Why do you think we have to have a purpose in life? I was answering a question like many others on this forum "what is our purpose in life?" and I happened to glance over at my dog.
Now he's a good dog, and I indeed have a purpose for him: he's our "first alert" alarm system (woe be unto any bird who poops within 2 blocks, they will hear his wrath for minutes), he's a good companion and eater of table scraps. I know from experience that any stranger who comes onto his marked territory is subject to his bared teeth, especially if his girls (my daughters) are nearby.
But HE doesn't have a purpose, he just goes along and is a dog. He does doggy things. Why do we have to know our purpose but animals don't? What sets us apart?
2007-11-25 02:40:27 · 10 answers · asked by arewethereyet 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
EDIT: I wasn't asking what that purpose was, I was questioning why we feel we need to have one, whereas a dog does not feel that need ... what separates us from the animal that makes us need to have purpose and meaning? I'll give the 10 points to the first answer just because they got there first lol ... didn't really get a satisfactory answer though, sorry.
2007-11-25 08:29:18 · update #1
Nothing. Your purpose in life is what you make it. Enjoy doing your "human" things. :)
2007-11-25 02:43:40 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Our ability to communicate, problem solve, invent etc has perplexed us so much that we think their must be a purpose. The only thing that sets us apart from your dog is our inability to admit that even though we have these wondrous abilities that we are still animals. Dogs communicate with eachother as we do. We protect our marked territory as he does. Dogs have an alpha male and we have heads of Governments. The similarities in animal and human behaviour are to consistent to be ignored. We think we must have a purpose because we are taught we do. If you think about it our ability to control our lives path is very limited. The choice's we have are the choice's we are allowed. Go beyond the boundaries of those choice's and you are punished. The only purpose you have in your life is to generate an income which your Government lays claim to a certain percentage of. Everything else is a vaugery of freedom. The illusion of purpose is a system of control. Without it Government's and religous institution's would be torn down.
2007-11-25 03:18:58 · answer #2 · answered by Michael 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your purpose in life is what you make it. The dog is content with having a loving family, eating table scraps, and barking at birds. This doesn't devalue his life in any way. What devalues his life is your perspective on it. If you feel that your life needs some kind of divine purpose, then you're not really living it.
2007-11-25 02:56:29 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I don't believe we DO need to have a purpose. And those who feel they need a purpose can decide for themselves what that purpose is. Those who believe we all have a purpose would say that your dog has one, too...unless they are the type that think humans are the only creatures on this planet that count. That's just sad.
2007-11-25 02:44:35 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Human life (just like dog life) DOES have a purpose...to perpetuate itself! That's why the urge to procreate is so strong in most humans. What life DOESN'T have, and does not need (though so many people crave it) is "meaning"...
What sets your dog apart from most humans is that HE is smart enough to accept this!
2007-11-25 02:45:36 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Quotation from God in Holy Quran
"I have only created Jlnns and humans, that they may worship me"(Soorah Zaareeyaat 51:56)
This is purpose of God creating humans. If humans don't worship God they will have to answer God on the Day of Judgment. God gives life and gives birth to humans on this planet and made a great life supporting system on this planet so they can find their food to live. They should altleast worship God enough to thank Him if they wish blessings of God for them and their family members.
All God wants humans is to know Him, thank him and accept that God is their creator, that He feeds, protect and sustains their life, that humans maintain peace with His all creations and be good to other humans even if they don't agree with each others in matters of religion.
2007-11-25 03:07:01 · answer #6 · answered by majeed3245 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
CCC 1 - God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life.
Source(s):
The Life of Man—To Know and Love God (Catechism Of The Catholic Church):
http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/prologue.htm
2007-11-25 02:45:02 · answer #7 · answered by Catholic Crusader 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You don't have to have a purpose. I have no overriding purpose for my life, and it doesn't affect the value of life at all.
2007-11-25 02:43:53 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Because man is a needy animal...
2007-11-25 02:44:40 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
The fact that we are made in the image of God.
2007-11-25 02:45:19 · answer #10 · answered by drg5609 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋