As an optimistic nihilist it is important to remember, do not seek happiness, seek meaning. What that meaning is, is your own journey. Being optimistic is not a rejection of misery and one can still be a realist while being optimistic. To be optimistic is not chase hedonism but to be hopeful for the future.
At the end of the day, I am also a nihilist that wants to be optimistic, and I agree with you. I think that meaning should always go before hedonism, and I admire the people that take such a stance. However, I think that Kurzgesagt's video is the perfect invitation to hedonism, not a difficult search for meaning. Indeed, most people fall into a consumerist hedonism in a misguided attempt to escape nihilism, and that is the true tragedy.
@@courtssense I mean, considering the tone of the video and of the channel in general, it's kind of obvious that it's not an invitation to engage in mindless satisfaction but to try to embrace our meaningless existence and build from that your own life and happiness. People will kind of always hear what they want to hear in an argument.
@@darth_vedant669 The belief that "existence precedes essence" is existentialism, so I think optimistic nihilism is also a kind of existentialism. But not all existentialism is optimistic nihilism.
from my point of view, the video does not encourage us to seek pleasure at all costs, but to ignore suffering (since it will have no impact on us or anyone) and enjoy the moments that make us happy (without trying to be happy) [sorry for poor english]
18:06 I disagree that “happiness can only be achieved when we have some important task to do, something that will change the world, despite our death”. I am happy when I go for a hike and am surrounded by nature. I am happy when I create a piece of art to hang on my wall. Other people are probably happy when they spend time with their kids, or when they cook a nice meal with a friend. These are not important tasks that will change the world. But they make us happy. I don’t interpret the Kurzgesagt video as advocating that you need to fill your life with pleasure, moreso to just do what makes you happy and don’t sweat the small stuff.
i think happiness isn’t the act of having more pleasure than pain, but it’s the act of tipping over from suffering to pleasure via your scale analogy that’s why i think the happiest people in life have a very healthy work life balance, and are go back and forth
That's exactly how I felt at the end of Kurzgesagt's video, it was a terrible conclusion to an otherwise sound argument. You did a good job of explaining the flaw in that conclusion. This is why I follow the philosophies of stoicism and zen buddhism.
Pessimism is to suffer from imaginary stress and conplain in the highlights of life Optimism is to put empty hope in things that have no duty to reach your expectations at all,and ignore reality as it is Be realistic,be both,be prepared for the worst tragedies that you will figths against,enjoy your life while building your future,without expectation,and always try to find the highlights of your life,it wont be easy,but now you have a path
I think doing something important or meaningful can also just mean something that one would consider simply productive or worth the time and effort to do. It doesn't even have to be making a lasting impact in the world. Just as long as it is making an impact to your development as a person, or making an impact to making your relationships with others better, then that is meaningful. It doesn't have to be any sort of attempt at extending one's legacy, but it is one of them.
The Court’s Sense seems to argue that a collective loss of purpose has led toward self-destructive behavior, and I imagine that they’re right. Taken literally, the Optimistic Nihilism video seems to advocate a life of hedonism (a very loaded word), but an argument could be made that the video was intended as a rallying cry against defeatism. In my reluctant opinion, it’s hard to look upon the face of nothingness without immense dread. Perhaps Kurzgesagt is saying that, in the face of this horror, everyone has to make a choice between despair and a self-defined purpose that maybe . . . if we’re very lucky . . . influence the choices of those around us.
I was not sure going into this video but I am extremly happy I listened anyways. I don’t feel there is an inherent meaning beyond surviving and going up on Maslow’s needs, so in a way, I agree with Kurgezgast video: in the end, we are trying to make it pleasant. But, I realized that… Well, going up Maslow’s need is a priviledge, and far from everybody has it. Thus I found some sense of purpose through trying to make self-actualization and basic needs accessible to people through caring and dedicating my time for it. Because life can be nice and fun, but not everybody has the luxury to wonder what is the meaning of life. Some just are trying to live. I think your conclusion is great: Nihilism is a viee of the world, but living in a nihilistic world means to find meaning in the meaningless
Amazing video. Somehow you have incited a sort of hunger for reading anythig i can find about this. reading philosophy was something i found boring and confuising, now i know that it is confuising and incredibly rewarding
I'm glad, what I can recommend is that you check out Michael Sugrue's channel, he has a whole collection of great lectures on all sorts of philosophers and there you can get a good idea of what most interests you. Here, www.youtube.com/@dr.michaelsugrue
A person obsessed with chasing achievements feels fulfilled most of their day. But occasionally when they are alone and pausing get a feeling of existential dread or meaninglessness. Is this person truly unhappy? Or is this just a normal part of life. Perhaps the goal is to learn that it's okay to have negative thoughts as long as you move past them. All suffering is internal. Train the mind and the suffering is gone.
Can’t relate to the latter half of this vid. I don’t seek to leave a legacy cause I don’t really care about the world after I die (I won’t have children to avoid having someone I’d want to improve the world for). But I’m still happy because I have all my needs met. I’d obviously be happier if, like suggested in this vid, I could decrease my suffering. For me, that’d be not having to work. But that’s impossible so I’m content with enjoying time with friends or playing games to offset the suffering of going to work.
I am an absurd nihilist, so I disagree heavily with Positive (Optimistic) Nihilism, but I do not have a problem with their viewpoint since they defend it decently, even if I disagree. I can list all my disagreements, and my views, but people who try to say it is dumb clearly misses the point of philosophy in general.
I watched the whole video, and I compliment you for making a video that argues with a fundamentally sound video. I am a gen Z (22), and someone that has always seen themselves as an existential nihilist and when I first saw the Kurzgesagt video I aligned with it's idea. I have always thought of nihilism as a personal thing (which in a lot of ways it is) and that it operates similar to an agnostic philosophy without the religious uncertainties of an agnostic mindset. As an agnostic might not be sure what god is real and may or may not have values aligned with a certain religion. But a nihilist can line with religious morality but deny religious identity (in the sense if something like the 10 commandments were a moral compass you believe in) I think the philosophy is trying to be unshackling to people from higher powers having control over their lives. People will want to be able to choose, especially if they know their is an option of choosing. But once you've embraced nihilism, you now have the paradox of choice (the personal part) there is not many routes in literature explaining this. Nihilism is not a philosophy that provides answers it is suppose to be the antithesis of religion in that way (religion providing all the answers). Not having meaning or purpose is going to make any life hard, especially for a year. And finding one that resides with ourselves to a core is difficult. So I think until our answer speaks to us it is difficult to have a fulfilling life until then. Kurzgesagt does a good job of explaining that time can be filled with the wonderful things in life. Pleasure is not the only wonderful thing in life and there are ways to gain meaning in the short term. But I think I agree with the literature of Camus "You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life" Being a sentry of this planet is the one thing that humans can do better than any other life form. So experiencing the universe for what it is can be the logical choice as a purpose for the time being. And the only reason purpose and meaning exist is because of humans. This can be brought up to something as simple as a room. A room is an empty space without anyone to define it. We have given everything on this planet value. Now it is not easy to find this value within ourselves in the modern era with everything seeming meaningless but we can try. And if you're not willing to try then I like to think you have already given up on your philosophical journey. I like to think life is commonly a fight against ourselves. A lot of people lose this fight as it is not an easy one and will seek something easier. I believe there is a lot of ignorance and peoples approach towards nihilism (but when has there not been people being ignorant) especially when there is a common philosophy that supports their current lifestyle so they don't have to change. Even myself will turn a blind eye to certain thoughts to make life more comfortable or have a night where I binge in the fun of it, but this is not life. I remember from the Kurzgesagt video, they were trying to calm the unnerving thought of being a spec in time and space. And I think they do this in a way that may look like pleasure is the answer and suffering is just a write off, nihilism has always been viewed as a pessimistic or depressed way of thinking. I think they were trying to shed light on a way of looking at it Either way I really appreciate your opinion on this matter and capturing my attention for it. Would love to hear more because it is hard to have a coherent response with so much subject matter at hand, this is also a subject matter I am always trying to dive deeper in.
Yeah we all are trying to find our way around nihilism and I guess that this video is sort of a rant against some of the worse ways to go about it. Thanks for the feedback.
While I largely agree with their ideas I definitely think people will have a more meaningful and content life if they fall stoicism. I do think there are a few rare people that can handle the existential dread in that really love science and are curious I thought was Richard Dawkins is probably one of those people but that is a prescription for most of society is just not going to work..
Wisdom of Solomon 2:1-9 For the ungodly said, reasoning with themselves, but not aright, Our life is short and tedious, and in the death of a man there is no remedy: neither was there any man known to have returned from the grave. For we are born at all adventure: and we shall be hereafter as though we had never been: for the breath in our nostrils is as smoke, and a little spark in the moving of our heart: Which being extinguished, our body shall be turned into ashes, and our spirit shall vanish as the soft air, And our name shall be forgotten in time, and no man shall have our works in remembrance, and our life shall pass away as the trace of a cloud, and shall be dispersed as a mist, that is driven away with the beams of the sun, and overcome with the heat thereof. For our time is a very shadow that passeth away; and after our end there is no returning: for it is fast sealed, so that no man cometh again. Come on therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are present: and let us speedily use the creatures like as in youth. Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments: and let no flower of the spring pass by us: Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds, before they be withered: Let none of us go without his part of our voluptuousness: let us leave tokens of our joyfulness in every place: for this is our portion, and our lot is this. There's more to this passage, and this passage is relevant to today even if you don't follow the Bible. The "ungodly" got too much fear of death, so they use the "there's no god/diety" excuse to live life for their own pleasures, which is why they're "ungodly". It's all selfishness and self deception so you can live in selfishness without feeling guilty. As you can see, the world seems to be a lot worse now spiritually and literally.
Pleasure does not equal happiness. Chasing only pleasure leads often to unhappiness. Chasing happiness means enduring suffering at times. Happiness also requires meaning among other things. Chasing happiness, not pleasure, is what I think kurzgesagt is telling us to do. It's indeed very easy to understand the kurzgesagt video as advocating chasing pleasure. I think it's a valid criticism for sure.
Thank you! My friends keep sending me that video as if it's just going to magically solve all of my problems. I couldn't articulate why it doesn't, but I think you have. As someone who does believe in god, they think I'm an idiot for thinking that life has meaning and purpose. Finally I can tell them what's wrong with their philosophy and why I cannot follow it.
1. For the most part, Nihilism has always been characterised as a problem plaguing society, less of an actual doctrine but rather an ideology that one falls into and suffers from, a bit like depression. 2. Optimistic Nihilism is just a rebranded version of Sartrean Existentialism. I don't if Kurzgesagt blatantly ripped Sartre off and rebranded his ideas or if they just ignorantly didn't do any research on the topic. 3. Happiness = Pleasure is a utilitarian / hedonist tenant. And it absolutely does not mean that you should be trying to achieve maximum short-term pleasure constantly. For example, you could do heroin constantly, but the short-pleasure derived from it is offset by that fact that you're limiting the amount of pleasure you could achieve by essentially killing yourself and shortening your life span by 40 years
2.Yeah i would agree that it is very similar to sartre's Existentialism but with less neuance. 3. Well I personally hold that at least in that sense utilitarianism is right, my argument is that happiness can only be achieved by the reduction of suffering in a Schopenhaurean sense.
I like your videos and I hope to listen to more however I am confused. As I understand it your theory is that happiness comes from working hard to accomplish something which will exist long after you have died. For example if I would spend thirty years raising funds and supervising the construction of a large, cutting edge of medical center in the middle of the Congo jungle, this would make me happy. I would know that I participated in extending the lives of thousands of people. On my death bed I would believe that this good work would continue for decades after my death and my name might be remembered for generations, similar to Albert Schweitzer. However first of all only one person in thousands will achieve anything remotely similar to this. Secondly even one who does, if he is a materialist, he will have to accept the truth that human exceptionalism is a fallacy and whatever medical center he created is no more or less valuable than owning an ant farm.
Well, I think that the happiness does not come from posterity, but from the feeling that you have done something with your life, that it was not for nothing. And second, human exceptionalism is not a fallacy. It is logical that humans will care more about other humans than, for example, ants.
@@courtssense Let’s say I built a ship in a bottle and I believe that is something. Can that be a basis for happiness? I understand that people tend to feel more empathy for things which are more similar to themselves however everyone arbitrarily draws that line somewhere. I might empathize with all life or all humans or all members of my race or nationality or religion or village or family or only myself.
To me the message you are spreading with this video is about Existentialism vs Nihilism. They are similar in that they both say there is no inherent meaning to life. The former says, you have to make your own and work for it which is the tldr imo of this video. The latter just says don’t give a damn do what you want. Neither is perfect but I really wouldn’t label you as a nihilist considering your philosophy on life/meaning.
when you die, how is it matter that my legacy is there or what? I won't be there anyways. and the impact you made on the world? the world is just there. humans are just there. universe is just there. you made a impact on nothing. you think it's meaningful because you feel good essentially. we agreed the world exists without a purpose. so fundamentally whatever we do to the world is essentially has no meaning. we can say something is meaningful when it contributes to the bigger picture or purpose. but there isn't any of that in the ultimate scale. I believe the right hedonism is the way we gotta pursue. not the degenerate dopamine tackling pleasures. or... simply we are too scared to take suicide. fooling ourselves.
Happiness is the wrong term, it is not atainable, only in fleeting moments, contemptment would be the right word. Evolutionary and dopaminergicly we are set to be slightly under content by default, so we dont sit on our fat asses and die, whithout procreating an hustle to survive. The other neurological evolutinary principle we are built by, is away from harm, towards pleasure, the problem is, it was allways under hard survival circumstances, that changed in the modern era...
Well buddy, tell me then: what if the sacrifices and suffering for the happiness that comes from struggling with life's obstacles is greater than the amount of happiness that you get from achieving that goal that is meaningful to you? Read "Candide" by Voltaire.
I disagree with you so badly. im a happy nihilist so liberating no value or meaning, now meaning can be found everywhere , about the high expectations sure it can lead to disappointment but it depends You don’t have to suffer to enjoy something, and life its suffering anyway happiness? happiness doesn’t exists no matter what its just some chemical reactions made up before by our primitive brain to reward us for a brief period of time. Im aware meaning its a psychological phenomena not a biological one but again meaning can be found everywhere even in pleasure, That’s just how you see things no idea or action its better than any other.
This is lazy. This is like the homeless people of belief. You think you have control by not caring but you’re being controlled by not wanting to do the structured work. People can become rich and happy by scamming others. Every time you skip structure to get what you want, someone somewhere loses for it. You’re always “hurting” someone.
@@DG-ih8bu I would point you to my latest video-essay (parasite theory) where I argue that a parasitic atittude can work out in the short term for the individual, but does not work in the long term for society, which brings the individual down with it.
great video, you completely figured out why our generation is so miserable and nihilistic but I am confused as to why you don't believe in God given that you know he is necessary for a happy and meaningful life
How do we know that the universe wasn't made for us lol just cause its older than we are lol. I'd think it would be older. Same with the earth. I'd think the earth would be older than us so does that mean that the earth wasn't built for us lol. I don't quite get this reasoning lol. Are we assuming everything was boom created the universe earth and us at the same Time lol. If that was the case would that prove everything was made for us cause it was created at the same time lol. Everything Bible movies shows that talked about creating the universe or any universe you start with space and planets and galaxies then solar systems then ours then our planet then the animals and us. I think were always the last to be created. And it !makes sense. Why would we be created first. Wed have no where to live wed die. You have to create everything first big picture then work your way down to the details. I guess you guys are saying it should have been other way around start with the details first then work your way put lol. I guess that !makes sense. Create our planet then us and after that's good then do the rest of universe but that sounds egotastic to me like were the center of the universe which we ain't lol. Just cause we're the last created don't mean everything wasn't created for us lol. When you get fish you get the tank fix it up get the water right lots of stuff before you put the fish in the tank before you even get the fish even you fix up the home and prepare everything for the fish then you put the fish in even then you can't throw them in they have to adjust to the water by staying in TBE bag for a bit lol. Sane with us lol. God or someone created the aquarium the tank fixed everything right then boom the first fish and so much repopulation later were here lol. Were like the gods fish in his tank or aquarium in his place maybe surrounded by other pets . who knows. Its cool how you can start with us then zoom out and you seeing the planet then planets then solar system then universe and galaxy and milky way and nebulas and other galaxies and more stars and more space lots of space and stars and above it all is God maybe looking down on us through the tank or aquarium he created for us cause without all this we wouldn't be here lol. You had to create all this first then us for us to survive and thrive lol.
Well the argument is that since the universe is 13 billion years old and we humans are about 200,000 years old, then it would not make sense to wait that long to create us. But if you want to understand the argument, then watch the otiginal kurzgesagt video because they present the argument way better than I can: ruclips.net/video/MBRqu0YOH14/видео.html But if you believe in god and that the universe was created for us, then you dont have to agree with me. I honestly admire faith like that.
@@courtssense find ich lustig😆 Ich finde es Schade, dass du keine Videos auf Deutsch machst. Ich hasse diese verfluchte Kindergarten-unpräzise-möchte-gern Sprache und deinem Akzent nach zu urteilen bist du dem Englischen auch nicht ganz hingewandt. Kaum zu glauben, dass sie mit dieser bescheuert Sprache die Welt eroberten. Aus Prinzip Stolz darauf zu sein, Deutsch zu sein würde ich nie anfangen freiwilig andere Sprache zu sprechen. Dieses Keifende, auf dem Punkt bringende Härte der deutschen Sprache ist zum Teil mein männlicher Stolz, dass ich ungern ablege. Der Rest der Welt klingt für mich als wären sie nicht nur kastriert, sondern hätten irgendwas tief in ihrem Hintern gesteckt bekommen. Unwürdig. Aber du musst es wissen, wie du es machst😀
Modern people take for granted food, safety and people connection, good work and other things, especially in the west. I'm glad that im not from very rich country and society, it makes people soft, careless and very far from reality
As an optimistic nihilist it is important to remember, do not seek happiness, seek meaning. What that meaning is, is your own journey. Being optimistic is not a rejection of misery and one can still be a realist while being optimistic. To be optimistic is not chase hedonism but to be hopeful for the future.
At the end of the day, I am also a nihilist that wants to be optimistic, and I agree with you. I think that meaning should always go before hedonism, and I admire the people that take such a stance.
However, I think that Kurzgesagt's video is the perfect invitation to hedonism, not a difficult search for meaning.
Indeed, most people fall into a consumerist hedonism in a misguided attempt to escape nihilism, and that is the true tragedy.
"Meaning" is nonesence. Seek longevity and content.
What is the difference between existentialism and optimistic nihilism?
@@courtssense I mean, considering the tone of the video and of the channel in general, it's kind of obvious that it's not an invitation to engage in mindless satisfaction but to try to embrace our meaningless existence and build from that your own life and happiness. People will kind of always hear what they want to hear in an argument.
@@darth_vedant669 The belief that "existence precedes essence" is existentialism, so I think optimistic nihilism is also a kind of existentialism. But not all existentialism is optimistic nihilism.
from my point of view, the video does not encourage us to seek pleasure at all costs, but to ignore suffering (since it will have no impact on us or anyone) and enjoy the moments that make us happy (without trying to be happy) [sorry for poor english]
18:06 I disagree that “happiness can only be achieved when we have some important task to do, something that will change the world, despite our death”. I am happy when I go for a hike and am surrounded by nature. I am happy when I create a piece of art to hang on my wall. Other people are probably happy when they spend time with their kids, or when they cook a nice meal with a friend. These are not important tasks that will change the world. But they make us happy. I don’t interpret the Kurzgesagt video as advocating that you need to fill your life with pleasure, moreso to just do what makes you happy and don’t sweat the small stuff.
You aint changing the world at large but You are still leaving an impact on it
i think happiness isn’t the act of having more pleasure than pain, but it’s the act of tipping over from suffering to pleasure via your scale analogy
that’s why i think the happiest people in life have a very healthy work life balance, and are go back and forth
That's exactly how I felt at the end of Kurzgesagt's video, it was a terrible conclusion to an otherwise sound argument. You did a good job of explaining the flaw in that conclusion. This is why I follow the philosophies of stoicism and zen buddhism.
Pessimism is to suffer from imaginary stress and conplain in the highlights of life
Optimism is to put empty hope in things that have no duty to reach your expectations at all,and ignore reality as it is
Be realistic,be both,be prepared for the worst tragedies that you will figths against,enjoy your life while building your future,without expectation,and always try to find the highlights of your life,it wont be easy,but now you have a path
I think doing something important or meaningful can also just mean something that one would consider simply productive or worth the time and effort to do. It doesn't even have to be making a lasting impact in the world. Just as long as it is making an impact to your development as a person, or making an impact to making your relationships with others better, then that is meaningful. It doesn't have to be any sort of attempt at extending one's legacy, but it is one of them.
Well, what is the purpose of personal development if not to better influence the world around you?
@@courtssensei think the two go hand in hand. i try to better myself, which enables me to better my relationships with others
Modern consumption is all one big anti-depressant
And water is fluid
Indeed, it might seem obvious to us, but I would argue that most people, regrettably, don't see it that way.
The Court’s Sense seems to argue that a collective loss of purpose has led toward self-destructive behavior, and I imagine that they’re right. Taken literally, the Optimistic Nihilism video seems to advocate a life of hedonism (a very loaded word), but an argument could be made that the video was intended as a rallying cry against defeatism. In my reluctant opinion, it’s hard to look upon the face of nothingness without immense dread. Perhaps Kurzgesagt is saying that, in the face of this horror, everyone has to make a choice between despair and a self-defined purpose that maybe . . . if we’re very lucky . . . influence the choices of those around us.
I was not sure going into this video but I am extremly happy I listened anyways. I don’t feel there is an inherent meaning beyond surviving and going up on Maslow’s needs, so in a way, I agree with Kurgezgast video: in the end, we are trying to make it pleasant.
But, I realized that… Well, going up Maslow’s need is a priviledge, and far from everybody has it. Thus I found some sense of purpose through trying to make self-actualization and basic needs accessible to people through caring and dedicating my time for it. Because life can be nice and fun, but not everybody has the luxury to wonder what is the meaning of life. Some just are trying to live. I think your conclusion is great: Nihilism is a viee of the world, but living in a nihilistic world means to find meaning in the meaningless
Amazing video. Somehow you have incited a sort of hunger for reading anythig i can find about this. reading philosophy was something i found boring and confuising, now i know that it is confuising and incredibly rewarding
I'm glad, what I can recommend is that you check out Michael Sugrue's channel, he has a whole collection of great lectures on all sorts of philosophers and there you can get a good idea of what most interests you.
Here, www.youtube.com/@dr.michaelsugrue
A person obsessed with chasing achievements feels fulfilled most of their day. But occasionally when they are alone and pausing get a feeling of existential dread or meaninglessness.
Is this person truly unhappy? Or is this just a normal part of life. Perhaps the goal is to learn that it's okay to have negative thoughts as long as you move past them. All suffering is internal. Train the mind and the suffering is gone.
Can’t relate to the latter half of this vid. I don’t seek to leave a legacy cause I don’t really care about the world after I die (I won’t have children to avoid having someone I’d want to improve the world for). But I’m still happy because I have all my needs met. I’d obviously be happier if, like suggested in this vid, I could decrease my suffering. For me, that’d be not having to work. But that’s impossible so I’m content with enjoying time with friends or playing games to offset the suffering of going to work.
I am an absurd nihilist, so I disagree heavily with Positive (Optimistic) Nihilism, but I do not have a problem with their viewpoint since they defend it decently, even if I disagree. I can list all my disagreements, and my views, but people who try to say it is dumb clearly misses the point of philosophy in general.
I watched the whole video, and I compliment you for making a video that argues with a fundamentally sound video. I am a gen Z (22), and someone that has always seen themselves as an existential nihilist and when I first saw the Kurzgesagt video I aligned with it's idea.
I have always thought of nihilism as a personal thing (which in a lot of ways it is) and that it operates similar to an agnostic philosophy without the religious uncertainties of an agnostic mindset. As an agnostic might not be sure what god is real and may or may not have values aligned with a certain religion. But a nihilist can line with religious morality but deny religious identity (in the sense if something like the 10 commandments were a moral compass you believe in) I think the philosophy is trying to be unshackling to people from higher powers having control over their lives. People will want to be able to choose, especially if they know their is an option of choosing. But once you've embraced nihilism, you now have the paradox of choice (the personal part) there is not many routes in literature explaining this. Nihilism is not a philosophy that provides answers it is suppose to be the antithesis of religion in that way (religion providing all the answers). Not having meaning or purpose is going to make any life hard, especially for a year. And finding one that resides with ourselves to a core is difficult. So I think until our answer speaks to us it is difficult to have a fulfilling life until then. Kurzgesagt does a good job of explaining that time can be filled with the wonderful things in life. Pleasure is not the only wonderful thing in life and there are ways to gain meaning in the short term. But I think I agree with the literature of Camus "You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life" Being a sentry of this planet is the one thing that humans can do better than any other life form. So experiencing the universe for what it is can be the logical choice as a purpose for the time being. And the only reason purpose and meaning exist is because of humans. This can be brought up to something as simple as a room. A room is an empty space without anyone to define it. We have given everything on this planet value. Now it is not easy to find this value within ourselves in the modern era with everything seeming meaningless but we can try. And if you're not willing to try then I like to think you have already given up on your philosophical journey. I like to think life is commonly a fight against ourselves. A lot of people lose this fight as it is not an easy one and will seek something easier. I believe there is a lot of ignorance and peoples approach towards nihilism (but when has there not been people being ignorant) especially when there is a common philosophy that supports their current lifestyle so they don't have to change. Even myself will turn a blind eye to certain thoughts to make life more comfortable or have a night where I binge in the fun of it, but this is not life. I remember from the Kurzgesagt video, they were trying to calm the unnerving thought of being a spec in time and space. And I think they do this in a way that may look like pleasure is the answer and suffering is just a write off, nihilism has always been viewed as a pessimistic or depressed way of thinking. I think they were trying to shed light on a way of looking at it
Either way I really appreciate your opinion on this matter and capturing my attention for it. Would love to hear more because it is hard to have a coherent response with so much subject matter at hand, this is also a subject matter I am always trying to dive deeper in.
Yeah we all are trying to find our way around nihilism and I guess that this video is sort of a rant against some of the worse ways to go about it.
Thanks for the feedback.
I’m from millennial generation and in my generation we had and have the same existential crisis
While I largely agree with their ideas I definitely think people will have a more meaningful and content life if they fall stoicism. I do think there are a few rare people that can handle the existential dread in that really love science and are curious I thought was Richard Dawkins is probably one of those people but that is a prescription for most of society is just not going to work..
Wisdom of Solomon 2:1-9
For the ungodly said, reasoning with themselves, but not aright, Our life is short and tedious, and in the death of a man there is no remedy: neither was there any man known to have returned from the grave. For we are born at all adventure: and we shall be hereafter as though we had never been: for the breath in our nostrils is as smoke, and a little spark in the moving of our heart: Which being extinguished, our body shall be turned into ashes, and our spirit shall vanish as the soft air,
And our name shall be forgotten in time, and no man shall have our works in remembrance, and our life shall pass away as the trace of a cloud, and shall be dispersed as a mist, that is driven away with the beams of the sun, and overcome with the heat thereof.
For our time is a very shadow that passeth away; and after our end there is no returning: for it is fast sealed, so that no man cometh again.
Come on therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are present: and let us speedily use the creatures like as in youth. Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments: and let no flower of the spring pass by us: Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds, before they be withered: Let none of us go without his part of our voluptuousness: let us leave tokens of our joyfulness in every place: for this is our portion, and our lot is this.
There's more to this passage, and this passage is relevant to today even if you don't follow the Bible. The "ungodly" got too much fear of death, so they use the "there's no god/diety" excuse to live life for their own pleasures, which is why they're "ungodly". It's all selfishness and self deception so you can live in selfishness without feeling guilty. As you can see, the world seems to be a lot worse now spiritually and literally.
Pleasure does not equal happiness. Chasing only pleasure leads often to unhappiness. Chasing happiness means enduring suffering at times. Happiness also requires meaning among other things.
Chasing happiness, not pleasure, is what I think kurzgesagt is telling us to do. It's indeed very easy to understand the kurzgesagt video as advocating chasing pleasure. I think it's a valid criticism for sure.
Honestly, I haven´t discovered a single new idea in this or in Kurzgesagt´s video. The ancients called it hedonism, BTW. Yawn...
This is why scripture says there is nothing new under the Sun.
I recommend looking into absurdism
Thank you! My friends keep sending me that video as if it's just going to magically solve all of my problems. I couldn't articulate why it doesn't, but I think you have. As someone who does believe in god, they think I'm an idiot for thinking that life has meaning and purpose. Finally I can tell them what's wrong with their philosophy and why I cannot follow it.
this is 💎 gem
Thank you
1. For the most part, Nihilism has always been characterised as a problem plaguing society, less of an actual doctrine but rather an ideology that one falls into and suffers from, a bit like depression.
2. Optimistic Nihilism is just a rebranded version of Sartrean Existentialism. I don't if Kurzgesagt blatantly ripped Sartre off and rebranded his ideas or if they just ignorantly didn't do any research on the topic.
3. Happiness = Pleasure is a utilitarian / hedonist tenant. And it absolutely does not mean that you should be trying to achieve maximum short-term pleasure constantly. For example, you could do heroin constantly, but the short-pleasure derived from it is offset by that fact that you're limiting the amount of pleasure you could achieve by essentially killing yourself and shortening your life span by 40 years
2.Yeah i would agree that it is very similar to sartre's Existentialism but with less neuance.
3. Well I personally hold that at least in that sense utilitarianism is right, my argument is that happiness can only be achieved by the reduction of suffering in a Schopenhaurean sense.
modern philosophy is a bundle of fallacies chapter infinity
Personally I stand still and stare out windows and do all that anti-fast, anti-modern stuff and I’m still immensely unhappy.
Truth is no book, RUclips video can tell you what is the meaning of life is you need to find your own
I don’t really think an optimist is ignoring bad things. From personal experience I think that a pessimist is driven by fear and an optimist by hope
I like your videos and I hope to listen to more however I am confused. As I understand it your theory is that happiness comes from working hard to accomplish something which will exist long after you have died. For example if I would spend thirty years raising funds and supervising the construction of a large, cutting edge of medical center in the middle of the Congo jungle, this would make me happy. I would know that I participated in extending the lives of thousands of people. On my death bed I would believe that this good work would continue for decades after my death and my name might be remembered for generations, similar to Albert Schweitzer.
However first of all only one person in thousands will achieve anything remotely similar to this.
Secondly even one who does, if he is a materialist, he will have to accept the truth that human exceptionalism is a fallacy and whatever medical center he created is no more or less valuable than owning an ant farm.
Well, I think that the happiness does not come from posterity, but from the feeling that you have done something with your life, that it was not for nothing.
And second, human exceptionalism is not a fallacy. It is logical that humans will care more about other humans than, for example, ants.
@@courtssense Let’s say I built a ship in a bottle and I believe that is something. Can that be a basis for happiness?
I understand that people tend to feel more empathy for things which are more similar to themselves however everyone arbitrarily draws that line somewhere. I might empathize with all life or all humans or all members of my race or nationality or religion or village or family or only myself.
Would you say that this philosophy alligns with the core teachings of buddhism?
Partly, but to be honest all the Buddhist concepts that I do have come from Schopenhauer and I have not read any truly Buddhist texts. Recommend any?
To me the message you are spreading with this video is about Existentialism vs Nihilism.
They are similar in that they both say there is no inherent meaning to life. The former says, you have to make your own and work for it which is the tldr imo of this video. The latter just says don’t give a damn do what you want. Neither is perfect but I really wouldn’t label you as a nihilist considering your philosophy on life/meaning.
when you die, how is it matter that my legacy is there or what? I won't be there anyways.
and the impact you made on the world? the world is just there. humans are just there. universe is just there. you made a impact on nothing. you think it's meaningful because you feel good essentially.
we agreed the world exists without a purpose. so fundamentally whatever we do to the world is essentially has no meaning. we can say something is meaningful when it contributes to the bigger picture or purpose. but there isn't any of that in the ultimate scale.
I believe the right hedonism is the way we gotta pursue. not the degenerate dopamine tackling pleasures.
or... simply we are too scared to take suicide. fooling ourselves.
Happiness is the wrong term, it is not atainable, only in fleeting moments, contemptment would be the right word.
Evolutionary and dopaminergicly we are set to be slightly under content by default, so we dont sit on our fat asses and die, whithout procreating an hustle to survive.
The other neurological evolutinary principle we are built by, is away from harm, towards pleasure, the problem is, it was allways under hard survival circumstances, that changed in the modern era...
You should probably credit Schopenhauer when you use his analogy of an animal eating another.
I agree its sensible
Well buddy, tell me then: what if the sacrifices and suffering for the happiness that comes from struggling with life's obstacles is greater than the amount of happiness that you get from achieving that goal that is meaningful to you? Read "Candide" by Voltaire.
9:53
Oh yeah, and weed with dissos doing great job at it,
Sounds like youre ready for Viktor Frankle.
Great book
I disagree with you so badly. im a happy nihilist so liberating no value or meaning, now meaning can be found everywhere , about the high expectations sure it can lead to disappointment but it depends You don’t have to suffer to enjoy something, and life its suffering anyway happiness? happiness doesn’t exists no matter what its just some chemical reactions made up before by our primitive brain to reward us for a brief period of time. Im aware meaning its a psychological phenomena not a biological one but again meaning can be found everywhere even in pleasure, That’s just how you see things no idea or action its better than any other.
Great video
This is lazy. This is like the homeless people of belief. You think you have control by not caring but you’re being controlled by not wanting to do the structured work. People can become rich and happy by scamming others. Every time you skip structure to get what you want, someone somewhere loses for it. You’re always “hurting” someone.
@@DG-ih8bu I would point you to my latest video-essay (parasite theory) where I argue that a parasitic atittude can work out in the short term for the individual, but does not work in the long term for society, which brings the individual down with it.
great video, you completely figured out why our generation is so miserable and nihilistic but I am confused as to why you don't believe in God given that you know he is necessary for a happy and meaningful life
I wish I could, but I cannot bring myself to believe.
@@courtssense why not?
How do we know that the universe wasn't made for us lol just cause its older than we are lol. I'd think it would be older. Same with the earth. I'd think the earth would be older than us so does that mean that the earth wasn't built for us lol. I don't quite get this reasoning lol. Are we assuming everything was boom created the universe earth and us at the same Time lol. If that was the case would that prove everything was made for us cause it was created at the same time lol. Everything Bible movies shows that talked about creating the universe or any universe you start with space and planets and galaxies then solar systems then ours then our planet then the animals and us. I think were always the last to be created. And it !makes sense. Why would we be created first. Wed have no where to live wed die. You have to create everything first big picture then work your way down to the details. I guess you guys are saying it should have been other way around start with the details first then work your way put lol. I guess that !makes sense. Create our planet then us and after that's good then do the rest of universe but that sounds egotastic to me like were the center of the universe which we ain't lol. Just cause we're the last created don't mean everything wasn't created for us lol. When you get fish you get the tank fix it up get the water right lots of stuff before you put the fish in the tank before you even get the fish even you fix up the home and prepare everything for the fish then you put the fish in even then you can't throw them in they have to adjust to the water by staying in TBE bag for a bit lol. Sane with us lol. God or someone created the aquarium the tank fixed everything right then boom the first fish and so much repopulation later were here lol. Were like the gods fish in his tank or aquarium in his place maybe surrounded by other pets . who knows. Its cool how you can start with us then zoom out and you seeing the planet then planets then solar system then universe and galaxy and milky way and nebulas and other galaxies and more stars and more space lots of space and stars and above it all is God maybe looking down on us through the tank or aquarium he created for us cause without all this we wouldn't be here lol. You had to create all this first then us for us to survive and thrive lol.
Well the argument is that since the universe is 13 billion years old and we humans are about 200,000 years old, then it would not make sense to wait that long to create us. But if you want to understand the argument, then watch the otiginal kurzgesagt video because they present the argument way better than I can: ruclips.net/video/MBRqu0YOH14/видео.html
But if you believe in god and that the universe was created for us, then you dont have to agree with me. I honestly admire faith like that.
5:44 Junge du bist Deutsch
Das Wechseln zwischen Deutsch und Angelsächsisch ist nicht leicht.
@@courtssense find ich lustig😆
Ich finde es Schade, dass du keine Videos auf Deutsch machst.
Ich hasse diese verfluchte Kindergarten-unpräzise-möchte-gern Sprache und deinem Akzent nach zu urteilen bist du dem Englischen auch nicht ganz hingewandt.
Kaum zu glauben, dass sie mit dieser bescheuert Sprache die Welt eroberten.
Aus Prinzip Stolz darauf zu sein, Deutsch zu sein würde ich nie anfangen freiwilig andere Sprache zu sprechen.
Dieses Keifende, auf dem Punkt bringende Härte der deutschen Sprache ist zum Teil mein männlicher Stolz, dass ich ungern ablege.
Der Rest der Welt klingt für mich als wären sie nicht nur kastriert, sondern hätten irgendwas tief in ihrem Hintern gesteckt bekommen. Unwürdig.
Aber du musst es wissen, wie du es machst😀
@@courtssense was wäre ein Bismark bitte im angelsächsischem Raum oder gleich in Frankreich😆 Lachnummer.
Modern people take for granted food, safety and people connection, good work and other things, especially in the west. I'm glad that im not from very rich country and society, it makes people soft, careless and very far from reality