Fluidity

This chart is an overview of Meaningness and Time: the past, present, and future of culture, society, and our selves.   https://meaningness.com/modes-chart   Also - "In praise of choicelessness." The choiceless mode of understanding meaning has no "becauses." Explanations are unnecessary because you are unaware of any alternatives.   https://meaningness.com/choiceless-mode   You can support the po...

Beginning the next book by David Chapman: "Meaningness And Time". Past modes of relating to meaning and meaninglessness have broken down. How do we move to the fluid mode of social organization?   The problems of meaningness we face now are dramatically different from those of the past. We also sense new opportunities, and have new resources.   https://meaningness.com/meaningness-and-time   How me...

At the start of every episode, I've said "Words with an entry in the glossary have an echo." Well, it's time for the glossary!   https://meaningness.com/whole-glossary   Terminology choices: "Complete." "Emptiness and form, nebulosity and pattern." "Non-dual."   https://meaningness.com/terminology/complete   https://meaningness.com/terminology/emptiness-form-nebulosity-pattern   https://meaningnes...

When you discover you are owned by an ideology, you can escape. Better, you can find a larger space.   https://meaningness.com/vaster-than-ideology   You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold Original music by Kevin MacL...

Intuitions of "cosmic meaning" root in hunger for personal significance, and in encounters with vastness. https://meaningness.com/no-cosmic-meaning You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold Original music by Kevin MacLeo...

No ultimate meaning: "Ultimate" means "at the end of a scale." What is the scale of meaning? Should you want to be at the end of it?   https://meaningness.com/no-ultimate-meaning   No eternal meaning: Meanings come and go; they are not eternally stable— and that is fine.   https://meaningness.com/no-eternal-meaning   You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patr...

No absolute meaning: Are you adult enough to accept that the world offers no absolute guarantees?   https://meaningness.com/no-absolute-meaning   No transcendent meaning: If meaning lives only in Neverland, we can't make much use of it. Fortunately, it's here, now.   https://meaningness.com/no-transcendent-meaning   You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patre...

Lite nihilism, on the way to completion: Lite nihilism includes a valuable, accurate analysis of the failure of eternalism.   https://meaningness.com/lite-nihilism   Not really meaningful: "Nothing REALLY means anything" sounds plausible when you feel nihilistic. What does "really" mean, though?   https://meaningness.com/no-real-meaning   No extra-special fancy meanings: Nihilism rightly denies ob...

The many justifications for nihilism rely on a handful of mistaken patterns of reasoning.   https://meaningness.com/nihilist-fallacies   Links mentioned in this episode:   Scott Alexander's blog post "Proving too much".   "Finding Meaning In An Imperfect World" by Iddo Landau   You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluiditya...

This episode narrates the new pages "'Nihilism is OK' is not OK" and "The uncanny absence of nihil –ism".   "Nihilism is inevitable, but not a problem." This is mistaken: it makes you miserable and ineffective, and erodes social and cultural capacity.   https://meaningness.com/nihilism-considered-harmful   Nihilism, like botulism, is not an ideology or conceptual system. It is a stance: an emotion...

A world of total license: the catastrophe some fear if nihilistic views become widespread.   https://meaningness.com/nihilist-apocalypse   You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold Original music by Kevin MacLeod.   This...

Nihilism has a taboo allure of forbidden power—because everyone knows eternalism is wrong. https://meaningness.com/nihilism-black-magic   Recognizing meaninglessness requires unusual intelligence, courage, and toughness. Nihilist elitism renders you stupid, cowardly, and helpless, though. https://meaningness.com/nihilist-cynicism-elitism   You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early,...

Nihilism promises you don't have to care, because nothing means anything. But you do care—and you can't escape that.   https://meaningness.com/nihilism-promise   The end-state of nihilism is not suicide, but catatonia. https://meaningness.com/accomplishing-nihilism   You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks I...

This mid-week bonus episode is another interview with David Chapman, in which we discuss nihilism, both as a book section, and nihilism itself. Since the time that I started recording, he has since written six more episodes worth of chapters in the Nihilism section of Meaningness. I could move on and record "Meaningness And Time", but instead I'll loop back and read his newly-written chapters out...

Materialism says that only mundane purposes like money, sex, and power count. It wrongly rejects higher purposes—but those too are not ultimate.   https://meaningness.com/materialism   Common critiques of materialism, from religion, political idealism, personal idealism, and nihilism.   https://meaningness.com/materialism-rejection   Mingling mission and materialism attempts to gain both self-indu...

The delusion that you can find your true, unique personal life-purpose causes only suffering and failure. https://meaningness.com/mission-defects-obstacles Just discover your unique talent, follow your passion, and success is guaranteed—this is terrible advice! https://meaningness.com/do-with-my-life You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www....

Dividing purposes into higher and mundane, mission pursues higher ends and rejects pragmatism; materialism seeks only selfish goals. Both are mistakes. https://meaningness.com/purpose It is attractive to think that we each have a unique, transcendent, ultimate purpose in life. Unfortunately, this belief is both false and harmful. https://meaningness.com/mission You can support the podcast and get...

Abandoning selflessness and egoism equally, we can play with the ambiguous self/other boundary; supple, skillful selfing for successful, satisfying interaction. https://meaningness.com/self You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com...

Stances concerning connection and separateness: monism, dualism, and participation.   https://meaningness.com/monism-dualism-and-participation   Monism and dualism are opposites. But because each is obviously wrong, each turns into the other when cornered. Sneaky!   https://meaningness.com/monism-dualism-recursion   Errors of monism and dualism: denying and fixating object boundaries and connectio...

Going beyond resolutions of specific problems: consistently maintaining an accurate stance toward meaningness. https://meaningness.com/stabilize-complete-stance   Since this episode ties together what we have learned so far, it references previous episodes. They are: Obstacles To The Complete Stance Stances Are Unstable Exiting eternalism Finding the complete stance Textures of completion Meaningn...

Open-ended curiosity gives you the freedom to interact with the world without metaphysical presuppositions. https://meaningness.com/curiosity Other works by David Chapman mentioned in this episode are: In The Cells Of The Eggplant is a book-length treatment of this episode, explaining the application of open-ended curiosity to professional, technical work such as science, engineering, or organizat...

Wonder at the vastness, beauty, and intricacy of the phenomenal world: a texture of the complete stance. https://meaningness.com/wonder Recordings mentioned in the episode include: " Deference, Humility, and Awe ," a lecture by Brian Cantwell Smith. Hoppípolla , "a song with qualities known to evoke awe," by Sigur Rós'. You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the P...

The fundamental method for resolving problems of meaning: by finding nebulosity, pattern, and their inseparable relationship. Wonder → curiosity → humor → play → enjoyment → creation. Patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting in the complete stance, which resolves problems of meaning. https://meaningness.com/finding-complete-stance https://meaningness.com/complete-textures You can support the podc...

Peak experiences and the complete stance are similar in texture, but differ in intensity, conceptual content, and causes. Meaning and meaninglessness, pattern and nebulosity all obviously exist—yet we resist recognizing and admitting this. Why? https://meaningness.com/peak-experiences https://meaningness.com/complete-stance-obstacles You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by su...

Meaning is nebulous, yet patterned; meaningfulness and meaninglessness intermingle. Recognizing this frees us from metaphysical delusions. Resolving problems of meaning, by recognizing inseparable pattern and nebulosity, will improve your life. https://meaningness.com/meaningness https://meaningness.com/complete-stance-appeal You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting...