I Mean You Might As Well End It

[SpicFaLife]

What if I told you that last night while you slept, you had a dream? And in this dream, you were incredibly happy and fulfilled, and that for 8 hours, you were completely satisfied. But, when you woke up, you immediately forgot the dream, and won’t ever remember it. Now, with that said, do you really care if the dream was good or bad? Long or short? It is of no consequence to you now that you’re awake. You simply don’t care.

Now for arguments sake, let’s say that when you die, you cease to exist, and you feel nothing forever. When you die, life would have been like that dream you had last night. The dream that means nothing to you right now, because you can’t remember it and it has no relevance. When you cease to exist, it doesn’t matter if your life was fulfilling or not. You’re not going to care if you were content or depressed. It’s no different than waking up from a dream you can’t remember having.

So then why do people who believe that this is their fate, live their lives like they do? Going to work 8 hours a day 5 days a week, never taking holidays, watching sitcoms on television, and wasting their time reading crap on internet forums, not unlike this. Logically speaking, it would make no difference if you killed yourself right now. You would just wake up a little earlier from your pathetic dream that you wont remember anyway. You’re living a lie. You’re fooling yourself into thinking that there is meaning, and that things matter. Don’t tell me that you’re happy now and that’s all that matters. You’re not happy. I’ve seen you complaining about your wretched life, trying to change yourself, and better yourself. You’re dreaming right now, and your dream is not even pleasant, it’s a nightmare. I mean, you might as well just end it.

[Paragon]

you first

[vhawk01]

I can only assume the lack of responses to your compelling and insightful OP are a direct result of its persuasiveness.

[Hopey]

You know, I never thought of it that way. I guess I have no choice but to put my faith in the lord Jesus Christ. Otherwise all this is meaningless.

I wonder if txag is available to do a baptism at this late hour...

[guesswest]

Considered killing myself, but before I do, I have a question - why does something have to last forever for it to have meaning?

[Alex/Mugaaz]

Well, if you remember the dream, and that's all you had to remember...you'd sure feel like an idiot.

[FortunaMaximus]

[ QUOTE ]
you first

[/ QUOTE ]

To be followed by a "Well, bye."

[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] Curly Bill Brosius. "Just funnin', Dad."

[Sephus]

i do agree that after i die it will make no difference how i lived. my future happiness, however, has a positive value to me, so it's better now that i don't kill myself. does it really have to be more complicated than that?

[Pauwl]

This is why I'm not afraid to die. It's not a reason for me to kill myself.

And sitcoms make me happy.

[benjdm]

[ QUOTE ]
So then why do people who believe that this is their fate, live their lives like they do? Going to work 8 hours a day 5 days a week, never taking holidays, watching sitcoms on television, and wasting their time reading crap on internet forums, not unlike this.

[/ QUOTE ]
Possibly, they are maximizing their happiness while they live ? Ya think ?

[ QUOTE ]
Logically speaking, it would make no difference if you killed yourself right now.

[/ QUOTE ]
From the cosmic point of view, no, it wouldn't make any difference. From the point of view of the one short life I will have, I am in no hurry to end it. I'll enjoy it while I can, thank you very much.

[ QUOTE ]
You would just wake up a little earlier from your pathetic dream that you wont remember anyway. You’re living a lie. You’re fooling yourself into thinking that there is meaning, and that things matter. Don’t tell me that you’re happy now and that’s all that matters. You’re not happy. I’ve seen you complaining about your wretched life, trying to change yourself, and better yourself. You’re dreaming right now, and your dream is not even pleasant, it’s a nightmare. I mean, you might as well just end it.

[/ QUOTE ]
Meaning is self-referential; I define the meaning in my own life. It is the only way meaning can exist for anyone. Any external source for meaning will result in infinite regress to higher sources of meaning -> no meaning whatsoever. There is no cosmic meaning to reality. There can't be. Even if I grant you a God and an afterlife, the God's existence has no external source of meaning; existence is still meaningless on an absolute scale.

In short: grow up.