Purpose of life

ItsJustMe wrote: <...what is the purpose of life? >

Where did we come from?
What are we doing here?
Where are we going?

Those are the questions all philosophy tries to answer.

Those also are the questions all religions claim to have the answers to. The best both science and religion have to offer is theory. The difference is, science admits to the theory. Religion presents opinion as fact and opinion stated as fact is the definition of dogmatism.

I ask myself - *What is my purpose in being here?* My answer is this. Who cares? I am the product of two people's experiments with reproduction. Now my job is to help other people and enjoy life as much as I can.

Best wishes to all,

gb

Gumby:
::: How did we get here? Why are we here? If someone put us here, he had a reason What is the reason?
I personally need to know to be happy/content
There are too many questions unanswered for me to just live for today and love one another......the questions remain..:::

Amen, brother. The questions are there and merely ignoring them or substituting others for them does not make them go away.

Metatron:
::: So, why not accept the universe as being like the body,
automatic in function, no conscious thinking necessary
to make it work continuously? It's just a vast, spooky
non-local mechanism that needs no conscious direction,
just like the body.:::

Automatic does not mean purposeless. A man makes a clock. It’s automatic in function. He does not have to think to make it work BUT…he had to think to make it in the first place.

The fact that the purpose of life eludes us does not mean there is none. Could there be no purpose to life? Perhaps. …perhaps there is. What’s the harm in looking ? (smile)

And now for my answer to the question posed. Please be advised that I am not promoting this as THE answer but only my present view of things based on the little I know and the much I’ve experienced.

I tend to see this life more as a conditioning than a test. I’m amazed that something as intangible as consciousness, emotion and all that goes with it can be so inextricably bound with something so mundane and literal as the synapses of the brain so that when this material, electro-chemical, mechanical organism ceases to function, this marvelous phenomena, the thought process, comes to an end. I think we are more than this lump of flesh in which we dwell. We live in a reality, a very limited reality and for some reason which obviously eludes me, it seems that we must experience this first hand before we can move on.

I think the question should be: "What is my life's purpose?"

All that really matters is what we make of our own lives. If we have achieved happiness in our own lives than perhaps we have fulfilled our purpose. Maybe bad people serve to teach the good people that it's better to be good.

And I agree with Frenchy, as a species we seem to moving toward something not achievable in this life. Why deprive yourself of your happiness because you can't come to terms with not knowing the answers? Better to resign yourself to the fact that you will never know the answers in this life and just get on with living. The answers will catch up to you later.

Sean

oooppps ok Dave..something ELSE for us to play with

I am pretty much with Seeker. I have a family so I have motivations that arise out of that situation. But I accept there are more questions than answers. The problem is there are many who seek to exploit people fears re Deathy etc.

ISP

If you belive in god form the bible I think the purpose of life is to amuse god.We are the discovery channel for heaven , as god whatches the channel he is laughing his ass off at our life and death struggals,much like when we watch the lion and the zebra.But once and a while god gets involved like a kid gleefuly burning ants with a microsope.In bible times god used to burn lots of ants (humans) with his big microscope.But now he is content just watching tv.

I have really enjoyed your responses...thanks

To me, 'moments' are the purpose of life. Often only split second occurences/remembrances that cause an inner sigh, or at the best a tear of happiness to well in your eye's. These moments of sheer clarity and insight(happiness), are what bring you out of the mundane everyday affairs, and make you glad to be among the living.

Living happy, living free, is an exercise in respect. I have come to believe that abuse, criminal conduct, war's, fight's, breakdown or loss of love, is all a symptom of 'loss of respect'for life, or all it's manifestations. (simplistic to say the least, but it is imo the root of all unhappiness)

The animal kingdom display's this trait, with an almost instinctive inclanation. Human's have a hard time with the concept.

Mankind from birth to death, is bombarded with racist, religious, scientific, educational bias as to who deserves respect. Catagorizing every living thing, in some box or value rating.

I fight my own demons of past learned bias, everday of my life.

But as I ponder(moments/occurenences)of happiness, I have had and will have, these biases and lack of respect, are fewer and far between.

What is the purpose in life? Perhap's it is to grow (as long as one is allowed)in respect for life and all it represents.

Whatever the future holds, life has a purpose when you show respect for it, and when you are held in such a view by your fellow man.

BearMusings

Ps Then there is always Dave's eternal question 'why nipples'? I respect them very much, and enjoy sharing them with my lover, in they'er adulation and worship, whenever I get a chance. Moments man just the moments!

Good post! My purpose to life is to provide others with happiness and to love those whom I care about, but each individual has their personal beliefs/feelings and henceforth this carries a different meaning to each person alive on this earth.

I love life -- I am addicted to it. I stopped a while back trying to figure the meaning to mankind and why we are here. I am just sitting back, enjoying everything and stopping to smell the roses. They sure are sweet, aren't they?

My but we have much reflection on purpose etc. going on these days. I am pasting here my answer to another thread talking about our "purpose":

This whole purpose-of-life thing. So simple yet the simple answer can be hard to swallow. Especially coming from a save-yourself-screw-everyone-else mindset such as Christianity can be.

Ready? Here's your answer:

To contribute to the Greater Good.

Yes, that is why we are here. We are all tiny little specks that make up a big picture. Each a tiny cog in a huge machine. Each cog has it's own individual merits and imperfections yet can make huge contributions to the Greater Good. Not only is it our purpose, it is the only way to achieve the immortality so many covet so deeply their entire lives.

The hardest thing about accepting such an answer is the mistaken notion that we must sacrifice our individuality or personal worth to be a part of this grand picture. Nothing could be more wrong. It is our individuality and personal worth that makes us valuable "cogs" in the whole machine to begin with.

Julie