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What do you think the point or meaning of life is ?

74 replies

Lardlizard · 09/07/2019 13:39

?

OP posts:
tryingtobebetterallthetime · 10/07/2019 02:52

It can only be love. When you think about it, what else is there? To love and be loved.

summerofladybird · 10/07/2019 03:00

There isn't one, it's a scientific occurrence which we are all part of. Once we have reproduced we are superfluous.

Watersnail · 10/07/2019 03:39

Reproduction is obviously important to many of us, What about childless people though, would you say their life has"no point"?

loudnoises1 · 10/07/2019 03:49

There is no 'point' but there can be purpose and we each choose our own.

Ounce · 10/07/2019 03:51

There is no point. Once you get your head properly around that fact, only then are you free to enjoy life.

Getting caught up in prissy strictures about making the best of things and being nice all the bloody time just leads to misery and anxiety. Let it all go and face the void!

Kez200 · 10/07/2019 04:11

We evolved to make the world what it is but there isnt a meaning. Its live then die.

So, lets use our developed ways to enjoy it!

niceupthedanceagain · 10/07/2019 05:52

To use your energy in a positive way before you return to the source

BogstandardBelle · 10/07/2019 07:48

“Meaning” is an idea, a story invented by humans. So it can be whatever you want: big shared stories like love and God etc. Or smaller ones.

Biologically, we are here to reproduce our genes. Though the gut microbes theory is an intriguing one too!

BogstandardBelle · 10/07/2019 07:54

Love is just another story we’ve made up to explain an evolutionary adaptation. it’s a positive biochemical feedback mechanism which has evolved as a way to successfully pass on our genes. We care for (and increase the chances of survival of) those most closely related to us, genetically. That’s all. The chemicals in our brains that make us feel good encourage us to behave this way.

Campervan69 · 10/07/2019 07:56

Reproduction.

That's it really.

As soon as you've reproduced you can eat your partner I understand.....

ShatnersWig · 10/07/2019 08:11

There isn't one. It's pointless.

CherryPavlova · 10/07/2019 08:22

I was brought up believing that my purpose was to know, love and serve God in this life so that we can be happy with him in heaven.

Seems a reasonable way to live my life, given I remain a Christian. A good framework, perhaps.

BogstandardBelle · 10/07/2019 08:27

Reproduction is obviously important to many of us, What about childless people though, would you say their life has"no point"?

Not at all. Animal studies show that in many species, the ones that don’t reproduce themselves will give time and care to rearing the young of their closest relatives - thus helping to ensure that at least some of their genes get passed on through their nephews / nieces etc. My sister doesn’t have kids by choice, but she’s a great auntie to mine.

Reproduction is the biological point of all life, from humans to microbes. As humans, unlike all other species, we get to choose what other “points” or values we want to hold - and those can be whatever we want them to be. We choose* the stories that we want to believe in, for better or worse, and can live our lives accordingly.

*depending where you sit on the free will debate, that is!

Long story short, there’s the biological basis of life and there’s a whole range of cultural stories. The former pretty clear, the latter are whatever we choose to make them.

Horsemad · 10/07/2019 08:41

I don't think there is a point if I'm honest. We're born and have to go through life the best we can with the hand we've been dealt.

It's all a game of chance; which family we're born into, where we end up etc.

And then, we die. Hmm

BertrandRussell · 10/07/2019 09:06

“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”

CherryPavlova · 10/07/2019 09:15

BertrandRussell. Perhaps, but I find it difficult to be atop a mountain looking down and not feel a sense of awe and wonder. I like the idea that my life is guided with a sense of purpose.

People can choose to have a faith or not, we’ll none of us know until judgement day, will we?

Al2O3 · 10/07/2019 09:46

As soon as you’ve reproduced you can eat your partner I understand
@Campervan69

This is where humans are different. They eat their partner as a prelude to reproducing. At least if doing it properly.

AfterSchoolWorry · 10/07/2019 09:51

BogstandardBelle

Completely agree!!!

PierreBezukov · 10/07/2019 09:56

I learned the shorter catechism as a child -

Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

lazylinguist · 10/07/2019 10:13

I like the feeling that my own life is insignificant in the hugeness of time and the universe, and that there is no great purpose for which I exist. And I'm not at all bothered by the fact that I will cease to exist. I think it's healthier and less stressful to remember that the vast majority of our daily concerns do not matter a jot in the grand scheme of things. 'Do no harm' seems a pretty good guide to me.

sqeakywheel · 10/07/2019 10:18

To learn and be a better person each day.

Ohdearthefootball · 10/07/2019 10:28

It's just evolution, survival of the strongest genes - there is no point whatsoever. That we can enjoy ourselves, have relationships, love, enjoy art etc is completely by the by. Just a spin off for our only function which is to pass on genes. We are very lucky that we have such a beautiful planet to do so on though I must say. We will die out or evolve eventually like every other species that has every existed.

SuperFurryDoggy · 10/07/2019 14:48

I think the mostly likely purpose of our individual conscious lives is simply to observe/experience the universe. Sadly, I don't think we 'live on' after death in our own minds so to speak. However, I do not think that any of our individual experiences are meaningless or wasted.

Carl Sagan put it much more poetically when he said we are a way for the universe to know itself.

When I am trying to get my head around it all I picture the whole of creation and the universe as we know it being inside a dome. The outside of the dome is covered with billions of pin-prick holes representing each of our individual lives. Outside the dome there is a very bright light source which represents consciousness. The light (consciousness) streams through each of the pin-prick holes, illuminating the inside of the dome. From inside the dome it looks like billions of entirely separate light sources. When a hole is closed (death) it seems like that light has gone forever, but it was never really a separate thing in the first place.

Ohdearthefootball · 10/07/2019 15:05

Carl Sagan put it much more poetically when he said we are a way for the universe to know itself

That's lovely Super

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