ldsoftwaresteve Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 I like Idsoftwaresteve's parable of the rock. As an existentialist, I think we're closer to the rock than we should ever admit. Our purpose is to persevere. But that's not much fun. So, our purpose is to persevere and to improve the space in which we live. That's not much fun either. So, our purpose is to choose to enjoy improving the space in which we live. That's still not much fun, but it contains the basic concept: we should choose to enjoy life, whether it earns that enjoyment or not. --lemit p.s. This level of self-examination isn't fun. Why do we do it? I disagree. This is one of the most enjoyable things we can do, talking about the royal me. And by that I mean humankind. Well, the point about the rock wasn't to show how much we're like the rock, it's to show how different we are. The most insignificant bug is not like a rock is what I'm trying to say. A rock doesn't have a 'purpose' as a rock. It just is. But we don't take the time to identify the real nature of that difference. Yet we talk about and try to identify our 'purpose' for being. If we have a purpose or reason for existing, so does the rock - at least, I think that could be argued. And if anyone wants to dispute that, they'd have to explain why a rock does or does not have a purpose. That puts us into the no-man's land of living and non-living things. Every time I attempt to discuss this stuff I get frustrated and probably frustrate everyone else too. Then I go away for a year or so and only come back after a programmed trigger that sends me back to the candy corn thinking it's going to taste good - and it never does. SONOFAB****! (Thank you Lewis Black). So, I'll launch this back into the giant noise receptacle and go away again. Love you guys/gals. Too bad we don't get much accomplished here other than to perhaps consolidate our own thoughts and express our feelings. I wish we had a way of achieving forward motion on this stuff as it all is important. Before I go I will tell you what I think our actual purpose is. Our purpose as sentient beings is to transcend the moment (the now) we're currently in and stay alive and maintain our identity as a sentient being. Survival, basically. And not just last through 72 orbits around the sun, but until the underlying functions that give us the natural laws change and the universe as we 'know' it goes away. And that means we have to understand existence. And we can't do that until we stop pretending that we already do. Honestly, in the 'royal we' sense, we don't have a clue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Since we live in a world of opposing yet complementary poles, day night, past future, male female, good evil, I would say life’s purpose is to oppose death or disorder. Creation balances out destruction. Destruction balances out creation. One cannot exist without the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemit Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Very good, Idsoftwaresteve. Thank you. I think you got it. Please don't go away. I have a bunch of questions for you. Idsoftwaresteve? Idsoftwaresteve? Steve? Steve? Too late, I guess. --lemit pamela 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moontanman Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 I honestly feel like, as beings with free will, we create our own purpose in life. There is no automatic purpose, no humanity wide purpose, no higher purpose, each individual creates his or her own purpose, some are grand some are somewhat less so but we each create our own purpose in our own way, people who look for a purpose that is somehow out side themselves like a higher power or ultimate cause cannot see the tree for the forest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 I honestly feel like, as beings with free will, we create our own purpose in life. There is no automatic purpose, no humanity wide purpose, no higher purpose, each individual creates his or her own purpose, some are grand some are somewhat less so but we each create our own purpose in our own way, people who look for a purpose that is somehow out side themselves like a higher power or ultimate cause cannot see the tree for the forest. We do come with an internal automatic drive to not only preserve our own life but to expand it. Hell Moontanman just look at inside you're own house. :hihi: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moontanman Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 We do come with an internal automatic drive to not only preserve our own life but to expand it. Hell Moontanman just look at inside you're own house. :hihi: We humans can and often do choose our purpose, from the blackest of evil to the brightest of good we can choose. There are lots of things both external and internal that influence us but ultimately we have to choose our path. Many creatures can and do over ride any internal "drive" Humans seem to be better at it than other creatures but we cannot really be sure of that since we do not exist inside their minds. To say that humans cannot and do not choose their own purpose is not rational and defies obvious evidence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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