Quote Originally Posted by Polymirize
My point is you're setting science on a pedestal by saying that science never leads us "wrong".
well if I said that I didnt mean it. I do have a high regard for scientific thought, I do think it is much underappreciated and mistunderstood among the lay public. I do think that in many cases it is by a long shot our best bet at understanding our circumstances? But never lead us wrong - noooo. Science has no way of even knowing when we do have the right answer. There is no cosmic answer book that we can check our results again only observations that either support or contradict our theories. Science is designed to get it wrong and keep improving. But it has no way of telling for sure that you actually are at the end of your quest and there will be no conflicting inexplicable observations in the future. There is no human knowledge that is free from doubt. ".. for no man shall see me and live"

Quote Originally Posted by Polymirize
I agree (assuming I'm understanding you now, no promises) that science,...can't tell us anything about how to live.
And yet, do you know how to live?

In a very real sense, I just want to know... how are you doing?
The quick answer is that I muddle through just like everyone else. No one has the manual. I think being a human being is an aburd thing. Absurd in a deep philosophical sense. I used to be a religious fanatic. When I started to get over that in my 30's I realized that I had swallowed lot of bullshit - much of it foisted on me by my very own self. I resolved to cut out the bullshit as much as possible - with mixed success. Bullshit is inescapable and sometimes even necessary. I cultivated a rather blunt, irreverant manner - others call it an "asshole". I believe that every man must find his own reason for living and that this is an intensely private matter - no other man will ever be able to judge or even fully understand this decision - to that extent I am an Existentialist. For me life is about the living of it. I try to figure out what things I really want to and to go after them without worrying whether they are important, appropriate or whether it all amounts to anything.

Being an atheist is a cold and lonely thing in many ways. You must confront the fact of your imminent death without any warm blanket or comfort that religion can offer. Death for an atheist is intensely personal and intensely lonely. But with this comes an exhilerating sense of release and freedom. My life is mine to do with as I wish and as I can.

I have found nothing that even begins to explain the way it feels to be a man and to know that I am a man. But I feel strongly, and this is a scientific idea, that one should not try to dispel mysteries with stories. Its ok not to know even though it is a torment.