| Stance | Mission | Materialism | Enjoyable usefulness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | Only higher purposes are meaningful | Only mundane purposes are meaningful | All purposes are meaningful, when they are. Do things that are useful and enjoyable. |
| What it denies | Value of mundane purposes | Value of higher purposes | |
| What it fixates | Value of higher purposes | Value of mundane purposes | |
| The sales pitch | Find and follow your true mission, and the universe resonates with you | He who dies with the most toys, wins | There is no scoreboard |
| Emotional appeal | Exciting, personal, transcendent purpose lifts you out of mundanity | Get what you want | |
| Pattern of thinking | Fantasy; non-ordinary methods for seeking the supposed true mission | Grim self-interest | Flow |
| Likely next stances | Eternalism; specialness, true self | Nihilism; ordinariness | Nobility, intermittently continuing |
| Accomplishment | Sacrifice all mundane purposes to eternal mission (saintliness) | Exclusive self-interest | Renaissance person |
| How it causes suffering | Can never find your supposed true mission; neglect mundane aspects of life | Can never get enough; alienation from others and from authentic creativity | |
| Obstacles to maintaining the stance | Reasonable self-interest | Compassion, creativity | Is that it? No hope of completing purpose, so no hope for salvation or basis for self-congratulation |
| Antidotes; counter-thoughts | Mundane purposes matter to me | I do care about others, and about creative work | |
| Intelligent aspect | Higher purposes are valid; materialism is unsatisfying | Mundane purposes are valid; mission is a fantasy | |
| Positive appropriation after resolution | Creativity and generosity are aspects of enjoyable usefulness | Material satisfaction and accomplishment are aspects of enjoyable usefulness |
Schematic overview: purpose
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