It's Just A Symbol. It Doesn't Mean Anything.

[sass_in_the_pants]

Isn't that the definition of a symbol, to mean something else? It is the tangible represenation of something intangible, and so, in that sense, symbols mean, well, everything.

Doesn't everybody have something, some ridiculous little trinket, that they hold dear? Some oddity - a ticket stub, an earring, a dried flower - that others find worthless, but you regard with fondness? How can anyone say that symbols don't matter when we fill our homes with them, decorate our bodies with them, and even take some to the grave with us?

My wedding band is a symbol of my love.

The cross is a symbol of my faith.

The flag is a symbol of my home.

And the National Cheese Convention mug of 1976 is the symbol of my family.

I can't very well carry my love, faith, home and family around with me, so instead I have these miniature little versions of them, so I don't forget.

So, why are people now saying that symbols don't mean anything, when very often they mean the things that are most important to us?

[Rev.Reverence]

Isn't that the definition of a symbol, to mean something else? It is the tangible represenation of something intangible, and so, in that sense, symbols mean, well, everything.

Doesn't everybody have something, some ridiculous little trinket, that they hold dear? Some oddity - a ticket stub, an earring, a dried flower - that others find worthless, but you regard with fondness? How can anyone say that symbols don't matter when we fill our homes with them, decorate our bodies with them, and even take some to the grave with us?

My wedding band is a symbol of my love.

The cross is a symbol of my faith.

The flag is a symbol of my home.

And the National Cheese Convention mug of 1976 is the symbol of my family.

I can't very well carry my love, faith, home and family around with me, so instead I have these miniature little versions of them, so I don't forget.

So, why are people now saying that symbols don't mean anything, when very often they mean the things that are most important to us?

I thought so...

.. a symbol having meaning...

... unless you were an athiest AND a nihlist..

[sass_in_the_pants]

I thought so...

.. a symbol having meaning...

... unless you were an athiest AND a nihlist..

Actually, the symbol for nihilists is a backwards N and the symbol for atheists is an A in the atomic whirl. If they didn't have symbols, what would they put on bumper stickers?

[Msterbeau]

When I was going out with Carla... early on we found a little lumpy disc of metal with a heart engraved in it, lying on the sidewalk. We picked it up and washed it off.... and from then until we broke up, it was passed back and forth between us every time we saw one another... as a symbol of our love for each other. Symbols are whatever you put meaning in...

[Steven]

symbiology in and of itself is a fascinating study......it seems as if no matter what era of mankind is studied....symbols prvode for a reassuring focus........therefore the human animal if you will, desires that constant reminder.

[Troy Spiral (13)]

Who is saying "symbols don't mean anything" ? Not sure i ever heard anyone that I'd consider intelligent saying that unless they just were bad at making the underlying point that maybe symbols, or rather the images or shapes themselves don't "intrinsically" have a meaning, which is probably true. But symbols, by definition do mean something. Unless we really want to start playing word games.

The letters I'm typing right now are symbols and only have the meaning that we agree that they have, but they do have meaning.

Probably just a poorly worded argument that sounded like "symbols don't have meaning" but the real point might have been "its just a bunch of shapes which don't inherently have any meaning" which is a different point altogether.

[Pandora]

Without symbols there would be zero culture, and humanity would not have stuck around. However, we can decide to take or leave the meaning others attach to said symbols.

[Rev.Reverence]

Actually, the symbol for nihilists is a backwards N and the symbol for atheists is an A in the atomic whirl. If they didn't have symbols, what would they put on bumper stickers?

POP CULTURE... that's why... people adopt some rhetoric 'cause it sounds COOL, and some asshole makes a bumper sticker that is an OXYMORON...

..Why do people not read dictionarys BEFORE making bumper stickers? that's a good question.

.....ACTUALLY...

a·the·ist Audio Help /ˈeɪθiɪst/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ey-thee-ist] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun

a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.

[Origin: 1565–75; < Gk áthe(os) godless + -ist]

—Synonyms Atheist, agnostic, infidel, skeptic refer to persons not inclined toward religious belief or a particular form of religious belief. An atheist is one who denies the existence of a deity or of divine beings. An agnostic is one who believes it impossible to know anything about God or about the creation of the universe and refrains from commitment to any religious doctrine. Infidel means an unbeliever, especially a nonbeliever in Islam or Christianity. A skeptic doubts and is critical of all accepted doctrines and creeds.

ni·hil·ism Audio Help /ˈnaɪəˌlɪzəm, ˈni-/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[nahy-uh-liz-uhm, nee-] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun

1. total rejection of established laws and institutions.

2. anarchy, terrorism, or other revolutionary activity.

3. total and absolute destructiveness, esp. toward the world at large and including oneself: the power-mad nihilism that marked Hitler's last years.

4. Philosophy.

a. an extreme form of skepticism: the denial of all real existence or the possibility of an objective basis for truth.

b. nothingness or nonexistence.

5. (sometimes initial capital letter) the principles of a Russian revolutionary group, active in the latter half of the 19th century, holding that existing social and political institutions must be destroyed in order to clear the way for a new state of society and employing extreme measures, including terrorism and assassination.

6. annihilation of the self, or the individual consciousness, esp. as an aspect of mystical experience.

[Steven]

by the way if symbols mean nothing then y'all better get in line to have all them tattoos removed.....

[freydis]

I have a welded iron bar shaped like a heart I had hanging on my wall that David made for me. He's a hobbyist blacksmith.... it kept falling down though, so we have it elsewhere..... that is an important symbol to me, cause he made it! I'm also wearing a symbol of my faith today, the hammer!

[TygerLili]

Isn't that the definition of a symbol, to mean something else? It is the tangible represenation of something intangible, and so, in that sense, symbols mean, well, everything.

Doesn't everybody have something, some ridiculous little trinket, that they hold dear? Some oddity - a ticket stub, an earring, a dried flower - that others find worthless, but you regard with fondness? How can anyone say that symbols don't matter when we fill our homes with them, decorate our bodies with them, and even take some to the grave with us?

My wedding band is a symbol of my love.

The cross is a symbol of my faith.

The flag is a symbol of my home.

And the National Cheese Convention mug of 1976 is the symbol of my family.

I can't very well carry my love, faith, home and family around with me, so instead I have these miniature little versions of them, so I don't forget.

So, why are people now saying that symbols don't mean anything, when very often they mean the things that are most important to us?

Well said.

A symbol might not mean anything to me personally, but if it means something to the person next to me, I respect it for their sake. For example, if a person is wearing a wedding ring, I don't flirt, because even though that ring doesn't mean anything to me personally, I know it does to them.

Unless it's a symbol that represents something that I am totally against and is hurtful to others, like a swastika. Can't respect those.

[jadnifer]

I agree with the fact that symbols have a LOT of meaning.

They might not mean something to the next person, like Tygerlili said, but they may mean the world to the next person.

Funny story: My boyfriend got me a bouquet of flowers for Valentine's Day. They are obviously dead and dried up now, but I don't have the heart to throw them away. One day I was moving them, and a piece of one of the flowers somehow got into my wallet and I haven't taken it out since because everytime that I see that flower, I think of him.

Simple to someone else, but everything to me.

[Rev.Reverence]

by the way if symbols mean nothing then y'all better get in line to have all them tattoos removed.....

SWEET RESPONSE!!!

[TygerLili]

I also find it fascinating how one group will take a symbol from another group and use it to represent something evil.

For example: The devil's pitchfork is derived from Poseidon's trident.

[Rev.Reverence]

I also find it fascinating how one group will take a symbol from another group and use it to represent something evil.

For example: The devil's pitchfork is derived from Poseidon's trident.

AND the swastika was stolen from the Indo-Religions...and corrupted ... now I can't put it on my body...jinky huh...

[n0Mad]

I also find it fascinating how one group will take a symbol from another group and use it to represent something evil.

For example: The devil's pitchfork is derived from Poseidon's trident.

And Hitler stole the swastika from esoteric theosophist Helena Blavatsky and she stole it from ancient sources:

The swastika is an ancient and frequently recurring symbol, found in many different cultures during many different times. One can find the swastika associated with Hopi Indians, Aztecs, the Celts, Buddhists, Greeks, Hindus (swastika derives from Sanskrit and means to be well), etc.

- The Skeptic's Dictionary

[n0Mad]

AND the swastika was stolen from the Indo-Religions...and corrupted ... now I can't put it on my body...jinky huh...

Doh! We were typing our replies at the same time and you beat me to posting.

[Homicidalheathen]

I believe that out collective consciousness sends out a vibe on the threads of time in the cosmos.

When we all concentrate on what a symbol means...it enhances its power and that the shape of things alone creates a vibe...its like spiritual geometry

Hence why I don use the nazi rune anymore.......its been tainted forever but used to be something positive.

But I do use others. Dagaz is my fav.

http://www.runemaker.com/futhark/dagaz.shtml

I have it on a necklace.

http://www.sacred-geometry.com/

there must be something to this because I had insights about it even as a child before I had heard anything.