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Lemmy, what's the meaning, or point if you prefer, of life? I know 42, but I'm serious. Nothing lasts, everything is meaningless - are we just amusing ourselves until death? (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by Melatonin@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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I'm not depressed (at the moment, well maybe a little), just feeling philosophical.

Edit: the idea of this came to me because I was pondering why people fight so hard to beat diseases and live a few more years. What are they planning to do? Why exert effort just to be here longer when you don't have a reason?

Just why?

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[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

You are asking as a mind alienated from its body. Your body has interests that are not your interests, and it uses suffering to bend you to advance its interests for it. We all exist in a state of conflict with our own biological inheritance.

Our bodies generate a mind to suffer on its behalf, because without awareness it isn't really capable of suffering. That is the point of your existence as a mind. You exist to suffer on behalf of something that is not capable of suffering on its own, so that by your aversion to suffering, you will make choices that are in the interests of your body.

You have to decide whether to simply adopt the interests of your body, or whether to try to hold on to your own interests and make that the point of your life.