Without using religion please. That's not gonna help me. This is why I didn't post in the religion category.
2006-09-20 09:43:02 · 14 answers · asked by kunta kinte 2 in Social Science ➔ Other - Social Science
The question "what is the meaning of life?" means different things to different people. The vagueness of the query is inherent in the word "meaning", which opens the question to many interpretations, such as: "What is the origin of life?", "What is the nature of life (and of the universe in which we live)?", "What is the significance of life?", "What is valuable in life?", and "What is the purpose of, or in, (one's) life?". These questions have resulted in a wide range of competing answers and arguments, from scientific theories, to philosophical, theological, and spiritual explanations.
Popular beliefs
"What is the meaning of life?" is a question many people ask themselves at some point during their lives, most in the context "What is the purpose of life?" Here are some of the many potential answers to this perplexing question:
Survival and temporal success
* ...to accumulate wealth and increase social status
* ...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 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 gain and exercise power
* ...to leave a legacy, such as a work of art or a book
* ...to live
* ...to produce offspring through sexual reproduction or asexual reproduction
* ...to protect one's family
* ...to pursue a dream, vision, or destiny
* ...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 expand one's perception of the world
* ...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 understand creation
Ethical
* ...to achieve a supernatural connection within the natural context
* ...to achieve enlightenment and inner peace
* ...to achieve rebirth in the Pure Land
* ...to become like God, or God-like
* ...to be rewarded for your deeds
* ...to experience existence from an infinite number of perspectives in order to expand the consciousness of all there is (i.e. God)
* ...to express compassion
* ...to follow the "Golden Rule"
* ...to give and receive love
* ...to live in a way that you don't harm yourself and don't harm your environment
* ...to work for justice and freedom
Religious and spiritual
* ...to be a filter of creation between heaven and hell
* ...to die and become a martyr
* ...to live in peace with each other, and in harmony with our natural environment (see utopia)
* ...to produce useful structure in the universe over and above consumption (see net creativity)
* ...to protect humanity, or more generally the environment
* ...to reach Heaven in the afterlife
* ...to seek and acquire virtue, to live a virtuous life
* ...to serve others, or do good deeds
* ...to turn fear into joy at a constant rate achieving on literal and metaphorical levels: immortality, enlightenment and atonement
* ...to understand and follow the "Word of God"
* ...to worship, serve, or achieve union with God
* ...to disprove the existence of a or all all gods
Other
* ...to achieve self-actualisation
* ...to contribute to collective meaning ("we" or "us") without having individual meaning ("I" or "me")
* ...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 participate in the inevitable increase in entropy of the universe
* ...to make the conformists' lives miserable (see non-conformism)
* ...to participate in the chain of 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)
* ...to relate, connect, or achieve unity with others
* ...to resolve all problems that one faces, or to ignore them and attempt to fully continue life without them, or to detach oneself from all problems faced (see Buddhism)
* ...to seek and find beauty
* ...as there is no intrinsic meaning to life, to each individual, the "meaning of life" is whatever he/she decides it is. In that sense, every point above is potentially valid.
* ...an answer to the question "What is the meaning of life?" is that it is just simply being able to ask the question, "What is the meaning of life?" (see Sri Sri Ravi Shankar below)
* ...a combination of any of the above.
No purpose, and therefore...
* ...to simply live until one dies (there is no universal or celestial purpose)
* ...just a series of events
* ...just nature taking its course
* ...the wheel of time keeps on turning
* ...the cycle of life
* ...whatever you see you see, as in "projection makes perception"
* ...there is no purpose or meaning whatsoever (see nihilism)
* ...who cares?
2006-09-20 12:57:00 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
This is the BIGGEST question on earth. This is the question all sages try to get the answer to. This is why people seek enlightenment (I'm not religious by the way). Thing is no-one has the answer. You can find out how, but you can't get the WHY. So frustrating.
When you get to the inner questions - the question seems fruitless. You start asking God - what the bloody hell were you thinking?
But the question is well worth asking, if only to make your life a little more deeper than the person who never asks the question. Shows you have an enquiring mind. And if you are frustrated with your life, perhaps you're going through a rough patch and that's why you asked in the first place - well join the cue of other frustrated people wanting to know the same answer to your big question.
2006-09-20 09:56:18 · answer #2 · answered by Mercury 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The meaning of life is Death. It's really as simple as that. Live in the moment. Die to each previous moment. Our biggest mistake is regretting the past and fearing the future. Take NOTICE of what you are doing each moment. I recommend "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle.
But the fact of the matter is, if you're asking what the meaning of life is, you're not quite ready to hear the answer.
2006-09-20 10:04:02 · answer #3 · answered by Chris 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
42
2006-09-20 09:59:08 · answer #4 · answered by tagi_65 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sure i think of that life for repeat offenders is robust.I mean reason maximum of those murders might have been prevented if the killers could have stayed in reformatory. i will relate to the sufferers families. My chum replaced into killed in 1997 and that they have got no leads.An i know on occasion the jury shall we them off yet come on if the guy or lady killed greater desirable than as quickly as you recognize hes going to do it lower back.
2016-12-12 11:51:54 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the meaning of life is what you want it to mean... it's differnt for everyone!
that's why we have goals... our goals are a symbol of what we think the meaning of life should be for us!
if you don't like your meaning of life or where your at then change it! only you can!
But personally the mean of life for me is to help others and help my self grow as an individual... To success to my fullest potiential with doing that i help keep the world alive...
Do you feel ALIVE?
if not then do something out of your box! yeah something you wouldn't dare do! it's call a risk and with out them you might as well be in a box 6 ft down under the ground! some risks are not as big as others but trust me you need the risks!
example i dont like low hights if that makes sence! but i did climb up that ridge that was at a very sharp angle i almost fell down it i'm sure i would of broke something or gotten hurt! i was soooo scared i sat on the ridge just holding i said to my self i can't go any higher. then i looked down i can't get down from here WTF.. so i took the risk and made it to the top! i rewared my self and was the first to go down! now i didn't concor my fear.. i still don't like hights but i'm a step closer to living my life to the fullest! and the rush! WOW it was cool!
Good luck
hope i helped ya a bit!
if your having issue check out a free web site called coping.org it will help you personally grow! i just love what the site has done for me and i want to pass it on!
Mad luv
2006-09-20 09:57:18 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Larry told me to tell you this: The meaning of life is basically a secret only to be unlocked by yourself. Noone in the world could possibly tell you what it is because it has many different meanings. The answer lies within you.
2006-09-20 09:54:17 · answer #7 · answered by Mr. Poopyhonkadoodle 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The meaining of life is to pro-create and populate the earth,
have a meaningful life, considerate of others, helpful to the needy and then you happily die.
2006-09-20 09:53:44 · answer #8 · answered by Mightymo 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To get the most points on Yahoo answers
2006-09-20 09:45:50 · answer #9 · answered by Robin A. 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Life is meaningless unless you believe in an after life but that brings up the question of relig. oops!
2006-09-20 09:46:23 · answer #10 · answered by Shauna 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
buy a book written by Viktor Frankl, the founder of logotherapy.
i dont remember the name but is something like " the man in search of meaning" or something like that.
2006-09-20 09:48:46 · answer #11 · answered by My 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋