"What is the meaning of life?" is a question many people ask themselves at some point during their lives. Some people believe that the meaning of life is one or more of the following:
Survival and temporal success
* ...to accumulate wealth and increase social status
* ...to compete or co-operate with others
* ...to destroy others who harm you, or to practice nonviolence and nonresistance
* ...to die having succeeded in your purpose
* ...to live
* ...to protect one's family
* ...to gain and exercise power
* ...to leave a legacy, such as a work of art or a book
* ...to produce offspring through sexual reproduction or asexual reproduction
* ...to seek freedom, either physically, mentally or financially
* ...to seek happiness and flourish, experience pleasure or celebrate
* ...to survive, including the pursuit of immortality through scientific means (see life extension)
Wisdom and knowledge
* ...to be without question, or to keep asking questions
* ...to explore, to expand beyond our frontiers
* ...to learn from one's own and others' mistakes
* ...to seek truth, knowledge, understanding, or wisdom
* ...to try to discover and understand the meaning of life
* ...to expand one's perception of the world
Ethical
* ...to express compassion
* ...to live in peace with each other, and in harmony with our natural environment (see utopia)
* ...to give and receive love
* ...to seek and acquire virtue, to live a virtuous life
* ...to serve others, or do good deeds
* ...to work for justice and democracy
Religious, spiritual and esoteric
* ...to turn fear into joy at a constant rate achieving on literal and metaphorical levels: immortality, enlightenment and atonement
* ...to achieve a supernatural connection within the natural context
* ...to achieve enlightenment and inner peace
* ...to become God, or God-like
* ...to experience existence from an infinite number of perspectives in order to expand the consciousness of all there is (i.e. God)
* ...to follow the "Golden Rule"
* ...to produce useful structure in the universe over and above consumption (see net creativity)
* ...to reach Heaven in the afterlife
* ...to understand and follow the "Word of God"
* ...to worship, serve, or achieve union with God
Other
* ...to advance natural human evolution, or to contribute to the gene pool of the human race
* ...to advance technological evolution, or to actively develop the future human
* ...to contribute to collective meaning ("we" or "us") without having individual meaning ("I" or "me")
* ...to die, or become a martyr
* ...to find a purpose, a "reason" for living that hopefully raises the quality of one's experience of life, or even life in general
* ...to live, and enjoy the passage of time
* ...to have fun
* ...to protect humanity, or more generally the environment
* ...to pursue a dream, vision, or destiny
* ...to relate, connect, or achieve unity with others
* ...to seek and find beauty
* ...to simply live until one dies (there is no universal or celestial purpose)
* ...to participate in the chain events which has led from the creation of the universe until its possible end (either freely chosen or determined, this is a subject widely debated amongst philosophers)
* ...still some do not even think there is any purpose whatsoever (see nihilism)
* ...(This is actually an extension of the point immediately above) There is no inherent meaning to life, existence, the universe, etc. They exist because they can. However, humans appear to inately give meaning, usually many, often conflicting, to what they are conscious of. So, to each individual, the "meaning of life" is whatever they decide it is. In that sense, every point above is potentially valid.
2006-08-17 14:20:23
·
answer #1
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋
Why are we here, what is life all about?
Is God really real, or is there some doubt?
Well tonight we're going to sort it all out,
For tonight it's the Meaning of Life.
What's the point of all these hoax?
Is it the chicken and egg time, are we all just yolks?
Or perhaps, we're just one of God's little jokes,
Well ca c'est the Meaning of Life.
Is life just a game where we make up the rules
While we're searching for something to say
Or are we just simple spiralling coils
Of self-replicating DNA?
What is life? What is our fate?
Is there Heaven and Hell? Do we reincarnate?
Is mankind evolving or is it too late?
Well tonight here's the Meaning of Life.
For millions this life is a sad vale of tears
Sitting round with really nothing to say
While scientists say we're just simply spiralling coils
Of self-replicating DNA.
So just why, why are we here?
And just what, what, what, what do we fear?
Well ce soir, for a change, it will all be made clear,
For this is the Meaning of Life - c'est le sens de la vie -
This is the Meaning of Life.
2006-08-17 17:15:52
·
answer #2
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋
The meaning of life is that you wetre put hewre to SERVE others and make a contribution to mankind. Some things are big and small. What you end up contributing do your best and try to be the best at what you do.
It isn't about money or power. It is about serving.others in some capacity. How you do that is how you will be remembered
2006-08-17 17:12:06
·
answer #3
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋
42
2006-08-17 17:08:45
·
answer #4
·
answered by my brain hurts 5
·
0⤊
0⤋
I wish I really knew its the Universal Question, but i guess to have inner peace within your self and that your kids and grand kids and so on will be happy and successful and that the world will be in good shape and people in the future will stop global warming and recycle..hows that?
2006-08-17 17:12:50
·
answer #5
·
answered by jojo 6
·
0⤊
0⤋
i think the meaning of life is to do something that will be remembered like if you have kids you will always br remembered my mom passed away 5 years ago but my sister has had a boy and girl since my mom died but they will always know how special she was and when they have familys they will teel them about her even though they never met her
2006-08-17 17:11:24
·
answer #6
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋
Just be a good person, help others, give to charity, take care of yourself and the earth, etc. And at the end of the day, have a cocktail or two.
2006-08-17 17:11:23
·
answer #7
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋
To live and reproduce to keep the human race going. I dont think we individually have a meaning, its just the whole human race.
2006-08-17 17:29:36
·
answer #8
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋
Noone really knows. It's individual, everyone has their own definition of life.
All I know is that life is short so enjoy in every second of it.
2006-08-17 17:16:07
·
answer #9
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋
Yes, It is a great old Monty Python movie.
2006-08-17 17:09:40
·
answer #10
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋
The meaning of life is to create new life. To procreate. To have progeny. Have children, protect your children, help them create more children.
2006-08-17 17:11:37
·
answer #11
·
answered by lumos 2
·
0⤊
0⤋