JacobPhilosophy

Another issue I'm having is just having goals in life. I think this is in part because of COVID, as this wasn't an issue beforehand, but starting coll...

Well a nihilist can't debate anything then, without being contradictory to this sentiment.

What I don't like about philosophy is that you have to accept certain assumptions that cannot possibly be proven in any manner. There is a certain poi...

just because nobody knows something is the case, that doesn't make it not the case. If a superior being placed that inscription, which was decipherabl...

I guess that is why, yes. The whole "make the most of the one life you have" argument seems to implicitly claim that life has value. Then again, you w...

Say there was one objective meaning that some superior being knew, like it was beyond our knowledge. This is unlikely but I can't say with certainty t...

But why should I get beyond this rut? If it leads me into manic depression and then suicide then why not? Since these questions have no answer, I stru...

but just because there is no way of KNOWING anything objectively, that doesn't mean that there can't be objectivity. Epistemological nihilism is the c...

This last point is a very good one. I know it makes just as little sense to have a "meaning" to life", than to have none, but for some reason it doesn...

yes, I have been intending on reading that, will do later.

In that hypothetical you are assuming that survival, as an instrinsic good, should be strived towards. The main goal of that hypothetical is to make s...

This is the best response in the thread.

Well all of these acts amount to absolutely nothing, because the human race, as well as the entire planet, will one day cease to exist.

this is the response I receive almost all of the time. "You make your own meaning". This rarely helps me overcome the depression that I experience, as...

could it not be argued that heroism is an obligation? Again, just being pedantic to express that there is no true definition or differentiation betwee...

I do understand your point, but the idea to do what is good (pleasure is good) only applies to the living. The idea to avoid what is bad (pain is bad)...

I may vaguely connotate this point with the sentiment that it is an obligation to dedicate one's life to the ultimate minimalisation of suffering in t...

I understand the underlying contradiction that if a thing is good, then surely the absence of said thing is bad. However, I believe that point 5 is di...

This is true, although it was not an obligation for you to inform me, only virtuous. :) Or was it? I suppose I'm not going to find an objectively, exc...

points 4 and 5 are a direct contradiction. Benetar's point is exactly the opposite of point 5 and I assume he is pro-extinction to some extent. You ei...

I don't think I explained well enough. My point is that for that potential being, a lack of existence is preferable in hindsight. I don't believe that...

Because out of two situations: one in which you are born and suffer, and another in which you are not born, it is most ethical to take the latter, wou...

I could argue that it is your responsibility to enlighten those who are unaware of the truth, as it may cause them harm in the future.

that is making the assumption that the avoidance of suffering is only valuable to those that currently live. Again, to reference Benatar's asymmetry, ...

I am familiar with Benatar's asymmetry, and book "better never to have been", this is why I am referencing it.

I appreciate the sentiment, and am not depressed by any means myself, but I am merely taking a rationalist perspective (or trying to). "Love" is an ex...

taking the asymmetry into account, the lack of joy or pleasure isn't inherently bad. You may disagree with this premise.

I've watched a documentary about the man with the seven second memory and, to no offense to the victim, I find that to be the worst torture imaginable...

Its mainly the indifference to having lived that is a conundrum to me. If my parents weren't to have conceived me, then there would be no loss there. ...

I think someone once used the analogy that just because I'm enjoying a meal, doesn't mean I have to be sad when I am finished. However, if I went to a...

it was partially cynical hyperbole.

I agree with everything stated here. Another thought is, if it doesn't matter THAT humanity becomes extinct (it is inevitable), why would it matter WH...

I'd like to conclude by saying that we live due to intrinsic and subconscious survival instincts, but overtly due to pleasure. Within this life, suffe...

I hear you. Antinatalism is what led me to this train of thought, as I found myself agreeing with a lot of the points. An antinatalist, referring to t...

I personally tend to fear negative things :/

I have added to my original post, and believe it to be an interesting dilemma.

I appreciate the discussion; it is deceptively difficult to actually search such a topic without being referred to a suicide hotline.

I agree completely with what you are saying, but feeling as though the only reason to live is "why not?" seems unsatisfactory to me.

if these are the only answers (which I am not disregarding) then my cynical proposition remains as both are unrealistic.

I don't agree. I agree with the sentiment that it is unavoidable and natural, but death is, by definition, the absence of life. I believe your comment...