So comparatively, on the whole, an individual human is enormous, and our planet-spanning civilization even bigger still. — Pfhorrest
But does size even determine significance? — Pinprick
It has been my observation that people say this when they don't want to get involved in the conversation, or when they try to present a problem as smaller than it is. "Yes, sure, you have a very bad toothache and you need to go the the dentist, but you don't have the money for it. But hey, human problems are insignificant in this vast universe!"I’ve observed that when people point out the fact of our insignificance, our relatively small size and that of our planet when compared to the size of the multi/universe is often offered as evidence of this. — Pinprick
Humans, being natural beings, feel 'insignificant' because the natural systems within which we are embedded-nested and together live out our entire lives do not need 'significance' in order to function — 180 Proof
I’ve observed that when people point out the fact of our insignificance, our relatively small size and that of our planet when compared to the size of the multi/universe is often offered as evidence of this. But does size even determine significance? Would we suddenly become significant if we spread to other planets throughout several galaxies? — Pinprick
No. I'm saying 'nature inherently lacks significance, therefore natural creatures inherently lack significance, and human beings are cognizant of this lack in so far as we feel insignificant.'Are you saying we feel insignificant because the universe doesn’t need us? — Pinprick
Well, the feeling of insignificance seems strongly correlated to the perception of being small.That’s understandable, but how does that relate to size?
Given that the observable universe is over 36 orders of magnitude larger than the Earth, I think so. Both our perceived relative smallness and the inherent lack of significance in nature seem to reinforce this feeling.Do people simply mistakenly take our relatively small size in comparison with the universe for the cause of our feelings of insignificance?
Would we suddenly become significant if we spread to other planets throughout several galaxies? — Pinprick
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