Secular Elation

Actually, I think that it boils down to something rather simple, that is to say that the answer to your question probably lays in the answers to other questions like: Why bother to read a great novel? Why bother to attend a great musical performance? Why bother to enjoy a beautiful sunset? Why bother to spend time with a lover? After all, all of the experiences of human existence are temporal. If that makes having them pointless in your view, then I think you have your answer. Most of us want the pleasures of those experiences and we are willing "to suffer the slings and arrows" to have them. And some of us think that those pleasures are the point of our existence - the only possible point. A close friend of mine used to tell me that "life" is a joke and the joke is on us. After his untimely death, two weeks before completing his residency as a plastic surgeon, I wondered for a while what was the point. I think the point was that he spent every minute of every day of his existence enjoying it to the max.

Yes, the temporary nature of everything does nearly make it pointless. I agree with the fact that these pleasure are a good thing to enjoy in the moment. But they are, in reality, worthless, because they will all come to and end, and once they reach that end, they will be gone--FOREVER. To me, that makes it all meaningless.

I know these are insane thoughts, but they are my honest thoughts nevertheless.

sodium

You might tune in to this thread,

http://www.iidb.org/vbb/showthread.p...threadid=55900

The block universe view of time questions the priority of the future over the past in terms of value. In other words, the argument that after your dead, you might as well not have lived, doesn't really make sense from this view.

Secular Elation

Sodium,

Problem is, I reject that view of time.

Secular Elation

At this point, in regards to my own original question (Why is life worth living?), I have an answer.

There is no reason.

I don't think you need a reason to live. Just live. You have a life, so just live it. Screw all the philosophical jargon.

That sounds crazy, but oh well.

Buddrow_Wilson

While its true that there is no ultimate reason or point to existing, there is nothing wrong with creating a personal reason for yourself. This is where philosophy comes in I suppose.

Psychic

I wanted to asnwer your question, but my answer was long and very debatable that i considered posting it on a New thread here

SergeyS

Why does it sound crazy? Actually, the majority of people live their lives either without pondering this question at all or not giving it enough concern as to make it a serious issue. So I would say it is crazy to be preoccupied with this philosophical jargon. Unless it has some positive effect on your life.

SergeyS

There can be answers to this question, but again no universal one. Some of them will be satisfactory enough for some people and not for others. For instance, some while ago I found Camus' answer very appealing, but since then my life and views have changed to such an extent that it does not make much sense to me now. I repeat myself, if this question is indeed bothering you (and not just some kind of "intellectual itch"), you have to create your own answer.

And BTW, if I was Bill Gates, I would seriously consider killing myself.

Jinto

Could you possibly tell your company to stop making crappy software first?

sweep

Some people will be sat at their desks (now) arguing over whether god thinks its alright to watch movies or what paradise will be like. If this were the case, forever, then you do them a favour by exterminating them.

you're getting stuck secular elation. although you have accepted that we die, you still hold on to the idea that we reach a place of death. That we become death forever. There is no such place, because there is no such you to inhabit that conceptual death. Infinity exists finitely, only in our minds. without that mind finity exists infinitely. If you are now scratching your head, don't bother. Go and do something else while you are you and you are here.