For a useful working concept, we can define reality as that which is qualitatively experienced by an aware mind and quantitatively modeled by science. Accordingly, we can describe reality as a spectrum that spans in two directions: one way into the more abstract, quantitative, and objective; the other way into the more concrete, qualitative, and subjective. At the one extreme, we have pure mathematics and a conceptualization of the world as a mathematical object—perhaps an intricate quantum … [Read more...]

Truth is the reliability of a map of reality, the usefulness of a model of the world. Maps which abstractly represent reality can be created in different languages (natural or technical) and at different levels of description (e.g., pedagogic, cultural, high-level scientific, or low-level scientific). Scientists are the most reliable mapmakers, and their most detailed maps are low-level and math-heavy. Spiritualists are the least reliable mapmakers, creating maps based on crude … [Read more...]

Originally, I wanted this article to be titled Answers to Stupid Questions #2: Do We Have Free Will?, but in contrast to the truly nonsensical concept called 'meaning of life' (Stupid Questions #1), the freedom of will cannot be dismissed a priori. Sure, if we understand 'free will' to mean I could have acted differently had I wanted to act differently, then we can reject it as a mere semantic confusion, because in this case the meaning of 'free will' coincides with that of 'will'. However, … [Read more...]

There are three common types of I want: Egoic desire: I want to be X, whereby X can be any physical, psychological, or social state.Possessive desire: I want to have Y, whereby Y can be any material possession or abstract ownership.Motivational desire: I want to do Z, whereby Z can be any choice or activity. But whatever I want to have I ultimately want because of the state I expect the possession to put me in; e.g., I want to have a fulfilling job in order to be happy, or I want to have a … [Read more...]

"What is the meaning of life?" is a nonsensical question because it combines two concepts into a construction that has no (semantic) meaning. It's like asking, "What is the color of sight?" or "What is the size of space?"—a category error. Meaning is what humans experience when they feel a sense of purpose and significance. But life itself does not experience and thus cannot have meaning. Rather, life is what makes experiences of meaning possible, similar to how sight makes experiences of … [Read more...]