Meaning of life?

Question

Do you believe that we are here on earth for a definite purpose? If so, what is it? If not, why not?

Answer 1

There is a difference between inventing meaning and finding meaning. If we invent it, then we ought to realize that it is just something we made up in order to make ourselves feel good. Statements such as "I want to leave the world a better place", and "I want to make a difference" are just ego-boosting sentimentality. It makes us feel good to say those things and that's why we say them.

If we seek or find meaning, that implies that we were created with a purpose and meaning and it is out there to be found. It implies a Creator/God. The only way to find our meaning is to find our Creator. The meaning of life is not to find meaning but to find our Creator and through him, we can find our meaning and purpose.

Answer 2

The purpose of life is to give life a purpose; the goal of life is to enjoy it.

Life's meaning is not pre-determined and planned out; you are not a pawn in the games of the Gods, nor especially singled out to be an avatar or martyr. You must find your own destiny and meaning; you must create it. You have something -- life, the here-now, the present -- and must make the best out of it. You must answer why you are here.

Answer 3

The crisis of "meaning of life" is the buzzword of our
times. One can hear it in every corner of our society.
Many persons feel meaningless in life. For them, it is
like being empty and useless. No goal, no reason for
living as though one is serving a jail term on this
planet. It is not a rare occurrence among the
psychologically disturbed or during occasional moments
of one's life. Today, surprisingly, it has become a
chronic epidemic among a large portion of the
population.

In fact, the periods of meaningful feelings have become
fewer and far between, from one love affair to the
next, between jobs, between love relationships, after
retirement, and so on. The problem is at its peak now.
Sometimes, this crisis becomes so intense for some,
that they may commit suicide. This phenomenon seems to
have become more widespread ever since the dawn of the
scientific revolution three centuries ago. Some authors
such as Morris Berman in his The Re-enchantment of the
World report that prior to the scientific revolution,
in the Middle Ages, the belief in the Divine Purpose,
which was shared by the society, made every action
meaningful within a cosmic picture.

The decline of religion and the abandonment of the
belief in such grand designs transformed the meaning of
life to the meaning of "this and that" event in life.
Thus, in Berman's opinion, the only way society can
regain a general meaning is to develop a participatory
approach to higher knowledge in contrast to the
detached Cartesian dichotomous outlook. That is, to
replace Descartes' separation of the observer and the
observed with a world outlook that would regard the
observer as part of the observed world or vice versa.

The Scholastics believed that Almighty intended Purpose
for everything and our ignorance of that Purpose was no
reason to think that it did not exist. The Purpose was
believed to be in the spiritual realm and our knowledge
of it would not change its reality.

A similar situation developed among the scientific
philosophers. The materialists faced the same problems
on determinism and indeterminism as the Scholastics.
For the modern philosophers, the material world does
not change with our attempt at understanding it.
Spinoza, once eliminating teleology (final causes) from
his philosophy, postulated fatalistic Necessity of God
and Nature as the foundation of his philosophy.

Only mystics believed in some kind of participatory
pantheism. For a mystic, consciousness is everywhere
prior to time and space. Even the material world is a
form of consciousness to a mystic. Thus, for mystics,
meaning was never considered as separate from the
actual existence. In their outlook, meaningfulness is
implied in our "actual living", and any inquiry about
it is pointless. From a mystical viewpoint, once the
separation of the observer and the observed is crossed,
the whole discourse on meaning becomes superfluous.
This way, "Life itself is a meaningful concept". "To
strip life of meaning" is to isolate the very "essence
of life".

For Descartes, the dichotomy was epistemological -
meaning that as far as our act of knowing is concerned,
the distinction between our thoughts (subject) and
things (object) was valid. This epistemological
division between mind and matter, subject and object,
is responsible for the methodologies of verification in
the sciences. In other words, the truth can be verified
independent of the individual observers. Not only all
our developments in science can be traced to this
dichotomy, but the disassociation between our actions
and their outcome is a heritage of this split which has
caused a host of ethical problems.

What we are observing in the present day world are
characteristic features of Age of Darkness.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_Man

In Sanskrit, Kala Ratri means darkest period of night.
The name Kali Yuga means age of deep darkness. This
cycle also corresponds to the cycle of day - morning
time, afternoon time, early night time and time of deep
darkness. It is known to many teachers that students
are at their best for learning during morning time. For
engineering students, the afternoon time is the best
for workshop practicals and engines lab practicals.
Dwapara Yuga is the age of romance, like the romantic
episodes of Krishna. The present age represents the
time from mid-night to dawn. It is about to dawn now.

Compared to the past thousand years, the mind of
present generation is more inclined towards knowledge.
This is a clear indication for 'dawn' in the cycle.
Many Hindu astrologers predicted about the beginning of
a new era in about two decades from now.

Answer 4

I believe that we each have to figure out our own purpose in life.

Answer 5

God has given us a mission which we must accomplish. He created us and gave us the means to achieve eternal happiness. All we have to do is to find out what He wants from us and do it. That´s the meaning of life

Answer 6

nope. Purpose isn't something, its an idea. What purpose could be enough for everyone? There are only goals, and from those goals come new goals.

Answer 7

yes
our purpose on earth is to earn our way to heaven. we earn by doin good deeds.

Answer 8

Life has no purpose beyond that which me make for ourselves. I don't think there's any good reason think otherwise.

Answer 9

just live as long as you can and see if you can make a difrence

Answer 10

in the most natural sense, pass on your genes.