What is the meaning of life? - AlwaysAsking.com

What is the meaning of life? It’s a question everyone has wondered about at some point in their life. Is there even an answer?

Each of us has somehow found our way into this world. But for what purpose or reason are we here? What’s the point of it all? Is there inherent significance or value to life and existence?

In today's episode we will review the answers and use the best available evidence in an attempt to settle this timeless question. An answer to this question will enable us to better understand each other, to know the direction and aim of humanity and technology, and to know what is truly valuable so we can get the most out of life.

Original article: https://alwaysasking.com/what-is-the-meaning-of-life/
Youtube episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIfZxCNIA5Q

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Episode Transcript

Amy (00:00):
You're listening to the always asking.com podcast. This

(00:04):
is episode number eight.
Today's question is, what is themeaning of life?
since we were children, we'veasked why we were here. And we
wonder what is the purpose,reason, value or significance of
life and existence? In today'sepisode, we will review the
answers and use the bestavailable evidence in an attempt

(00:27):
to settle this timelessquestion. Enjoy.

Brian (00:33):
What is the meaning of life? It's a question everyone
has wondered about at some pointin their life? Is there even an
answer? Each of us has somehowfound our way into this world?
But for what purpose or reason?
Are we here? What's the point ofit all? Is there inherent
significance or value to lifeand existence? Among the many

(00:55):
philosophies and religions wefind no shortage of answers
offered? But which answer isright? Does science suggest an
answer to this mystery? If so,what does it tell us? As we will
see, science does give an answerto this question, and one that
is both remarkably simple, yetcomprehensive, and all

(01:19):
encompassing. Having an answerto this question enables us to
better understand each other toknow the direction and aim of
humanity and technology and toknow what is truly valuable so
we can get the most out of life.
Reviewing answers, the questionWhat is the meaning of life that

(01:40):
has a long and rich history?
Let's see what answers have beengiven by ancient civilizations,
religions of the world, andphilosophical traditions and
answers from ancient peoples inevery time and place have
considered this question. A fewhave left records of their
thoughts that have survived tothis day. Let's review the

(02:02):
oldest of humanity's answers tothis ageless question of ancient
Egyptians. Perhaps the oldest ofthese records are the Pyramid
Texts inscribed in the tombs ofancient Egyptians kings some
4400 years ago. According tothese texts, after death, one's

(02:22):
life is judged in a trial byOsiris and 42. Judges in the
hall of two truths. During thistrial, one's heart is weighed
against a feather of truth. Ifone letter virtuous life, their
heart will be found lighter thanthe feather of truth, and their
soul is free to pass to thefield of reeds where it will
live forever in paradise. If theheart is heavier, it is eaten by

(02:45):
the demon SM it making the soulforever restless. In the view of
ancient Egyptians, the meaningof life is to live a life worthy
of passing to the eternal joy ofparadise. This requires a life
of truth, justice, and harmony,avoiding chaos, violence, and
evil in ancient Sumerians. Summawas the first human civilization

(03:11):
and it is also the first todevelop written language and
humankind's oldest survivingwork of literature is The Epic
of Gilgamesh, written inSumerian cuneiform 4100 years
ago. The story centers on thelife of Gilgamesh, the king of
Urk. This epic offers an answerto the question of the meaning

(03:33):
of life. Quote, when the godscreated man they allotted to him
death, but life they retained intheir own keeping. As for you,
Gilgamesh, fill your belly withgood things day and night, night
and day. Damson, be merry feastand rejoice. Let your clothes be
fresh, bathe yourself in water.

(03:57):
cherish the little child thatholds your hand and make your
wife happy in your embrace. Forthis too, is the lot of man and
quote, today, an epic ofGilgamesh, 2100 BC.
In summary, life is short, solive it to the fullest. We find

(04:18):
this advice echoed almostverbatim in the Old Testament
book of Ecclesiastes, his quoteis, go eat your food with
gladness and drink your winewith a joyful heart, for God has
already approved what you do.
Always be closed in white. Andalways mind your head with oil
and enjoy life with your wife,whom you love, all the days of

(04:40):
this meaningless life that Godhas given you under the sun, all
your meaningless days. For thisis your lot in life and in your
title, some labor under the sunand quote, Book of Ecclesiastes
chapter nine verses seven tonine.
450 to 200 BC. Ancient Persiansthe first monotheistic religion

(05:06):
originated in ancient Persia3000 years ago. It is called
Zoroastrianism and it's stillpracticed to this day.
Zoroastrianism was the officialreligion of the first Persian
Empire by the fraction of peopleliving in it. The Persian Empire
was the largest in humanhistory, containing 30 to 50% of

(05:28):
the world's population, and ithad a significant influence on
civilizations and religions thatfollowed. According to
Zoroastrianism, each personparticipates in the battle
between Nasha good truth, orderand true evil, falsehood, decay.
One's irvan, or soul is sent tothe material world to collect

(05:52):
experiences, which areconsidered useful in the battle
between good and evil. answersfrom religion. Nearly every
religion offers answers to thequestion of life's meaning. The
few that don't at least providea prescription for how to live.
Next review answers found insome of the world's religions,

(06:13):
Abrahamic religions, Abrahamicreligions are those formed by
descendants of Abraham. Theyinclude the religions of
Judaism, Christianity, and Islamand Judaism. According to
Judaism, the meaning of life isto heal, repair and improve the

(06:33):
state of the world through gooddeeds. The final goal is a
perfected world to come toChristianity. According to
Jesus, the most important law inlife is to love the Lord your
God with all your heart, withall your soul, with all your
strength, and with all your mindand to love your neighbor as

(06:55):
yourself. Mormonism an offshootof Christianity teaches that the
purpose of life is to gainexperience, develop and receive
a fullness of joy in Islam.
According to Islam, life onearth is a test that determines
one's closeness to God anddevotion is demonstrated in five

(07:17):
ways profession, prayer,fasting, charity, and
pilgrimage. One will eitherinherit a final home close to
God and His love in a paradiseor distant in a hell. The
Prophet Mohammed also expresseda form of the golden rule saying
none of you truly believes untilhe wishes for his brother what

(07:38):
he wishes for himself. dharmicreligions and the dharmic
religions are those originatingin the Indian subcontinent and
include Hinduism, Buddhism, andSikhism and Hinduism. According
to Hinduism, there are four aimsin life.
OneKama, desire, sensual pleasure,

(07:58):
emotional fulfillment is staticarts, dance, music, nature,
appreciation, enjoyment, love,affection, to otter means of
living Korea, financialsecurity, prosperity, three,
Dharma duties virtue, moralvalues, ethics, non violence

(08:23):
order forMoksha liberation, freeing
oneself from the cycle ofreincarnation through
enlightenment, self knowledge,and self realization. Pursuing
each is considered essential solong as no aim is sacrificed.
Hindus believe spiritualdevelopment occurs across

(08:45):
lifetimes, with the final goalbeing Moksha, or liberation from
the cycle of reincarnation knownas samsara. This is considered
the final aim of all souls inBuddhism. According to Buddhism,
everything is a product of themind. Therefore, resolving one's
state of mind is the highestgoal.

(09:09):
Quote,mind proceeds or phenomena, mind
matters most everything is mindmade. And, quote, Gautam Buddha
in the dhammapada circa 500 BC,the aim of Buddhists is to
follow the Noble Eightfold Pathand thereby eliminate suffering
and achieve nirvana, the highesthappiness. Sikhism is the word

(09:31):
seek means student. The primaryaim for seeks is continuous
learning and development for themind and body to flourish. In
the words of the founder ofSikhism. Quote, your soul,
breath of life, mind and bodyshall blossom forth in lush

(09:52):
profusion. This is the truepurpose of life and quote good
ru Nanak in page 47, line 19 ofGuru Granth Sahib 1604 seeks
believe every soul is of divineorigin and on a path to develop
its divine attributes. Andultimately all souls will merge

(10:16):
with the true one. Quote, weshall merge into the one from
whom we came. The true one ispervading each and every heart
and quote Guru Nanak in page 20,line five of Guru Granth Sahib
1604 East Asian religions EastAsian religions include the

(10:41):
traditional Chinese religions ofConfucianism, and Taoism, as
well as the Japanese religion ofShinto, Confucianism, and
Confucianism teaches a code ofethics based on five constants,
benevolence, justice, ritual,wisdom, integrity, and four
virtues loyalty, devotion tofamily self control morality.

(11:06):
Confucius believed thesequalities create strong and
content families, which in turncreates strong and content
communities. The goal is aharmonious society where
individuals make better choices,live prosperous and peaceful
lives and minimize suffering.
Quote,we can realize the ultimate
meaning of life in ordinaryhuman existence. And quote, to

(11:28):
Ming in Confucian thought, 1985Confucius is also known for the
earliest telling of a form ofthe golden rule, saying what you
do not wish for yourself do notdo to others. Taoism quote,
there was something formless andperfect before the universe was

(11:52):
born. It is serene and empty,and solitary, unchanging,
infinite, eternally present. Itis the mother of the universe,
for lack of a better name, Icall it the Tao. And quote, Lao
Jain, Chapter 25 of Tao Te Chingcirca 600 400 BC. Taoism rejects

(12:17):
the ritual and strict socialhierarchy of Confucianism in
favor of spontaneity,individualism, and going with
the flow. The foundational textof Taoism is the Tao Te Ching,
it teaches, see the world asyourself, have faith in the way
things are, and love the worldas yourself, then you can care

(12:42):
for all things. Terroristsbelieve all things were
originally tau, the naturalorder of the universe, and that
ultimately, all beings returnedto it. Quote, In the beginning
was the Tao of all things issuefrom it, all things return to
it, and quote, large giantchapter 52 of Tao Te Ching circa

(13:06):
600 400 BC.
Shinto,the Japanese religion of Shinto
has no dogmas scriptures, orfounder. Shinto means the way of
the Cammy Cammy. Our divinespirits present throughout the
natural world. Practitionersseek harmony within blessings

(13:29):
from the Cammy through offeringsand prayers. According to the
author J. wt Mason, in Shinto,the purpose of humanity is to be
a self developing creativespirit on Earth. We are the
agents by which divine spiritsdevelop greater forms of quote,

(13:50):
Shinto constantly impliesthrough its influence on the
Japanese people that theprogress of mankind is the
intent of Divine Spirit onEarth. Life his purpose is to
Shinto, a purpose of activity ofdivine spirits seeking new
expression in spirits and selfcreated material world earthly
life to Shinto is a desiredsatisfaction for divine spirit,

(14:11):
and is a divine actuality in allof its manifestations Verdun
bad, whereby spirit creates itsobjective expansion by its own
earthly efforts to divine spiritever seeking renewal of
creation, ever trying toprogress in its material
environment, and striving todevelop versatility of action,
such as the emphasis Shintogifts to life. And, quote, J wt

(14:36):
Mason in the meaning of Shinto.
1935. answers from philosophy.
Consideration of life's meaninghas occupied the minds of
history's greatest thinkers,from Plato to Einstein, Greek
philosophers according toPlato's the Republic, 375 BC,

(14:58):
the purpose of life is thepursuit of knowledge of the idea
of the good. Plato consideredthis ideal to be the source of
all good things knowledge,beauty, truth, justice. Plato's
student, Aristotle believed thehighest name for humans is
eudaimonia, a Greek wordembodying happiness and well
being, quote, what is thehighest good in all matters of

(15:23):
action to the name, there is analmost complete agreement for an
educated and educated alike callit happiness and make happiness
identical with the good life andsuccessful living. They
disagree, however, about themeaning of happiness, and quote,
Aristotle in nicomachean ethicsanyone for 340 BC, Aristotle

(15:49):
recognized that happiness meansdifferent things to different
people, and even to the sameperson in different times. After
sickness it is health and inpoverty, it is wealth, while
when they are impressed with theconsciousness of their
ignorance. they admire mostthose who say grand things that
are above their comprehension.
Epicurus believed thatintrinsically, pleasure is the
only good and pain the onlyevil. He taught that the best

(16:13):
life is free of fear and free ofpain, and, quote, when we say
then, that pleasure is the endand aim, we do not mean the
pleasures of the prodigal or thepleasures of sensuality, as we
are understood to do by somethrough ignorance, prejudice, or
willful misrepresentation. Bypleasure, we mean the absence of

(16:34):
pain in the body and havetrouble in the soul. And quote,
Epicurus in letter to miniseriescirca 300 BC, Middle Ages, in
the eighth century, Buddhistmonk shantideva advocated an
effort to stop all the presentand future pain and suffering of
all sentient beings, and tobring about all present and

(16:58):
future pleasure and happiness.
shantideva wrote to the body chiavatara, which is popular in
Tibet To this day, the DalaiLama called it his favorite
religious work, quote,I should dispel the misery of
others because it is sufferingjust like my own, and I should
benefit others because they aresentient beings, just like

(17:19):
myself, and quote shantideva inbody chi avatara 894 circa 700
ad, and one of the great worksof middle age philosophy is some
of theologica, or summary oftheology by the Christian
theologian Thomas Aquinas. Itremains a cornerstone of

(17:41):
Catholic thought and inteaching, Aquinas wrote that
perfect happiness cannot befound on earth, and only comes
with a future union with God,the universal good quote,
it is impossible for any createdgood to constitute man's
happiness. for happiness is theperfect good, which allows the

(18:04):
appetite all together, else, itwould not be the last end, if
something yet remains to bedesired. Now the object of the
will, if man's appetite is theuniversal good, just as the
object of the intellect is theuniversal true hence it is
evident that not come alongman's will save the universal

(18:24):
good. And quote, Thomas Aquinasin summer theologica 1485.
Aquinas advocated that on earthman lead a life of virtue, which
he defined as having a goodhabit, productive of good works.
Enlightenment. The enlightenmentwas marked by the introduction

(18:45):
of the scientific method and arejection of absolute
monarchies. In that placeemerged constitutional
governments with powers limitedby law, supporting individual
rights, liberty and religiousfreedom and liberalism. JOHN
Locke was one of the greatestinfluences behind this
transition. He is considered thefather of classical liberalism,

(19:09):
the idea that protectingindividual liberty and balancing
the rights of individuals acrosssociety is the highest aim and
mission of government. Locke'swritings influenced the founders
of the United States. ThomasJefferson considered Locke
together with bacon and Newtonto be the three greatest men
that have ever lived. In theDeclaration of Independence.

(19:33):
Jefferson quotes Locke almostverbatim when he wrote that men
possess unalienable rights, thatamong these are life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness. AsAristotle noticed, millennia
before, people have differentconceptions of happiness, by
ensuring individual liberty,each person is free to pursue

(19:53):
happiness in the manner they seemost fit utilitarianism the
Enlightenment witnessed otherrediscoveries of old ideas of
channeling Epicurus, thephilosopher Jeremy Bentham wrote
that, quote,nature has placed mankind under
the governance of two sovereignmasters pain and pleasure. It is

(20:13):
for them alone to point out whatwe ought to do as well as to
determine what we shall do. Onthe one hand, the standard of
right and wrong on the other thechain of causes and effects are
fastened to their throne. Andquote, Jeremy Bentham in the
principles of morals andlegislation 1780 Bentham

(20:35):
referred to the inherent valueof either promoting happiness or
avoiding on happiness asutility, which he defined as,
quote, by utility is meant thatproperty in any object whereby
it tends to produce benefit,advantage, pleasure, good, or

(20:56):
happiness, all this in thepresent case comes to the same
thing, or what comes again tothe same thing to prevent the
happening of mischief, pain,evil on happiness to the party
whose interest is considered ifthat party be the community in
general, then the happiness ofthe community. If a particular
individual, then the happinessof that individual, in this view

(21:19):
is called utilitarianism. It isthe idea that the motivation
behind all rightful action isbased on maximizing utility in
modern times. Before CharlesDarwin's 1859 publication of the
origin of the species, theappearance of life and order in
nature could only be explainedby the existence of some divine

(21:41):
plan or design. Modernphilosophies seek meaning in
life that arose naturally, somemight say accidentally, without
a divine purpose, reason orintention. nihilism, Friedrich
Nietzsche believe that the ideathat God is dead leads to
nihilism, and denial that lifehas any meaning, purpose or

(22:01):
value.
Quote, a nihilistis a man who judges of the world
as it is that it ought not to beand of the world as it ought to
be that it does not exist.
According to this view, ourexistence, action, suffering,
willing feeling, has no meaning,and quote, Friedrich nature in

(22:24):
the wilter power, published in1910, while nihilism rejects the
value of life, materialist andnaturalist philosophers reject
only a purpose to life, inRichard Dawkins is The God
Delusion, James Watson, theCOVID discoverer of DNA embodied
this view when he said, I don'tthink we're for anything. We're

(22:47):
just the products of evolution.
Many biologists now believe thatif life has any inherent
meaning, it rests solely interms of the propagation and
survival of genes. Einstein,however, rejected the view that
life is meaningless. Quote, whatis the meaning of human life? Or
for that matter of the life ofany creature? To know an answer

(23:10):
to this question means to bereligious. You ask, does it make
any sense then, to pose thisquestion? I answer. The man who
regards his own life and that ofhis fellow creatures as
meaningless is not merelyunhappy but hardly Fit for Life.
And quote, Albert Einstein inmind wealth build my worldview

(23:34):
1934 humanism.
Define Nietzsche's prediction,humanism is a non religious
philosophy that recognizes valueand purpose in human existence.
Quote, humanism is a progressivephilosophy of life that without

(23:54):
supernaturalism affirms ourability and responsibility to
lead ethical lives of personalfulfillment that aspire to the
greater good of humanity. We aimfor our fullest possible
development and animate ourlives with a deep sense of
purpose, finding wonder and joyin the joys and beauties of
human existence. And quote, Thethird Humanist Manifesto 2003,

(24:20):
naturalistic pantheism ratherthan see no meaning in the
natural world, naturalistic,pantheism finds meaning in all
of it. It reveals all lifeeverywhere, as well as the
universe and environments thatmake life possible. naturalistic
pantheism can be viewed as abroadening of humanism to bring

(24:41):
respect for the rights and livesof all creatures. Paul Harrison,
who launched the worldpantheistic movement in 1997,
advocates an active respect andcare for the rights of all
humans and other living beings.
According to this view, themeaning of life is to care for
and respect nature, theenvironment and all forms of
life is a summary of answers. Onthe question of the meaning of

(25:07):
life, we've reviewed answersfrom ancient civilizations,
world religions, andphilosophical traditions. We're
left with a smattering ofanswers with no clear consensus.
But despite a lack of consensus,we have noticed common themes.
Live virtuously, the ancientEgyptians and Thomas Aquinas say

(25:28):
we ought to live a virtuous lifewith the promise of a happy and
eternal afterlife. AndConfucianism says virtue leads
to a happier and more peacefullife here on earth. Hinduism
considers it a duty Dharma toenjoy life. The ancient
Sumerians say we should eat,drink, and be merry. The Hindus

(25:50):
call this karma. Aristotlecalled it happiness. Epicurus
and shantideva called itpleasure. liberalism recognized
self defined pursuits ofhappiness, utilitarianism
advocates maximizing happiness,reduce suffering, this is the
primary objective in Buddhism,and also advocated by

(26:14):
shantideva, and utilitarians. Itis implicit in humanism and
naturalistic pantheism, whoseethics say we must respect life,
develop and grow. The ancientPersians said the purpose of
life is to collect experiencesfor the fight of good versus
evil. Plato's said it is to gainknowledge of the good and the

(26:37):
moments saved to gain experienceand develop ourselves to
experience the fullness of joy.
Sikhism says life's purpose isto learn and for our soul to
blossom fourth in lush profusionof Confucianism says we can find
meaning in ordinary humanexperience and improve the

(26:58):
world. Judaism says working tobuild a better world is the
primary aim of life. Hinduismrecognizes the importance of
work arta The aim ofConfucianism is to fashion a
harmonious society. Shinto sayshumanity's purpose is to be a
self developing creative spiriton Earth. Thomas Aquinas says on

(27:21):
Earth, our purpose is to beproductive of good works.
naturalistic pantheism says torevere the natural environment,
and love others. Christianitysays to love thy neighbor as
yourself, Islam advocatescharity and wishing for your
brother what you wish foryourself. Confucius says what
you do not wish for yourself donot do to others. Taoism says to

(27:45):
see and love the world asyourself. humanism preaches
aspiring to the greater good ofhumanity
and divine union. many religionssay the final aim of life is to
realize a oneness with God or tootherwise reunite or merge with
God. Hindus call this MokshaBuddhists call it Nirvana.

(28:08):
Taoists sale, things return totheir source. Sikhs say we will
merge into the one from whom wecame. Thomas Aquinas says
perfect happiness exists only ina union with God. And Islam says
happiness in the afterlifedepends on one's proximity to
God. These purported meanings oflife all sound like noble aims,

(28:33):
but which, if any, is right.
Could that be as the Hindus say,multiple answers. All these
answers appear to dance aroundsomething more fundamental, a
common theme. But what aunifying principle connects them
to a unifying principle. Thatfirst glance, the many answers

(28:54):
we found to the question oflife's meaning seem quite
different. But stepping back, aclear view comes into focus, and
we can see the forest for thetrees. across every answer there
is broad agreement on favoringcertain paths in choosing
happiness over suffering,pleasure over pain, life over
death, saving the world overdestroying it, virtue over vise

(29:16):
truth over lies, Justice overinjustice, beauty over ugliness,
border over chaos, proximity toGod over distance from God. All
these preferences embody pursuitof what is valued, what we call
good, we could say the meaningof life rests in maximizing
Good, good for oneself, good forothers, and good for the world.

(29:39):
But from where does goodnessoriginate? What makes one thing
good and another bad as ithappens, there is an object in
reality from which all goodnessand badness derives. It is also
the source of all meaning to allcreatures. Without it There
would be no meaning at all. Theorigin of good, the good is

(30:03):
anything useful, valuable orworthwhile to someone. Under
this definition, we can findsome good in any technology
considered useful in any item ofvalue people spend money to
acquire, or in any humanendeavor considered worth doing.
For example, we can say a lifesaving medicine is useful,

(30:24):
houses are valuable, and makingart is worthwhile. Why are these
things good? is a supreme good2360 years ago, Aristotle
noticed something strange. Ifyou repeatedly ask, why is that
thing good? It leads to a chainof questions and answers. And,

(30:45):
oddly, this chain does notcontinue forever. It always ends
at the same place in somethingthat just as good, a thing good
for its own sake. Quote, everyart and every investigation, and
likewise, every practicalpursuit or undertaking seems to
aim at some good answer. It hasbeen well said that the good is

(31:07):
that had which all things aim,but as there are numerous
pursuits and arts and sciences,it follows that their ends are
correspondingly numerous. Forinstance, the end of the science
of medicine is health, that ofthe art of shipbuilding, a
vessel, that of strategyvictory, that of domestic
economy wealth, if therefore,among the ends of which our
actions aim there be one whichwe will for its own sake, while

(31:29):
we will the others only for thesake of this, and if we do not
choose everything for the sakeof something else, which would
obviously result in a process adinfinitum. So that whole desire
would be futile and vain, it isclear that this one ultimate end
must be the good and indeed thesupreme good. End quote.
Aristotle in nicomachean, ethics340 BC. What form does this

(31:52):
supreme good take on trackingdown the supreme good? Let's try
some examples. We can use theprevious examples of medicine,
houses, and art, but ifAristotle is right, it works
starting from anything good. Trysome of your own examples and

(32:14):
see example one medicine Why islife saving medicine good?
because it saves people's lives?
Why are you saving people'slives good? Because it allows
them to live longer? Why isliving longer good? Because it

(32:39):
allows them to have moreexperiences. Why is having more
experiences good? Ah justice,example to housing. Why are
houses good?
Because they protect people fromthe elements. Why is protection

(33:01):
from the elements good? becauseit keeps people comfortable and
prevents sickness? Why is beingcomfortable and healthy good?
because it provides for betterexperiences and why is having
better experiences good? Ahjustice. Example three, art. Why

(33:26):
is making art good? because itleads to more art. Why is more
art good? Because it givespeople novel perspectives,
feelings and thoughts. Why arenovel perspectives feelings and
thoughts good because it createsmore variety of experiences. Why

(33:50):
is more variety of experiencesgood. It's Justice of the
Supreme good found in thedictionary defines good as a
benefit or advantage to someoneor something. According to this
definition, a good thing mustnot only provide some benefit,
it must also provide a benefitto someone. We confirm this in

(34:14):
our examples. Regardless ofwhere we began, each case ends
and adjust is at the point ofaugmenting experience thoughts
feelings, perceptions, in otherwords, consciousness. Without
conscious beings, there would beno someone's to receive any
benefit. No one would noticenevermind appreciate any good

(34:37):
thing. If not for consciousness,there could be no good. But if
conscious experience is thesource of value, what does that
say of the Supreme good. Myconscious experience be the
foundation of all value isimproving states of
consciousness the source of allgood and rightful action is

(34:58):
harming consciousness. of eviland immoral action. Over the
centuries, some philosophershave suspected that mind
sensations or consciousness arethe basis of all good and evil
quotes for these words of good,evil and contemptible, ever used

(35:18):
with relation to the person thatuses them, there being nothing
simply and absolutely so, norany common rule of good and
evil, to be taken from thenature of the objects
themselves, but from the personof the man or from the person
that represented it. And quote,Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan,
1651. Quote, we have alreadyobserved that moral distinctions

(35:45):
depend entirely on certainpeculiar sentiments of pain and
pleasure, and that whatevermental quality in ourselves or
others gives us a satisfactionby the survey or reflection is
of course, virtuous, aseverything of this nature that
gives uneasiness is vicious. Andquote, David Hume in a treatise

(36:05):
of human nature 1739 quote, itthere appeared that we could not
on reflection, maintain anythingto be intrinsically and
ultimately good, except insofaras it entered into relation to
consciousness of some kind andrendered good and desirable, and
thus that the only ultimate goodor end in itself must be

(36:27):
goodness or excellence ofconscious life. End quote. Henry
Sidgwick in the methods ofethics 1874. Ultimately, all
value derives from consciousexperience for nothing can be
felt enjoyed, appreciated,thought or known outside of it.

(36:48):
All good things. If all good isbased on conscious experience,
then improving and perfectingstates of consciousness and
seeking desirable experiencesconstitute the meaning, purpose
and value of all conscious life.
But what does it mean to improveconscious experience? If we
discover how to best approachthis supreme good, it would

(37:09):
serve as a focus for allrightful action? quote, will not
then a knowledge of this supremecould be also of great practical
importance for the conduct oflife. Will it not better enable
us to attain our proper objectlike archers having a target to
aim at, and quote, Aristotle innicomachean ethics 340 bc it's

(37:32):
hard to imagine any knowledgethat could be more valuable
dimensions of experience. Quote,the purpose of life is to live
it to taste experience to theutmost to reach out eagerly and
without fear for newer andricher experience.

(37:54):
And quote, Eleanor Roosevelt.
How many ways are there toimprove conscious experience? In
our examples, we encounteredthree, life saving medicine
improved consciousness byextending life and allowing for
more experiences. Having shelterincreased the quality of

(38:15):
experience, creating art improvethe variety of experiences.
Thus, there are at least threeways consciousness can improve
the quantity to live it. One wayto improve experience is to
create more of them. And that isto increase the number of

(38:36):
experiences have more of themlive longer, save lives,
continue and propagate life,create and support the next and
future generations. As long asthe experiences are positive,
more is better than fewer. Andthus, working to save and
preserve life and to protect theplanet that sustains us are seen

(38:56):
as universal goals in service toa universal good, quality, taste
experience to the utmost. Asecond way to improve experience
is to simply have better ones,that is to increase happiness,
pleasure, satisfaction, andcontentment or to reduce

(39:17):
suffering, pain, displeasure andanguish. Quote, the creed which
accepts as the foundation ofmorals utility, or the greatest
happiness principle holds thatactions are right in proportion
as they tend to promotehappiness wrong as they tend to
produce the reverse ofhappiness. And quote, john

(39:37):
Stuart Mill in utilitarianism1863 increasing happiness and
reducing suffering are not onlygoals held by all but are
considered by some to be thevery definition of good variety
to reach out eagerly and withoutfear for newer richer

(39:59):
experience. A third way toimprove experiences to have new
kinds of them. And that is tohave a wide breadth of
experiences. Try new things,explore new states of
consciousness, learn, develop,grow, increase the ways of
thinking, perceiving and being,to promote a diversity of forms

(40:20):
of conscious life, language,arts, culture, and expression
of, quote,varieties, the very spice of
life that gives it all itsflavor. And quote, William
Cooper in the task 1785, a fewdesire lives of monotony or

(40:41):
stagnation. Instead, we seeklives of learning and growth in
rich by a diversity ofexperiences. Knowing the meaning
of life, all good comes fromincreasing the quantity, quality
and variety of life'sexperiences. It is the source of
all value and motive for allaction. It is the meaning of

(41:03):
life, and great power comes fromknowing this ultimate source of
value. Since all value derivesfrom this, this knowledge tells
us what things are trulyvaluable and worthy of pursuit,
and which are not. Since thisuniversal value is the
motivation behind all humanaction, this knowledge helps to

(41:24):
better understand and relate toothers. Since it is the source
of value behind every usefultechnology, this knowledge
enables us to predict wheretechnology's headed, since it is
the goal of conscious life. Thisknowledge tells us of the
ultimate destiny of humanity, orfor that matter, any intelligent
race. Since it is the supremepurpose. This knowledge enables

(41:48):
us to live in a manner to getthe most and make the most out
of our time here. What thingsare valuable. To know what is
valuable is to know what isworthy of pursuing, protecting
or fighting for, it tells us howto best spend our limited time,
money, and energy to achievewhat's most important in life is

(42:09):
a field called axiology isdedicated to the study of value.
It seeks to answer where itcomes from, and what makes
anything valuable. One of itslessons is that value comes in
two forms.
Oneis intrinsic value, things that
are valuable for their own sake,to instrumental value, ways to

(42:32):
achieve things with intrinsicvalue, intrinsic value. In his
1973 work ethics, thephilosopher William Franken
tried to list everything thathas intrinsic value. The
following is his list of life,consciousness and activity, and

(42:56):
health and strength andpleasures and satisfactions of
all or certain kinds ofhappiness, the attitude,
contentment, etc. Truth,knowledge and true opinion of
various kinds, understanding,wisdom, beauty, harmony,
proportion and objectscontemplated, aesthetic

(43:20):
experience, morally gooddispositions or virtues of
mutual affection, love,friendship, cooperation, and
just distribution of goods andevils of harmony and proportion
in one's own life, power andexperiences of achievement, self

(43:45):
expression, freedom,peace, security, adventure and
novelty, good reputation, honor,esteem, etc. All of these serve
to improve one or moredimensions of experience. But

(44:07):
intrinsic values, andimprovements to consciousness
are not the only things wevalue. We also value the means
to reach these ends.
Quote, all desirable things aredesirable either for the
pleasure inherent in themselves,or as means to the promotion of

(44:28):
pleasure and the prevention ofpain. End quote, john Stuart
Mill in utilitarianism 1863 suchmeans are called instrumentally
valuable for they areinstrumental to reaching some
end goal which is valuable foritself. instrumental value,

(44:49):
things like food, water,medicine, shelter, and fuel are
not the ends but a means theyserve the purpose of maintaining
and supporting conscious life.
And so are indirectly valuableto consciousness. In fact,
anything we spend money on is bydefinition valuable. Most money
is spent to meet the basic needsof life, food, clothing,

(45:12):
shelter, health care, and livinganother day adds to the quantity
of experience. When money'sleftover after meeting basic
needs, it can be spent toimprove the quality of
experience and variety ofexperience on travel, art,
education, entertainment,conveniences, dining, and

(45:32):
electronics. The value of life,consciousness may be the
ultimate source of value, but itis by no means the only thing of
value. Some things containeither a future potential for
consciousness, or play asupporting role for it. For
example, a planet harboring onlyunconscious single celled life,

(45:54):
or even just the necessarychemicals to later develop life
as value. It is valuable for itspotential to develop and host
conscious life. If somemisfortune prevented the rise of
life on Earth, it wouldrepresent an incalculable loss
of value, for it would haveprevented all the life and
consciousness that otherwisewould have emerged. unconscious

(46:16):
life on earth is also valuablefor its role in the greater
ecosystem and food chain onwhich all conscious life depends
on common values. And, quote,whether one believes in religion
or not, whether one believes inthis religion or that religion,
we all are seeking somethingbetter in life, and quote, The

(46:38):
14th Dalai Lama in the art ofhappiness 1998 it sometimes
seems no one can agree onanything. But if there is a
universal goal, improvingconscious experience, and if
this goal is shared by allconscious life, why do people
ever disagree on anything? As wewill see, disagreement stems not

(47:02):
from disagreement on thisuniversal value, but comes from
different assumptions orpriorities, different
assumptions. Knowing that allpeople fundamentally want the
same thing can lead to a greaterunderstanding of and compassion
for others. The none and thereveler it's hard to imagine a
greater contrast than thatbetween an ascetic nun and a

(47:26):
hedonistic reveler, they seem todiffer in their core values.
Here, the appearance of adifference in values is only an
illusion. Both the nun and rebelultimately want the same thing
out of life. Both seek to havemaximum joy to improve their
quality of experience, where thenun and reveler differ is in

(47:49):
their assumptions andstrategies. The reveler operates
according to the assumption thismay be the only life he gets his
strategy is to maximize pleasurein the here and now. The nun
believes if she lives a life ofvirtue and devotion to God on
earth, she will be rewarded witheternal joy in the next life.

(48:10):
Both strategies are rationalgiven their assumptions.
Everyone desires betterexperiences, and we disagree
only on the best way to getthem. Planetary survival.
Everyone believes a planet fullof life beats a dead or desolate

(48:30):
world. The more conscious lifethere is, and the longest such
life survives in the universe,the greater total quantity of
experiences created, experienceequals population multiplied by
time, and presently, we shareone home on Earth. maximizing

(48:50):
the quantity of consciousexperience requires a balance
between maximizing thepopulation and sustaining the
environment over time, thepopulation of conscious beings
and the time conscious life andhabits Earth contribute equally
to total experience. Whileeveryone agrees with the value
of maximizing quantity ofexperience, people disagree on

(49:12):
the best strategy for gettingthere. Some think the best
course is to plan for the longhaul and maximize the time
component of the equation whilekeeping the population at a size
that minimizes environmental orother catastrophic risks. Others
argue maximizing population isbetter, as we cannot know how
future technologies will alterthe situation. nor can we know

(49:36):
if or when a global catastrophemight wipe out human
civilization. Life on Earthfaces an array of threats
including nuclear war, impactevents, environmental
destruction, overpopulation,crop failure, climate change,
cyber terrorism, bioterrorism,pandemics, hostile artificial

(49:56):
intelligence, supervolcanoes,and gamma rays. bursts. Whether
we maintain a population of 1billion humans that lasts
another 1000 years or 10 billionhumans that makes it only
another 100 both yield a netgain of a trillion years of
human experience. Giventechnological trends, it is

(50:17):
likely that emergingtechnologies like mind
uploading, space migration, andnanotechnology will append long
term predictions and alter thecalculus of the optimum strategy
and see what are the limits forpopulation growth, and can aging
be cured? Much like the nonlandreveler all agree on maximizing

(50:39):
life and experience. Thedisagreement is only on what's
the best strategy. differentpriorities. And other cases of
disagreement occur not from adifference of assumptions or
opinions on best strategies, butfrom a different prioritization
of the three dimensions ofexperience. everyone finds value

(51:01):
in greater quantity, quality andvariety of experience. But what
happens when one comes at thecost of another risk versus
reward? different personalitytraits results from different
priorities for the dimensions ofexperience, and risk takers and
adrenaline junkies for example,prioritize quality of experience

(51:24):
over quantity of experience.
They risk life and limb for moreintense and varied experiences.
different priorities revealthemselves in perennial debates,
freedom versus safety, quantityversus quality of life, the new
versus the familiar, and otherswho prioritize quantity of
experience we may call riskaverse. They consider skydiving

(51:47):
or mountain climbing too riskyto ever try. And, of course,
there is also risk in being toorisk averse and it is grave, you
could die without ever havingtruly lived. No pain, no gain.
To have only pleasurableexperiences comes at the cost of
knowing the full richness anddepth of possible experiences.

(52:10):
It represents a prioritizationof quality of experience of a
variety of experience. Forexample, Vincent Van gock
created the starry night amidstgreat emotional torment. The
idea of tortured artists impliescertain large requires
suffering. If true, then theirsacrifice trades quality of

(52:32):
experience to yield a greatervariety of experience for
everyone who appreciates theirart, quote, but perhaps it's
good for one to suffer. Perhapsit's unavoidable and necessary.
Perhaps I ought to thank you.
Can an artist do anything? Ifhe's happy? Would he ever want

(52:54):
to do anything? What is art,after all, but a protest against
the horrible inclemency of lifeand quote, Aldous Huxley, an
antique hay 1923.
Anytime we venture to trysomething new, we make this
trade off. When we try a newfood, we risk finding it

(53:17):
distasteful, but it could alsobecome our new favorite. This is
the importance of trying newthings. To know suffering is to
have a basis of compassion forothers. Could we know the plight
of the hungry if we've nevergone without? Could we
understand how the sick feel ifwe've never ourselves been ill

(53:38):
in the direction of technology?
Where is technology headed? Andwhere are we going as a species,
it is impossible to predictfuture technologies without
understanding the motivationsthat steer the direction of
technological development. Toknow the universal source of
value is to know what allsentient creatures want. To

(53:58):
understand the technology servesthe needs of conscious
experience allows us to gleaninformation about the future
direction of technology andcontemplate its ultimate end.
While we can't predict the howof these future technologies, we
can predict their why it will bethe same way behind every
technology to improve thequantity, quality and variety of

(54:21):
conscious experience.
Ultimately, technology is aboutgaining better control over our
own experiences. Bettertechnologies provide greater
power over the kinds ofconscious experiences we can
create, enjoy and share.
Mastering experience. Thetechnology of painting was

(54:43):
perhaps our first step tocontrol the inputs to our
senses, and thereby gain somemastery of consciousness. The
cave of Altamira paintings are36,000 years old, eight times
the age of the pyramids of GizaShould you see it then across
eons. The artists behind thispainting is affecting the inputs

(55:03):
to your senses and altering yourpresent conscious experience.
While artists endeavor to createnew experiences for the
perceiver inventors seek outmore powerful methods for the
artist. Early pigments providedsome control over inputs to the
eyes and primitive musicalinstruments enabled novel
experiences for the ears is theultimate end of technology to

(55:27):
become masters of our ownconscious experience. Our first
technologies were pitiful, wehad limited color palettes of
only a few tones and instrumentsthat played only a few notes.
But with time, we developedtechniques for universality
projectors that could displayany image and speakers that
could emit any sound. Fidelityimproved to the point of high

(55:51):
definition where our senses canno longer perceive higher
quality audio or higher pixelcounts. And virtual reality
technology can now achieveimmersion where one senses are
fooled so thoroughly the brainfeels like it's somewhere else.
state of the art virtual realitysimulators manipulate visual,
aural, tactile, and balancesenses. prototype technologies

(56:16):
are in development to controlsensations of taste and smell.
We're presently on the verge ofmastering our senses. Complete
mastery will allow us toperceive any imaginable
experience Should we get there?
What form might this technologytake? Will we ever achieve

(56:38):
something like the holodeck ofscience fiction technology able
to simulate any imaginableenvironment compared to what's
been imagined? Today's VRtechnology is limited. We have
to put ourselves in harnessesand omnidirectional treadmills
to simulate an experience asmundane as walking. To simulate

(56:59):
g forces requires we toss andturn our bodies around. But
there's a better way to quotethe verta brain system installs
shunts into every nerve pathwayconnecting to your brain that
happens both with sensory nervefibers heading toward the brain
and with a muscle control fibersheading out, and then the

(57:20):
vertebrae and system candisconnect your brain from your
biological body and connected toan in game body in a completely
natural and realistic way. Yourvirtual in game body is your
body as far as your brain isconcerned, and your immersion in
the game is complete. And quote,Marshall brain in the day you

(57:42):
discard your body 2005back computer linked neural
integration could generate anysensation. You could feel any
acceleration, evenweightlessness, you could in the
virtual reality, jump in theocean and feel both cold and
wet. You could taste smell andhave the experience of

(58:03):
swallowing food in VR. Andmoreover, you could feel full
and satisfied afterwards.
Science has made some initialprogress with this technology.
For example, artificial retinasand bionic limbs can integrate
with the nervous system allowingthe blind to see and the lame to
walk. Quote. As soon as I put myfoot on, it took me about 10

(58:29):
minutes to get control of it. Icould stand up and just walk
away. I couldn't explain it. Itwas like I was moving it with my
muscles. There was nobody elsedoing it. The force was not
doing it. I was doing it. So itwas really strange and
overwhelming. And quote, Gumbyolafson in interview 2015. Elon

(58:54):
Musk's company neural link seeksto commercialize technologies of
brain computer interfaces. Suchinterfaces will one day make it
possible to have any sensoryexperience we want, in effect
will have the power to createand enter any reality of our
choosing. Such technology is aspowerful as the holodeck of
science fiction sharingexperiences. Today, YouTube is

(59:20):
seen as simply a site forhosting videos. But as our
technology to record and controlsensory experience advances,
sites like YouTube will becomelibraries have experiences that
people will have access not justto videos, but complete sensory
experiences, Dream vacations,trips to the space station

(59:41):
dining at top restaurants ridingroller coasters flying in
wingsuits anything. There arenow an increasing number of 360
degree virtual reality videosnow hosted on YouTube. If you
don't have a VR headset, you canuse your mouse to look around
Wait until they are g forces andthe feeling of wind in your

(01:00:03):
ears. Today we carry aroundlittle recording devices that
can capture the experiences ofsight and sound and then share
them to the world. In thefuture, we could use
technologies that directlyrecord our own brain activity
and generate shareable files ofour own experiences. It sounds

(01:00:23):
far fetched, but scientists inJapan have already used brain
scanning technology coupled withAI to read the content of dreams
and extract visual informationdirectly from a subjects brain,
and the ability to record andshare experiences will change
everything. Today, 10s ofmillions of dollars are spent to

(01:00:44):
make a Hollywood film, butanyone can see it for the price
of a movie ticket. This model iseconomical precisely because the
experience of seeing a movie canbe copied and shared at a low
cost. Imagine if the experienceof a perfect vacation or a
perfectly prepared meal could beas easily downloaded, enjoyed
and shared. In such a future 10sof millions of dollars might be

(01:01:09):
spent to create the perfectvacation experience. And
moreover, anyone could access itfrom the comfort of their living
room for the price of a movieticket. And in such a future, we
might spend a large fraction ofour time creating, recording,
searching for discovering,sharing and enjoying content,
living in a virtual reality ofideas and experiences. Perhaps

(01:01:33):
such a life is not so differentfrom how people live today.
explorers of consciousnesswhen technology has rid the
world of suffering, disease, anddeath, what then what will it
all be for once the struggle tosurvive is gone? How will we
spend our time when everyone hasas much quantity of experiences

(01:01:55):
they want, the remaining focuswill be on the quality and
variety of experience. Artists,storytellers and content
creators of all kinds willdesign and share new sensory
experiences. They will write andshare compelling stories, and
you will be able to live thelives of any of the characters.
If technology cures mortality,we could live for millions of

(01:02:20):
years, then downloading andexperiencing a 70 year lifetime
represents the same timeinvestment as a 30 minute TV
episode. For all you know, yourlife could be such an experience
one found in a library ofexperiences to see are we living
in a computer simulation. In theshort story a conversation, a

(01:02:43):
member of an advanced aliencivilization explains what life
is like where he comes from.
Quote, we live in the realm ofpossibilities. Here anything is
possible. Anything we canimagine, we can make real almost
effortlessly. So in a sense, weare exploring a universe of

(01:03:06):
imagination which is much morevast than any physical universe.
And this is what we explore Mostof all, we are exploring the
potential reality ofconsciousness and quote, Douglas
s Jones in a conversation 1996.
Since all conscious life ismotivated by pursuit of the
Supreme good predictions for thefuture of technology apply as

(01:03:29):
well to aliens or consciousartificial intelligences as it
does to humans. When it comes toexploring the infinite
potentiality of possibility,imagination and creativity
become the chief commodity.
Quote,I am enough of the artist to
draw freely upon my imagination.

(01:03:51):
Imagination is more importantthan knowledge. Knowledge is
limited. Imagination encirclesthe world. And quote, Albert
Einstein in what life means toEinstein 1929. For such advanced
civilizations, imaginationrather than physical observation

(01:04:13):
becomes the primary source ofknowledge. For imagination
enables creation of newconscious experiences
representing new ways to knowfeel, realize perceive sense and
be traveling across the physicaluniverse takes time and there's
also no guarantee you'll findanything of interest once you

(01:04:34):
arrive. If we do travel throughspace, we may spend all of our
time in holodecks just astravelers on planes occupy
themselves with screens orbooks. Rather than explore outer
space, our attention would turninward to the infinitely richer
possibilities that exist ininner space. We would become

(01:04:54):
Psychonauts explorers ofconsciousness itself humanity's
future Destiny, quote,as a working hypothesis to
explain the riddle of ourexistence, I propose that our
universe is the most interestingof all possible universes and
our fate as human beings is tomake it so. And quote, Freeman
Dyson in infinite in alldirections 1988 the field of

(01:05:19):
eschatology is concerned withthe final events of history and
the last destiny of humankind.
If we know the direction offuture progress, can we guess
where history might be when itends at the Omega point in the
1930s, the Jesuit priest Pierretr, the sharp down wrote in the

(01:05:43):
phenomenon of man that humanityand the universe itself appears
to be evolving towards a pointof maximum consciousness and
creativity.
Quote,we have seen and admitted that
evolution is an ascent towardsconsciousness that is no longer
contested even by the mostmaterialistic or at all events
by the most agnostic ofhumanitarians. Therefore, it

(01:06:04):
should culminate forwards insome sort of supreme
consciousness and quote, Pierretr Bashar Dong in the phenomenon
of ma'am 1955 Tejada Shalgamcall this supreme consciousness,
this combination of evolution,the Omega point, similar

(01:06:25):
conclusions have been reached bytechnologists and physicists.
Quote,evolution moves toward greater
complexity, greater elegance,greater knowledge, greater
intelligence, greater beauty,greater creativity, greater
love. And God has been calledall these things only without

(01:06:46):
any limitation, infiniteknowledge, infinite
intelligence, infinite beauty,infinite creativity and infinite
love. Evolution does not achievean infinite level. But as it
explodes exponentially, itcertainly moves in that
direction. So evolution movesinexorably toward our conception
of God, albeit never reachingthis ideal. End quote. futurist

(01:07:09):
and inventor Ray Kurzweil in theSingularity is Near 2005 quotes.
In the final anthropicprinciple, or if anything like
an infinite amount ofcomputation taking place is
going to be true, which I thinkis highly plausible one way or

(01:07:31):
another, then the universe isheading towards something that
might be called omniscience. Andquote, quantum physicist David
Deutsch in the anthropicuniverse 2006 on earth is a
system for turning sunlight intoconscious experiences, albeit an

(01:07:51):
inefficient one. In its presentform, this system is extremely
wasteful. Only two parts and abillion of the sun's light
reaches Earth. of the light thatgets here less than 2% is
captured by plants, of theenergy captured by plants. Even
when eaten by humans, only afifth goes to power the brain of

(01:08:15):
future technologies could bemuch more efficient. They could
recruit ever larger fractions ofthe matter and energy of the
universe towards the productionof conscious experience. What is
now dead matter will becomealive with meaning.
Quote,competitive success will depend
more and more on using alreadyavailable matters and space in

(01:08:37):
evermore refined and usefulforms. The process analogous to
the miniaturization that makestoday's computers a trillion
times more powerful than themechanical calculators of the
past will gradually transformall activity from grossly
physical homesteading of rawnature to minimum energy quantum
transactions of computation, thefinal frontier will be

(01:09:00):
urbanized, ultimately into anarena where every bit of
activity is a meaningfulcomputation, the inhabited
portion of the universe will betransformed into a cyberspace
and quote, hands more of x inpigs in cyberspace 1992. At the
physical limits of computation,one kilogram of matter

(01:09:22):
appropriately arranged canperform 10 to the power of 50
operations per second. The humanbrain is estimated to be capable
of 10 to the power of 18operations per second. This
means a one kilogram massarranged into the perfect
computer could in one second,simulate 10 to the power of 32
seconds, or a trillion trillionyears of human brain activity.

(01:09:46):
This vastly exceeds the total ofall experiences had by all
humans who have ever lived tosee how good can technology get
shipped technology Ever approachthese physical limits of
computation we could imagine asingle entity that could possess
in its memory, trillions ofplanetary civilizations worth of

(01:10:07):
experience. Creating such anentity may be the destiny of
mankind, or more generally, thatof any evolutionary process
allowed to master and expandconsciousness towards its
ultimate limits.
Quote,any cosmology with progress to
infinity will necessarily end inGod. And quote, physicist Frank

(01:10:28):
tipler in the physics ofimmortality 1994 Salvador Dali
was fascinated by tr Bashar donsomega point theory, which partly
inspired his 1960 masterpiecethe Ecumenical Council which
shows souls returning to God.

(01:10:50):
The idea of a final supremeconsciousness, perhaps
containing the lives, memoriesand experiences of all beings is
reminiscent of the concept ofreturning to or merging with God
as described in Taoism andSikhism, as well as the writings
of Thomas Aquinas. Quote, nowwe're trying to figure out a way
to reconverge science andspirituality into this

(01:11:12):
realization that there'ssomething about life, there's
something about this universethat is taking us to higher more
sublime levels. And quote, johnm smart in AI in a space and
accelerating change 2013 to theend of the universe. Quote, when

(01:11:34):
the first living thing existed,I was there waiting. When the
last living thing dies, my jobwill be finished. I'll put the
chairs on the tables, turn outthe lights and lock the universe
behind me when I leave. Andquote, Neil Gaiman in the
Sandman, Dream country 1991should the universe one day and

(01:11:59):
or the last living thing die?
Does that mean it was all fornothing? doesn't end render all
good meaningless? Someday 10 tothe power of 100 years from now,
the last black hole willevaporate in a shower of
subatomic particles, will all ofexistence have been for naught?
A common refrain in nihilism isthat existence is meaningless

(01:12:22):
because one day the universewill end and see how will the
world and but this reasoningdoesn't hold up to scrutiny.
Such logic would lead one to saythere's no point in taking a
good job because one day youwill quit. The value of the job
rests in the pleasures andpaychecks along the way, not in

(01:12:43):
the final end. Similarly, thevalue of conscious life rests in
the experiences enjoyed, feltand created along the way,
whether or not they may one daybe forgotten. In the moment, the
dinner you enjoyed 1493 daysago, was in no way diminished by
the fact you would eventuallyForget it. Likewise, the value

(01:13:05):
of your life is not diminishedby the final fate of the
universe, whatever it might be,quote, these events will take
10s of billions of years or morehuman beings or our descendants,
whoever they might be, can do agreat deal of good in 10s of
billions of years before thecosmos dies. And quote, Carl

(01:13:27):
Sagan in Cosmos Episode 10, theedge of forever 1980 Moreover,
the idea that time passes in thepast moments cease to exist is
only an illusion according tothe physical understanding of
time given by Einstein'srelativity, to see what is time.
There are even some reasons tobelieve that life can survive

(01:13:53):
the end of the universe and see,can life survive beyond the end
of the universe? making the mostof life? What good is knowledge
if it cannot be applied to whatgood is knowing the meaning of
life if it doesn't tell us howto live?
quote,all our philosophy is dryers

(01:14:14):
just if it is not immediatelytranslated into some active
living service. And quote,Mahatma Gandhi in the diary of
Mahadev desigh 1932. Ifconscious experience is the
source of value, then thepurpose of life lies in
maximizing that value inmaximizing conscious experience.

(01:14:35):
But how are we direct ourselvesto maximize this value? And how
do we have the greatest impacton improving conscious
experience the path tohappiness? In 1854, the
economist Herman Heinrichklaasen, developed the Law of
Diminishing Marginal Utility. Itis the idea that one yet

(01:14:58):
incremental value from somethingthe more of that thing someone
has. For example, if someone hasno car, gaining one makes a big
difference to them. But ifsomeone has 10 cars getting an
11th won't add as much value totheir life. Though gossin
formulated it in mathematicalterms, this basic idea has long

(01:15:19):
been understood.
Quote,anyone who has two shirts should
share with the one who has none.
And anyone who has food shoulddo the same. And quote, john the
baptist in Luke 311 85 ad, whilevalue diminishes as one person

(01:15:42):
accumulates in excess, thereverse is also true when
someone with an excess shareswith those who have less than
total value increases. This isbecause sharing an extra shirt
with a person who had none helpsthem more than the person giving
up an extra shirt loses. In theart of happiness, the Dalai Lama

(01:16:03):
said, I believe that the verypurpose of our life is to seek
happiness. While happiness isthe goal, he concluded the best
way to achieve it was throughhelping others.
Quote, I believe that the properutilization of time is this if
you can serve other people,other sentient beings, if not,

(01:16:25):
at least refrain from harmingthem, and quote, The 14th Dalai
Lama in the art of happiness1998. The search for the most
effective and efficient mannersof helping others has recently
become a science calledeffective altruism. It aims to
find interventions with thegreatest return in terms of

(01:16:47):
benefit to others.
Love, quote,when both myself and others are
similar, in that we wish to behappy, what is so special about
me? And why do I strive for myhappiness alone, and quote,
shantideva in body chi avatara895 circa 700 ad, we identified
the meaning of life with thepursuit of the Supreme good, the

(01:17:15):
value of the Supreme good comesfrom consciousness itself. All
positive value derives frombenefits to conscious
experience, either in havingmore experiences, better quality
experiences, or a greatervariety of experiences, but good
is not limited to helpingoneself, quote, happiness cannot

(01:17:35):
be pursued, it must ensue. Andit only does so as the
unintended side effect of one'spersonal dedication to a cause
greater than oneself or as thebyproduct of one's surrender to
a person other than oneself. Andquote, Viktor Frankl in Man's
Search for Meaning 1946from this we can conclude that

(01:18:00):
ultimate meaning and purpose canbe found in selfless acts of
service that benefit another.
pursuing the supreme good isseeking good for other all
conscious beings. Moreover,experiences are most meaningful
when they are shared. Love ishelping others enjoy the full

(01:18:21):
richness of life to make themost of life. Seek the good for
all good for oneself, good forothers, and good for the world.
Seek to benefit all consciousbeings and attempt to maximize
the richness of life boils downto one word, the meaning of life
is love.

Amy (01:18:44):
This has been another episode presented by always
asking.com where we ask the bigquestions thanks for listening