What is the Purpose of Life ?

[dimreepr]

54 minutes ago, FreeWill said:

Who else I could be? My experience and appearance is universally unique. 

I just can be myself and I think there is a reason to be Me.

You're missing the point. We're not born with a purpose or a set of goals to be achieved.

56 minutes ago, FreeWill said:

I always, wanna be a positive impact on reality. 

You're entitled to set whatever goals you want, but there's no universal imperative to do so. 

There is no "purpose/reason" for life, only the arbitrary set of goals you give yourself IOW any meaning/reason/purpose to life is completely subjective; there's nothing objective to measure. 

[StringJunky]

1 hour ago, dimreepr said:

You're missing the point. We're not born with a purpose or a set of goals to be achieved.

You're entitled to set whatever goals you want, but there's no universal imperative to do so. 

There is no "purpose/reason" for life, only the arbitrary set of goals you give yourself IOW any meaning/reason/purpose to life is completely subjective; there's nothing objective to measure. 

Yes. You can do something or do nothing... nobody's watching... except your parents... maybe.

Edited August 15, 2019 by StringJunky

[dimreepr]

On 8/12/2019 at 8:57 PM, Airbrush said:

The question is what is the purpose of life in general, not what the human purpose for life is.  

Sorry I missed this post. The answer doesn't change with the question... 

Life may seem to quest for life, but that's not it's purpose, it's just what happens when life succeeds; and no, success is not the purpose, it's the result...

[Airbrush]

On 8/14/2019 at 1:01 PM, MPMin said:

to live 

Exactly.  The purpose of life is to live.  Then, suppose that life can get a little better at living, that will enhance it's ability to continue living and leave behind progeny.  To get better is to live, supercharged.

Sorry that "purpose" is a meaningless term in science, but many people think in simple terms, such as myself.

Edited August 16, 2019 by Airbrush

[Curious layman]

For me, lately the purpose of life is to find purpose. Sometimes life feels overwhelming. But it's always the small things that lift me. People saying hello, helping me out when they have no reason to, being nice, small things like that.

So I guess my purpose would be to remember you only have to do small things to really help someone.

And try to be less of a socially awkward dick too, that would help.

[dimreepr]

48 minutes ago, Airbrush said:

Exactly.  The purpose of life is to live.  Then, suppose that life can get a little better at living, that will enhance it's ability to continue living and leave behind progeny.  To get better is to live

 

If the purpose of life is to live and get better, what if I don't?

[Phi for All]

3 hours ago, Airbrush said:

Exactly.  The purpose of life is to live.

So we all end up FAILING at the purpose of life? I think you need a qualifier.

[moth]

"While you can" could be considered implicit in "to live". Life is a dangerous place.

Speaking as someone who has failed once or twice at many things in life, yet still survives, i can say failure just means i need a better plan.

 

[dimreepr]

14 hours ago, moth said:

Speaking as someone who has failed once or twice at many things in life, yet still survives, i can say failure just means i need a better plan.

Or you could just stop worrying about "a plan" and cross the bridge when you get to it.

[moth]

9 hours ago, dimreepr said:

.... cross the bridge when you get to it.

That still sounds like a plan to cross a bridge.

I think it worked out okay for Bruce Willis, when he went to retrieve his fathers watch.

[iNow]

The purpose of life is to choose, and the choice itself is simple. 

Choose kindness

or

Choose blindness

Your purpose is to choose.

 

[FreeWill]

6 hours ago, iNow said:

The purpose of life is to choose, and the choice itself is simple. 

Choose kindness

or

Choose blindness

Your purpose is to choose.

 

The choice is rather a possibility of life than the purpose of it.

I.e something can be alive even it has no choice, for example bacterias. 

My purpose of life is to understand Nature as good as I can, and positively impact its presence and future.

I have already choosen a purpose, I do not want/need to change this one. 

I wanna know more about Nature. 

Learning I would call one of the purposes of life.

 

Edited August 18, 2019 by FreeWill

[iNow]

My post equally doesn’t apply to fruit flies or cactus or most forms of life. While whimsical as a commentary on modern times and human politics, it’s really quite crap when applied to the overall thread topic and I’d like to retract it. 

[dimreepr]

16 hours ago, moth said:

That still sounds like a plan to cross a bridge.

No more than a plan to avoid death.

 

My plan is to not stop breathing...

On 8/16/2019 at 4:51 PM, Curious layman said:

For me, lately the purpose of life is to find purpose. Sometimes life feels overwhelming. But it's always the small things that lift me. People saying hello, helping me out when they have no reason to, being nice, small things like that.

So I guess my purpose would be to remember you only have to do small things to really help someone.

And try to be less of a socially awkward dick too, that would help.

You could just smile...

 

[Curious layman]

Bob says it better...

Don't worry be happy

[Airbrush]

On 8/16/2019 at 9:25 AM, dimreepr said:

If the purpose of life is to live and get better, what if I don't?

Just try your best.  Only you know what your best is.

I have made wrong choices many, many times in my life.  Trump would call me a "loser" because of it.  To lose is not to be a loser.  Each time, I do my best to recover and get better, somehow, in some way.   That is all any form of life can do is live and try their best at survival.

Edited August 19, 2019 by Airbrush

[dimreepr]

9 hours ago, Airbrush said:

Just try your best.  Only you know what your best is.

I have made wrong choices many, many times in my life.  Trump would call me a "loser" because of it.  To lose is not to be a loser.  Each time, I do my best to recover and get better, somehow, in some way.   That is all any form of life can do is live and try their best at survival.

You're nearly there but instead of "Just try your best" just try and not die...

[Airbrush]

1 hour ago, dimreepr said:

You're nearly there but instead of "Just try your best" just try and not die...

Yes "Just try and not die," but also try to avoid injury, and eat healthy food, while you're at it.

We are how we eat.  Food is medicine.

Edited August 19, 2019 by Airbrush

[dimreepr]

28 minutes ago, Airbrush said:

Yes "Just try and not die," but also try to avoid injury, and eat healthy food, while you're at it.

We are how we eat.  Food is medicine.

Your replies are very frustrating because you seem so close and then "We are how we eat.  Food is medicine."  Whereas it should read: We are because we eat and medicine is medicine and food is just healthy, if you eat it...

[Airbrush]

1 hour ago, dimreepr said:

Your replies are very frustrating because you seem so close and then "We are how we eat.  Food is medicine."  Whereas it should read: We are because we eat and medicine is medicine and food is just healthy, if you eat it...

Not all food is medicine.  Some is poison, and other not helpful.  Not all "foods" are good fuel or even have medicinal properties (e.g. sugar, salt, fat).  In fact, if life eats the wrong food that life may either die or be weakened.  That will interfere with life's ability to continue to live.  How many of us are life that is weakened?  Which brings us back to my signature, "Tax Junk Foods."

Edited August 19, 2019 by Airbrush

[Art Man]

On 8/5/2019 at 10:14 PM, Airbrush said:

This is a serious question.  I'd like to know how you would answer this in a few words.

My answer to the question is the purpose of life is to get better, in a few words.  "To get better" is evolution, adaption, and survival.  If you get sick, your purpose is to get better.  If you do well in anything, the purpose is to get better.

Life's main objective is to spread, avoid extinction and evolve into higher forms.

[Phi for All]

2 minutes ago, Art Man said:

evolve into higher forms.

How does that work?

[Airbrush]

8 hours ago, Art Man said:

Life's main objective is to spread, avoid extinction and evolve into higher forms.

Life can spread only to suitable habitats.

Life cannot avoid extinction, when extinction is an outside force.  The dinosaurs could not avoid that asteroid.

Life will evolve to adapt and survive.  Humans evolved dramatically.  But sharks, cockroaches, and many microbes never needed to evolve hardly at all.

Edited August 29, 2019 by Airbrush

[naitche]

On 8/29/2019 at 11:35 AM, Airbrush said:

Life can spread only to suitable habitats.

Life cannot avoid extinction, when extinction is an outside force.  The dinosaurs could not avoid that asteroid.

Life will evolve to adapt and survive.  Humans evolved dramatically.  But sharks, cockroaches, and many microbes never needed to evolve hardly at all.

I think this misinterprets or disregards  the role of  response.

Life can only spread to suitable habitats.

 But familiarity, recognition and response to habitats, (physical and behavioural) can change the definition of suitable.

Life cannot avoid extinction, when extinction is an outside force. The dinosaurs could not avoid that asteroid.

If they had, like man, familiarised and come to recognise a wider environment ie the universe, they have a greater chance of finding a response that could avoid that asteroids impact.

Or like man, recognise the possibilities of spreading their own habitat to include off world, through familiarity, recognition and response.

The dinosaurs did not recognise an environment, so lacked the ability to develop a response.

Edited September 7, 2019 by naitche

[ydoaPs]

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Moderator Note

Topic moved to General Philosophy