We know nothing

[i have a blue peter badge 0]

I was just reading some theories about the universe, and they made me realize that we really know nothing at all. We humans are creatures whose lives are dominated by an endless curiosity about our own existence. All science, all philosophy, all literature and other forms of art, all religions, everything we do outside of trying to ensure our own survival, is all based on our drive to understand ourselves and the purpose of our existence.

 

Yet we don't understand anything at all. We have no satisfactory answer to the question of what the purpose of life is, nor do we know what is the true purpose of death. Time is an important element of our lives (in fact, time in many ways defines our lives), yet we have no idea whether time actually exists, or if it is an invention of the human brain to make our perception of existence less chaotic.

 

To a great extent we have come to understand our own planet, but we still know little about the greater whole to which this planet belongs, i.e. the universe. Is it finite or infinite? How can something actually be infinite, when our perception tells us that everything has a beginning and an end?

 

And if the universe is finite, then what exists outside of it? We have theories about the mechanical aspects of how the universe came to exist, but even if these theories are correct, then what caused the birth of the universe? What existed before it? And is the universe just part of an even greater whole?

 

We don't even know if we can trust ourselves, because our perception is really just this - perception - and it is limited because we are human. We might create theories to try to explain why things are the way they are, but in the end, the limits and fallability of our brains make it impossible to be certain of anything. We talk of objectivity and subjectivity, but true objectivity is something we have never had, and never will have. We can only perceive what our brains allow us to perceive, and everything that escapes our human perception, we will never know.

 

The more I think about these fundamental questions, the more I realize that humanity is like a man born blind, touching things he will never be able to see, understanding them only through the sensations they cause in his fingertips.

 

We have no answers to anything. We think we understand ourselves, we think we know who we are, but we don't, and we never have. We have no true identity, we only have what we know about ourselves. And we'll never be able to answer the question of what we really are, what our purpose is. We think we are something, but knowing that human perception is limited by its human nature, we can't even know this for sure. We know nothing, and we have nothing.

 

And this nothingness permeates everything about our perceived existence, from global politics down to the smallest decisions we make as individuals every day. It drives us to try to define ourselves.

 

Because most, if not all, developments and inventions in human history has just been attempts to define what it means to be human, and what purpose we have. Why invent the wheel, if not to make our lives easier? And by trying to make our lives easier, we are also making the statement that our lives have value. It is symptomatic of our struggle against nothingness.

 

And what is the purpose of sports, for example, if not to redefine the limits of human capability, and therefore also our perception of what it means to be human? Why do you try to achieve things in your own life beyond mere survival, if not to try to understand what you are capable of, thereby also gaining a new understanding of who you are?

 

Humanity seems to be on a quest for an understanding, a knowledge, that it will never find. The only conclusions that can be drawn about the human identity, about human existence, is that from a human point of view they are nothing. All we have is nothingness. We battle against it, but this is one battle we can never win.

 

Even what I have written here is just another attempt at understanding human existence. It is as symptomatic of our nothingness as everything else humans do.

 

Thank God for our sense of humor and our ability to ignore these things in our daily lives, or the human race would have been extinct by now, I think

[soubriquet 0]

Welcome to the creative world of science.

[Domokun_72dpi 0]

I like to think there are a multitude of alternate dimensions.

 

To me, the universe is infinate, even if it is just nothing. Like you said, if it is finite, then isn't there another side to the end?

 

I hope there are other life forms.. there has to be.

 

Good thoughts, very deep. I choose to get my help from Monty Python's Meaning of Life on this subject =)

if you haven't seen it. Watch it!

 

 

and

 

[thursday 1]

to answer this finite question would take an infinite answer. this is not an answer, but just say 42

[Yuki's Passion 1]

put down the ziplock bag!!! lay off the weed for a while

[Domokun_72dpi 0]

LOL @ CB.

 

That's why I gave up... ahem.

 

Oh, and which God are you referring to?, apparently every religion thinks they're right (that was a rhetorical question)

[EustabiaChiq 0]

Who made up the numbers that we do maths with?

Maybe my teacher was wrong and I was right all along?

 

I hate maths

[farquah 0]

Hibble Deep Space image

 

 

This should answer some of your questions, and then pose lots more!!

It is a you tube vid but don`t know how to do the whole imbedding thing here.

[SnowJapan 178]

Before the youtube video code (in this case, fgg2tpUVbXQ), put

 

 

 

After that code, put

 

 

 

[farquah 0]

Did it! Thanks! Rather fast reply, you are very on the ball!

[Tubby Beaver 209]

Why do we need to know the "WHY" of our existence?

 

Just enjoy that we are here and live your life to the full.

 

Death is just part of a cycle, putting back the nutrients that we took when we were created so as to sustain future life on this planet.

 

Many many thoughts in there that give me a sore head thinking about!!

[bobby12 0]

Most of our bodily functions we do not control. We just have the illusion of controlling our body, but really it controlling us. Things like flies, peacocks etc, I cant imagine they are aware of much beyond basic pleasure/pain sensations.

 

So to think about purpose etc is pointless, because our self-perception etc is just the off-shoot of some laws of physics. The real You is all those atoms etc flying around, being driven by your urge to reproduce. In that way I agree with the 'blind man' thing mentioned in the original post.

 

In other words, we consider ourselves important when in fact we are as meaningless as a leaf on a tree. So to think of purpose etc is a waste of time. This is why religion is there, to give us some kind of security that we are important/have purpose/will not really die etc.

[Ezorisu 0]

Very Zen...

[i have a blue peter badge 0]

Wow things were a bit heavy when I posted that!!

 

It's still all very interesting though.

[kokodoko 67]

Nah, any half sane human must think about why we are here

and how it all came about. I do and have no answers whatsoever - only awe and wonder.

[bobby12 0]

"How it all came about" - theres another big one...

 

What if there was just never anything, ever?

[kokodoko 67]

yes, bobby, it could be only a figment of our imagination.

That is a possibility. its all just a dream. ???

 

or god created it all in seven days.. ???

[bobby12 0]

but as descartes said, 'i think therefore i am'. have u ever imagined there being nothing, ever - nothing ever will be, nothing ever was. pretty grim!

[kokodoko 67]

no because i am here thinking, therefore there is something.

 

It is a pretty hard concept to get your head around. I cannot even begin to imagine it.

sorry, nada, got nothing, lol.

 

I have thought about the concept that there is no design in it all.

That it is all chaos. All is random. That is a pretty liberating thinking process.

[Tubby Beaver 209]

or the Matrix concept, that we are blisfully unaware that we are being duped into believing in a life that is in reality slavery...that would really suck!

[kokodoko 67]

yes, tubby, that would would be Plato's Cave.

A very instructive allegory..

[Tubby Beaver 209]

haha, showing my ignorance!!

[kokodoko 67]

lol,it is a pretty obscure text.

WE studied it in art theory and postmodernism etc..