this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2023
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so, i don't claim to understand much in the way of philosophy, but the uncaring nature of the universe is pretty scary to me. you're right in that the universe itself doesn't have volition but that's exactly the point. the universe is uncaring because it's incapable of it, and that's what's frightening. i also have a phobia of being caught in heavy machinery, which i would similarly describe as 'uncaring'. it'll rip your arms off or whatever because it doesn't care nor know that a human is trapped inside.
And while not the dictionary definition of cruel since it has no motive, I think the feeling of metaphoric cruelty is there in that if you need to protect yourself from the universe, so I think it's pedantic to complain about that wording as well.
Right. I don't have much information on nihilism beyond "life is suffering", and I'm not sure it applies to these Pop-Nihilists. But I'm sure they world argue that no external entity is needed to deem the universe as cruel. If I were to make a guess, I'd say they would likely refer to the laws of nature in place of the universe, deeming "nature" (if you will) as cruel, or at least uncaring. Tough, this would be far from the initial "life is suffering" claim, I'm sure it would entail some form of effect nature has on the human psyche (e.g. causality/determinism and with that certain unappealing emotions like hopelessness or frustration). If anyone knows more or would tend to disagree, please let me know :)
All in all good meme, but not very coherent critique, in my opinion
yeah, the universe/nature/whatever you want to call it is absolutely cruel but that's due to its random nature. think about kids with leukemia, etc.
I'd say it's more tragic than cruel. In my mind, cruelty requires conscious decision, something the universe is incapable of. The universe isn't inflicting anything, it is simply happening.
I think that's more arguing over semantics tbh.
I would like to know how did they came to the conclusion that the world problems is caused by nature and not other selfish people. Politicians who didn't allow me to my country's university because of my religious beliefs made this choice not because "the nature" forced them, or they somehow lacked free will. They may blame our flawed natures like greed but I would argue that we can choose not to listen to our emotions and desires. I can shallow my anger, and silence my pride which makes me an entity separate from it's emotions. People can also change their mind if they choose, both in a positive and negative way.
Good points, actually. I can't really comment on the nature of free will, as I don't know how common nihilism stands on that matter (I would say that a determined universe seems more "cruel", tough). Whether or not free will exists you could still argue that the actions of people are still the result of the universe
I'm not implying your worries are not valid, but I've never understood this perspective. From my point of view, an uncaring universe is freeing. We have no responsibility to any great power, and are free to choose our own path.
I mean, to me, that's the positive spin on it. I think it can be both things at once.
While I feel your fear, I don't understand how people come to this conclusion or how this fear is created in them. If you look around you, at least 90% of the issues we suffer from everyday are caused by ourselves or other selfish people. War, climate change, poverty, violence and greed all are caused by humans with free will. I even wished these didnt had human causes because knowing there was no way it couldn't happen could made enduring it a lot easier. I would say it's more accurate to say that the universe is neutral instead of uncaring, because as dangerous space is, earth is a large and safe home for us and other creatures. Earth has the ozone layer that protects us from dangerous high enegry radiations, earth has a large magnetic field which protects us from most solar storms, earth has a thick atmosphere that protects us from 99.9999% of astroids. And it's not just earth, Jupiter because of it's immense gravity alters astroid paths away from earth. You can search about "Jupiter cosmic vacuum cleaner" to find more about this. While in the past earth's surface has been devastated by cataclysmic events multiple times, life moved on, and dinosaurs lived for a million years before being wiped out. Maybe I misunderstood what people mean by "the universe"
i do understand your point on manmade issues, and these are the source of the majority of the big problems we face today. that being said, you can't deny there's a cruelty in the randomness of the universe. sometimes good people die horribly and bad people have long, healthy lives.
Yeah I also get mad at this sometimes, but I always try to remind myself that even if a bad, influential person dies, another bad person takes their thrown by every dirty trick imaginable. This problem must be fixed from it's roots, which is to be a good person and raise children who grow to be good and honorable people. Everyday not only think about yourself but also about others beyond your family and friends. Help anyone your hand reaches to and always prefer other's benefit from yourself. I know not everyone can be like this but even if 60% of people where, the world would have been a much better place.