Enjoy yourself. That’s all. Also: Do the weirdest thing that feels right (article).
That’s a good advice. Thanks.
I really, really enjoyed that article. Thank you for sharing it.
This is such a loaded question.
Many philosophers tried to answer it, some reaching an optimistic vision, while others concluding it was all doom and gloom (nihilists etc.). There are so many answers, because there are so many variables. To touch the point of the iceberg it depends for example if you believe in the existence of a prime cause (aka God and thus some kind of spiritual dimension) or not; and if yes, how you imagine its attitude (is it sentient? If yes, is it neutral, good or evil? How much does it interfere in the life of the universe? And so on and on…). That shapes how you start to analyze the purpose of human life and existence as a whole. So let’s stick on the dilemma of being atheist or theist (avoiding the gray areas like being agnostic, because I’m trying to keep it super simple):
If you say no, there is no God, I believe in the chaotic order that is evolution: you may think for example that the purpose of life is hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure, because you live only once, in the now. And then you enter the rabbit hole of “what kind of hedonism?”.
If you say yes and God is caring, the purpose of life is usually the betterment of your soul, to trascend the material dimension. There is an internal evolution here at play. And here the question then is how? You will have to pick which interpretation of the spiritual world convinces you more, a traditional religion or an esoteric philosophy (theosophy etc.).
If your God is neutral, then you probably have full agency, you choose what is you life purpose. You are free to make you own meaning, to play in this playground. The choices here become infinite like the stars.
If your God is evil, like the Gnostic Demiurge, your goal will be to rebel against the current system of oppression, escaping the prison it built to keep you in, for example reaching the true God or becoming your own God.
And, I stress it once more, this is only one of many variables.
In the end nobody knows. This is a personal quest with answers based on your personal intimate experience on what is life, what you currently value, what do you think is it worth living for and the type of relationship you have (or have not) built with its incorporeal, abstract, intuitive, invisible side. Fools are the ones that claim their answer is the only right one, because humanity in its current state does not possess the tools to prove or confute anything on this subject with undeniable evidence. If not fools, then they are manipulative bastards, that want to take advantage of your confusion and lack of direction to persuade you into pursuing a goal that does not benefit you, but them.
There is no meaning, and we must learn to be okay with that.
Fair enough, but finding meaning in life is not the same as finding purpose, no?
These are similar questions, and both depend on perspective. Both suffer from the fact no obvious/objective perspective exists to answer them.
Leave it better than you found it!
The boy scouting rule 💪
Biologically: To keep your DNA existing by procrating so that roughly half of you DNA live on in your children (I say roughly half since there are mutations and stuff)
For Humanity: Develop technology, expand our presence by colonizing the solar system, the galaxy, and the universe.
Religiously: To serve whatever diety or dieties you believe in.
Philosophical:
-Hedonism: Do whatever to be happy.
-Nihilism: Nothing matters
-Probably many more under the umbrella of philosophy, but these 2 are the main ones I remember
That’s all is on the top of my mind. For me, the biological view on meaning of life is kinda shit. I don’t wanna deal with crying babies (eww… disguisting babies), I will never have children.
Now the idea that Humanity will expand and we will become interstellar, thats kinda what I think the meaning of life is, I mean that more of on the society level, not personal. Well then personally, its probably Hedonism. One person like me ain’t gonna make any difference in humanity, I’ll just do whatever makes me happy. Thats my meaning of life.
The purpose of life is whatever you make it. Some people feel their purpose is to make as much money as they can, others to create art that will last for all time.
There is no one purpose to life. There’s no cosmic point to it all, so we all just find out purpose.
For me, my purpose is to find happiness. I suffer from depression so that’s my one goal. I find making people laugh makes me happy, so now I do a podcast where I make people laugh most of the time.
Do you mind sharing your podcast? I’m doing a lot better nowadays after beginning therapy but some days it’s hard.
There is no purpose…
Yep, the purpose of life is to just live and there’s no reason for that besides the fact that it just happened because laws of universe somehow managed to create autonomous complex mass of particles called living beings.
Edit: but because of how human psychology works we have an ability to give a “meaning” of life by ourselves and stick with it.
There is Huzza porpoise, Algerine porpoise, even Mealy-mouthed porpoise. Plenty of cetology to be had.
To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women. Or cheese. I suppose either is good.
The universe is a cruel, uncaring void. The key to being happy isn’t a search for meaning. It’s to just keep yourself busy with unimportant nonsense, and eventually, you’ll be dead.
Doggy doggy what now?
Sometimes reality can be scary. This is the only reason I can think of about the downvotes they gave you
Or because it was a low effort TV reference, in which case fair enough.
Increasing entropy of the universe
(Or if optimistic, reducing local entropy)
To create more life?
Depends on who you ask. Plato, Nietzsche, Camus would have a brawl just discussing how to define the meaning of purpose.
Personally, I like absurdism. There is no intrinsic meaning. You’re not an eventuality, just a coincidence. You’re dealt a hand and expected to get something out of it, which is kinda fucked. But hey fuck it, there’s cool stuff around too, plenty to find your own meaning.
US (plus UK kinda): maximise shareholder value
Others: enjoy the human experience, community, family (bio or appropriated), novelty, contentment
I believe that the true purpose of life is to partake in the divine nature through communion in the body of Christ.
Cliché, yeah, but I honestly believe that God, by very definition, is the ultimate Good, and the origin and purpose of life.
