What truly gives our lives dignity and meaning is to contribute, whether directly or indirectly, to cultural excellence.
This seems a reasonable path that one might choose to tread, but it doesn’t seem to qualify as a universal truth binding upon all of us etc.
One answer he’s (Singer) drawn towards invokes the common wisdom that our lives are more meaningful insofar as we contribute to something larger than ourselves.
Bonding with something larger than ourselves does seem essential, contributing less so. All this contributing business seems built upon the assumption that people are what matter most. People are one thing we can bond with, not the only thing.
That which is larger than ourselves the most is the entire universe, and perhaps way beyond that too. What is it that we self absorbed tiny creatures think we are going to contribute to that? Humility might suggest we content ourselves with experiencing it.
Key to this interpretation is Huddleston’s observation that our objective “best interests” may come apart from both what we want and from what we believe to be in our interests.
A counter argument might be that what’s in our best interest is to somehow transcend, however temporarily, the tiny prison cell of “me and my situation”, “me and my situation”, “me and my situation”, or “I Me Mine” as George Harrison put it.
Jesus advised, “Die and be reborn”. While I have no idea what he meant when he said those words, to me they mean, let go of abstractions like “me”, and embrace the vast real world beyond the little symbols which point to it.
This seems a reasonable path that one might choose to tread, but it doesn’t seem to qualify as a universal truth binding upon all of us etc.
Bonding with something larger than ourselves does seem essential, contributing less so. All this contributing business seems built upon the assumption that people are what matter most. People are one thing we can bond with, not the only thing.
That which is larger than ourselves the most is the entire universe, and perhaps way beyond that too. What is it that we self absorbed tiny creatures think we are going to contribute to that? Humility might suggest we content ourselves with experiencing it.
A counter argument might be that what’s in our best interest is to somehow transcend, however temporarily, the tiny prison cell of “me and my situation”, “me and my situation”, “me and my situation”, or “I Me Mine” as George Harrison put it.
Jesus advised, “Die and be reborn”. While I have no idea what he meant when he said those words, to me they mean, let go of abstractions like “me”, and embrace the vast real world beyond the little symbols which point to it.