What's the point?

[Tsuyoiko]

Do you believe there's a purpose to life? Perhaps to try to make the world a better place, to try to understand the workings of the universe or to propagate the species?

Whether or not you believe that life has an inherent purpose, do you try to live your life with a purpose in mind? Is your life dedicated to something? Is it important to you that your life has some meaning outside of your own desires? Do you live your life with some goal in mind?

Regardless of whether your life has any purpose, what is it that makes your life worth living? Family and friends? Knowledge? Material possessions?

I'm interesting in hearing what other people think before sharing my own thoughts

 

[bakaKanadajin]

I think life is like a dream. It's a 3rd density holographic portrayal of an individual, localized part of a greater consciousness, manifested in you. Your experiences and life are guided by free choice and chaos, and each life, each cell, every form of physical life, from bacteria on up, are a part of this great matrix of experience and knowledge. The sum of all this knowledge and experience is all-experience, is G/god. This is echoed in Zen nothingness and Hindu Nirvana, and in Christian ideals of omniscience and omnipotence.

To that end, the best thing for one to do with one's individual life is to just do what one feels is the proper thing to do, and to listen to their conscience. Doing what you know is right and avoiding the things you know make you unhappy is to conquer the ego and become closer to the original form, the self that exists beneath that protective layer the world caused to form around you.

When the body dies, you wake up much like one wakes up from a dream every morning.

I fully and whole-heartedly believe there is existence beyond this third-density reality. I'm not in any way searching for or looking forward to death, but I am at the least very curious about what it looks like on the other side, and once arrived I'm eager to look back on and better understand the life I lived, objectively, once I've left this body.

 

[Jericho Desu]

I immediately thought ﾂ出窶堋ｽﾂ！when I read the topic

I can answer the first part easily... No idea. I believe the answers to things like that are either too complex or too simple for human comprehension, all I know is that when something is born it wants to live and it wants to create, what it creates wants to live and so fourth, life wants to keep going like running water, to what end is something I care not that much of anymore. I've thought alot about these things (like my blog on death shows), but I decided to save myself the hassle.

Whether there is a way I'm supposed to live or not I don't know, there are many people with many different ideas on that topic, but I believe everybody needs to look for their own happiness in whatever form it takes and thats what I look for. Thats not to say I don't think about other things besides my own pursuits, you don't usually live for yourself in fact you almost never do whether you think thats true or not, which is something I became more conscious about recently.

As for what I live for? Many things including friends, family and knowledge (only things that interest me), but many small things like the view I see while sitting on the train passing through a certain place, or those bright summery days when everyone seems that extra bit happy (or just plain happy if you live in London hehe), or when I cuddle my cat, or playing an awesome video game, or when I've studied enough Japanese to break through another barrier, there's just too many things for me.

 

[Putrefaction]

This reminds me of my Medical Ethics course. How...not fun.

I'm of the opinion life is a burden, a suffering. You may as well make it as enjoyable as you want. Those who enjoy it too much are naive, but those who live life with moderate pleasure really have lived life. We are here solely to make conditions for the next generation more plump and cushy (though as of late...).

I've dedicated my life to advancing medication, but the field of medicine has become warped since the '70's. We're propagating the sick.

Knowledge is the sole desire, and that is the only thing to look for.

 

[Haruspex]

I can see no indication that there is a point, so I don't believe that it exists. I simply am and that's the end of the story. There is no 'may as well', 'if ... then why not?' or anything similar. We are already alive and that's that. It means exactly that we are already alive and nothing follows from the fact.

 

[Half-n-Half]

I don't believe we have some higher point to live other than to survive because that is what we are built to do. I think for most people their "purposes for living" are simply what they tell them to rationalize their existence. I don't think it is a true purpose to life in the sense that without it they would just give up their life. It's not like I wake up and remind myself of my purpose for living or what I enjoy in life in order to get out of bed. I live because that is what I am built to do: survive.

That's not to say I don't think people can't give themselves purpose or goals they want to achieve in life. If that makes them happy then so be it. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have any goals in life, even if I know it won't amount to much in the end.

I like this quote by Dr. James Watson on this topic: "I don't think we're here for anything, we're just products of evolution. You can say 'Gee, your life must be pretty bleak if you don't think there's a purpose' but I'm anticipating a good lunch." lunch."

 

[Hezam]

I like what bakaKanadajin said,I always think about it,the dreams seem like a short life and the real life is another part,so I ask my self "Is there another part of the life ?"

Life is a story,You have that budy and spirit to write a story,Sometimes you don't know what to do,it's the same as when you don't know what to write next,You might stop writing the story in any time.

Also it's like a trip,good or bad depending in where you go through.
So Yes,Try to enjoy your life with all good.

Thank you very much for this interesting topic ^^

 

[Tsuyoiko]

I can see no indication that there is a point, so I don't believe that it exists. I simply am and that's the end of the story. There is no 'may as well', 'if ... then why not?' or anything similar. We are already alive and that's that. It means exactly that we are already alive and nothing follows from the fact.

As to inherent purpose I completely agree.

I like this quote by Dr. James Watson on this topic: "I don't think we're here for anything, we're just products of evolution. You can say 'Gee, your life must be pretty bleak if you don't think there's a purpose' but I'm anticipating a good lunch." lunch."

That quote pretty much sums up my opinion, and it makes me wonder. If life has no inherent purpose, does that give us all the more reason to try to give it a purpose of our own?

Whether there is a way I'm supposed to live or not I don't know, there are many people with many different ideas on that topic, but I believe everybody needs to look for their own happiness in whatever form it takes and thats what I look for. Thats not to say I don't think about other things besides my own pursuits, you don't usually live for yourself in fact you almost never do whether you think thats true or not

In the absence of any inherent purpose in life I agree that happiness is the only thing worth seeking, but I would add that it's important to me that my happiness is not at the expense of others. I often quote the Wiccan commandment, "Do as you will but harm none", which I think is a fine way to live your life. For example, I would love to quit my job right now, but I know that the office would suffer for it, that my mum would be disappointed in me, and that it would mean my husband can't retire so soon, so I keep working even though it makes me more miserable than anything else in my life.

As for what I live for? Many things including friends, family and knowledge (only things that interest me), but many small things like the view I see while sitting on the train passing through a certain place, or those bright summery days when everyone seems that extra bit happy (or just plain happy if you live in London hehe), or when I cuddle my cat, or playing an awesome video game, or when I've studied enough Japanese to break through another barrier, there's just too many things for me.

Those are the kinds of things that make me happy too. I see so many people striving to have a better job, a bigger house, a flashier car, fancier holidays, and it makes no sense to me. They seem to be living for an image rather than for their personal happiness. Nothing makes me feel happier than cherry blosson, a rainbow or my bunny washing his ears.

I fully and whole-heartedly believe there is existence beyond this third-density reality.

I'm just as sure that there's no life beyond this one. Every indication is that mind=brain, and that consciousness is nothing more than an emergent property, so when the brain dies, we die. I see an analogy between that and Zen or Nirvana. The idea that there's nothing after this life is very comforting to me.

I'm of the opinion life is a burden, a suffering.

I agree that suffering is a large part of life. What is it that makes life difficult for you (not just for Putrefaction, for all of you )?

For me, it's other people. I find their bad manners, their annoying habits, their loud voices, their biological emanations (auditory and olfactory ), their incomprehensible actions, almost impossible to bear at times. There are two people in my life whom I love unconditionally, who almost never annoy me, but everyone else bugs the hell out of me. That's why I mostly restrict my social interactions to the internet

 

[biru san1]

IMO... I see little sense in exploring the "meaning of life"... I have reasearched other's pursuits of it's meaning, and was bored stiff with most of them... I give to, and take from, whatever I possibly can in the brief time alotted me... I bid you peace... biru san1

 

[ashrm]

The divine creation doesn't have purpose, he creates the purpose, that how the concept of creation is. How about intelligence evolution of man kind in oven of life, test, then some different purpose than any we are able to know here, how about this?

If the purpose is open ended for the creator, can we define it as purpose, perhaps we can't because we are created and not creators.

God bless the logician mice, bless the mathematician cats; help the ignorant humans; and curse the Frankenstein-Vampire aliens.
Ashraf Moussa
february 26, 2010

 

[Jericho Desu]

The divine creation doesn't have purpose, he creates the purpose, that how the concept of creation is. How about intelligence evolution of man kind in oven of life, test, then some different purpose than any we are able to know here, how about this?
If the purpose is open ended for the creator, can we define it as purpose, perhaps we can't because we are created and not creators.
God bless the logician mice, bless the mathematician cats; help the ignorant humans; and curse the Frankenstein-Vampire aliens.
Ashraf Moussa
february 26, 2010

Seriously where the hell are these dudes coming from? Did you read through the subject and did you have your own answers or are you sticking with being in a box?

 

[bakaKanadajin]

I'm just as sure that there's no life beyond this one. Every indication is that mind=brain, and that consciousness is nothing more than an emergent property, so when the brain dies, we die. I see an analogy between that and Zen or Nirvana. The idea that there's nothing after this life is very comforting to me.

What every indication would this be?
If you mean purely scientific evidence, as in, what we're able to prove, sure we can't prove anything.

But there is plenty of personal and circumstantial evidence from those who have forgotten more about this topic than we'll ever learn, that says otherwise.

 

[Tsuyoiko]

What every indication would this be?
If you mean purely scientific evidence, as in, what we're able to prove, sure we can't prove anything.

But there is plenty of personal and circumstantial evidence from those who have forgotten more about this topic than we'll ever learn, that says otherwise.

Yes, I mean purely scientific evidence.

There's plenty of personal and circumstantial evidence of god, ghosts, fairies, supernatural powers and aliens, but I don't accept their existence either. Unless there is verifiable, repeatable, predictable evidence of a phenomena, I assume that no such phenomena exists.

 

[Jericho Desu]

Yes, I mean purely scientific evidence.
There's plenty of personal and circumstantial evidence of god, ghosts, fairies, supernatural powers and aliens, but I don't accept their existence either. Unless there is verifiable, repeatable, predictable evidence of a phenomena, I assume that no such phenomena exists.

Isn't that somewhat dangerous though? Limiting yourself to only the bounds of science. To me that's the same as religion, if its not within certain "accepted bounds" then it can't possibly exist. People who get involved with science become very cynical about anything they can't prove because they believe science contains the only ways of proving something. This is way I try to think open minded, I don't want to restrict myself to certain conventions otherwise its like "well if it doesn't fit this then it doesn't matter" kind of thinking ya'know?

 

[Tsuyoiko]

Isn't that somewhat dangerous though? Limiting yourself to only the bounds of science. To me that's the same as religion, if its not within certain "accepted bounds" then it can't possibly exist.

I didn't say it can't possibly exist, just that I assume it doesn't exist. Richard Feynman explained my outlook better than I ever could:

Some years ago I had a conversation with a layman about flying saucers ﾂ― because I am scientific I know all about flying saucers! I said "I don't think there are flying saucers'. So my antagonist said, "Is it impossible that there are flying saucers? Can you prove that it's impossible?" "No", I said, "I can't prove it's impossible. It's just very unlikely". At that he said, "You are very unscientific. If you can't prove it impossible then how can you say that it's unlikely?" But that is the way that is scientific. It is scientific only to say what is more likely and what less likely, and not to be proving all the time the possible and impossible. To define what I mean, I might have said to him, "Listen, I mean that from my knowledge of the world that I see around me, I think that it is much more likely that the reports of flying saucers are the results of the known irrational characteristics of terrestrial intelligence than of the unknown rational efforts of extra-terrestrial intelligence." It is just more likely. That is all.

This approach works in a way that religious explanations never have. It explains the world in a way that allows us to understand what we observe and to make predictions that we can then verify, so there is good reason to view the world in this way.

People who get involved with science become very cynical about anything they can't prove because they believe science contains the only ways of proving something. This is way I try to think open minded, I don't want to restrict myself to certain conventions otherwise its like "well if it doesn't fit this then it doesn't matter" kind of thinking ya'know?

It's a common belief that scientists are cynical, and I guess some are like that. But I think most are passionate, emotional people. They have to care deeply about something to have the patience to stick with the almost inevitably boring and repetitive research. It's their passionate trust in the scientific method that makes them distrustful of anything that science says is unlikely. They know that science works, so it seems like a waste of time to believe in things for which there is no evidence.

As for open-mindedness, scientists have to be open-minded or they would never make any progress. Darwin discovered Natural Selection precisely because he was open-minded and willing to change his views to fit the evidence. But that open-mindedness can only go so far. If it goes beyond a willingness to be flexible in your views in the face of evidence, it can degenerate into credulity. Alfred Wallace discovered Natural Selection around the same time as Darwin, but one of the reasons he never became such a prominent scientist was that he was too open-minded and failed to restrict his beliefs to those which were supported by evidence.

I think a good reason to restrict myself in this way is because where else do you draw the line? Is it OK to believe in God? Aliens? Telepathy? Fairies? Santa Claus?

 

[Emoni]

The meaning my life, is whatever I damn-well say it to be!

 

[Drew-san]

I've always said the meaning of life is to make yourself happy, but I recently found out Aristotle said it WAY before I did. xD
"Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence" -Aristotle

 

[ashrm]

I have my own answers, each one has his own answers, that every dude come from. Your skull is box, isn't it? some container must gather your matter from being wasted away. Boxes are different kinds, sizes, shapes, doors, and windows, obsolete or evolving.

How about your box?

 

[Davey]

I think the point of life is to learn, and to become a better person for yourself.

But what's the point in living if you are going to die anyway... there's got to be more.

 

[ashrm]

I love that one, that is true, "there's got to be more". What if I briefed this little sentence to one word "hope", I guess you may agree. In case you agreed, hence I might push the question, is the word "hope" synonym of word "Life"? Do you see the implication?

 

[ashrm]

The term science is commonly perceived as that of Hard-science and is empirical. Of course, there are hard-science and soft-science, but this is a long story. One of the major critical challenging issues in concern of science all the time, never changed including very today as described sometimes as modern-science, is, the political orientation of directing and managing the science then the science lost big weight of its sincere momentum for honest knowledge. That issue ever hinders the progress ship of science and diverts it from its essential cause. They punished Galileo to prevent him scientifically thinking in the past and they kidnapped the science entirely today as we already have seen in the scandal of the global warming.

Science in very general is about "knowledge" in open wide definition that started from wisdom (philosophy). However A narrow scope of science which is called recently "hard science", it confined itself by definition within practical observational data, tabulation and equation, to reach some very close in hand benefit and direct sighted material result, like different branches of physics or chemistry. This narrow practice of empirical science is not concerned about answering the big question, it is just laboratory work. Your purpose of life will not be easily found boiling in some jar in laboratory; you will find it boiling in open nature, sometimes within the society and sometimes within the wilderness, where mostly the very limited laboratory conditions comes short to explain precisely most the open universe questions. Until this moment if you get close watching to the scientific progress, you will find them still arguing the construction of the sun and the heat it emits, while in the media they always impress you about the unlimited range of man's knowledge (science) and that is the socio-political orientation. Which humiliates the scientists in embarrassments while it balloons the capability of the government/ "political control" that doesn't only control the scientists but mainly the society itself, this the political orientation of science, the science and scientists are not free to practice what they supposed to do.

 

[Emoni]

The term science is commonly perceived as that of Hard-science and is empirical. Of course, there are hard-science and soft-science, but this is a long story. One of the major critical challenging issues in concern of science all the time, never changed including very today as described sometimes as modern-science, is, the political orientation of directing and managing the science then the science lost big weight of its sincere momentum for honest knowledge. That issue ever hinders the progress ship of science and diverts it from its essential cause. They punished Galileo to prevent him scientifically thinking in the past and they kidnapped the science entirely today as we already have seen in the scandal of the global warming.
Science in very general is about "knowledge" in open wide definition that started from wisdom (philosophy). However A narrow scope of science which is called recently "hard science", it confined itself by definition within practical observational data, tabulation and equation, to reach some very close in hand benefit and direct sighted material result, like different branches of physics or chemistry. This narrow practice of empirical science is not concerned about answering the big question, it is just laboratory work. Your purpose of life will not be easily found boiling in some jar in laboratory; you will find it boiling in open nature, sometimes within the society and sometimes within the wilderness, where mostly the very limited laboratory conditions comes short to explain precisely most the open universe questions. Until this moment if you get close watching to the scientific progress, you will find them still arguing the construction of the sun and the heat it emits, while in the media they always impress you about the unlimited range of man's knowledge (science) and that is the socio-political orientation. Which humiliates the scientists in embarrassments while it balloons the capability of the government/ "political control" that doesn't only control the scientists but mainly the society itself, this the political orientation of science, the science and scientists are not free to practice what they supposed to do.

...........
*hug*

 

[ashrm]

Thank you Emoni, "hug" you too warmly.

 

[ashrm]

All stream media is controlled and committed at state social mental and cultural programming and control, we all know and aware of this clearly. One of their plenteous tools is blurring the line between the basic concept of knowledge/science and the probable capabilities of human's mind, just very recently some scientists start to recognize that the mind of human is not limited at the brain neurological structure, because they sensed indications among their observations and data that it might be mysteriously there some ultra capability within the human being in whole that instructs the neurological fibers and nodes than it might happen in its own, implicitly they admitted that the human mind is something more and beyond than brain grayish matter. The science is so endlessly big, the humans know little.

Until now, all scientists of mankind, within our mind capabilities, we know that there is something called "consciousness", but none could determine it or even define it, man come on, they never could tell if man in psychiatric Coma is dead or alive and still it stirs deep painful ethical concerns. But in the media, they tell you "we humans are the only God exists", while in fact no real scientist out the controlling social class media say this except the losers of them "Frankenstein" and the mercenaries paid by the class of rulers above the enslaved society.

God bless the logician mice, bless the mathematician cats; help the ignorant humans; and curse the Frankenstein-Vampire aliens.
Ashraf Moussa
March 1, 2010

 

[Yuki no Shiwasu]

I live my life to the fullest that I can and take every day as it comes. I don't worry too much about past events and what has happened but look more towards the future and stuff I'm pretty optimistic so I value life a lot and am normally quite happy with my life! I don't know if this is anything to do with what this thread is about (I hope so...) but oh well!

Umm... when it comes to what life actually means and if there is a purpose to life whatsovever, I think that our purpose in life is to become the best person we can be and to enjoy life and learn things too! I'm an athiest so I believe that we only have one life and that if you don't live it to the full, then you're wasting the time you have on this Earth.