What is the purpose of life?

[Yvgeniy]

Originally Posted by An Amateur

Your and Colby's conflicts kind of demonstraight what most people are saying. Life is what you make it. As you said its the ideologies your grow up believing that are influencing this. I think your starting to touch on a new point, that of comming to terms with ones mortality. Your now asking: What, realy, when it comes right down to it, is the bloody point?

Are existence is so fleating that in the grand scheme of things nothing we do will matter. Colby may argue that by achieving some form of greatness we may live on in history and in the minds of our successors, yet still...our whole race is but fleating in the eyes of the universe, and one day this world will be gone too and in the end what will it, and those monkies in pants of achieved? Probably nothing that matters in the grand scheme of things.

This argument is flawed by the same idea that everything we do was decided at the moment of creation, that if we know the exact position of each particle and the speed and direction of each particle in this universe we can fortell the rest of time. everytihng we do is predetermined, or random chance (with scientific evidence to support it), there is no concept of free will. This idea is too big for a human mind.

It's like asking a 2D being to percieve and understand the way a 3D enviroment works. We, arguable live in 4Dimensions(time being 4), and many still strugle with that concept. Right here, right now I can only percieve that when I tell me arm to move it is of my free will and that I made a concious decision, and that it had an effect and that it had consequence and that when i stuff my fat face ful of pie it tastes and feels good. So that is the only thing I can live for. What makes me happy, what my ideaoligy dictates is a good life.

Pie!

Right here, right now

Well, that's how I've always looked at the meaning of life. I mean, you really do have to think outside of our lives when it comes to that. And given other personal beliefs that I hold I generally come to the conclusion of an evolutionist, that there is no real purpose in life and nothing you do really matters. Being an animal with instincts and emotions, however, I strive to live for myself, and strive to keep myself alive fo as long as I possibly can.

Also, I don't think it's a hard concept to grasp that everything we do was in some sense known at the very start. It's like programming. If you write a program you can predict how it will act in every situation given how it was coded. With humans and the world this "programming" is nearly an infinite amount more complex. That's probably the only mind blowing thing about it, but by no means is it difficult to understand in concept. Likewise, I wouldn't be so ready to call it fate, or lack of free will. I mean, this knowledge can only be possessed by our creator, if one exists, and that all depends on the abilities of the creator as well (our creator doesn't necessarily have to be all knowing and all powerful). So, while the creator might be able to figure out what every person on this Earth would do in any given situation, nobody else could to his extent. It is still in essence a "program" that will run on its own, and yield results that are as a result of interactions between living beings and objects throughout.

[An Amateur]

Originally Posted by Yvgeniy

Well, that's how I've always looked at the meaning of life. I mean, you really do have to think outside of our lives when it comes to that. And given other personal beliefs that I hold I generally come to the conclusion of an evolutionist, that there is no real purpose in life and nothing you do really matters. Being an animal with instincts and emotions, however, I strive to live for myself, and strive to keep myself alive fo as long as I possibly can.

I don't really see how being an evolutionist and finding personal views on how you should live a good life are mutualy exclusive, contradicting or really related.

Originally Posted by Yvgeniy

Also, I don't think it's a hard concept to grasp that everything we do was in some sense known at the very start. It's like programming. If you write a program you can predict how it will act in every situation given how it was coded. With humans and the world this "programming" is nearly an infinite amount more complex. That's probably the only mind blowing thing about it, but by no means is it difficult to understand in concept. Likewise, I wouldn't be so ready to call it fate, or lack of free will.

You just made my original point again yet you seem to be trying to contradict it?

The Universe is comparable to a computer system and can only act in a certain way based on the laws written into its coding. As this is the case we have no free will, (fate is another matter), because everything is already decided based on these laws, or possibly on some scale there is random chance involved. You made that point yet don't believe that we have a lack of free will? That was my point, the fact that its so mind blowing means that we have no choice to believe in free will and that we make concious decisions because thats the best we can percieve the world.

Originally Posted by Yvgeniy

I mean, this knowledge can only be possessed by our creator, if one exists, and that all depends on the abilities of the creator as well (our creator doesn't necessarily have to be all knowing and all powerful). So, while the creator might be able to figure out what every person on this Earth would do in any given situation, nobody else could to his extent. It is still in essence a "program" that will run on its own, and yield results that are as a result of interactions between living beings and objects throughout.

I'm not quite sure where you were going with this...but I think my comments above apply to it well.

[didoomduck]

42.

10char

[Capto¨û룩]

to entertain god?

[Yvgeniy]

Originally Posted by An Amateur

I don't really see how being an evolutionist and finding personal views on how you should live a good life are mutualy exclusive, contradicting or really related.

I was just saying that because evolutionists believe there is no meaning to life. It's an evolutionist point of view that I agree with, basically.

Originally Posted by An Amateur

You just made my original point again yet you seem to be trying to contradict it?

The Universe is comparable to a computer system and can only act in a certain way based on the laws written into its coding. As this is the case we have no free will, (fate is another matter), because everything is already decided based on these laws, or possibly on some scale there is random chance involved. You made that point yet don't believe that we have a lack of free will? That was my point, the fact that its so mind blowing means that we have no choice to believe in free will and that we make concious decisions because thats the best we can percieve the world.

I'm contradicting it because I used to think along the same lines you do, but after thinking about it more I don't completely agree with that view anymore. That is to say that the opinion of the fact that we have no free will is subjective. It's all in how you define what it is not to have free will. I mean, we are still conscious beings that make decisions independently of other forces (as far as we're aware anyway), and is not what you might call free will? Sure, we might follow a certain set of rules and laws by which this world works, and based on our makeup (personality, state of mind, mood, etc.), but we're still making our own decisions, and nobody else is making them for us. Would you not say that is free will? I would. However, I also realize that it isn't free will in a true sense of free will. We are still bound by certain laws, and our actions/decisions/behavior is still as a result of outside forces and our personal programming that causes us to respond in a certain way to various phenomenon. So it really goes both ways, because we are slaves of the system, but we are still able to make our own choices within that system.

[Capto¨û룩]

Lol evolution talk, sounds like the play/book/movie inherit the wind.

[Bao]

well a lot of people have different perspectives on what the purpose of life is.
some say happiness, others say love, etc.

i believe it's just to die content with your life.
and like sling said, instinctively the purpose of life is to reproduce and survive.

[An Amateur]

Originally Posted by Yvgeniy

I was just saying that because evolutionists believe there is no meaning to life. It's an evolutionist point of view that I agree with, basically.

Are you talking about evolution, or evolutionism? There is a distinct difference however niether explicetly deal with there being any meaning to life one way or another. Unless you look at a popular 19th centurary belief that creatures of cultures are evolving to a specific form which is strongly related to plato's thoughts on original "idea" forms. But that implies the oposite of what you are saying.

I'm contradicting it because I used to think along the same lines you do, but after thinking about it more I don't completely agree with that view anymore. That is to say that the opinion of the fact that we have no free will is subjective. It's all in how you define what it is not to have free will. I mean, we are still conscious beings that make decisions independently of other forces (as far as we're aware anyway), and is not what you might call free will? Sure, we might follow a certain set of rules and laws by which this world works, and based on our makeup (personality, state of mind, mood, etc.), but we're still making our own decisions, and nobody else is making them for us. Would you not say that is free will? I would. However, I also realize that it isn't free will in a true sense of free will. We are still bound by certain laws, and our actions/decisions/behavior is still as a result of outside forces and our personal programming that causes us to respond in a certain way to various phenomenon. So it really goes both ways, because we are slaves of the system, but we are still able to make our own choices within that system.

Then your not disagreeing with me, you've mearly said a very similar thing to me in a different way. The definition of free will is symantics.

[Seta]

To be honest, there is no purpose to life which is probably why people commit suicide all the time. I think the only thing important in life is to make your own purpose. Set goals, be happy because there is someone always less fortunate then yourself, and try to make the ones that make you happy, happy as well.

[MatterDoom]

Originally Posted by Mr.Lucifer

The purpose of life is to have a purpose to live.

I agree. To me, having a purpose of life is extremely important. Everyone has goals and dreams, whether you succeed in fulfilling in it, really depends on yourself. For example, the reason i enjoy living is because of the driving force -- LOVE and the inspirational factor -- to SING.

[Amon]

Originally Posted by Mr.Lucifer

The purpose of life is to have a purpose to live.

Good answer.

Hm

Not just good, but the best answer.

[Colby]

To wonder.

[Ozone]

Dont think there is...ur gunna die anyway.

Nooo waitt. Its to find imortallity!!!!! O_O''

[LordShaft]

Originally Posted by ozonelight

Dont think there is...ur gunna die anyway.

Nooo waitt. Its to find imortallity!!!!! O_O''

If you can't die, how can you ever say that you lived?

[slingblader]

Originally Posted by LordShaft

If you can't die, how can you ever say that you lived?

Quite easily. In fact, you could technically say it for the rest of eternity. And if you imply that someone needs to die to say they've lived, well then no one can say that, as bodily functions like speech aren't possible after death.

Just saying