We all hit a point where the intellect demands a justification for its own existence. After a hangover, watching the 80 year olds, winning their forever wars, staring into the quiet of a room, crushed by the heavy, seemingly profound question: What is the actual purpose of all this? It feels like a noble inquiry, a tragic weight that only deep thinkers and sensitive minds are burdened to carry. But this sudden wave of existential dread is not a philosophical awakening—it is a universal, mechanical trick of the human mind. Your intellect hasn't uncovered a cosmic void; it has simply manufactured the perfect, unsolvable puzzle to keep you safely paralyzed on the sidelines.
Why is the puzzle unsolvable ? Remember, read the post on bird brain causality, that the universe is extremely causal, thought is causal, you are conditioned, and thus: Life is simply happening.
A machine has a purpose. You can invent a purpose. When you hand a Golem a purpose, its "bird-brain causality" instantly weaponizes it. It turns that purpose into an ideology, a religion, or a rigid identity. It will build walls around that purpose and attack anyone who disagrees. The sick wolves of history—from political tyrants to religious zealots—gained their power exactly by selling the herd a fabricated, grand "purpose."
Could it be that there is a problem with the question? The question is invented by thought, so we could investigate it carefully. Thought is automatic, you cannot stop it, it is the automatic ghost in the machine.
What happens inside you when you ask the question “What is the actual purpose of all this?”,
Does it feel empowering ? Do you say: “Yes, I will become the next world leader, making new wars, ballistic missiles, social media conditioning centers and stuff!“
The unobserved ego chose between pain and pleasure before making the question “what is the purpose of this”. It chose pain.
But beneath that pain lies a secret, highly addictive pleasure: the absolute relief of zero expectations.
If the universe is a meaningless void, then the unobserved ego is completely off the hook. It does not have to build, it does not have to risk failure, and it does not have to endure the physical friction of participating in reality. A nihilistic attitude toward life is not caused by the actual physical pain of existence, but by a decadent interpretation of that pain—a mechanical trick the ego uses to retreat. The intellect manufactures an unsolvable philosophical problem specifically to give the body an excuse to stay on the sidelines.
This brings us to the first diagnostic wrench for your own mind. When you notice the thought in your mind: “What is the purpose of this”, then you can decide “let us question this thought”. The first question might be:
1. Does this thought give me pain, or does it give me pleasure?
Do not answer too quickly. Observe the relief hiding quietly behind the melancholy. Notice how the idea of a "meaningless universe", “dictators throwing bombs”, “poor little me” secretly grants you permission to stop trying. You are not suffering from a philosophical crisis; your biological machinery is simply choosing the comfort of paralysis over the friction of being alive.
A second question might be, note ask questions, try not to be judgy on the automatic ghost.
2. Why is this thought in my mind right now?
The "bird-brain" does not deploy philosophy randomly. Trace the timing. You will almost always find that this grand question arises exactly when a difficult task, a risk, or a necessary physical change stands directly in front of you. It is a distraction tactic. Your mind is throwing up a smoke screen of cosmic doubt to avoid sweeping the floor. A tactic to protect the ego from the surrounding ideas.
3. Is this decadence?
A gregarious animal that has food, shelter, friends does not need anything. It could be satisfied. However, if it sees that the juvenile herd is sent to forever wars by 80 year old wolves then it might think: “Strange, I have a feeling I could be next”, and next “What is the purpose of this”, “I am down now, lets browse some TikTok to see some neighbours falling from the roof.”
We mistake decadence for luxury, but true decadence is simply the decay of vital energy—a refusal to participate in the physical world. When a healthy animal takes action, it does not stop to question the purpose of its legs. To ponder over the meaning of life might be a symptom of a Golem who never learned to question his conditioning. He is fully unconscious, totally captured by robotic thought.
By switching the questions, you notice that you are not the conditioned identity but something else. Ready for massive action.