What life is for?

Question

People come and go, we live now and be gone after some years, nd be gone, and new one comes and be gone after some year. We face all aspects of life, we eat, enjoy, fail, get sick, get well, fail and triumph and die. What we do? with all this passing time and all be gone?

We chat for what? What is there in life? What is the real meaning of life? Some say to enjoy, others say to be remembered, some say to contribute to the future of mankind. Yes those are all good reasons to live but all will pass away. Great man made things ended, even great men ends. There were people who lived here 300, 500, 700 and so years ago, they were our forefathers and who are they? they loughed, cried got angry and and felt what we feel but all gone, just like us. After 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 years who will know us? Just like them we were all long gone. Tell me what is the real essence of life. How can we get into the real essence.

Tell us so we may have a truely meaningful life.

Thanks

Answer 1

The philosophical question "What is the meaning of life?" means different things to different people. The vagueness of the query is inherent in the word "meaning", which opens the question to many interpretations, such as: "What is the origin of life?", "What is the nature of life (and of the universe in which we live)?", "What is the significance of life?", "What is valuable in life?", and "What is the purpose of, or in, (one's) life?". These questions have resulted in a wide range of competing answers and arguments, from scientific theories, to philosophical, theological, and spiritual explanations.

These questions are separate from the scientific issue of the boundary between things with life and inanimate objects.
Popular beliefs
"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. The responses are shown to overlap in many ways but may be grouped into the following categories:

Survival and temporal success
...to live every day like it is your last and to do your best at everything that comes before you
...to be always satisfied
...to live, go to school, work, and die
...to participate in natural human evolution, or to contribute to the gene pool of the human race
...to advance technological evolution, or to actively develop the future of intelligent life
...to compete or co-operate with others
...to destroy others who harm you, or to practice nonviolence and nonresistance
...to gain and exercise power
...to leave a legacy, such as a work of art or a book
...to eat
...to prepare for death
...to spend life in the pursuit of happiness, maybe not to obtain it, but to pursue it relentlessly.
...to produce offspring through sexual reproduction (alike to participating in evolution)
...to protect and preserve one's kin, clan, or tribe (akin to participating in evolution)
...to seek freedom, either physically, mentally or financially
...to observe the ultimate fate of humanity to the furthest possible extent
...to seek happiness and flourish, experience pleasure or celebrate
...to survive, including the pursuit of immortality through scientific means
...to attempt to have many sexual conquests (as in Arthur Schopenhauer's will to procreate)
...to find and take over all free space in this "game" called life
...to seek and find beauty
...to kill or be killed
...No point. Since having a point is a condition of living human consciousness. Animals do not need a point to live or exist. It is more of an affliction of consciousness that there are such things as points, a negative side to evolutionary development for lack of better words.

Wisdom and knowledge
...to master and know everything
...to be without questions, 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 understand and be mindful of creation or the cosmos
...to lead the world towards a desired situation
...to satisfy the natural curiosity felt by humans about life

Ethical
...to express compassion
...to follow the "Golden Rule"
...to give and receive love
...to work for justice and freedom
...to live in peace with yourself and each other, and in harmony with our natural environment
...to protect humanity, or more generally the environment
...to serve others, or do good deeds

Religious and spiritual
...to find perfect love and a complete expression of one's humanness in a relationship with God
...to achieve a supernatural connection within the natural context
...to achieve enlightenment and inner peace
...to become like God, or divine
...to glorify God
...to experience personal justice (i.e. to be rewarded for goodness)
...to experience existence from an infinite number of perspectives in order to expand the consciousness of all there is (i.e. to seek objectivity)
...to be a filter of creation between heaven and hell
...to produce useful structure in the universe over and above consumption (see net creativity)
...to reach Heaven in the afterlife
...to seek and acquire virtue, to live a virtuous life
...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 discover who you are
...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

Philosophical
...to give life meaning
...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 know the meaning of life
...to achieve self-actualisation
...all possible meanings have some validity
...life in itself has no meaning, for its purpose is an opportunity to create that meaning, therefore:
...to die
...to simply live until one dies (there is no universal or celestial purpose)
...nature taking its course (the wheel of time keeps on turning)
...whatever you see you see, as in "projection makes perception"
...there is no purpose or meaning whatsoever
...life may actually not exist, or may be illusory )
...to contemplate "the meaning of the end of life"

Other
...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 participate in the inevitable increase in entropy of the universe
...to make conformists' lives miserable
...to make life as difficult as possible for others (i.e. to compete)

Answer 2

I read a story once about science finding the reason for life. It was found encoded in our DNA. All the world rejoiced because this proved beyond doubt that a higher being existed and IT had a divine purpose for us. Then came a series of downers. The decoded message was so mundane. It was something like "meet me at the orbit of pluto at (given time)".
Still the world tried to find comfort that life still has a reason. But the scientists found proof that the message has already been found and read. We are a discarded message. what a bummer.

anyway, it was just a story. but it just goes to show you that even if there is a God out there who has a purpose for us, you may not like the answers when and if God answers our questions.

Instead think about this, if indeed life started out as slime on the old earth's chemical sludge, we've come a very long way. Our species in particular has now the power to destroy worlds and in a very limited way reshape them. The way forward is still very long. Unless the world or the universe ends tomorrow, or mankind stumbles on another species that eats him up, man will continue to grow and reach new heights.

A good reason for living is to have contributed something to that growth. But if that's way too hard to do, consider instead living to interact with your fellowmen. Make your mark on them. Living is interacting with Life. Each day is just a small effort. But you'd be surprised at how far you've gone after taking stock near life's end.

Answer 3

The meaning of life is...
Life.
Here's the longer version:
All life exists to re-create itself. Blast an island to dust with a volcano, and within a few years stuff is growing all over the place. Why? Because it must.

Follow the chain up from RNA and you get replicating organisms. Why are we here? To reproduce. We eat so we're strong enough to have sex. All else is justification.
At the end of the day, it's not that complicated. We're here on this planet for a short time. Appreciate every moment. We have a sacred responsibility to appreciate the opportunity of this life and make the most of it. There is an integrity to pursuing your dreams that animates all other aspects of life.

Aim to leave the world a little bit better than you found it, whether it is through something as small as standing up for kindness or as big as building a movement to bring about broad change - both take courage. Be the change you want to see in the world. This is harder than it sounds. It is still worth pursuing.

Answer 4

After all these years you would think we would know, but alas here we are debating the same issue that lingers in all our minds, all we can do is live it like all the little and big creatures on this planet, maybe we are meant to evolve into some super beings, who knows! if it was meant to be known I am sure it would have or will be, for all we know it could have many meanings and it could be right in front of us, but wouldn't realize it if it hit us between the eyes. Enjoy life for what it brings and don't contemplate what it means, just accept it and enjoy it, maybe just maybe that is the answer.

Answer 5

Well, the first three answers are real duds.

Life does not exist to recreate itself. Nor is it to die, nor to live, nor to reproduce, not to eat, nor drink. All those things are natural processes and natural processes cannot give meaning any more than a raincloud can give meaning to a raindrop.

You get true meaning for living for a true purpose. We long for purpose because we long for our lives to be worthy of living and we know that things without purpose are without worth.

True purpose can only come from God as per atheist Russell:

“Unless you assume a God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless.” –Bertrand Russell (20th century philosopher, mathematician and Nobel Laureate)

There are two choices. If we accept that there could be a Creator, then we can talk about real purpose for life and that real purpose would be to seek God.

The other choice is the escapism that the next answerer speaks of. Escapism is a fancy word for self-delusion.

Answer 6

This is one question that ever remains un answered in Philosophy. I, in reality, in spite of all philosophy cound not find an answer. if yuo permit me to quote David Hume when he speak about the 'doubt' whichis the essence of his scepticism, his cincluding remarks is interesting. he says that " this doubt is a malady, and carelesness and unattention is the only remedy......."

Seriously, with all the questions you raise, one shal be comopellled to admit that life is meaningless.

But then, there is another side to it too. Let me plainly call it an escapism form the question of emptiness of life, and one such thing is to find some meaning in life, and that shall be rather buildiing some meaning into the empty life. One can make the built in meaning fit into life, in many wasy, and since you are capable of asking this question, i am sure you can also know them in time.

Spirituaity could be another solace for this emptiness. But harsh reality always remains, as one of the most Philosophical truths............

Answer 7

Some time in the past the universe developed the capacity to become aware of itself.
We are the mechanism of it's awareness.
We and others like us are dotted throughout the universe and we take the universe out of the realm of a raging unknowing beast.

Answer 8

The beauty of philosophy is that it goes in circles. You won't find your answer to the meaning of life here. In fact, you can look anywhere- it won't be there either. Asking strangers about the meaning of life is like asking them what means the most to them. Is what means the most to them what means the most to you? I should hope not. You can only find this answer in your heart. Your heart knows your beliefs, your values, your goals, anxieties- all of you! If you can make a definite list of priorities, your ahead of all of us. The important thing is to always follow your heart- and live your life to the fullest of its intentions.

Answer 9

You neglected 2: LIFE, AND WHY? God made you given that He loves you. You have any such factor referred to as 'intent', that's why you're detailed, one in all a variety. That makes you 'distinctive', distinctive to not me, who cares approximately me, however distinctive to the one that created you--God. So, having coming to this end it could do you such a lot well, to seek His will on your lifestyles, and reside it to the excellent of your potential. Good good fortune.

Answer 10

life is for you sure in a 300 years or so no one will know you unless you did some thing worth remembering you for but if you look at it life is for you to live to make a statment while you are hear to know that in life you where some body that you can be proud of not for other people to remember your name and to be talked about because if thats all you want than you dont have to do much because people are going to talk about you wheater you made that statement or not..................life is for you .........L.I.S

Answer 11

Life is for Living!