Introduction
We go back to our ancestors about 200,000 years ago. Unlike the vast majority of species that once existed, we (humans) are still here. This is not as impressive as it might seem at first. Compared to some life forms, notably the dinosaurs that ruled for about 175 million years before their extinction 65 million years ago, the 200,000-year existence is not all that impressive. Furthermore, conditions for most humans, until very recently, were quite grim. Life expectancy in the Middle Ages was 25 at birth: 50% of children died before their fifth birthday! Furthermore, a relatively good life, at least in terms of comforts, safety, clean air and water, opportunities for happiness and love, sanitation, plenty of food, and other measures of quality of life, were appalling, relative to contemporary standards in life. developed nations. Personal extinction was always present.
It is unlikely that people who lived for all but a fraction of human time did not spend much time reflecting on the meaning of life.
Speaking of extinction, consider this reality somewhat disturbing: We are all doomed too, not just as individuals but as a species, along with all other life forms, and the Earth itself.
How much time do we have?
It depends. Countless natural or man-induced calamities could drop the cosmic curtain at any moment, perhaps as you read this, such as asteroid impacts, thermonuclear wars, a supernova, or volcanic eruptions combined with earthquakes. Less sudden but no less epic terminal misfortunes, such as the loss of the biosphere through global warming, widespread pandemics or other science-fiction-like events, could make it, like a blitzkrieg of aliens with serious attitude problems.
Even if our descendant homo sapiens endures a few hundred, or a few thousand or even millions of years (it seems unlikely), in time the lament of Ecclesiastes will be fulfilled, that is, everything will be useless, completely useless. Humans are doomed. How does that relate to the meaning of life?
What awaits us?
Sadly, the absolute certainty is that our Sun is deadly, just like we are. While its lifespan is more impressive than ours, it will eventually go the way of all meat, even if it is decidedly not meat. Yes, our Sun is going to die. It is currently about 4.5 billion years old and has already consumed about half the hydrogen in its core. There is barely enough left to keep the lights on for about five billion years at most.
Once the fuel runs out, the Sun will begin to expand, heating up more and more. The Earth will become a giant desert, only insects and bacteria will remain. Later, the oceans will evaporate and everything will catch fire. Eventually, the sun explodes, although there will be no living thing that will notice, and the Earth and our solar system will disappear without a trace.
But look on the bright side. He will have been dead for a long time before such things happen.
The truly amazing news, really really good
Although billions of people around the world still do not recognize ultimately meaninglessness, the good news is that eventual recognition of this could bring dramatic advancements for humanity, such as the way we treat each other. If almost everyone comes to realize and adjust to the reality that our existence has no purpose, no grand plan, no divine plan, no overall design, then compassion, kindness, empathy, and other shortcomings. they could be more attractive than they are today.
Think about it. Your presence as a humanoid doesn’t make any sense – you don’t have a predetermined role. You are inconsequential, like everyone and everything else. You, me, and the whole world are alone, without a loving or angry deity or savior to watch over us or have us in their place, without a God from heaven to reward or punish. There is no invisible and unknowable superpower that will do favors for prayers or inflict harm if we do not adhere to what priests and preachers, ayatollahs and rabbis, sorcerers and shamans insist it demands that we do or do not do.
Consider the overwhelming probability that there is no hell below and no heaven above, no other life of any kind, period. Its momentary presence on this planet as a somewhat advanced life form is a cosmic accident. It is very unlikely and a true amazement.
This life is everything and it never lasts long, so try to experience and share so much joy, art, music, drama, happiness, exuberance, love, etc. Before die. The end is near, keep going.
This are good news!
Make no mistake, this is really good news. It is an incredibly wonderful and liberating prospect. It is a good reason to set a course to live life well and die happy. Celebrate and shape your own meaningless existence in ways that do mean something, many things that are precious to you and your loved ones.
In no way does final nonsense mean that you should or are more likely to ignore the welfare of others. On the contrary, a vision of life without meaning, except for what purposes we invented it, makes us as prone to worry about others as we do about ourselves. This sentiment reflects Robert Ingersoll’s thoughts on death, as reflected in these two excerpts:
What would this world be without death? It can be from
the fact that we are all victims, the fact that we are all
Bound by common destiny, it may be that friendship and love
they are born from that fact. (Lotus Club address, March 22, 1890, New York).
Perhaps death will give all that life is worth. If those us
press and strain inside our arms could never die, maybe
That love would fade from the ground Maybe this common
fate treads the roads between our hearts the weeds
of selfishness and hatred. And I prefer life and love where
death is king who has another life where love is not.
(Prayer at a child’s grave, January 8, 1882, Washington, DC)
A philosophy of solidarity
We know from Viktor Frankl, Irving Yalom, and many existential philosophers whose work focused on finding meaning in this life, that service to others is the surest path to happiness.
Many who could afford to indulge in luxurious self-indulgence choose instead to indulge in causes and in the service of their fellow men, and derive lasting meaning and satisfaction from doing so.
The list of such notables is long; familiar examples include former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Sonny Bono, Angelina Jolie, and many others.
Here’s what Apple CEO Tim Cook told a graduating class at George Washington University:
There are problems to be solved, injustices to be ended, people who continue to be persecuted, diseases that still need a cure. No matter what you do next, the world needs your energy, your passion, your impatience for progress. History rarely gives in to just one person, but think and never forget what happens when you do. (Tim Cook, Beginning, The George Washington University, May 17, 2015)
That could be you. That should be you, all of us, leaving a mark and a
positive, albeit modest, difference during the brief moments of our time. No, none of that will matter to us when we leave, but it makes sense for a while, while we and those we affect still exist.
Of course, with a REAL wellness philosophy, you’ll want to go one step further: learn, adopt, and maintain a lifestyle that promotes wellness, reason, exuberance, and personal freedoms; do it and you will surely make the most of your possibilities.
Despite the absence of illusions about an ultimate, cosmic, and preset purpose that you long suspected was feigned, you will have filled your time with consequences, meaning, and purposes of your own design.
May your life be epic and triumphant.