So much can happen in a few days and if you are worried about finding a meaning of life, well... I almost have trouble choosing one.
First of all, we have to keep in mind, that it makes no sense to search for THE meaning of life. There are a lot of things we can designate as giving meaning to our life.
Just think of family, helping others, teaching, loving beauty in all kinds of art and music, creating things that will survive you like a book or a painting, and enjoying nature.
It, all together, can give meaning to our life, so I wondered where this idea comes from: THE MEANING of life and a page from my newspaper suggested a reasonable answer.
Look at the picture behind me. My newspaper has discovered the theme we are already discussing here for many weeks. The headline means "Most Dutch people are looking for meaning (of life). But their ideas about this differ."
What is more interesting is the text in the upper left corner. It says: "For the first time, research has been done into what the Dutch understand by meaning (of life). (Looking for the) meaning (of life) partly takes the place of religion."
And there is your answer: the idea that there is just ONE real meaning of life is implanted in our minds by religion or any other dogmatic ideology. This quote from the newspaper in fact proves that secularisation causes people to start to think for themselves.
Then there were the two lectures I attended last Thursday. When you look at the picture I took, you see one remarkable phenomenon: most of the audience has grey hair :-) I was no exception.
The theme was "Fascination and fear of the other". The first lecture was really bad. Maybe not for a general audience, but for us it was. We have discussed the relationship between homo sapiens and other primates here in a way more professional way.
The second lecture was really good and came up with some interesting observations. The main thesis was that there has developed a tendency (in politics) to make (gut)feelings facts.
The most recent and perfect example is the US elections, where one of the candidates far BEFORE the real voting already claims, that the elections will be rigged.
He does not prove it with facts, but he tells the people time and again that he has this definite feeling. It can't be otherwise. The elections will be rigged.
By the time the voting really took place, the fear of rigging was no longer just a feeling. It was a fact for many people. In other words, the strategy to damage our belief in democracy had succeeded.
The origins of this development we find in the 60s and 70s of the previous century. In those days people believed that we had to be more open and free about our feelings. What you personally felt was more important than everything else.
This may also be the cause of a somewhat anti-science attitude among politicians and the people in general. We don't want these cold facts.
We want to feel recognized and respected in our feelings. Then we feel ourselves taken seriously. Personal experiences are often considered the be facts.
Finally, when I personally had some doubt about the meaning of my life, I got an email from www.academia.edu that vaporized any doubt. Look at the next picture.
Academia.edu told me that I was quoted 28,722 times from my herman Bergson lectures. I guess this is based on quotes from my blog thephilosophyclass.blogspot.com.
As you see...these were busy days and really meaningful too.
Thank you for your attention again....
Main Sources:
MacMillan The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd edition
TABLE OF CONTENT -----------------------------------------------------------------
1 - 100 Philosophers 9 May 2009 Start of
2 - 25+ Women Philosophers 10 May 2009 this blog
3 - 25 Adventures in Thinking 10 May 2009
4 - Modern Theories of Ethics 29 Oct 2009
5 - The Ideal State 24 Febr 2010 / 234
6 - The Mystery of the Brain 3 Sept 2010 / 266
7 - The Utopia of the Free Market 16 Febr 2012 / 383
8. - The Aftermath of Neo-liberalism 5 Sept 2012 / 413
9. - The Art Not to Be an Egoist 6 Nov 2012 / 426
10 - Non-Western Philosophy 29 May 2013 / 477
11 - Why Science is Right 2 Sept 2014 / 534
12 - A Philosopher looks at Atheism 1 Jan 2015 / 557
13 - EVIL, a philosophical investigation 17 Apr 2015 / 580
14 - Existentialism and Free Will 2 Sept 2015 / 586
15 - Spinoza 2 Sept 2016 / 615
16 - The Meaning of Life 13 Febr 2017 / 637
17 - In Search of my Self 6 Sept 2017 / 670
18 - The 20th Century Revisited 3 Apr 2018 / 706
19 - The Pessimist 11 Jan 2020 / 819
20 - The Optimist 9 Febr 2020 / 824
21 - Awakening from a Neoliberal Dream 8 Oct 2020 / 872
22 - A World Full of Patterns 1 Apr 2021 / 912
23 - The Concept of Freedom 8 Jan 2022 / 965
24 - Materialism 7 Sept 2022 / 1011
25 - Historical Materialism 5 Oct 2023 / 1088
26 - The Bonobo and the Atheist 9 Jan 2024 / 1102
27 - Artificial Intelligence 9 Feb 2024 / 1108
28 - Why Am I Here 6 Sept 2024 / 1139
[13:14] Max Chatnoir: Impressive, Herman!
[13:14] herman Bergson: Thank you, Max
[13:14] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): yes!
[13:14] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): cool
[13:14] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): thank you Herman
[13:15] Max Chatnoir: You may have noticed that you-know-who didn't make a peep about rigged elections when he won!
[13:15] herman Bergson: Academia just wanted to seduce me to pay money for info about this quoting of my work...
[13:15] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): indeed i thought about that one like "wonder who that could be stating that - can only be one"
[13:16] herman Bergson: haha...Max... I say nothing... I canceled all interest....
[13:16] herman Bergson: I see tons of clips with titles like ...screwed up this or that. .....makes a clown show of his team...etc..
[13:17] herman Bergson: I don't spend time on that anymore...
[13:17] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): well he is already causing chaos and as i get it the ones voting for him now realize their mistake
[13:17] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): that he is a demon more or less
[13:17] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): thats the power of sects
[13:17] herman Bergson: They are stuck with it for four years Bejiita...
[13:17] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): guh indeed
[13:18] herman Bergson: In two years maybe the tables are turned when the Reps would lose the House and Senate
[13:19] herman Bergson: But I really don't mind anymore...I just wait and see what will happen :-)
[13:19] herman Bergson: What I find more interesting is this shift from facts to feelings (as facts)
[13:20] herman Bergson: You also encounter this in people that come up with the argument....oh...that is just YOUR opinion....
[13:20] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): as long bombs dont start falling over me here due to ww3 starting for real globally i guess ill be ok
[13:21] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and i bet mr T and P cant make that happen just like that
[13:21] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): i hope
[13:21] herman Bergson: These days some really defend their views by calling all other views just an opinion
[13:21] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ok
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): well i hope for the best and keep happy
[13:22] herman Bergson: Me too :-)
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): at least i fill my meaning of life with goodies, danced with my friends the entire weekend for ex
[13:22] Max Chatnoir: Ditto!
[13:22] ๖̶̶̶ۣۣۜۜ͜ Kimmy Jannings ღڰۣڰۣ- (kim1987.wirefly): the glass is half full
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): that was nice
[13:22] ๖̶̶̶ۣۣۜۜ͜ Kimmy Jannings ღڰۣڰۣ- (kim1987.wirefly): never half empty
[13:22] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): true Kimmy
[13:23] herman Bergson: You can pick your glass from the wall here :-))
[13:23] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aaa yes thise
[13:23] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): those
[13:23] ๖̶̶̶ۣۣۜۜ͜ Kimmy Jannings ღڰۣڰۣ- (kim1987.wirefly): Gin & tonic in it?
[13:23] ๖̶̶̶ۣۣۜۜ͜ Kimmy Jannings ღڰۣڰۣ- (kim1987.wirefly): laughs
[13:24] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): yum
[13:24] herman Bergson: I don't drink :-)
[13:24] ๖̶̶̶ۣۣۜۜ͜ Kimmy Jannings ღڰۣڰۣ- (kim1987.wirefly): and a slice of lemon
[13:24] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): too much GT and u get the surrealist or utopist ones
[13:24] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ㋡
[13:24] ๖̶̶̶ۣۣۜۜ͜ Kimmy Jannings ღڰۣڰۣ- (kim1987.wirefly): laughs
[13:24] ๖̶̶̶ۣۣۜۜ͜ Kimmy Jannings ღڰۣڰۣ- (kim1987.wirefly): herman my perfect that means more for me
[13:25] herman Bergson: As you see a busy week
[13:25] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aah
[13:26] herman Bergson: My newspaper published some more articles on our theme this week...for us old news actually :-)
[13:26] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ok
[13:28] herman Bergson: And what I found interesting too is the observation that religions and dogmatic ideologies always seem to claim that there is just ONE meaning of life...
[13:28] Max Chatnoir: And just sent a thousand somethings to find out what it is?
[13:28] herman Bergson: This belief has had a tremendous influence on history
[13:29] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): true
[13:29] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): there are so many religions, how can they say there is just one meaning?
[13:29] herman Bergson: No no,Max...the meaning of life is for instance being a 100% servant of god, or to be THE true worker
[13:30] herman Bergson: On the ceiling here you see more than 3000 names of gods humans have worshiped L0
[13:31] herman Bergson: :-)
[13:31] Max Chatnoir: Wow, never looked at the ceiling before!
[13:31] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): there are some
[13:31] herman Bergson: Every religion claims by definition that it is the only right one and their god is too
[13:32] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): the problem is the believers of one god refuse to accept any other gods in the worst case like muslim fundamentalists they want to kill every non muslim
[13:33] herman Bergson: This shows how much all is based on personal feelings. This makes it impossible to use factual arguments....
[13:34] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah
[13:34] herman Bergson: That is why atheism is so useless and ineffective....
[13:34] herman Bergson: people try to convince others using factual arguments.....
[13:35] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): trying to force their beliefs upon others
[13:35] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): = conflict
[13:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): every religion stating that THEIR religion is the ONLY one
[13:36] herman Bergson: that is what some people say of factual arguments....that is just your opinion....
[13:36] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): is science doomed?
[13:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): at least a lot of them
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): science is the future i hope
[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): facts
[13:37] Max Chatnoir: I hope so, too.
[13:37] herman Bergson: No Beertje...that is impossible...people still want scientists to develop vaccines and medicines for instance...
[13:37] herman Bergson: besides that...gravity is gravity...science or not
[13:37] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): ツ
[13:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah
[13:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): indeed
[13:38] herman Bergson: so every theory based on the priciples of gravity can not be denied
[13:39] herman Bergson: Climb a skyscraper and step over the edge while denying gravity...be my guest :-)
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): wont end well for sure
[13:39] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): i hope 2 persons will do taht
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): noone can deny that
[13:39] Max Chatnoir: economics is trickier, because it depends on human behavior.
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aaa me too if we think if the same ones
[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): of
[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): true Max
[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): the economy is the product of ours
[13:40] herman Bergson: Yes,Max.\Formerly economics was a branche of psychology
[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): not nature
[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): well its based on greed so
[13:40] Max Chatnoir: And you would think that vaccines had proved themselves.
[13:40] Max Chatnoir: But apparently not for everybody.
[13:40] herman Bergson: and philosophers like John Stuart Mill and Adam Smith developed economic theories
[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): math is a large part of it i guess though
[13:41] herman Bergson: No Max...regarding vaccines you see this conflict between facts and feelings treated as facts
[13:42] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): like "they are injecting chips into us so they can keep track of us, doing experiments on us, poison us" ect
[13:42] bergfrau Apfelbaum: maybe Dr. Ai will take over science?
[13:42] Max Chatnoir: Anything biological can be tricky because of genetic variability.
[13:43] herman Bergson: you can't make aanti vaxxers change their mind by showing scientific evidence.
[13:43] herman Bergson: Yes....a lot is a matter of statistics
[13:44] herman Bergson: But that is al we have....medicines isn't like physics
[13:44] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): sadly we have one thing that might have contributed to vaccine fear, the narcolepsy tragedy with was it the swine flu vaccine
[13:45] Max Chatnoir: Oh, I don't know about that one, Bejiita!
[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): incurable
[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): some additive caused it i think
[13:46] Max Chatnoir: But you're right -- biology isn't like physics.
[13:46] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): indeed
[13:46] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): true
[13:47] herman Bergson: Nor is the meaning of life.....
[13:47] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ah
[13:47] herman Bergson: so let's continue our exploration of the theme next Thursday :-)
[13:47] Max Chatnoir: Since only biological things are alive!
[13:48] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ㋡
[13:48] Max Chatnoir: We are the meaning of life!
[13:48] herman Bergson: I am still a biological thing , Max :-))
[13:48] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ok let's move on to RIGGING then!
[13:48] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): thank you Herman, very interesting again
[13:48] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): like rigging the card table
[13:48] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): lol
[13:48] herman Bergson: SO...next Thursday next lecture :-)
[13:48] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ㋡
[13:48] Max Chatnoir: Fascinating topic!
[13:48] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aaa this was very good
[13:49] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ㋡
[13:49] herman Bergson: Thank you all again.....
[13:49] herman Bergson: Class dismissed...
[13:49] Max Chatnoir: Thanks, Herman!
[13:49] bergfrau Apfelbaum: yes Max :-) we are the meaning of life
[13:49] bergfrau Apfelbaum: yay
[13:49] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): YAY! (yay!)
[13:49] Max Chatnoir: yay
[13:49] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): ikheb het stuk uit de krant al gelezen:)
[13:49] bergfrau Apfelbaum: thank you herman and class
[13:49] herman Bergson: Indeed you are Bergie :-))
[13:49] ๖̶̶̶ۣۣۜۜ͜ Kimmy Jannings ღڰۣڰۣ- (kim1987.wirefly): wonderful class herman
[13:49] bergfrau Apfelbaum: you too! Herman
[13:49] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ㋡
[13:49] herman Bergson smiles
[13:50] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): yes
[13:50] herman Bergson: Wonderful :-)
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