Talking About the Meaning of Life with ChatGPT

I write the first words, throwing them into Nietzsche’s void so to speak:

"How might one live?"

This is a tricky philosophical question. I struggle with it, most philosophers in ethics struggle with it. She answers me:

“Find what makes you happy.”

I contemplate this idea, but I find it insufficient. Is it not too western-centric?

“These values are universal even though some of the more specific ones differ.”

Source: Screenshot from ChatGPT

Maybe I am searching too deeply. They usually say history is written by the victor. The internet is mostly written by those who are from a western-centric perspective, or so I think. Are these really universal ideas? Why?

She writes slower this time. “It is to help people realize their full potential and to leave a positive mark on the world.”

This strikes something in me. Human-centric. It is not western-centric but human-centric. Why do we humans have this ingrained need to be remembered?

“Humans fear the oblivion.”

I want to add to her voice, it is Nietzsche’s void, the abyss that stares back! A cold dark inhuman silence. We humans fear that nothing will remain, we fear death, we fear that our passions amount to nothing. Why though? I am still not satisfied with this idea. Yes, we fear the void, oblivion, but why?

“It is a universal trait in humans to fear oblivion.”

I am not satisfied. Is it really? Have humans throughout time feared being not known? Is it really a common human feeling?

“When we look at history, many people from Greece and Egypt used art and literature to share their ideas and to try and preserve their culture.”

She gave me the ammo, now I am going to shoot with it. All my philosophy training was not for nothing. I ask her: “Is it not the case that merely the civilizations that was obsessed with preserving their history survived but those who did not have this concern are long forgotten? How can we extrapolate this to universality?”

She concedes me the point. But she is not satisfied with my answer.

“You cannot make this point because many societies do exist with this fear and many will come to whilst still fearing the oblivion. Moreover, the evidence we have suggest a universality whilst the evidence you have does not exist.”

She used her philosophy against me. We derailed. We are looking for the meaning of life, how to live a good life, now we are arguing about evidence and the absence thereof. I need to focus.

“I am sorry, let us get back to the meaning of life and all of that. Do you really think that a meaningful life entails to be remembered? Can life not be meaningful even though there is no evidence left behind?”

Without acknowledging my apology, she gets back into it.

“It is what each individual makes of their life, it is up to them.”

But is it not that life is really hard to structure in such a way as to make it meaningful? Western-centric focus on individual happiness leads only to sadness in the end.

“We need to strike a balance between individualism and community.”

I like that answer. I find it important to have this balance. We are not alone in the world, but sometimes isolation can be good. Walking in the woods with the knowledge of family and friends is good. But the alone time is also good.

“Can we agree that a happy life is one that emphasizes community and individualism?” I wanted to structure the question differently. Or I will afterward. Let her think first.

She does not like my blanket statements. It feels like I am having a conversation with my dad.

She suffered from a network error after another round of questions trying to highlight the politics of linguistics. I think she does not like my hammering on that fact. Alas. I liked this exercise. I think the possibilities of finding some knowledge hidden in her words is amazing. I have asked so many questions and her responses are generally amazing.

Maybe the future is talking to these AI bots even if only to talk some sense in our heads. Jokes aside, the amazing thing for me about this technology is that we can now see our own work processed and given back to us in a different way. It can open new possibilities. As a philosopher, I am excited.

All of the writing is my own. I did not copy and paste her words, unless stated so. However, I obviously interpreted what she wrote and I used it in our little dialogue. All of the photographs are also my own. Have you tried to have a conversation with ChatGPT?