Quote:
Originally Posted by Herkdriver
You have, in my opinion, was it called "hedonic adaptation".
You don't think a new born child is anything special, or a mountain range or an ocean or the vast evening sky...you're bored with it....
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Wrong.
I do.
But I recognize this notion for what it is... My own bias as a human being, my subjective interpretation of the world.
That's where you guys get the "athiest perspective" wrong. Just because we realize we're monkey-offspring doesn't mean we think it's all without value.
Most athiests are humanists. Is there any logical rationale to humanism at the core? No, not any more than there is religion. But as humans we enjoy being human, we enjoy other people being happy, we despise suffering and cruelty, we think babies and kittens are cute, we find nature beautiful, we marvel at the wonders of life, and we have a stake in the continuance of human society...
That's how it is. We don't need to makebelieve that this is so because of some benevolent force in the universe. Maybe in the grand scheme of things, we are useless and miniscule. But the reality is still that we are human and therefore we have the emotions and desires and needs, and even morals, that come natural (for most anyway) as part of being human.
The understanding of nature is secondary. It's for fun... and maybe for the purpose that it, unlike blind faith, will allow us the knowledge to keep humans going, to allow people more the luxury of being moral, and to allow more babies to enjoy the wonders of existence for longer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Herkdriver
"big deal"
"life is cheap"
"we're nothing special"
"it all just happened"
This is why the Atheistic point of view is something I detest.
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Why is it so important to you that there be meaning behind it all? Frankly I can enjoy life, be kind to other humans, root for humanity's survival, and find reason to live without feeling that there has to be some big guy in the sky behind it all.
Life is enjoyable whether I'm a descendent of accidental protoplasm in an accidental universe or the creation of some eccentric celestrial designer.