Do you believe in ghosts? Paranormal stuff?

[Dante9]

Shadow1980 said:

Dante9 said:

Why do you need your life to have some kind of higher purpose for it not to be hopeless and bleak? I'd rather think it's quite the opposite. The fact that we have only one life makes it precious and beautiful and we should make the most of it. The point is to find our own meaning and perhaps help others find theirs.

If I found out that my life was just a part of some grand plan orchestrated from upstairs and that it would go on forever in various forms would be absolute horror for me.

I had a long, drawn-out reply to this partially written, but I was getting bummed out just writing it because it got pretty dark and depressing and I have enough anxiety over the subjects of life and death as it is, and I'd prefer to not dwell on it. Suffice it say, the philosophical implications of a totally materialistic worldview, namely its inherent nihilism, are there whether we want to truly face them or not.

OK, I wouldn't want you to go into any dark spirals over this. I'll just say that I don't think a world without a higher power makes it automatically materialistic or nihilistic. People have values and aspirations that transcend material things. They are capable of beautiful things. Also, it can be argued that life in itself has intrinsic value. A way for the universe to perceive itself, if you will.