Walter Sinnott-Armstrong - Search for Meaning

To search for meaning, God or something like God is often involved. But this need not be so. How can meaning be found, or purpose realized, without invoking supernatural forces? Scientists and philosophers who do not believe in God search for 'meaning' in what seems to be a meaningless cosmos. They do generate a kind of 'meaning'. Are they fooling themselves?



Walter Sinnott-Armstrong is an American philosopher. He specializes in ethics, moral psychology, neuro-ethics, the philosophy of law, epistemology, the philosophy of religion, and informal logic.


Closer to Truth presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.

[williamburts]

To some people " meaning " is all about whatever turns them on.

[Ploskkky]

I agree on all points with Sinnott-Armstrong. I love a guy who is down to earth and does not dish out random claims and absurd fantasies.

[cvsree]

Meaning and purpose becomes natural when we realize out true self.
We can realize our true self only when we give up our ego.
To reach that state we need to go deep to the source of our thoughts

[myoung]

If you don't have water for a long enough time, meaning of life is finding water. We are animals and our meaning comes from are basic instincts and their derivatives.

[mobiustrip]

This question should be taken lightly.. I recommend Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett...

[ChuckBrowntheClown]

Judging their morality by their actions. Since actions speak louder than words and actions have meaning. Where did we get the meaning of good and bad? By having things created and acted out. Which then would be charity, which is love in action.

[ChuckBrowntheClown]

What you do here is meaningful for eternity. That's the whole point of the early chastisement that's the meaning.

[robertflynn]

I like Walter's philosophy. Meaningfullness, as human, makes life meaningful. Matter is not final and reproductive, hence empty and devoid of absolute meanings.

[ZekeMagnar]

Walter said, "If the rapiist doesn't think it's wrong, they're just wrong about that." He makes an absolute truth claim shortly after he admits that absolute truths do not exist from a naturalistic standpoint. I don't think he realized that he contradicted himself. If the wrongness of raape is not somehow weaved within the fabric of reality, as Walter admits, then it's his own subjective view that it's wrong. If that truly is the case, why are you right, Walter? Why is the rapiist wrong? Because you say so? I mean you can make a claim and treat it as fact, but if you don't substantiate that claim, it'll have to rest as nothing more than an opinion. An opinion that you feel is "better", but your feelings don't dictate reality. Reality does. "The rapiist is wrong because I said so" was the gist of Walters argument.

[OneMan-wlwj]

If you need to save 9 minutes..
According to this man,
meaning is entirely subjective.

Keep on rockin..

[stoneagedjp]

I think that the "meaning" being referred to here can be measured asking the question, what difference will it make 10, 000, 000 years from now. About some action taken now, good or bad, the materialist might therefore say there is no meaning. Those believing in the non-material might have a different, though speculative, answer.

[winstonchang]

First, you have to get "physical survival " out of the way . And then, every HIGHER meaning would make the PREVIOUS meaning, meaningless....

[AtheistCook]

the now is most important moment, not eternity which is just a bunch of nows

[dungteller]

I have this thought. Having meaning in regards to this discussion would constitute an awareness in people that they are not in any way separate from the movement of life, they are in an essential and natural way of the universe of god. Death of the body takes us back into our true nature. It is scientifically true that at the quantum level there are no divisions everything is this primordial energy that imbues all that was, is and ever will be. My only question is this: Can we somehow be aware of this before death? It seems that thought just keeps churning away and I wonder if can somehow be quiet and then reveal our true nature. I don't think that thought can find true meaning because knowledge is always somehow limited because it arises through a separation created by asking questions like does life have meaning. This is just an opinion I do not know, but I would like too.

[irissven]

same question with morality or information, does this exist without an observer evaluating? So if the observer is necessary to give meaning or understand information, we need conciosness first and here the question, did the universe "intent" to create conciosness as a normal process? Then there should be a path, goal or meaning underlining all somewhere... all answers are in front of our eyes, we can just not see or undestand most of them yet.. are they out there or just in our head ? Where is "in our head"...

[bossbear]

interesting that we lived in cave systems like insects & rodents.

[bluelotus]

The search for meaning is as universal as the search for eternity, happiness and knowledge. What kind of meaning we search for depends on the state of our mind, which depends on the state of our consciousness, which is a consequence of what we have done in the past.

[dougsmall]

Humanity has a hive mind.
You are not your own person until you are reborn reconciled rectified.

[bozo]

What's the meaning of meaning? Seriously, I don't know what that means in this context.

[tunahelpa]

The meaning is all in your mind. Not that there is no meaning, just that you won't find any real meaning outside your own self. My belief is that the meaning of life is in the living.
Religion affects what folks think is meaning a lot. Unfortunately. My religion is no different - it affects what I think is meaning.
Being a not-a-theist, not-a-deist, not-an-atheist, I'm quite often misunderstood, Unfortunately, a YouTube comment section is not the proper forum for me to explain my views.