home | sitemap | songwriters | news | guestbook | releases | buy | post-a-lyric | music studio | design studio | portfolio | services | rates | classified | links | bio | contact
NOTHING MATTERS
Life Philosophy
An essay on meaning
1. Nothing matters. People are born, live a short while and die. There are
a billion stars spinning in a billion galaxies continually blinking in
and out of existence in a neutral clockwork universe. Nothing is permanent.
We are “star stuff”.
2. I am therefore free to assign meaning to anything I choose. Nothing inherently has more meaning than anything else. There is only “relative meaning” in the human microcosm. Every concept from religion, science, and the Golden Rule, to fairness and how we treat nature is man’s mental construct.
3. I assign meaning to mine and other being’s pleasure. The pleasure of creation, of helping other people find their pleasure, and of using human constructs to encourage people to be the best they can be while respecting the Universe are ways of being I endorse. I am an enemy of pain that does not ultimately cause pleasure.
4. I recognize that this is one of many possible frameworks. I am aware that there are an infinite number of constructs and dynamic mental states of being. I will not engage in negative judgment and will respect and judge other’s ways of being only according to the amount of pleasure or pain they produce.
5. I must take responsibility, good or bad, for my mental and physical actions and the consequences that result from them due to my assignment of personal meaning.
I,
therefore, assign meaning to the music and writing I create and to other
people’s benevolent
artistic and technological services and creations.
---------------------------------
If pain and pleasure must co-exist then increase pleasure and/or decrease pain by the amount that results in the greatest good. Destructive pleasure usually does not result in the greatest good.
The pain-pleasure principle states that some pain is acceptable if the resulting pleasure is great enough. Some pain may be needed in order to appreciate the contrast and increase pleasure, keeping in mind the greatest good.
The isness and cause-and-effect of everything in the universe must be respected for this to be an effective “philosophy of being”.
Definitions
Meaning – Importance given to an object or idea that serves as a focus, point of reference, or goal in a human life.
Relative Meaning – The hierarchy of importance assigned to people,
places, things and pursuits in human lives, in relation to each other.
Pleasure – Any situation, mental or physical, that causes one to feel stronger and healthier, adds to the enjoyment of life, increases self-worth, and brings out one’s most effective talents.
Destructive Pleasure – Pleasure derived from inflicting pain and destroying other people’s meaning and pleasure.
Pain – Any situation or state of being, mental or physical, that lessens one’s sense of self and worth, causes damage, and decreases one’s potential, temporarily or permanently, for being the most effective at dealing with life.
The Greatest Good – The state of being that results in the most pleasure for the most people for the longest amount of time, now and/or in the future.
Negative Judgment – Coming to a conclusion without knowing all the relevant and interacting facts, constructs, and frameworks involved.
Framework – The innate experiences, attitudes, knowledge, emotional triggers, cognitive ability, health, goals and current situation a person brings to the viewing of, making sense of, and interacting with “shared reality”.
Construct - A social group or idea built around a shared framework and value system.
Isness – The central beingness of everything from microbes, through humans, to the stars. The consistent totality of something and its cause-and-effect in shared reality.
END