What's the point of life if we're going to die eventually?

Answer 1

We don't die, we just change form. There is no time. Only eternal "beingness".
Stop thinking how things should be. Actually, stop thinking period.
Enjoy your breathing, your eating, your moving around or exercising. It's free and it never needs to end.
You weren't conscious as yourself for the first 14 billion years of the universe, did it seem like a long time?
....time does not exist. Awaken...!! ;-)

Answer 2

80% of humanity, the religious folks, don't need to ask the meaning of life, the church tells them....the supernatural explanation. But the rest of us can't swallow religious dogma, because there's no evidence. Nobody can prove that there life after death, that people are tortured or rewarded after life or that there's invisible spirits running around.

I've come to two conclusions recently:

1. Life has no meaning
2. Life has a million meanings.

First, there's a certainty that death and annihilation awaits not only you, but the Earth in general. It's an astonomical certainty that our sun will supernova and leave the earth a burnt crisp, not to mention all the other extinction level events around the corner.

Second, the million things that give us meaning are the pleasurable experiences we can conjure up during the short period we are here on the earth, in the form of the relationships we have with our kids and other people, and the 'housekeeping' types of purposes. What i mean by that are the curing disease, ending hunger, improving literacy, reducing crime, preventing war, helping other kinds of things.

So the bottom line is, we only have a temporary meaning to life, to reduce pain and increase pleasure, other than that everything is lost to oblivion.


To be or not to be? "To be" is temporary and "not to be" is inevitable.....

Answer 3

Attention! Optimistic girl here! Knowing you're going to die is no excuse not to carry on your life. It's a cycle and just because the end is part of that cycle,it doesn't mean what you're doing while you're alive is pointless. I think you have to achieve some serenity to accept the consequences of being alive. One of them is the certainty of death - I know that and I still feel calm and relaxed. Besides,if you stop looking at life from that point of view and you start thinking: "I'm alive. What can I do to enjoy that fact?",you'll profit from it so much more. I'm not telling you to thank for every little thing you find in your way but at least it's a pragamtic approach: I have a life so I'm gonna live it. Simple.

Answer 4

Of course death is inevitable but your life was not. You have been granted the opportunity to experience love, sadness, laughter, and sorrow. Revel in the moment my friend. Ask a hedonist and they will tell you the point is pleasure. Ask a fundamentalist and they will tell you to spread the word of God. If you ask me, just some guy on Yahoo!, I'll tell you it's all worth while if you make someones life a bit more worth living, even once.

The wonderful things in this life are countless. Watch a sunset. Or watch a beautiful woman at the pool. Eat a hole piece of chocolate cake. Get a massage.

Answer 5

The short answer might be...the point IS to die.

The long answer might be...We are not GOING to die, we are already dying, slowly. It is certain, though undetermined. Death, the unconscious knowledge of it, provides the very meaning of our life and actions by generating a sense of purpose. The question: "what is the point?" can only be asked by beings that have a consciousness of their own demise...in short, death makes life "matter," critically. Paradoxically, life is significant only because we will die. To paraphrase Ernest Becker: It is not so much extinction that is the problem, it is extinction with insignificance. Therefore, the point of life is to die/having attempted to live a life of significance. The catch is this happens with or without our approval, for our death is being worked out by each of us, individually (right now). Through those ways we respond and care for those persons, places, events, and things that matter to us, and through that death filled project that we call, "my life," we are answering the question: "what's the point?"

Our life is a convoluted answer to your question.

Answer 6

The fact that we are going to die eventually is what gives life a point. If we were immortal, there would be little reason to do anything, since we would have forever to do it. The fact that we will not be here forever is what makes our experiences valuable.

Answer 7

The important function of an individual life is to make acontribution in the long chain of human existence, whether it be great or small, but to the best of ones ability. Some, like Mozart, have obviously made a huge and lasting contribution to human existence. Even lesser and less striking events may make a difference: for eample, a simple act of kindness. Humanity is one large circle, and hopefully, before one dies, one may make a positive impact for the good of continuing mankind.

Answer 8

Dont you want to die happy, with a sense that you have made something of yourself and caused others to live happy lives? I do, and that is my purpose for life.

Answer 9

You have the choice of existing in this life, or LIVING in it. Giving and recieving joy...creating something that will outlast you...loving and being loved...JUST DO SOMETHING with what you have...don't sit around whining about what the point of life might be...get out there and live it.

Answer 10

the point is to life is to live, love, and give as much as we can because when we leave this earth, what we do for ourselves die with us, what we do for others will always live on.