What's the meaning of life?

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Bok
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Mon Apr 19, 2021 11:58 pm

KapnoPhilia88 wrote:
Mon Apr 19, 2021 10:57 pm
I'm somewhat disappointed that the question hasn't been taken seriously.

The OP may have been insincere but gave no hint of it.

Here is what he said: "So, I am asking you to give me a straight & simple answer to the question: What is the meaning of life?"
It just means that there is no simple answer to that, as some have pointed out from the beginning...

If you go into depth, then it will inevitably lead to discussions that hurt someone’s feelings, as we are entering into the spheres of belief. A belief is by definition something that goes beyond what can be proven by facts.

Humour is the best way to take on questions without definite answers and maintain a positive atmosphere.
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Youzi
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Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:08 am

@KapnoPhilia88

I think everyone gave an honest answer. Of course after that it can kinda go off rails, since this is a quite personal question, so no one wants to hurt the others, by telling them that their thinking is wrong or something, which really it cannot be, since there aren't really any wrong answers to this question, because there isn't a definite truth to it neither.
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belewfripp
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Tue Apr 20, 2021 1:46 pm

KapnoPhilia88 wrote:
Mon Apr 19, 2021 10:57 pm
I'm somewhat disappointed that the question hasn't been taken seriously.

The OP may have been insincere but gave no hint of it.

Here is what he said: "So, I am asking you to give me a straight & simple answer to the question: What is the meaning of life?"
As Bok and Youzi pointed out, humor is often a good way to handle things like this in a mixed environment (especially where some may be more used to each other than to others - you and I are pretty new to this board, for example). I will admit that my response likely comes across as not just irreverent, but also a non-sequitur, if you don't get the reference (Monty Python's Meaning of Life).

I would add though, that as Youzi may have been alluding, a humorous answer is not necessarily an insincere one - some have an absurdist take on the universe. And, in a metaphysical sense perhaps, the decision to not give a "real answer" to a question such as this is still, in itself, a real answer.
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LeoFox
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Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:49 pm

The term "meaning" is vague and so the question cannot be clearly answered.

In fact, any question of the form "what is the meaning of X" cannot be clearly answered.

"What is the meaning of life?" is just as unanswerable as "what is the meaning of oolong tea?" or "what is the meaning of geometry?"
faj
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Tue Apr 20, 2021 3:24 pm

LeoFox wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:49 pm
"What is the meaning of life?" is just as unanswerable as "what is the meaning of oolong tea?" or "what is the meaning of geometry?"
Then, the question becomes... What is the meaning of "What is the meaning of"?
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LeoFox
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Tue Apr 20, 2021 3:45 pm

faj wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 3:24 pm
LeoFox wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:49 pm
"What is the meaning of life?" is just as unanswerable as "what is the meaning of oolong tea?" or "what is the meaning of geometry?"
Then, the question becomes... What is the meaning of "What is the meaning of"?
Better just to drink tea!

Maybe a more approachable question might be:

"Why life?"

And then we can leverage approaches such as the 4 causes of Aristotle:
SmartSelect_20210420-163837_Samsung Internet.jpg
SmartSelect_20210420-163837_Samsung Internet.jpg (193.11 KiB) Viewed 2729 times
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_causes
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KapnoPhilia88
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Tue Apr 20, 2021 10:17 pm

Allow me to humbly disagree with you. Still I would like to hear from the OP and perhaps OCTO before proceeding.
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LeoFox
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Tue Apr 20, 2021 10:55 pm

A reminder of the rules

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=108#offlimits
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