Aotearoa / New Zealand

I'm partial to Bill and Ted's.

Be excellent to each other.

I used to be a lot more into philosophy but these days I'm basically running on the assumption that the only thing that cares about what we do is us. Also, if there's meaning or purpose in the universe we're probably not smart enough to find it.

I also think that we're nowhere near as clever as we like to think we are. Or as Douglas Adams put it: "...on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons."

I manage with a mix of Humanism, She'll be rightism, and a not so healthy dash of Ooo that looks yummyism

Yep that's my philosophy, but I didn't know it by name.

There's freedom in the meaninglessness.

An ill-defined mishmash of socialism*, enlightened self-interest, humanism and some trace Christian hang-ups. Basically whatever Star Trek was on about.

*I know, it's a dirty word

Thanks for the insights. I've been following and reading about stoicism, which seems a bit similar. It also focuses on the here and now, and on what you can and cannot control (which is a lot). Doing the right thing is also an important aspect.

I always thought of it as Absurdism, but I guess it's the same? I learnt about it years ago after reading Albert Camus' The Stranger.

I subscribe to that and Stoicism. Marcus Aurelius' Meditations has helped me in the past. I'm probably due for a reread.

I don't know what you'd call it. I was raised non-theist and try as I may, my worldview is broadly materialist (not in the sense of being interested in money but in the philosophical sense of believing everything that exists has some basis in material reality) which is a bit of a limitation for me.

I like insights from existentialism, Epicureanism, stoicism, and utilitarianism but am not particularly committed to them as complete philosophical systems.

I'm currently evolving the personal belief that everything in the universe is sacred.

I suppose I'm more of a Pessimist, and an Ethical Utilitarian.

Nihilism to me makes sense from a material point of view. But as soon as one puts one's hand on a burning stove - all of the sudden, things get real. And things become too important to ignore.

I could agree that it's ultimately people themselves (and all living creatures) who decide what is meaningful, and what isn't. In that sense, the very baseline of reality is nihilistic. Yet the pursuit of happiness and wellbeing, and the avoidance of unnecessary suffering, seems to be a universal value system that people default to.