Mid-Life Purpose

This is where I think contemporary society lets us down. In years past, the notion of working at something that provided meaning and purpose to one's life was probably never considered. Working was a means of supporting the family and little more. The possible exception to this was the higher professions such as medicine or academia.

I suffer the same thing you write of. I am finding it increasingly difficult to care. I've long since abandoned the notion that this software stuff is life-altering. It's more akin to the way a plumber approaches his craft ... the homeowner cares about his plumbing because it helps him lead his life in a more comfortable way. So the plumber is providing a service to the homeowner -- money in exchange for something that makes the homeowner more comfortable.

The risk for me is thinking there's a greener pasture out there ... that if I only did X for a living I'd find fulfillment. I won't. Sometimes I wonder if there truly is fulfillment to be had? How's that for pessimistic?

* * *
One thing though, isn't the writer making the assumption that there is something called "truth"?

I think so. We seem to yearn for an anchor point, which is what an objective "truth" would be. It seems we don't necessarily want to live by the constraints of such an anchor point, though. So we are caught in this sort of limbo -- in today's society we go about as if "there is no truth" because that affords us the maximum latitude to pursue our wants and feelings, regardless of where that may lead us. But at the same time there's a part of us that is deeply uncomfortable with such an "un-anchored" reality.

How can we, the programs running on the RAM, find out the true nature of the RAM? We can't can we?

No. Unless the RAM tells us about itself. But if the RAM withholds that information, we can't know about it. How can we know if a revelation is true? Ah ... well, we're back to our dilemma, aren't we? :-)

If we can never find the truth why do we desire it?

Because the thought of this existence truly being without purpose, without an underlying truth, is deeply frightening to us. Lots of people claim that's what this existence is all about. But I don't believe they believe it. What I see is they substitute in various surrogate purposes. Right now the "Global Warming" thing is the purpose de juour. That's why people are flocking to it with such passion -- they believe it to be something that gives their lives (and this existence) an anchor, a grounding, a purpose and truth.

Why would a purposeless existence be frightening? What's frightening about our being nothing but molecules that dictate our behavior and existence? And that when we cease to function we just cease to be?

Isn't that fundamentally the root of nearly all religion, art, poetry and literature?