The Purpose Of Life

[Mal12345]

Like here you mean?

And so it was!

 

[Cellmold]

And so it was!

I'm getting better at it.

 

[Sunny Ghost]

"We are here to fart around. Don't let anyone tell you any different." -K. Vonnegut

 

[SpankyMcFly]

Some people say that life just is, and that the individual person gives it purpose.

However, if life HAS a purpose, a UNIVERSAL purpose, what could it be?

The Prime Directive = propagate. Our modern brains are all still subject to the same stone age drives & instincts that got us here in the first place. Whether or not we "choose", I use the term advisedly, to act on them or not is another matter.

“Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

 

[Mal12345]

The Prime Directive = propagate. Our modern brains are all still subject to the same stone age drives & instincts that got us here in the first place. Whether or not we "choose", I use the term advisedly, to act on them or not is another matter.

“Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Propogate to what end?

 

[SpankyMcFly]

Propogate to what end?

On a universal level, the species. It's on the individual level that things get interesting.

In a hundred years it's very likely that any vestiges of who/what Mal12345 "was" will be gone, in a practical sense. I sure don't remember my great-grandparents, who they were, what paths they had walked & experiences they'd enjoyed/endured, their essence. My grandparents are also gone now as well as my parents. My generation is next

I liken much of this line of thinking to a sort of "death anxiety". If I am correct and you are able to overcome it, you will find liberation and a sense of calmness.

Have you watched the movie "V for Vendetta"? There was a great scene in the movie where NP (Natalie Portman) had just learned that her imprisonment and torture had all been a ruse by V to get her to break and talk to the "authorities". She didn't break though and was ready to face death head on, she had accepted her impending execution and found that she no longer feared it... That was her "gift" to her, helping her to lose her self admitted fearfulness.

"You said you wanted to live without fear. I wish there'd been an easier way..."

 

[SpankyMcFly]

I don't know if I'm up to torturing you and leading you to believe that you are about to be executed though. Maybe if I knew you better and was "invested".

 

[Infinite Bubble]

The Prime Directive = propagate.

I agree. The interesting question though, is where this drive comes from.

 

[SpankyMcFly]

I agree. The interesting question though, is where this drive comes from.

I'd say it's a subconscious biological drive innate in all species.

Ever hear about a female preying mantis eating her mate post insemination during times of hunger? (for the female) The male doesn't even fight back. Parents tossing themselves in front of oncoming cars and all kinds of irrational behaviors to "save" their progeny? These mechanisms are ways of ensuring propagation.

 

[SpankyMcFly]

I agree. The interesting question though, is where this drive comes from.

This caused me to think about a video I saw on the Permian mass extinction event.

The Day the Earth Nearly Died

Apparently one of the survivors was this guy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynodont

After several evolutions would eventually lead to mammals, which led to us. Yeah, those damn Cynodonts.

 

[Mal12345]

On a universal level, the species. It's on the individual level that things get interesting.

In a hundred years it's very likely that any vestiges of who/what Mal12345 "was" will be gone, in a practical sense. I sure don't remember my great-grandparents, who they were, what paths they had walked & experiences they'd enjoyed/endured, their essence. My grandparents are also gone now as well as my parents. My generation is next

It also reminds me of a scene at the end of Star Trek Into Darkness, and a lot of other movies.

You got lost after "It's on the individual level that things get interesting." It's all interesting, as are individual movies.

Apparently you're not interested in the question of whatever universal end is served by propagating.

 

[Fun in the Sun]

The purpose of life was to evolve a species that could create an MBTI forum to discuss the purpose of life Now what?

 

[Mal12345]

The purpose of life was to evolve a species that could create an MBTI forum to discuss the purpose of life Now what?

No one knows.

 

[Haven]

Plastic!

 

[Mole]

Natural Selection tells us that life in the form of DNA has no purpose.

However Psychology tells us that conscious individuals have purpose.

And Sociology tells us families, clans, tribes, institutions and nations have conscious purpose.

So it seems that DNA has no purpose, while consciousness has purpose.

 

[Mal12345]

Natural Selection tells us that life in the form of DNA has no purpose.

However Psychology tells us that conscious individuals have purpose.

And Sociology tells us families, clans, tribes, institutions and nations have conscious purpose.

So it seems that DNA has no purpose, while consciousness has purpose.

What do you mean, DNA has no purpose?

All you're saying is that DNA isn't conscious therefore it has no purpose.

But IF dna has a purpose, what would it be?

 

[Mole]

What do you mean, DNA has no purpose?

All you're saying is that DNA isn't conscious therefore it has no purpose.

But IF dna has a purpose, what would it be?

Natural Selection says DNA has no purpose.

 

[Mal12345]

Natural Selection says DNA has no purpose.

Why does Natural Selection say that? Is it conscious?

 

[Mole]

Why does Natural Selection say that? Is it conscious?

A conscious person who understands the fact of Natural Selection will see that DNA has no purpose.

Of course we talk about evolution as though it had the purpose of selecting us, but this is anthropromorphizing.

And as far as we know the only creatures with a purpose are conscious creatures. We are not only conscious but we are also inter-subjective so we endow families, tribes, religions, institutions and nations, with pupose.

 

[Mal12345]

A conscious person who understands the fact of Natural Selection will see that DNA has no purpose.

Of course we talk about evolution as though it had the purpose of selecting us, but this is anthropromorphizing.

And as far as we know the only creatures with a purpose are conscious creatures. We are not only conscious but we are also inter-subjective so we endow families, tribes, religions, institutions and nations, with pupose.

The limits of knowledge (the "as far as we know's") don't stop any particular person from endowing the unconscious part of nature with purpose. And anyway, what would be wrong with that?