Why do we seek knowledge when we're all going to die?
Many of us spend our lives thinking of science and philosophy. Looking for answers to the meaning of life the universe and our place in it. And then eventually we die. Have we not accomplished anything? Does our knowledge somehow live on beyond death? What is the point of seeking knowledge?
I'm on the same road right now, asking myself the same question. I've been trying to mentally blending concepts from philosophy (especially nihilism, absurdism and existentialism), science knowledge and esoteric beliefs (such as primordial waters and the darkness before the light, a seemingly constant aspect throughout the many religious faiths) in a syncretic way. As the community is focused on the first, I'll try to focus my comment to the realm of philosophy.
Somehow, we think. As Descartes would state, we are existent beings, given that we think. We're kind of "stuck" with it (with our thoughts and feelings, therefore, stuck with our own existences), something to deal with. We can either (a) hold to the mundane, trying to ignore the vast and dark macrocosmos and microcosmos around and inside us (apeiron) because it's so shadowy and scary, but it'll still be there, or (b) gaze into that abyss, see the beautiful yet unsettling eyes lurking in the darkness, while trying to free ourselves from the shackles of the fear we would naturally feel when She looks back. Given the aspects of your question, I guess you did the same as me: you stared at Her, even if unbeknownst to you.
Here, I'm kind of "personifying/deifing" the infinite nothingness a.k.a. the apeiron, as I see this infinite nothingness with great potential as a feminine energy (I could name Nuith from Thelema, but i'd digress from philosophy), because our very existences came from it, so the apeiron is like the mother of the entire existence (and, therefore, our æthereal mother). I'm aware that apeiron is said to be something that "cannot be described" (ineffable), but the premise still holds: whatever is the nature of apeiron, everything that exists seem to came from there, and it's going back to there.
The death is our return to Her waters. Scientifically, we could point out the cycle of nitrogen, water and carbon, the Food Web, the thermal dissipation (especially the entropy and tendency of disorder) and so on. Our natural bodies return to the nature in a seamless fashion. Spiritually and metaphysically, we could point out the anima inside ourselves, our very selves.
What if we choose the alternative A above, living a finite life holding to the mundane while ignoring the cosmic, without realizing the potential infinite beyond it, until our living clocks reach midnight and our consciousness somehow stays "turned on" surrounded by the vast nothingness, emptier than the void of the cosmos?
While my approach clearly digress into realms outside philosophy (because of the esoteric components of my approach), it also can offer a potential answer to the question of why we seek knowledge: to connect with something greater than ourselves. To connect to our very selves, with our potentials.
“Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly; Man got to sit and wonder 'why, why, why?' Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land; Man got to tell himself he understand."
The alternative is extinction, plain and simple. The only reason we even are where we are as a species is due solely to the undying drive to seek more knowledge as a means of survival.
A couple hundred thousand years of continued existence as a species seems like a pretty decent accomplishment.
Extinction is an interesting existential threat, but I believe a more reasonable motivation would be not wanting to see living humans suffer through collapse. So like the extinction of the good life.
Up to a point I think we'd survive, just not in a form that we would recognise, or perhaps even care to preserve.
Hard disagree, we do not survive as a species without intelligence. It has been the most important factor in our survival since we developed as a distinct group of hominids.
Surviving but reverting or regressing to a form that doesn’t not explore intelligence as a means of survival is the same as extinction in my book. Interestingly this reminds me of some of the fates in ‘All Tomorrows’
Our brains like to recognise patterns, this is an evolutionary trait of ours.
Acquiring knowledge gives us the understanding to identify more patterns
This manifests as that good feeling when something new clicks and it makes sense where it didn't before. Dopamine is the source of that good feeling and it's part of our brains' reward system to motivate us to do things that'll help us survive.
Chemically, the point of life is to do stuff that triggers our reward systems, and so we seek out the good feeling that comes with figuring stuff out like we seek out other sources of it.
So basically, the meaning of life is to enjoy life, and humans just enjoy learning
That hasn't been my experience. As soon as I start talking about the meaning of life the universe and everything. Their eyes glaze over and they go dance with a construction worker instead.
-in my experience the environments that facilitate dancing and those that facilitate deep philosophical discussion as a means of courtship are often mutually exclusive. Try finding some people to smoke some weed with instead or save the really deep conversations to situations where you’re already in an environment already conducive to that. Like over coffee or a drink at a quiet bar.
-please try some reflection on the kind of thinking that leads you to talk down about people because of their profession like that.
Knowledge-seeking is not necessarily a selfish act. Ideally, knowledge is something to be shared, to propagate, to enhance our species in the long term.
Most of our advancements in science, medicine, philosophy, etc. weren't discovered in a single lifetime. It's the culmination of hundreds of thousands of researchers, scientists, and even some laymen who got lucky and stumbled upon a discovery. And over time and many generations, we build upon the knowledge that's already been discovered and find new and more complete knowledge that benefits our world.
There are some who are fascinated with a single topic and dedicated their lives to researching it. Then there are autodidacts (self-taught learners), like my late father, who spend their entire lives studying everything they can get their hands on. And of course, there are those who don't care to learn and just try to exist and get by until the day they die. Plus many other flavors of knowledge-gatherers in the world.
Is any of this wrong? No; everyone is free to pursue whatever knowledge they can or want, or even a lack of it if they desire.
Is it pointless? Not really. As stated before, your knowledge can be passed on to benefit future generations. Or if you keep to yourself, then perhaps you're learning for your own self benefit. Being better educated about your world and yourself can only serve to help you make more informed decisions in your life.
What's the meaning of life? There's isn't one specific meaning. We happen to exist, and whatever you decide to dedicate your life toward is what gives you meaning. So no pressure about meeting some imaginary goal or standard of accomplishment. Do what makes you happy and what benefits those you love and care for, and you'll carve out your own meaning in life.
It's not for me, really. I already took advantage of the knowledge others left. Whatever I can gather and expand will be for the younger and the next generations.
That has been one of my thoughts as well. If I try to gain as much knowledge as I can and share it with others then it might prove beneficial to those in the future. So in one way the knowledge I have acquired lives on.
It does, maybe. That's culture. In my culture the food is fantastic, and I'm sometimes in awe just thinking about ingredients and dishes. When you take something more rigorous like science, it can transport your mind in ways that can change entire civilizations.