato was to attain the highest form of knowledge, which was the Idea of the Good. Coming from the Idea which “all things that are good and just gain their usefulness and value.” (Wikipedia) The duty of humans is to pursue the good, and to keep in mind that no one can hope to do this successfully without “philosophical reasoning” (Wiki), which will allow for true knowledge.

Happiness is most generally used when defining the meaning of life. The definition ladies and gentlemen…
–noun
1. the quality or state of being happy.

2. good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy.

Ancient philosophers said that the best life and the happy life were both the same. Some of these philosophers were the Stoics and the Epicurus.
Stoicism was one of the new philosophical movements of the Hellenistic period. The name comes from the porch (stoa poikilê) in the Agora at Athens decorated with mural paintings. Which is where the members of the school came together and held their lectures. The Stoics believed that emotions like fear or envy (or sexual attachments, or passionate love) arose from false judgments and someone who had obtained moral and intellectual perfection would not endure them.
Epicurus (341–270 B.C.) was the founder for one of the major philosophies of ancient Greece. Mostly by laying the intellectual foundations for modern science as well as secular individualism. His thoughts are still quite relevant twenty-three centuries after they were first taught in his school in Athens, called “the Garden.”
His main world-view stresses that “philosophy can liberate one from fears of death and the supernatural, and can teach us how to find happiness in almost any situation.” (Epicurus.net)

With life comes death, which would need to be understood in order to understand life. Everything comes to an end at some point. Death being defined has been difficult for centuries, depending on culture, social conditions, and the role of the medical profession. Ideas have changed historically and how our newest definitions may not yet be adequate for death's meanings.
–noun
1.the act of dying; the end of life; the total and permanent cessation of all the vital functions of an organism. Compare brain death.
2.an instance of this: a death in the family; letters published after his death.
3.the state of being dead: to lie still in death.
4.extinction; destruction: It will mean the death of our hopes.
5.manner of dying: a hero's death.
6.(usually initial capital letter) the agent of death personified, usually represented as a man or a skeleton carrying a scythe. Compare Grim Reaper.
7.Also called spiritual death. loss or absence of spiritual life.
8.Christian Science. the false belief that life comes to an end.
9.bloodshed or murder: Hitler was responsible for the death of millions.
10.a cause or occasion of death: You'll be the death of me yet!
11.Archaic. pestilence; plague. Compare Black Death.

With the meaning of life there is also feelings of a meaningless life, let me help you put this into perspective. Some people will feel that what is the point if we are just going to die eventually and not know when that is going to occur.
“What is it about our lives that makes so many people feel that life is ultimately meaningless? The fact that we all will eventually die is one reason for this feeling, but it is not the only reason. The other main reason why many people feel that life is ultimately meaningless is that, as far as science can tell, there is no greater purpose for our lives.” (Augustine)

I think I would prefer looking at it in a positive manner… “What makes our lives meaningful is that we find the activities we engage in to be worthwhile. Our determination to carry out projects we have created for ourselves gives our lives meaning.” (Augustine)

Works Cited

Augustine, Keith . "Death and the Meaning of Life." Secular Web: Atheism, Agnosticism, Naturalism, Skepticism and Secularism. 3 June 2008 .

Baltzly, Dirk . "Stoicism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 3 June 2008 .

Cook, Vincent . "Epicurus and Epicurean Philosophy." Epicurus and Epicurean Philosophy. 14 Dec. 1996. 3 June 2008 .

"Meaning of life - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Main Page - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 3 June 2008 .

Rachels, James, and Stuart Rachels. Problems from Philosophy. Boston: Mcgraw

Blog (Numero Trés) Do you really want to know the meaning of life?

The meaning of life is a mind exhausting activity. Who says the meaning of life is not held inside the enjoyment of a chocolate brownie. MMMmmmm, warm with ice cream on top. Happiness has a part in the meaning of life, what if, inside that envelope is a piece of paper that says the meaning of life is in a chocolate brownie. What if it really just tells me I am doing things all wrong. Talk about a complex subject matter. The meaning in life has a lot to with experiences that happen to individuals. Love, death, successes, and mistakes all play a part in the meaning of life... but is that what that envelope really says. Gosh I hope is is the brownie, because I love the way a nice brownie treats me. 

Blog (Numero Dos) The Meaning of Life

This is a particular chapter that interest me from our book Problems from Philosophy. Is there anything worth living for and what is the meaning of life? Hmmm!?! The thought makes me think about how I would view things if I were to be someone suffering from a horrifying disease that was life threatening. Seeing a I am not to me the answer is of course. I can think of many thing worth living for, and the one thing at the top of my list is LOVE! Life has many different aspects that make the experiences of living more interesting and diverse. It is important to understand how life works in order to have a complete appreciation for it. There are things that make people happy or sad. As well there are things that create an indifference in the world. Different religions, different ideals, and moral values. Everyone has different values and when the most important values are the ones that give people a sense of satisfaction in life. 

Mind and Body

The body is completely different from the soul, with the body being a material substance, an the soul being weighs nothing, and is an immaterial substance. The soul is made up of beliefs, thoughts, and feelings. In this chapter Materialists have a few theories of Body and soul. One theory is behaviorism, which involves explaining behavior with reference to thoughts and feelings. This theory was popular for half a century and then abandoned, by psychologists and philosophers. The second theory is Mind and body Identity with events in the brain causing mental experiences. This is experimentally confirmed in various ways. This theory can explain how thoughts can occur without behavior being involved. The third theory is functionalism which basically fills in the blanks for the Mind and body Identity theory. For example, conscious experiences such as being in pain is identical with neurological occurrences in the brain.

Ethics and Objectivity

Is ethics an invention of human nature?!? Every culture has their own moral codes. Something that is considered absolutely unacceptable may be considered a norm. In this chapter of the book Problems from Philosophy the author provides two examples of cultural moral acts. One of the examples was of a Pakistani 12 year old boy that is accused of romantic involvement with a 22 year old women of higher class. His punishment is his sister publicly raped by four men. She really had nothing to do with the incident. Ethical reasoning seems to come natural, and is justified differently in various cultures. I really like Davis Hume's quote in this chapter, "The life of a man is of no more importance to the universe then that of a oyster."