What is the purpose of life?

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zephyrprime

Diamond Member
Feb 18, 2001
7,512
2
81
I say that sometimes, but the people i hang out with are too stupid to understand.
I've been programming in prolog recently and the interpreter I use says this whenever I have somesort of infintie tree in it: "1 day, 1 week, .... eons later...answer = 42. Question given by final release of this product."

Ughhh...so geeky it hurts.

But anyway, I would like to point out that the people who say the happiness is the goal of life are hedonists. The people that say sex & babies are the meaning of like are existentialists. The people that say power is the meaning of life are social climbers. The people that say there is no meaning to life are nihilists.
 

Maximin

Senior member
Jan 23, 2001
651
0
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To experience either happiness or sadness.
Things happen by reasons or causes, not just a series of random events.

Enjoy your journey! :)
 

chiwawa626

Lifer
Aug 15, 2000
12,013
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I was talkin about this to my good friend just now and he said:
pursuit of happiness thru personal acheivement
And i totaly agree with that, in fact i just adopted that as my new answer to this thread.
 

zeruty

Platinum Member
Jan 17, 2000
2,276
2
81
Originally posted by: jooksing
if life is about having sex, what is there to live for once you're 50 and can't get it up?

giving advice to your grandchildren on how to pick up chicks and do their own procreation!


errr at least ensuring your children further the species too...
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
74,959
6,798
126
"The purpose of life is to live." Or, "there are a million paths in life and they all lead nowhere. Choose a path that has a heart."

The answer to every question lies in why you ask. Who seeks the meaning of life and why. We have questions because we feel something, no? Perhaps there is some curiosity or speculation that things are not complete. Perhaps it's a feeling of separation, nostalgia, sadness, or loss. What is the purpose of life? Is this all there is? What is my heart's desire? Why am I here?

Who asks these questions? From where do they come? In some mystical traditions man is likened to a flute cut from a reedy bed. It laments its separation in song. Sometimes it is the story of a raindrop's journey to the sea. But what is this separation? Is it possible that the seeker, the experiencer of separation is thought, a fragment of our totality yearning to comprehend the whole? But how can a fragment see itself as a whole? The eye can't see itself. Is the question of the meaning of life a question raised by thought? Is not the question itself the separation? Is not the fact of the question the source of the question, the reason for our separation. We identify with our thought, no? But thought is a fragment of a whole. A fragment is a fragment. Only the whole can be. How does a fragment let go of the illusion that it is the important thing so that the soul can enter into being? How can we die so that what we are can be? In Islam it comes through surrender to the will of God. In Christianity it comes through the grace given by Christ's mercy and surrogate payment of debt. For the fakir it is a bed of nails, and the yogi pierces the veil though the force of focused mind. There are many ways that open out on life.
 

sciencetoy

Senior member
Oct 10, 2001
827
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First, define "life". If your definition of life is breathing, etc, then the purpose of life is to keep breathing. If your definition of life is your soul, then the purpose of life is to honor the soul (religion, art, whatever your "soul" is). If your definition of life is continuity, then the purpose of life is to make more people.

If your defition of life is a couple more beers and some good heavy metal, then I'm your man and let's party.
 

monk3y

Lifer
Jun 12, 2001
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I feel it's just living to attain happiness and enjoying yourself as much as one can.
 

JEDI

Lifer
Sep 25, 2001
29,391
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Originally posted by: chiwawa626
I was talking to a friend about religion and life, and it seems that a lot of religions say that the purpose of life is to get closer to god or be one with god, and the way to do that is to "follow these x steps"...just kinda seems weird to me if i think about it.

What is the purpose of life?
Well so far everything ive done in my life seems to be motivated by personal gain. Even when i do stuff like volenteer or help others, i do it because it makes ME feel good at the same time. So what is the purpose of life, it can't all be to get closer to god, nobody can be that purly dedicated!?!?

To make LIFER in AT. you just need 1 more to go (11:36am EST) :) :p :D

chiwawa626
Diamond Member

Posts: 9999
Joined: Aug 2000
 

Beller0ph1

Golden Member
Apr 18, 2003
1,302
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Originally posted by: Bv3
42

Doh! Someone got there before I did. Well, I didn't have much hope that I would be the first to use it, seeing that these are "Computer Hardware Discussion Forums" (Check the logo).