when one says they have a purpose in life, is that literally true in some sense, or is it a choose-to-believe to make sense of the world and stave off existential angst?
@KitRedgrave Presumably belief is belief, so I don't know how you'd distinguish them.
But when I hear "purpose in life", I mostly think of the samples of "Dark Star" (worth a watch if you haven't seen it; you'd probably enjoy it) in Antiloop's "Purpose in Life". ("What is your one purpose in life?" "To explode, of course.")
@KitRedgrave Yeah, Dark Star absolutely seems like the sort of thing you'd enjoy. 🙂
I don't want to analyze the source of the question too much because it may end up being less than neighborly, but I think I'd suggest that perhaps it's worth examining the framing given that people *in* the situation may not have any reason to distinguish the options. 🤷
@aschmitz oh you are absolutely allowed to analyze the source of the question if you're so inclined. i am honestly struggling with it myself and if it really is just a framing bug then it would save us all some trouble.
@KitRedgrave I mean, purely speculating, but the way it's phrased implies that you're looking down on one or both, but sort of flirting with looking for some solution to the latter. 🤷
@aschmitz ah! i really don't intend to look down on either thing. choose-to-believe is the best term i have found for it, but it does come off wrong (because it's commonly associated with delusion and not, you know, a fully informed choice to pick something)
@aschmitz i have heard that sample be used elsewhere, and i vaguely remember having watched dark star forever ago. seems worth a rewatch soon
and ... i am not terribly sure what the difference is or that there even is much of one, but the question came to mind