In defense of nihilism

Isn't that the problem right there?"Purpose" is an inherently subjective concept. Thus any attempt to come up with an objective purpose is doomed to fail. But this need not indicate that there is any problem for us. It is simply a natural consequence of what we mean by "objective".If we want purpose in our lives, we must look within, rather than without. For it is of the nature of the subjective that it comes from within.

Of course we have meaning and purpose. It lies within us. That's what several of us had been trying to explain to you in the several threads you started. Come now, you can do better than that. Of course it is subjective. That's the very meaning of "subjective".Even though it is subjective, it can still be real and true. Is that where you have been making your mistake? Have you perhaps been assuming that only what is objective can be real?Science deals with the objective. But it does not deny that there is a subjective. Some people say that the subjective is an illusion, but they are surely mistaken. Without the subjective you would not be worthless. Rather, without the subjective you would not be. Your being is tied to the subjective. No, that's wrong. Your subjective, that you have purpose, that your live is meaningful, these do not depend on your beliefs in God. Some of the details of your purpose and meaning in life might depend on those beliefs, but having purpose and meaning do not depend on those beliefs.I'm not suggesting that you should give up your beliefs. I am suggesting that you develop a better perspective as to the role that they play in your life.

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"Purpose" is an inherently subjective concept. Thus any attempt to come up with an objective purpose is doomed to fail.

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Things that have been intentionally made have objective purposes. The purpose of a chair is to be a thing to sit on. Of course you could also use it as a ladder, but that's not its purpose.

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You have introduced a different meaning of "purpose".In the sense in which you used "purpose" in your OP, the chair has no purpose at all. Rather, we each have purpose and on the basis of our own purpose we ascribe purpose to the chair.Hmm, here's a question? Given that you can ascribe a purpose to the chair, does that not contradict your OP claim of a nihilistic lack of purpose?

On moral questions, truth is clearly subjective. Show me a moral absolutist, and I will show you a relativist who absolutely wants to impose his relative moral values on others.

Here are several possible meanings for "purpose":

individual purpose - it is my purpose to work toward making this world a better place than it would otherwise be;

convention purpose - we conventionally say that the purpose of the chair is for sitting;

relational purpose - robinrohan sees the purpose of the chair as something he can sit on while imbibing his evening refreshment; the furniture manufacturer sees the purpose of the chair as a sale item to bring in profits;

three way relational purpose - pastor A says that the God (B) made person (C) for the purpose of singing His praises.

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Which of these were you denying in your OP? I took it to be the individual purpose of the nihilist.

Thanks for clarifying which meaning of "purpose" that you had in mind.In that case, I was made by my parents and I cannot know for what purpose. Perhaps they were doing something for a different purpose, and I was merely a side effect.

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said by a creationist: I am saying we always only witness "poofs." Poofs are basic to what consitutes physical reality.

If there are answers, why are we unable to find them? Why do different cultures provide different answers? I will take that as an admission that you have no evidence to support your view. Truth is a human invention. I made that statement only with respect to moral truth. The issue is more complex with respect to other kinds of truth. On the contrary, because of my study of human cognition, I have a pretty good idea of where truth comes from. That's why I say that truth is a human invention. I would say that it is absolutism, not relativism, that limits thought.

That's not what I meant when I suggested that truth is a human invention.Language is a human invention, and truth is a concept that we needed to invent as part of language, in order to be able to express agreement and disagreement.Philosophers and theologians have mystified truth. They have made it out to be something which stands alone independent of language. But this only leads to an unnecessary mysticism.