meaning jade ...meaning as opposed to ...no meaning? doesn't blather just clue us after all that pretty much everything is relative? can we even define a thing that has absolutely no meaning? meaning is relative. one thing has no meaning only in or out of the context of some other thing. you could say that EVERYTHING HAS MEANING just as well as saying (as many have before) NOTHING HAS MEANING. what does that mean? 980831 ... jeff meaning is nothing more than ideology expressed. i believe that one can have no meaning. in fact, life by default is meaningless. i'm still undecided as to whether or not we are better off one way or another. perhaps the fact that we even ask this question is the answer we are looking for...? 980905 ... Caine Look, I don't know where you're sitting, but if you can confidently say that life is meaningless, it must be a hell of a chair. 980920 ... michael i agree, chairs are meaningless. 980922 ... emma nevermind 990325 ... daxle WE MUST CULTIVATE THE GARDEN 990503 ... heidi75 I like chairs. 990615 ... ren the sense one has to connect to the web to want a sense of being real to all both far away ant those next to them as I type to you 991228 ... typhoid what's the meaning of this quipidalian dogma? it's waaaaay to long... 991229 ... psyki meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning 000205 ... its a broken record loops upon itself. it's a giant circle 000423 ... neville I wish I could visualize semantics. a smooth, round, gray and purple stone sinking, just slightly, into a moon blue ocean the middle unreachable shuddering lovely. I wish I could visualize some antics. 000502 ... miniver 'fraid no. 000513 ... Wayne frayed knot 000516 ... martin meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning IS meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning THERE meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning YET meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning meaning 000712 ... Krishna Ramchand Everything, from the moment it was concieved from the ancient womb of beingness, has meaning because IT EXISTS. The very tangibility of an object should alert us that a thing has many angles of meaning. However, the larger proportion of meaning flows entirely from our regard and reactions to a thing. "Meaningless" itself has meaning because it is defined by its opposite: meaningfulness. The fact it is thusly defined imbues it with meaning! It is perhaps pointfulness that this chat is really about. 010211 ... phil to relieve, to bring meaning 010521 ... Ponderer Purpose of life: To glorify God, our creator. ...who created not only YOU and me, but also THINGS LIKE: warm beach sand, avalanches, Black-Eyed Susans, the Sombrero Galaxy, Volcanos, music, LOVE, Dinosaurs, Giraffs, Lady bugs, forgiveness, Adrenaline, babies, Iceburgs, laughter, Apples, Palm Trees Warm summer wind.... 010811 ... el duderino "well, that's just like, your opinion, man." 010811 ... M meaning is nothing because nothing has meaning and meaning has everything 010818 ... ali consider this a sign this is a train in the night and now its time for you to go ya know you had it all your life boy you walk this world like your a ghost find yourself home again... deep within your life its a choice 011014 ... superwomn what is meaning anyway. what is the meaning of meaning? 011014 ... monadh when all my words have lost their freedom what is there left to destroy 011015 ... Meaning haha ha! you guys are all WAY off :) 020309 ... Krishna Ramchand To ask "what is life's meaning" is an absurd question. Life's only meaning is life itself, and what we bring to our own life is what ultimately defines us. We become what we think and everything around us is a manifestation of thought. Life is thus ultimate freedom: it is what we make of it! In our actions we must be governed by the heady question: "If everyone did this would there be beauty and justice; in short, is this a moral action?" Our thoughts must reflect the varied levels of Perfection from which matter drew its existance. Ultimately, life gains meaning and worth from how much beauty it possesses & propogates. Powerful, fertile & dynamic beauty (in which one is simultaneously destroyed & renewed) is life's ultimate meaning. Dynamic, varying beauty: this is but one variation of a complex truth. Life's meaning is life itself and its backdrop is 'Dynamic Cosmos'. But this is but the smallest particle of something greater! 020317 ... Quinten ELVIS IS KING ELVIS LIVES IN HIM AND THROUGH HIM MANKIND LEARNED TO GROOVE... ELVIS IS THE ULTIMATE MEANING OF ALL THINGS. GLORY TO THE KING OF ROCK N' ROLL! (the beatles? they can't sing! there's only one King! rock n' roll has always been a privilidge and Elvis has it all: the voice, the moves, the tune!) 020317 ... Casey I often find myself searching in vain for meaning in this crazy messed up world. But the only thing that I ever seem to find are bargins at K-Mart 020318 ... g h os t Elvis, Little Richard and Chuck Berry are the holy trinity of Rock and Roll 020318 ... Quinten I found meaning through Elvis: his gospel songs, his life-force that came from all his music (you can really feel it, even on old L.P.s) that got me reading the Bible and even the Torah. For years I worried because other people said I was too skinny, that my arms were too thin and that I was too different as a person. Elvis' Gospel put me on the path to finding deeper meaning in the world and I now see more beauty EVERYWHERE. And you know what? All this good meaning has brought me greater prosperity. What's the use of negative thinking all the time? (Trash your T.V.: its all drugged-up commercial body-image & bad news.) I say the meanings we choose and the meanings we make deep within ourselves are what really matter. Word out. 020318 ... K.R. An interesting blend of Pop Culture & Religion, in short very meaningful. One thing does indeed connect into numerous other facets of existance! 020331 ... K.R. "A man's tongue is a glib and twisty thing...plenty of words there are, all kinds at its command--with all the room in the world for talk to range and stray. And the sort you use is just the sort you'll here." Homer: Iliad (20.287-290). A Pagan adage that's very meaningful! 020403 ... Id Thongs are sexy on smooth skinny men! 020426 ... J.K.R. What kind of ridiculous comment is that? True meaning is found in God and usually offline in BOOKS and experience. Both the internet and the television can be corruptors of the human mind! I usually cannot tolerate the internet for extended periods and, though I am grateful to have it, continuously find this tool secondary to that traditional, honorable art called 'Book Reading'! I suppose the only reading not worth one's time is the frivolous Romance novel that so robs the intellect of better sustenance! 020712 ... at philosophys end i've stopped looking for meaning because i have discovered that at least for me: there is nonw 020713 ... Perspective_Of_Soul All those people annoy me. Those people that insist on continuing the search for the 'meaning of life'. They look too far. They waste their time. Stop trying to find the forrest, look at the trees. There is no meaning of life. What one must do is look for the meaning within it. 020816 ... Puppet "The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use those words" Phillip K Dick. 021102 ... Rickster When you speak from the heart you have meaning, when you speak from the mind you have meaning, when you speak from the soul you have meaning. Only when you do not speak, think, or act, with these do you not have meaning. If you find yourself false, then you live your lie accordingly. 021225 ... catherine "you said 'true meaning would be dying with you.' and though i wanted to, i did not smile." 030218 ... catherine "you said 'true meaning would be dying with you,' and though i wanted to, i did not smile." 030218 ... One Disciple Please know that attaining an advanced, evolved and progressive society has NOTHING to do with technology and EVERYTHING to do with how we live. To imitate the polyphonic harmony of the heavens we must integrate the traditional virtues of our society and also look to the wisdom of other cultures. For the past thirty years America has been destabilized and demoralized by those who practiced LICENCE not FREEDOM. Applied truth has numerous articulations, truth is much like a classical theme with variations but this point is overlooked. Open the Bible (not King James Version), the Tanakh, Plato's 'Republic', Aristotle's 'The Ethics' and turn off the television. Listen to the old and wise, listen to your parents and listen to your professors. Above all listen to the silent, epic songs of nature and the enigmatic counterpoint of the stars. Find truth articulated in our society and find its other articulations in other societies, eg. African polygamous marriages can match the ethical beauty of a monogamous marriage. Avoid Junkfood, aggressive music and cheap television (that makes 90% of programming). Come to your own conclusion but know that you are fallible. Open a book and feed your brain! Peace Be To You! 030223 ... Sam Vaknin Some philosophers say that our life is meaningless because it has a prescribed end. This is a strange assertion: is a movie rendered meaningless because of its finiteness? Some things acquire a meaning precisely because they are finite: consider academic studies, for instance. It would seem that meaningfulness does not depend upon matters temporary. We all share the belief that we derive meaning from external sources. Something bigger than us – and outside us – bestows meaning upon our lives: God, the State, a social institution, an historical cause. Yet, this belief is misplaced and mistaken. If such an external source of meaning were to depend upon us for its definition (hence, for its meaning) – how could we derive meaning from it? A cyclical argument ensues. We can never derive meaning from that whose very meaning (or definition) is dependent on us. The defined cannot define the definer. To use the defined as part of its own definition (by the vice of its inclusion in the definer) is the very definition of a tautology, the gravest of logical fallacies. On the other hand: if such an external source of meaning were NOT dependent on us for its definition or meaning – again it would have been of no use in our quest for meaning and definition. That which is absolutely independent of us – is absolutely free of any interaction with us because such an interaction would inevitably have constituted a part of its definition or meaning. And that, which is devoid of any interaction with us – cannot be known to us. We know about something by interacting with it. The very exchange of information – through the senses - is an interaction. Thus, either we serve as part of the definition or the meaning of an external source – or we do not. In the first case, it cannot constitute a part of our own definition or meaning. In the second case, it cannot be known to us and, therefore, cannot be discussed at all. Put differently: no meaning can be derived from an external source. Despite the above said, people derive meaning almost exclusively from external sources. If a sufficient number of questions is asked, we will always reach an external source of meaning. People believe in God and in a divine plan, an order inspired by Him and manifest in both the inanimate and the animate universe. Their lives acquire meaning by realizing the roles assigned to them by this Supreme Being. They are defined by the degree with which they adhere to this divine design. Others relegate the same functions to the Universe (to Nature). It is perceived by them to be a grand, perfected, design, or mechanism. Humans fit into this mechanism and have roles to play in it. It is the degree of their fulfilment of these roles which characterizes them, provides their lives with meaning and defines them. Other people attach the same endowments of meaning and definition to human society, to Mankind, to a given culture or civilization, to specific human institutions (the Church, the State, the Army), or to an ideology. These human constructs allocate roles to individuals. These roles define the individuals and infuse their lives with meaning. By becoming part of a bigger (external) whole – people acquire a sense of purposefulness, which is confused with meaningfulness. Similarly, individuals confuse their functions, mistaking them for their own definitions. In other words: people become defined by their functions and through them. They find meaning in their striving to attain goals. Perhaps the biggest and most powerful fallacy of all is teleology. Again, meaning is derived from an external source: the future. People adopt goals, make plans to achieve them and then turn these into the raisons d'etre of their lives. They believe that their acts can influence the future in a manner conducive to the achievement of their pre-set goals. They believe, in other words, that they are possessed of free will and of the ability to exercise it in a manner commensurate with the attainment of their goals in accordance with their set plans. Furthermore, they believe that there is a physical, unequivocal, monovalent interaction between their free will and the world. This is not the place to review the mountainous literature pertaining to these (near eternal) questions: is there such a thing as free will or is the world deterministic? Is there causality or just coincidence and correlation? Suffice it to say that the answers are far from being clear-cut. To base one's notions of meaningfulness and definition on any of them would be a rather risky act, at least philosophically. But, can we derive meaning from an inner source? After all, we all "emotionally, intuitively, know" what is meaning and that it exists. If we ignore the evolutionary explanation (a false sense of meaning was instilled in us by Nature because it is conducive to survival and it motivates us to successfully prevail in hostile environments) - it follows that it must have a source somewhere. If the source is internal – it cannot be universal and it must be idiosyncratic. Each one of us has a different inner environment. No two humans are alike. A meaning that springs forth from a unique inner source – must be equally unique and specific to each and every individual. Each person, therefore, is bound to have a different definition and a different meaning. This may not be true on the biological level. We all act in order to maintain life and increase bodily pleasures. But it should definitely hold true on the psychological and spiritual levels. On those levels, we all form our own narratives. Some of them are derived from external sources of meaning – but all of them rely heavily on inner sources of meaning. The answer to the last in a chain of questions will always be: "Because it makes me feel good". In the absence of an external, indisputable, source of meaning – no rating and no hierarchy of actions are possible. An act is preferable to another (using any criterion of preference) only if there is an outside source of judgement or of comparison. Paradoxically, it is much easier to prioritize acts with the use of an inner source of meaning and definition. The pleasure principle ("what gives me more pleasure") is an efficient (inner-sourced) rating mechanism. To this eminently and impeccably workable criterion, we usually attach another, external, one (ethical and moral, for instance). The inner criterion is really ours and is a credible and reliable judge of real and relevant preferences. The external criterion is nothing but a defence mechanism embedded in us by an external source of meaning. It comes to defend the external source from the inevitable discovery that it is meaningless. 031014 ... clockwork what is most essential is what is not closed remaning open a snake biting its tail 031124 ... freeasharold It is said that my true problem is that I appreciate the beauty of life. Whats that to me? The true meaning is that I will fall in love with all of you. 040524 ... no reason all i want is to mean something to the ones who mean something to me 041204 ... z is a human constuct 050815 ... z sam argument (see above) seems to be hinged on the common usage of the word meaning as a noun. thinking of meaning as a verb breaks the causal loops he refers to by conferring authorship of meaning on the participant or participants. an analogy might be made to electrical current which is measurable only when a circuit is closed and electrons are being organized into a flow. because of this conception, i think the construction "inherent meaning" is a misdirect. it implies that said meaning is a characteristic of the object it is applied to rather than an act of it's audience. 060620 ... that should be sam's 060621 ... z i am a human construct 060622 ... krupt the song is not in the meaning, its in the rhyme... 070726 ... hearsespaek We mean to have meaning but in the meantime, we lose all sense of purpose.... and meaning 071031 ... Webley "The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use those words" Phillip K Dick. 081130 ... kaii i thought it looked like painting. I'm trying to find meaning in a painting. 090323 ... In_Bloom In ode to hsg: mean_ing It feels different than nicing Because it isn't nice Or right or fair What it is I've been mean_ing Doing against what I usually would scorn For distraction, using, pushing No guilt for what's already bare 090323 what's it to you? who go blather from