In regards to “the meaning of life is what we give it”, that’s like saying “the price of an apple is what we give it”. While true, it doesn’t tell the whole story. There’s actual market forces that dictate apple prices, just like there are actual darwinian forces that dictate meaning and purpose.
Agree; the causes that we create ourselves aren’t all that governs us—in fact, it’s a small fraction of that, considering physical, chemical, biological, game-theoretic, etc. constraints. And yet, there appears to be an interesting difference between the causes that govern simply animals and those that govern human-animals. Which is what I wanted to point at in the paragraph you’re quoting and the few above it.
Agree; the causes that we create ourselves aren’t all that governs us—in fact, it’s a small fraction of that, considering physical, chemical, biological, game-theoretic, etc. constraints. And yet, there appears to be an interesting difference between the causes that govern simply animals and those that govern human-animals. Which is what I wanted to point at in the paragraph you’re quoting and the few above it.