This is the typical determinism induced nihilism we all experience from time to time. Let us not forget that the standard model and science are only particular ways of describing the world; not the world itself. All of our emotions and existential struggles for meaning are as real as elementary particles, and this doesn’t make them any less significant. We also know all the rules to baseball, but that doesn’t keep people from having fun playing it.

If life is pointless, and you are aware that you have no free will, then what better way to show that this is false than to willfully do anything for absolutely no reason at all. If you can do this, you can prove to yourself that the concept of free-will, too, is just another way of seeing some aspect of the world.

We can analyze the past and reason about how it came to be up to the present, but only what happens in the present moment determines what might happen in the future. And there are many possible paths it could take. See that we humans are a part of reality just like atoms and therefore have capacity to affect it. Free-will is not a scientific principle, it is a philosophical attitude. Rise beyond this fallacy.

I’m a determinist. At least, I think it’s probably correct, everything you said in your opening post. Except I don’t see how that makes life pointless, and I don’t need the possibility of some supernatural gubbins to give my life meaning.

Yes, I’m a bunch of particles bonded together temporarily. My emotions are controlled by chemicals running around in my body, my thoughts are nothing but habitual electrical impulses. So what? I can switch on an electrical massage wand, put it to my special places and presto! Life feels great! Was that predictable? Was it pre-determined that I would do this? Yup. Does that make it less enjoyable? Nope.

Even if, in an absolute sense, there’s no free will, in a more every day sense I do things and results happen. I noticed that my partner was feeling sad about something, so I chose to ask him about it, and we decided to spend an evening together just talking and catching up, reconnecting. I expect this to have positive results. I could have not asked, he could have said “oh, it’s nothing”. Even if our actions were predetermined, we feel like we made choices. Your choices may be pre-determined, but you still have to make them. And they will still have consequences, for you and others.

Pleasure still exists; even if it’s a chemical event in my brain, I still enjoy it. Happiness still exists. Love still exists. Grief still exists. Comfort still exists. YOU still exist. The people you love still exist. Strangers who may one day be your friend still exist. There’s so much to learn, to enjoy, to explore. So how is life meaningless?

Does it matter? Well, not in some grand cosmic scheme of things, no. There is no magic scoreboard in the stars keeping track of what us human animals are up to on our little blue rock. How arrogant to think there would be!

But it matters in that it has consequences. If you run around naked in a shopping mall, your fellow human beings will respond to that in certain ways. You may be escorted out by security. Or get arrested. Your circumstances may change as a result of your actions. Not going to your exams may be pleasant on the day, but it will have consequences for how you get on in the education system, how you are treated by others, your opportunities in life. Why do you treat that as if it’s nothing, just because you don’t have a big sky-father looking over your shoulder making sure you do your homework? There may not be grand cosmic schemes of “meaning”, but I assure you other people exist. And they will not be impressed with you skipping out of your exams. And that will ultimately make you unhappy, too. Do you really not care whether you or anyone else is happy?

You should bother helping your girlfriend because it makes you happy, and her, and happy is what we would all like to be. I don’t understand how you can shrug that off and say, “Well, it doesn’t matter.” Of course it matters, ya fool! 🙂

You choose to believe its pointless. Fair enough.

All i have to say is – life is short. I choose to believe that every day living means something to me..I have no idea how life will progress but i know i will die someday, just like everyone else here. I want to make the best of the moments i have left and i dont care who influenced me into thinking that. I just want to go on anyway.