Hey everyone, im new to this site and thought i would start out with this topic, the meaning of life. This question has been asked for thousands if not millions of years and just wanted to know if anybody had any theories to the question. I know theres a million different possibilities but i just want to know what different people think, in all honesty its kinda a part of my homework lol, thanks in advance

Personally, i believe that the simple meaning of life is to reproduce, however i believe that the human race was a mistake. I think through evolution the human mind was expanded beyond what it should be, kind of like a mutant brain/mind. This would prove why were the most unique species on the planet. I deeply believe that a really good possibility is that apes started to eat hallucinogenic mushrooms (dont worry i know i didnt make this theory up) over thousands of years and our minds got bigger and bigger, which caused new emotions and stuff like that which eventually all leads to the present, which is where humans evolved minds are ruining the planet, i think that we are a mutant form of life that is too advanced for nature, however we are starting to learn how to manipulate nature. This might sound weird to some people but i doubt im the first person on the site to feel like im typing something weird lol.

P.S. sorry if this was in the wrong place i couldnt really put it into 1 main subject.

hmmmm, interesting, thats a new one on me.

you may call me crazy but personaly, i dont think we were created for any purpose. think about this, without human, no animals would be harmed by us, earth would flourish with no animals being extinct due to human cause. sometimes i wonder why do we have to be this way? i mean when from the time we were born till the time we die, we are suppose to be a good person (e.g. get a good education, a good job...etc). what if human remained as apes and did not evolve? then, would we be pressured to be a good person? also, if there is no human, there's nobody to regret not existing. my point is life has no meaning. (i know this is a bit confusing)

Procreation and survival of the species................easy

I would just like to say that what you said is basically what i mean, the human race is a mistake, caused by a radical, unpredicted expansion of the mind.

I agree that there is no meaning. Or you could put it this way.....Our minds exists indefinately until the time comes when we transcend the mind and identity with the universe as a whole. The meaning of life is to find the path which will give you the exerpience(or unexperience) that will lead you to the comprehension that there is no meaning. The universe just "is" we also just "are". We dont need to reproduce because everything is eternal consciousness which has no beginning and no end.
They still dont have any scientific proof yet that the the brain produces consciousness. So until they do, this is the view I hold.

Ultimately there is no mind...l just "isness". When we also attain "isness"(which we are already) we will become what we have always been. Paradoxical.

This "isness" is supreme happiness which is our essential nature.


I AM ONE HUNDRED PERCENT WRONG HERE!@! DON'T BELIEVE A THING I JUST WROTE OR WRITE AT ANYTIME!

we are animals, the meaning of all animals is procreation.............

wHY THOUGH?? Think about it, it is just a dna program that tells them to breed. If the dna program changed then their destiny also could change. The universe is gonna miss any speicies whether they live or not. The universe just "is" and always will be.....this "isness" is inherent in everything and is peace beyond peace. I dont know via experience only by my faith in the teachings of various mystics. But hey!

What's the point of surviving longer if you're going to die anyway, AND there's no point to life?

But the dna wont change, we are talking about the now and talking about the now would include the current DNA, suggesting a new dna pattern would just throw everthing out of context more so.

So we can only go by the now..........procreation

"your going to die"............but think of this in terms of the species, as far as evolution goes the single person doesnt matter, its the whole race thats important, the longer the individual survives the more chance they have of procreating for the good of the species

The two thing that seperates humans from many if not all other species is curiosity and imagination. Without these we would not be able to invent new things, build civilisations etc etc...
How we got these i do not know, evolution or mutation, but we have them, and this is what makes us different.

If this be the case then we are fulfilling our destiny superbly.

Nicely said

But there's no point to it. Or reason for it.... It's like a fight for something that is pointless. No matter how long we exist, we have no absolute purpose.... We really are here to just live and die. So why's it matter if we survive longer than another species?

I really hope there is a spiritual aspect to the universe. Because if not, this is one hella boring and dull Universe.

Barrell of laughs.............my purpose of being here is to make those around me happy, as long as i do that im happy.

But where is the incentive to have such altruistic motives if you are just gonna be a rotting corpse while the new generations are having all the fun?? Why frankly would you give a damn about the species??? What difference is it gonna make to you while you are dead? Realisticly speaking the average person you meet doesn't really care about the species in the long run. If the destiny is just to keep procreating then what end is this the means for?? If it is just to keep perpetuating the species for the sake of the species then it gives a very unempowering view to the individual. And the species is made up of individuals very complex individuals with high powers of intellectual and religious capability(as well as calculating wickedness) if they so choose. This purely physical instinctual purpose isn't sufficient enough to satisfy mans intellectual and spiritual longings.........If anything it only inserts much depression.

Why would one want to strive for anything worthwhile(other than the considered procreation of the species). One could say that new sciences and philosophies should be striven for as a duty to improve the mental and physical abilitites of the species to help it along it's endless road of constant perpetuation. However in the pursuit of such things man/women has often found reason to detach from the sexual urges in one's being and find means in which to direct them toward other outlets like art. Art which in the eyes of the average utilitarian is completely and absurdly useless. Why is it that many men and women of their own volition choose to dedicate a life to religious/spiritual/philosophical/science/artistic paths and sacrifice sensual pleasures and physical comfort best suited for a life of breeding???

I found this article in a book I am reading:

Orthodox ethnology has been nothing but an enthusiastic and quite uncritical attempt to apply Darwinian theory of evolution to the facts of social experience. No progress in ethnology will be achieved until scholars rid themselves once and for all of the curious notion that everything possess a history; until they realize that certain ideas and certain concepts are as ultimate for man, as a social being, as specific physiological reactions are ultimate for him, as a biological being.--- Dr. Paul Radin, Primitive man as Philosopher

Now one could say that all the scientists, religious and moralist leaders and experts in whatever field they are in is natures way of making sure that her certain selected species provides itself with some measure of necessary options in order to procreate and propagate itself. But then this is implying nature has some sort of organized intelligence and if this be the case then how could we know for certain that this is the intended destiny of mankind?? Mystics and shaman from various cultures and different time eras mostly say that during a change of consciousness(mystical experience) , the barriers of individual and that of the objective world melts and arises a revelation or intuitive truth. The vast majority of these revelations leaves the inflicted individual with a sense of certainty that the physical world is an illusion and that there exists a higher "other" reality.


This latter reality is usually described as a state of being without becoming ,in which all people are capable of as long as they are willing to put in the required self-effort. Whether called saints, avatars, sages, prophets or enlightened ones these people are often revered not because they are good orators and can espouse intelligent or pseudo intelligent concepts but mainly because through simple observation these people manifest a sense of peace and serenity that others are drawn to and want to embody themselves.
It is common psychology that in the last analysis that the hope of all people is peace of mind. Through personal experience I know mothers and fathers with many children who are not happy with themselves. If our only purpose is to procreate then surely the fomulae of more children equals more happiness would be self-evident in everyday life. But alas it is not. True peace of mind it seems originates not from producing more children(though many who have children have reached high levels of happiness).


The fact that countless sane intelligent human beings have reached "enlightenment" without having children or a married life, that many of these same people turn from the life of physical indulgence to live one of religious/spiritual values and others staying in their family environment achieve the happiness that comes from religious values(I don’t mean the unregenerate person who thinks attending church, mosque or temple, holding word to certain scriptures, coercively imposing one's sense of religious rightness on ohers. I mean persons who actively detach from their ego through charity, humility and indifference to pleasure, achieving an identification with the divine ground of all being and then passively rest in this state constantly) never say that the higher reality can be attained via procreation or the indulgence of the sensual life.

As Aldous Huxley once put it: An intellectual is someone who has found one thing more interesting than sex. hahahahaha funny quote I thought. But it seems to me that if our only job is to procreate then the given intelligence of man as a species seems to done him more harm than good. We are ever more closer to total-destruction of our race through weapons of mass destruction than to a society in which long term survival of our species will be insured. There is always the mystic path as a constant available option to free oneself from the self-imposing limitations of the ego and become one with it all. According to most mystics the opportunity is also available in some form or another in another world after passing from this one whether it be another dimension or the same dimension ,or as a different entity or man again.

the meaning of life is a doddle...since you are a human being, your sole purpose is to pro-create, therefore its meaning is to make babies. its how you got here from the beginning of time and its how you will continue on into the future...anything else is abstract and of no relevance to the meaning of life.

Our brains have evolved so much that it permits us to ask questions like this one. If you look at the nature then its only about sex, food, play, survive. And i guess thats pretty much how our lives are.

Lol, i agree. I really hope that there is some sort of spiritual aspect to the universe.

Well for an athiest I would say life has no meaning. For religious folk, to do whatever God has planned for you.

How is it a mistake? If it couldn't happen, then it wouldn't happen. And who is doing the predicting anyway? The meaning of life is simple, it is what ever you want it to be.

Welcome to UM.

i think life is not that big a mystery, but i m sure there is some mysticism with it...

it's just that in order to understand life, instead of searching here n thr, all u need is to look inside and reach ur own core... life is n'thg but ur own being...
that's y we are human beings.... biologically we are humans... but being is wat v r being at any time... that wat life is ...

and i m sure, once u experience it, all ur queries, miseries, curiosites will be answered... and u'll just be smiling...

lol thats an awsome theory, and it could be possible too. To me life has no meaning, no true reason for living no undeniable truth, no right or wrong, it is up to us to make our own meaning in our own lives. But thats me

i remember one time in my younger days i was tripping on acid and i found the answer to life,,it just came to me and i was filled with the huge burst of emotion,,and i was soo excited i exclaimed out loud i got it know everything i was soo excited and filled with joy to tell me friends,,,, i forgot what the answer was....haha and the 30 or so times i triped after that i never made the discovery again.

but i find it hard to believe we are here just to make babies and eat..if that was the case we wouldnt have the emotional connection to events or people.there has to be something else.now im not saying some great being with pre ordained destiny,,but there is something to our being that makes us want to do great things.wether we can do them or not..what ever it is,, is touched when watching a great movie or a song or hearing a story of greatness its that thing that gives you chills in a good way or even a bad way..i think the answer is lost somwhere in that place your body and mind goes when your emotions are so strong and come in such intense waves that it makes your body shake.

I dont know about you guys, but I want to live forever! I dont want to experience any spiritual aspect of the universe, I want to master it!

I should imagine that we all have our own set of priorities and that would mean that we all have our own incentives for living, to be sure the biggest reason to live is to have children and ensure the survival of the human race but because we are enlightened animals we need to know what the purpose is for our existence?

For me the small things like my Girlfriends kiss or riding my motorbike on a sunny day makes me happy, the fact that materialistic possessions don’t guarantee happiness just cements my reasoning that we should not constantly strive for what we don’t have either be it for a shinny ornament or alternatively the unattainable porn star because the reality of these possessions do not comply with our preconceptions and rarely live up to our expectations not to mention the resentment from un-fulfilment of these desires.

To conclude I believe The Meaning of Life is to try and learn how to make your life better and fulfilled and to help your fellow humans find fulfilment in there lives as well.

Everybody who is living has a purpose to live, if they didn't they wouldn't be living. Asking "What is the purpose of life" is silly because it will differ from person to person. Even if there was a universal reason like 'getting into heaven' doesn't mean tahts everyone's purpose even if they beleive in heaven.

They say life is in the details...the purpose of your life doesn't have to be grand.

Yes curiosity which means we can (like in this thread) ask why - and imagination to try to answer why are we?

The meaning of life is whatever you want it to be! No one is here to tell you, so do what you will. If there is a higher power I am sure it will let you know you are wrong at some point, probably your cause of death As for the human race destroying the planet! LOL we were created by this planet and if we are causing a problem then we are just another natural disaster. Trust me the planet wont even notice when we are gone. Global warming heh.....of course its warming we just came out of a bloody ice age! It was much warmer (15 degrees C) when the Dinosaurs roamed the earth and it is proven that the earth goes through hot and cold cycles. We are maybe speeding that up a little. Our pollution is insignificant compared to that of erupting volcanoes. Just because we are killing everything and making the planet uninhabitable for US I am sure the 8' tall sentinent cockroach that evolves in a few million years will probably thank you for his paradise.

This is too easy. While the prime biological purpose of life is to reproduce, humanity superseded this purpose when it became individually and collectively aware. Now its prime purpose is what ever it chooses it to be. Whether it is the individual or the race, we must use all our intelligence and learned skills to choose wisely.
Personally my purpose in life is to learn, have fun, try not to hurt anyone, and if I must, then minimise that harm as far as possible. It is also to pass on as much of my "wisdom" as possible to those who chose to listen, to love myself, and to love others who will let me, not to hate those I cannot love, but also to recognise that some people require sanctions to prevent them harming others. Strangely (or not) most of the world's religions have, at their core, similar sets of beliefs, although admittedly some tack on a supernatural element which reflects the spiritual/supernatural element of many people's lives. My prime directive is to seek out knowledge, and to process it within the limitations of my mind, so that my choices and actions reflect my other goals in life.

There is no meaning to life. You live for a bit and then die. Everything is just a waste of time.

I think Douglas Adams' explanation was the simplest...42.

you know, i think that's a really good theory. you just might be on to something there!

Wow man, your very uneducated, you dont think were ruining the planet? LMFAO open your eyes. Its not just about global warming, its over populating the earth, were literally wasting away our fresh water, and to top that off we pollute the small portion of fresh water that we have, were also taking away the water level underground which is an uprising problem. And do you even know how much waste is produced every day? I mean the ice caps are melting for **** sakes, bears arent hibernating because of different seasonal patterns... What else... I mean if everyone lived the way an average north american does we would need 3 earths..thats a fact. Technology is ruining the world, and unless we find an answer soon were going to be wiped out. I mean the weather is already starting to change, i cant think of anything else right now because im just about to go to bed but there are hundreds of other things that are becoming a bigger and bigger problem.

We are ruining the world for ourselves. If we want to stay alive then yes we need to do something. But the earth will recover once we are all dead. We are currently proving that as a species we are destroying ourselves. Unfortunately we will probably take some of the other innocent inhabitants of the earth with us(already have). We are a very selfish species. I do not condone the pollution as I would like to see the human race last for very long time. But the ice caps will melt one day and things will get warmer etc.... we didnt wipe out the dinosaurs did we? Good old mother earth can soon remove us from her good grace....then the cycle will go on life death hot cold new creatures will evolve and hopefuly become sentinent and more caring beings than we.

We need revolution.......A non-violent revolution for non-violence is God worthy. The governments we have are at heart war mongers who use fear to keep us into submission. And in the meantime we live by technology that is laying waste to our own planet we need in order to live and breath. Corporations and politicians keeping a fake democracy functioning to keep us satisfied. More surveillence, more loss of civil liberties, more dependence on the system, more dependence on the systems technology to maintain everyday living. What is security worth without liberty?? It is worth the same as a fruit tree that bareth no fruit.
It is sad times we are in. Do we need a messiah to awaken us yet again to our true inner powers to take control of our own destiny??? No! We are the power! The power is ours to take back from those who have kept it without our resistance! Look within, look without, we have become worst than animals. Our ignorance is voluntary and with each passing moment we yet still refuse to take responsibility for our own actions. This is why I say that we are worse than animals!

Our minds are full of junk and if we had the conviction we like to believe we have we would have long ago started moving mountains.....We can't even move a motion in democracy......we blame religion for many of our wars and conflicts and while this is true for organized conceptualized institutionalized religion we have missed the mark!@#!...... and while distracted with this, formalised religion has taken to new forms......technological progress....nationalism.....economy.......the corruption hasn't gone away, the manipulation hasn't stopped.

And we will stew in it!@! Yes we will! And even while the stench rises to our noses we will all still be pointing the finger! And always away from ourselves the finger will be pointing. Sentient beings we dare call ourselves??? HA! Robotic consumers who find cold comfort in our materials that stale with the paling of time! Stagnant and fearful we be lest we act upon faith where our abstract thinking cannot tread. Nah! Many say take not risk unless proof be scientific, I say if thou only take risk when proof be scientific then ye ought not to take risk at all!

Personally I think this was a well written post.

The meaning of life? There is no meaning. This is why we have religion...to give it meaning. You could say that we are responsible for our own destiny and that life is what we make it, but ultimately we will live and we will die and that's that. We are here because we are here. Eventually, life as we know it will cease to exist in the big crunch....and in some other universe, someone or something will exist because it just does. and so it will go on...

if there is no point to life then it shouldn't exist.....

therefore it would have no meaning and there would be nothing to question wether it has a meaning.

the point is....that it has a point and that means it has reason and with reason it would have undoubtedly have a meaning.

I would quote Brave New Worlds last post but its huge so I wont. It explains how I have been feeling with the UK government and in fact most Democracies across the world. The Canadian and Australian Democracies are probably the least corrupt with the US being top of the pile. The European Union Governement is swiftly catching up with the US. But with all the controls the governements are putting on us "for our own welfare" it is becoming a Dictatorship where the people have no voice. Even elections these days give a choice of differenet flavours of the same thing. Revolution is needed

Yes biological purpose maybe is too breed. But what about consciousness? There is absolutely NO PROoF WHATSOEVER THAT CONSCIOUSNESS IS A PRODUCT OF BIOLOGY.

Agreed!

no i dont think its a product of biology, i believe it maybe a sort of reaction of biology that in turn needs the consciousness to live and work properly, as with the consciousness needs a vessel to grow and learn through and to experience....