Have you ever asked the question, "Why am I here"?

Question

Personally, I think this is the most important philosophical question to ask.

Why are you, "you"? Why weren't you born one of the other countless people on this planet? Did you win the sperm lottery? (Were we the fastest sperm on the block?) Are we the result of a cosmic mistake? A blunder? A happenstance?

When your three year old child looks you in the eye and asks "Daddy, why am I alive?" Should we say, "To change daddy's diapers when I am 80."

If we are the result of a mere accident, a combining of gasses, a cosmic fart.............if you will, then what meaning can be made of a life that was made of meaningless origins?

Answer 1

i ask that question every day at work... lol

No, but seriously... people can claim they know why because they read some book or because they have some religion that tells them why, or because they feel in their hearts that they know why. But is knowing feeling something in your heart? I felt in my heart that the Yankees were going to make it to the World Series this year, and it wasn't so. Is something true because a book or a priest says so, or because your family and friends say so? No. We don't really know why. No one ever carved the answer to that question indelibly onto the face of the earth. It just is. It's healthy to think about and develop your own philosophies, but don't expect a solid answer to an unanswerable question (that's what religion's for).

Did we win a sperm lottery? I'm a bit of a pantheist... I believe there's really only one life force in the universe, so we're all the same person living through billions of different biological manifestations that come up from the dirt and mud and sludge of the earth. And I think that when you die you realize that, but for now you are but one of many (which is infinitely better than being one of one). Those are my views from things I've read in books and feel in my heart, so you must make your own opinion... but that is mine, and I'm stickin to it. :)

What to tell the kids? I think you had a great answer! To change daddy's diaper when he's 80! It's a daft answer to a daft reality, so I think it's rather appropriate.

What meaning can be made from a world that came of meaninglessness? Just because we don't know why it is what it is doesn't mean it's meaningless... we just don't quite know. So it's like writing a story... we don't really know why people write stories, so its origin is somewhat meaningless, but the end product will hopefully have plenty of meaning (if it's a good book). So it's all up to us whether our lives read like a great novel or trash fiction. Those choices are readily available.

Answer 2

One thing is for sure, you are not going to find this answer on Yahoo! answers.

Everyday i see at least 3 to 4 question regarding the meaning of life, purpose of a living being, and why am i here. Perhaps there is no meaning in you being born, but you can give it a meaning. You can define your path, your purpose. Which i accept is the hardest thing to do. Buddha didn't just find the answer in a day.

But again may be your life might not make sense time to time but holistically it does. as a part of species it does. The important thing is to keep searching.

I am happy that so many conscious humans are asking this question.

Answer 3

I've donated food and money. It's not like I'm omnipotent, like you claim your god is. The one you trust implicitly, who from all indications is utterly indifferent to suffering or anything else that goes on on Earth. Millions of people are good without gods. If the question is a valid one, then why do you refuse to look for an answer? All you're doing is misattributing the actions of real life people to what is indistinguishable from an imaginary friend. And that's ungrateful.

Answer 4

Best answer I have found is from the psychic researchers. According to some communications, we are here to learn and grow. We experience numerous lives as animals and then humans (reincarnation) until we have learned enough to leave Earth life behind. We then leave the cycle, and continue to grow in other realms of existence. Make what you will of this, but if curious, go to any good library and look this stuff up.

Answer 5

Wow..... Deep. Yeah I think all of us with a brain have asked that same question, perhaps not as eloquently as you (lol) but the thing is, nobody in all the history of mankind has ever come up with a satisfactory answer. Aristotle comes close, Plato, Pope, Locke, Kant, Schopenhauer (sp) they all tried to reason it out and failed. Philosophy is a noble endeavor but ultimately it is up to each of us as individuals to find meaning (and hopefully happiness) in our lives. Its not really something someone else can do for you.

Answer 6

Well, I believe that we are all here to serve God. We are here to enhance each others lives and love one another. If you don't believe in God or some other higher power then I think you will never know the meaning of your existence. I urge you to pick up the Bible and read through it. Especially the book of Revelations. We are living in the final days before Christ's return. Many laugh and scoff at the whole idea of Chrisitianity. But I am a believer and I have seen God work wonders in my life. So, as a christian I feel it is my duty/"purpose in life" (that's why i'm here), to tell you that God is REAL and we all need to find Him and accept Him as our personal Savior. When He does come back, you DON'T want to be a non-believer.

Answer 7

No, we didn't win the "sperm lottery" although that's what science would want us to think, that we just happend by "chance." Actually, it was God who created us, God who brought sperm and egg together, God who formed you inside your mother's womb, who knows every hair on your head and your most intimate, personal feelings deep in your heart. Most people would just say im using religion to answer that "unanswerable" quesion of why am i here? Why do you think it is unansweable? It's because our weak human minds could not possibly comprehend the indescribable God, who could actually get down on his hands and knees, in the dirt and the mud, and form every single detail that makes us human, with his bare hands. He could just as easily said: "Be." And we would "pop" out of his mouth, just like every other animal and the rest of the universe as well. Even that is hard to fully comprehend. God tells us we will recieve ultimate understanding and wisdom when we go to heaven. Until then, we simply need to have faith.

Answer 8

I have asked the question, in a very different form, more than once. I asked, "What the hell am I doing here?" Most of the time, the guards wouldn't tell me, and once, I got a bucket of mop water thrown on me.

I have, since then, learned not to ask.

Answer 9

I'm me cause I'm me. No other reason. Yeah, when we were sperm, we won the race to the egg, and that's how we were born. We were fast.
It wasn't an accident, because existence needs us. Existence would be less if we weren't born. You're alive because existence needs you.

Answer 10

where did I come from;;I lived with God in the Spirit world before I was born into mortality

Why am I here:; I am here to learn and walk by faith, to prove I can learn and grow in wisdom

where am I going:: I am going to the spirit world after my body dies and my mortal body and spirit body separate. And after Jesus returns and the judgement happens, I will live according to the law I was able to live in mortality. I will live with my Father In Heaven if I do it right. There are two other major categories where a person can land. The celestial is best, Telestial and Terestrial. Good luck