2006-09-27 12:58:14 · 12 answers · asked by spyros f 1 in Social Science ➔ Psychology
"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?
2006-09-27 13:08:19 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Losing real love forever would mean getting cut off from the grace of having a good life or of being loved. Life does not become sensible anymore when you lose real love forever.
2006-09-27 20:49:29 · answer #2 · answered by DAX 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
People die, children get abducted, people lie, wars occur...what i'm trying to point out is that life goes on-With or without you. It sounds harsh but thats life. Its up to you to determine what is going to get you down and out. Love is not something that anyone can control...yet people are controlled by it. You've loved. You've lost. Now its time to take the experience as a lesson learn, and start living the rest of your life. Maybe what you had wasn't the real thing..forever would imply that it should still be going..and its not. Sorry but he's not worth the rest of your life. really.
2006-09-27 22:29:36 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
When you find the REAL forever real love, you will be able to answer this question. You are not the first, or the last, to feel the way you do.
2006-09-27 20:29:07 · answer #4 · answered by Me 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the meaning of life depends on what you value most. for me, it is family. when your goal is something like family, you realize that you're whole life is not just yours. it's also part of your "future family's." you work hard to get a job so you can support a family, so you and your family can live a relatively easy life, and so you can have something to look forward to (like little birthday parties or teaching your child things you love). for now though, you want to make sure you have a general goal in your life. you shouldn't have a problem figuring out what the meaning of life is after that. :o) cheers!
2006-09-27 20:17:50 · answer #5 · answered by Jessica Wang 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Believe me when I say we have all lost love and have moved on. And when we move on we love again.
it happened to me in my late teens (many many years ago) and I have never forgotten him. But I no longer love him. I have been married to the same man now almost 30 years and was the life God chose for me.
If you lost a love it was not in the STARS. Not your DESTANY. So please don't waste the precious time you have on earth thinking about the could haves and would haves, move on. The perfect match, soul mate is out there for you.
2006-09-27 21:11:31 · answer #6 · answered by Nevada Pokerqueen 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Forever? Get serious. If it were real you would not have lost it.
Grow up.
2006-09-27 20:06:06 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it means you've lost forever real love.....you do baby steps. collect yourself for however long..then..move on
2006-09-27 20:12:35 · answer #8 · answered by brennastarr24 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry about that. Maybe they weren't the right one. Everything happens for a reason.
2006-09-27 21:56:31 · answer #9 · answered by ginarene71 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Love springs eternal from the human breast..
You will live & love again...
2006-09-27 19:59:41 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
the meaning is that you still have the most important person in your life.... you still have yourself!
2006-09-27 21:40:19 · answer #11 · answered by adorable 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋