I know a lot of people consider humans to be insignificant in comparison to the infinitely large universe we exist in. They say that because we cannot even begin to fathom, within the parameters of our mind, the true size of the universe we live in, and because of that we are considered immensely "small". But my question is about "Why size matters?". We each have our own life and isn't a life an incomprehensible phenomena that no one can explain perfectly? The life we live, the joy we feel, the people we love, the pain we go through, etc. ; is all that really not important at all? Do we and all we feel and do mean that little? Can you really say that you mean close to nothing when you know/feel/experience all these things in your life?
I want to here everyones opinion on this and please don't spam.
This is somewhat getting close to the paradox of the heaps, but the problem is that significance is a somewhat subjective term and one can draw a line between what is significant and what is insignificant yet this line is blurred and changes between people.
The question I must ask with regards to the OP is, what are we insignificant towards? The size of the universe isn't something that has a direct impact on our lives and the universe doesn't appear to have a purpose so we can't say that we are insignificant towards some purpose. However, we humans are significant in shaping our own lives.
Anything, my post was to see many ideas from many different perspectives and viewpoints.
The size of the universe isn't something that has a direct impact on our lives and the universe doesn't appear to have a purpose so we can't say that we are insignificant towards some purpose.
That makes a good argument and I agree, most think just because we are small we are insignificant. (look at most of the posts people have made >_> There is no evidence that we are not, like.....What tells you that [b]YOU are insignificant[b] and is it based on true facts that have been proven or just ideas that you have come to accept without solid proof? (just like postulates; accepted, not proven)
Nice question. Insignificance is not making a difference. If a person grew up, got a job at macdonalds, married, got divorced, died of overeating then they would be pretty insignificant. But look at people like Galileo, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein. They are all humans and small compared to the universe, but they revolutionized the world and made a difference that was really significant in helping man to understand it all. So some people can be significant and others are not.
I believe its frame of reference and matter of opinion. if you take it as we're just but a small part to a whole universe w/ billions upon billions upon billions of parts then you could argue that b/c we only make up such a small part that we are insignificant... if we're one of the few parts to have life and to be alive then u could argue that we're very much so significant.
i don't really know how to answer your question as to whether or not I am significant.... but i think i have something
If I were to die today... would it make a large impact on those around me? I would like to think so... I'm not the most popular guy (only ~900 fb friends), but I would imagine that half of them would attempt to show up to the funeral... plus hundreds more adults and family friends that I am not friends w/ on facebook. (just to give a number)
I would think that a lot of people would miss me for a very long time... some would hopefully never forget me. I hope that I have impacted at least a few people's lives that much in my short time here. At times, I might not seem significant to myself... but I hope that other people find me a significant entity in their lives (family,friends,otherwise)
If you believe in typical atheism, that there is no God or spiritual deity, that when you die you will simply turn into the dirt you came from, then yes. You are an insignificant, pointless creature that will live a brief, pathetic life. And you will leave no lasting mark on society, for in the future, at some point, all your accomplishments, feats and triumphs will be crushed and forgotten.
Kinda paints a sulken picture, no wonder the world is so horrible.
Well jeol, at least you embrace what you believe. So many atheists I meet and talk with are incredibly hypocritical, proclaiming what they believe then acting completely different. Not that Christians, or other religious folk, don't fall into this same charade, but I'm sure you understand my point.
None of that matters, for the human race itself is insignificant. All life is insignificant. Even the universe is insignificant.
The term "insignificant" is relative - so by saying that life is insignificant, you must have a vantage point. Saying life is insignificant is like saying Venus is cold (compared to the sun) or that an ant is giant (compared to a molecule).
The universe is the system which affects us - the entire system in which we are a part of. By this definition, nothing can be larger than the universe that we can know of. So for us, the entire universe cannot be insignificant, because any real thing you compare it to is itself part of the system and thus part of the universe.
Exactly. I've noticed that most of the people on here(if not all) that are arguing that we ARE significant, keep saying that we can help the human race, we can be remembered by people for this, blah blah blah. Here's what I'm saying: None of that matters, for the human race itself is insignificant. All life is insignificant. Even the universe is insignificant.
I am saying that we are significant to our own survival and standards of living, the fact that we can't create supernovae is of no consequence to us. Significance is purely relative to scale, so what you might be thinking of is more like we have no purpose.
But think about it, you can break down any sense of purpose. Even if god exists and our purpose is to serve god, there is nothing greater than god so god has no purpose therefore we have no purpose. That is akin to saying that each person has a purpose to serve humanity but since humanity has no purpose the individual has no purpose. But what tells you that purpose must be an infinite chain of greater purposes? Pick something you want to spend your life doing and do it, ones sense of purpose is subjective. If you honestly can't pick something you want to do because you will die one day and be forgotten, then I wonder why you are still alive or why you even bother talking to people.
I agreed with you until you started talking about purpose... You seem to be saying that nothing is necessarily correct.
People will disagree on what is a good purpose and what isn't, but I wasn't trying comment on how to distinguish between what is a good purpose and what isn't, only that it is stupid to find yourself with no reason to do anything in particular because you keep thinking about bigger and bigger scales.
Well, for your first claim, what about the purpose of producing the greatest good for the greatest number?
If you wan't to make other peoples life better, why is their life so important? Afterall, they will die one day and be forgotten. They are just an insignificant spec in the universe that flash briefly during its existence. See how you can break any sense of purpose by bringing the scale up?
They are just an insignificant spec in the universe that flash briefly during its existence. See how you can break any sense of purpose by bringing the scale up?
0.00000000000000001 is still greater than 0. If that's the greatest impact that you can have, it's the best thing you can do.
Yeah but the universe has no purpose and if it were to last an infinity then the effects of what you do is Infinitesimaly small that you may as well not bother doing anything, and if the universe were to stop existing then you had no effect in the end. But remember that I'm not arguing for the idea that we may as well do nothing, and I won't accept an incredibly small effect since having a noticable impact on the universe isn't what is important to me anyway. I was trying to point out how you can misuse scaling up and up and up to continually diminish the apparent effect of your existence, but in the end the bigger picture isn't necessarily what is important to you. Why would you care about making a significant impact on the universe?
Yeah but the universe has no purpose and if it were to last an infinity then the effects of what you do is Infinitesimaly small that you may as well not bother doing anything, and if the universe were to stop existing then you had no effect in the end
But the universe doesn't matter.
Your perception matters. Your own happiness matters - not the universe's purpose.
Why would you care about making a significant impact on the universe?
I believe we are inagreement here, I don't think it matters that we are small in comparison to the universe but some people think that just because we are small means that we shouldn't bother doing anything and this I disagree with.
All of what I've written about scaling up purpose isn't a method that I agree with at all, but I was trying to point out how ridiculous the method is and was hoping someone who somewhat holds the belief I am trying to argue against would reply and point out why it is a justifiable way of thinking.
