What is the point of life, the universe, and everything?

Question

I'm not just talking about 42.
Okay, so I'd like to know if life is more worthwhile then just reproducing. That's essentially your function; to help your race survive. Is there anything else that we should strive for? Improving your quality of life only means a higher production of offspring who, in turn, will produce more offspring.

The number 42 relates to Douglas Adams and his amazing series of books.

Many people believe the point of life is to go to heaven and live in bliss there. What if you don't believe in heaven as I don't? Also, theoretically if there is a heaven, what would be the point of living there? Too much of a heaven could be interpreted as hell.

Regarding the above comment, I am not convinced the point in life is to discover that there is heaven and hell, mainly because
1. I was not raised in the Christian fatih
and
2. I personally am agnostic.

Thank you for everyone who answered my question by telling me I needed to discover God/Jesus/etc. but it hasn't helped yet. Anyone with a different strategy would help IMMENSELY.

Another point about my thinking, as observed by an answerer, was that the better your life is the better your offspring's life is, and that one major goal of your life is to provide well for your offspring. All that would lead to would be MORE OFFSPRING because you could provide for more. This strenghtens the homo sapien species, but doesn't provide an insight into life, which is why I am asking this question in the first place; I just thought that I should clarify.

Answer 1

I think Joseph Campbell said it best:

“Life is without meaning. You bring the meaning to it. The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be. Being alive is the meaning.”

It takes a lot of courage to wake up and face each day knowing that you could die at any time and once you do that's it. Game over. No second-chance life in heaven for second-chance virgins. God doesn't have a plan for your life - that's your job. And I know that is a scary proposition to face up to. People who are afraid of the starkly impersonal nature of godless reality take comfort and pride in remaining ignorant of facts (such as scientific proof or logic); which, by the way, is a very common and human way of dealing with difficult things. It's exactly the same as people who practice risky sex while ignoring the fact that they could get AIDS, or people who drive drunk while ignoring the fact they could kill someone or themselves. Most people would rather ignore reality than face it and take responsibility for their own actions.

So what is my advice to you?

be the very best person you can be
be kind to others
look out for your fellow man
donate your time and money to a worthwhile charity
leave things better than when you found them
don't just treat people how you'd like to be treated - treat people better than you'd like to be treated
practice what you preach
don't say one thing and do another
don't use religion as an excuse for unforgivable behavior
don't force your views onto other people
stand up for what you believe is right and speak out
be strong in the face of opposition
learn from your mistakes
contemplate the consequences of your actions
think
read
above all else... listen

Answer 2

Basically, in my view as a child, is that life is a game, a game show, I suppose. What's there to win? Paradise, Happiness, worthwhile rewards that only the worthy may get. Where do these prizes come from? I suppose you can guess who gives them to you (leaving blank so the Religion doesn't get in the way).

The thing about the offspring thing is gonna kill off the world in senseless violence. We'll reach a point in which Mass destruction is vital to being alive (it's the irony of time and production).

Anyway, your goals are made by what you discover to be your purpose. Some people achieve happiness, and I mean total happiness, and die forgotten when they deserved to be remembered.

Anyway, being the little philosopher that I am, I know what I'm talking about. Improving the quality of life for all and not just yourself is something you'd like if you did it knowing that everyone would enjoy it, sooner or later.

Answer 3

That is a great question, especially from someone as young as you. The point of life, as you put it, is to realize that everything and everyone here has a purpose and a reason. No one was put here accidentally as there are no accidents in life. Th point is for us to realize that we are all connected, we are all one, and nothing and no one can function independently. The point is that each one of us can have whatever we NEED, but not always whatever we want from this universe that we are all a part of. The point here is that we learn and accept the fact that we all make our own causes and will reap our own effects, good or bad. This is an iron law that no one can escape. To realize that there is no God, in the sense that you think there is, that there is no white old man riding in the clouds, with a laptop, keeping score. The God you are looking for is inside you, but at the same time, so is the potential to become another Hitler or Saddam Hussein. The point of life is that you are supposed to love with all your heart and soul, because with real love, nothing else maters, and without it, nothing is ever enough. If you are interested, go look at a book titled, "what the bleep do we know", it will answer alot of questions for you. When we all realize the points that I have made here, I think that the whole world will be alot better off.

Answer 4

we are all different, with a different purpose, living sometimnes in entirely different universes which do not seem to share a border with many of the others who are somehow part of our communities. the only person who can decide what the point is is you. for me it's all about love and music, harmony, melody, rhythm, and dissonance. maybe it's because I'm a musician.
but obeying god, my conscience, surviving, reproducing, learning, and teaching are also important things within my own schema. it is also important to laugh, to share, to be honest to yourself and others, and to be open to what is in the world because it's the same on the inside as it is on the outside and we make this place in a very real way. it is important to make decisions about these things because if you don't then you'll just end up being a bad actor in somebody else's tragicomedy.
I hope some of this helps you see what you are looking for a little more clearly. good luck, and have the best life you know how to have!!

Answer 5

As humans we think of ourselves as the end of the line in evolution. As such we feel that our lives as individuals must have some greater meaning. When we consider that we as a species comprise a given percentage of the biomass based on our consumption as top predator this is an easy trap to fall into. The true meaning of life should be considered from the perspective of the biomass itself. We as humans have been around as a numerical percentage of the biomass for a relatively short span of time. Especially considering the length of time the biomass itself has been present on this planet as a "consistent mass". We are nothing more then an expression of the biomass. Another permutation that it's created in it's own game of survival and expansion. For the question to be relevant it must be asked "What is the desired goal of the biomass"? In this context the answer is simplicity itself. The goal is to expand beyond the confines of the planetary biosphere. To achieve this goal it is necessary to create a permutation capable of designing the next stage of evolutionary consciousness and humans with their mechanical ingenuity seem well equipped to do so. If, in fact, they don't destroy themselves in the process. It's been said that necessity is the mother of invention. The biomass is counting on that. That's why we were created so virulent.

Answer 6

I believe mankind looks for simple and absolute answers to this question, when there are many smaller and monumental goals and challenges we encounter in our lives. We could easily just be self-centered and just kill, steal, rape, pig-out on food, alcohol & drugs, hate, (and many do act like this....). But instead most of us feeel theres more then that.
I'm 45 so I have some life expierience, and I think we are the point, its not something out there. And after all the things you can effect the most is yourself and others, not "God", or earthquakes, or really abstract concepts. You should develope a lifetime character, help others, and pursue goals you believe in, and not just sex ,money, materialism, etc.,( Although they have their role too.)

Answer 7

That is the greatest question. I would hate to think that the meaning of life was to meet a man appease his ego, have children, and then die. You have a very interesting point about striving to improve the quality of life for those that come after us. I do believe that this is important. I often think about the fact that the world is over populated as it is and do I want to add to the mess. And that leads me to think about all of the uneducated people out there who are having offspring who will also be uneducated. I am not saying that they should not have children (this is their right) just that they need to be better educated. This I believe is my purpose in life. To teach those who need to be taught. I think that we all have our own definition of the meaning of life. There is not any one definition that applies to all mankind since we are separate beings. That is my opinion. Weird maybe but it's mine.

Answer 8

I ask this same question once in a meditation. The answer came clear as a bell.

It said I have placed you here to learn the true meaning of Love. What ever it was that was answering then told me something that really set me back. It said that I felt the way I did about certain people because I did not understand the true meaning of love. I protested and said that I did my best to love all of the people who were deserving of love.

It replied "yes that is your misunderstanding. You see love as something that you dole out in tiny little portions here and there to people who you have judged to be worthy of it. This is not love at all, it is only judgment". This stopped me dead in my tracks. I suddenly realized that what it was saying to me was true. This realization brought me to tears. It went
on and told me, "You treat love as though there is some shortage of it. It is not something that you can run out of. The more love that you give, the more love that there is in the world. Its that simple. The only way that there can be a shortage of it is if you hoard it and keep it to yourself."

It went on to explain, that "this is what Jesus was trying to tell you when he asked you to turn the other cheek, to judge not and to love your neighbor. He made no exceptions in these things that he requested of you. Why are you making exceptions, and judging some as worthy of love and others as not? Jesus fully intended for you to apply this love that you are to all, in a universal manner without any judgment of any sort". By this time the tears Were flowing freely. I was crying because for the first time in my life I Understood what the message Jesus left for us in the bible actually meant.

This has become my truth. I can't say what yours is for sure, but I have a feeling that it is probably similar.

Love and blessings
don

Answer 9

The point of all that differs from person to person. Each person is fulfilled by different things. Be happy, whatever it takes. Some people get much satisfaction through helping others who are perhaps less fortunate. Some people hug trees. Some people volunteer to walk dogs at the dog pound. Others seek happiness through possession of material goods. I think a well rounded, intelligently thinking human being wanders through life experiencing a wide, wide range of experiences, perhaps learning from them, perhaps not, realizing that it's not just their own life that's important, but that other lives are connected to theirs as well. There is no one thing that answers every question you have asked, it's up to each person to take their journey, find their own answers, and in the end, through wisdom gained in life, perhaps come to realize that their life has been worth living.

Answer 10

improving the quality of your own life. to decide what your purpose or your passion will be. to use your gifts to make as much of yourself as possible and through that, for the good of all. it's not just about surviving. that's not really living, now is it? i mean, look at what people have done in the past. if everyone thought their purpose was simply to reproduce, we wouldn't have anything we have today. we'd all still be living in caves. if you want to bring in the theory of heaven and hell, it can be argued that the purpose of this life is to get to heaven. heaven is the goal. what you make of yourself here (not your actions, but what you really are and become) will determine your eternity.

i like what that guy said about creation. yes, the purpose of life is to create.