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What is the purpose of life?

As a non believer I often wonder about this.

  • 17 votes
  • 8 votes
  • 1 vote
  • 14 votes
  • 30 votes
  • 19 votes
Akfishlady 8 Feb 13
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40 comments

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0

Life's purpose is, and always has been, to perpetuate life. That is, to pass on DNA.

12

Whatever I decide it is, on any given day.

Today I decided my purpose was eating hot wings.

@EricTrommater Mine was making penne with asparagus in lemon-garlic sauce.

10

The purpose of life is to give life purpose.

And how do you do that?

@Algernon really?

@SonderOpia, really.

@Algernon 42

@SonderOpia, 42?

@Algernon yes, 42

@SonderOpia, is that a random number? Does it have a purpose?

8

I chose "life has no purpose" although only because it comes CLOSEST to my thinking, which is that life has no INHERENT purpose or meaning. There's plenty of purpose and meaning for individuals to find for themselves, but it's not externally bestowed or universally defined.

What he said.

5

Purpose is subjective, like the flavor of chocolate. No objective purpose, like no correct answer to is chocolate good. But if you don't like chocolate you're a commy and we don't like your kind -_- .

4

I have always liked to use the saying of learning, laughing and exploring.

4

To find out what the purpose of life is.

Jnei Level 8 Feb 13, 2018

So what about if someone finds what he think to be the purpose of life but he's wrong?

3

"To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women!"

Lol

3

To make another living organism's day a little better than it would have been without your existence.

Incomplete.

3

Maybe the idea of life having a purpose is a byproduct of having evolved advanced consciousness and the prefrontal cortex. Animals don't seem to worry about such things. For them it's pretty much survival. Pets are a little different since their survival is taken care of, so they can live without worrying about those things.

3

Hopefully, it is whatever you want it to be! Make money? Save the rainforest? Become infamous? Enjoy!

3

I think we can all choose our own purpose. For me, it's increasing awareness of women's sport, and helping make sure it gets the same funding and media attention as men's sport.

Jnei Level 8 Feb 13, 2018
3

What are we going to do tonight? "Same thing we do every night Pinky, try to take over the world without supernaturalism!" The Brain, 'Pinky and the Brain'

jeffy Level 7 Feb 13, 2018
3

Life is. Rocks are. Do they have a purpose? Granted, they can be useful but to suggest that the very act of being imposes a purpose is strained. If you wish to give your life a specific purpose that is wonderful (assuming it is a benevolent purpose, of course) but it was pretty much chance that got us here. Our duration is finite. Even that rock is gonna bite it in the end.

No, it was the exact opposite of a mere chance. We are not at all the product of chance but the state of the art product of evolution by natural selection.

3

I don't think there is any grand purpose. We can assign purpose, but those are individual missions people take on, not the purpose itself lending opportunity.

3

I guess I fall under the life has no purpose vote. Never understood nor cared what the purpose of life is. Life happens because it can.

3

42

@Akfishlady Everything includes purpose .

3

to experience

marga Level 7 Feb 13, 2018
3

From an Evolutionary standpoint to survive and reproduce. From any other it is has no purpose other than what you want to make of it.

The two things should not be in conflict to each other at least if we dare calling ourselves brainy beings.

1

While I believe that life has no inherent purpose, I decided a long time ago that I would like to have a positive influence in the lives I touch. I do that mainly through my chosen career.

1

Technically, it's to reproduce and continue the species, but that doesn't sound all that glamorous, does it? If we were to go beyond that, I'd say that life itself has no inherent meaning, but we can make our own meaning where we see fit. Writing gives meaning to my life and so does the presence of some members of my family.

1

I'm somewhere between procreating, no purpose, finding joy, and just a freak occurrence of cells coming together in the right way at the right time. We're here, we may as well do something good. Or I've achieved my major purpose in passing on my DNA, I'm not sure how much use I am now except as a little cog in a big machine.

1

Taking the question literally, it has to be the passing on of DNA, otherwise life will cease.
I think some people are answering a somewhat different question, like 'What is the meaning of life' Very different!

@Akfishlady lol, I've always wondered why the religious types, who promote procreation as the purpose of sex, don't stop having sex when they no longer procreate.

@Akfishlady, of course no! Reproduction it's a multi stage process.

@Akfishlady, @marga, haha, maybe they hope in God's intervention and get a child in old age, haha.

1

Life is it's own purpose.

1

None inherent, only made.

1

Life has no inherent purpose. We propagate by exchange of DNA or some other form of reproduction. That doesn't ascribe meaning.

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