The Ultimate Meaning of Life

"The significance of our lives and our fragile planet is then determined by our own wisdom and courage. We are the custodians of life's meaning."
-Carl Sagan

As a non-believer and a proponent of secular humanism, I believe that we determine the meaning of our own lives rather than depend on others to determine it for us. We do have free will, after all.

reply to post by G.A.G.

I am sorry...I think you have said exactly what I said but with "more" words. Or, I am not clear why your being so critical .

No, I wasn't being critical of what you said, I was basically agreeing with it and expanding on the idea to make it clearer.

reply to post by WhizPhiz


You're obviously a frustrated and confused person.

Accidents do not happen. If you think anything is an accident, you are trying hard enough just to see the end of your own nose.

And it is I who is talking to thin air because you are still the one who is placing labels. I am telling you that it doesn't matter what the Origin is called or what it is, but THAT it is...

And you only prove through your inability to accept anything greater than you that you are narrow and selfish.

So if you don't believe it is good to be narrow and selfish, then why is it that you act defensively - outsmarting yourself.and not quite outsmarting anyone else.

Your own confusion is your responsibility. I just figured I'd help you out. If you ever actually read what I posted and make some connections, you'll find that not a thing I told you is without reason.

I remember being as stubborn. It's cool.

reply to post by WhizPhiz


You seem to be unable to conceive of anything beyond your "arrow of time".

If time is a dimension and you are able to be outside of it or above it, you could see the start of time and the end of time and all the middle bits, simultaneously.

You would simply be 'beyond' time.

There would be no arrow pointing your mind in only one direction.

... and you would see that later causes can influence earlier effects, especially if there are alternate paths through adjacent dimensions.

Originally posted by PieKeeper
"The significance of our lives and our fragile planet is then determined by our own wisdom and courage. We are the custodians of life's meaning."
-Carl Sagan

it does bring one great joy to be a custodian of life...

Originally posted by PieKeeper
"The significance of our lives and our fragile planet is then determined by our own wisdom and courage. We are the custodians of life's meaning."
-Carl Sagan

As a non-believer and a proponent of secular humanism, I believe that we determine the meaning of our own lives rather than depend on others to determine it for us. We do have free will, after all.

At least some body around here understands what I'm trying to get at.

reply to post by TarzanBeta

You're obviously a frustrated and confused person.

Yes, I obviously am...

reply to post by chr0naut

You seem to be unable to conceive of anything beyond your "arrow of time".

If time is a dimension and you are able to be outside of it or above it, you could see the start of time and the end of time and all the middle bits, simultaneously.

Yeah, I actually see what you're trying to get at now, but I still believe, if time is indeed a dimension (which I'm not fully convinced of), that viewed from such a perspective you still wouldn't be able to pin point a start or end. It's more likely to be a closed loop now that I think about...I really don't know, and no one else does either, I was just trying to make some obvious points that time can't just simply start out of no where for no apparent reason...I mean, I just comprehend it. Just like a can't comprehend God just existing for no apparent reason right from the very start of existence.

Originally posted by WhizPhiz
Yes, I obviously am...

be not...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/7e11241d56ba.jpg[/atsimg]

press start button here.

The purpose of life is to increase love and decrease pain.
Everything we do is geared toward one of these goals, although we often fail to achieve them.

Ultimate meaning of life is to do the one thing that every single one of your ancestors did all the way back ca. 3.8 billion years: reproduce.

firstly - there is an extremely few number of people who would even consider thinking about this question. It is very frustrating the laziness apparent in the individuals.

Most people fall into these categories:
1. They searched quickly and took the easy answer - all that is - it is. don't look further, don't think further. Same issue as religions. You don't have the control, don't search, just follow your church.

2. Their arrogance (ego) has overwhelmed them - they don't need to know. All I need to do is feed the kids, do my chores - don't bother me.

3. Life is the physical and there is nothing more. They ignore the esoteric evidence. The intuition is suppressed. I am currently having a long term debate with a philosopher - this person has read almost every book on philosophy. The problem is that logic has suppressed the esoteric, occult and the metaphysical side of life. They are real and are totally ignored.

Now what are some of the major obstacles to finding the answer:
- mass media
- the churches although the religion has some hidden knowledge within it but you have to look deep
- yourself - your ego will not allow it. You need to find how to eliminate your egos


I am on the path to find the answer. Not everyone is on the same path. That is the way our world works. The issue is that we accumulate karmans if we force the questions on others.

There is ultimately no "point" to existing, no overall "goal," no "destiny," no "fate," nothing of the sort. We are not the grand gear of some perfect being's ultimate plans for the universe, and to imagine yourself so just speaks of a terrible state of insecurity and need for personal aggrandizement.

You are. You're born, you gain some weight, you lose some weight, you die. Of biology has its way, you knock some gametes together and pass some genes along, as well. What you do in the space between birth and death is entirely up to you, held to your goals, your standards, your desires, your fears, your vices, your ethics. Not some monstrous thing hiding in the clouds, not a magical cow, not a man with his face in his hat reading rocks. Just you.

For some people this notion is terrifying, especially to those who have devoted every waking moment to holding their sky-monster's hand, and fearing his wrath. if everything is up to us, they reason. then those decades of fear and reverence for Sky-Monster might have been utterly wasted! So they freak. They struggle and they scream, because they feel they've wasted their lives. Some may even feel that their lives have no meaning, and look with confusion on those of us who have accepted the basic truth of the universe.

"If there's no point to existing, no meaning to life, no ultimate goal," they ask, "why not just kill yourself?"

To which I reply, "Because tomorrow, I have a date with a pretty girl, and we're going to get some tasty food and watch a funny movie."

Acknowledgment of the lack of "ultimate purpose" in the universe is not nihilism. It's simply growing up, letting go of sky-monster's hand just like you let go of the hand of your other imaginary friends so long ago, and stepping into a world that is ultimately indifferent to you. It's freedom.

reply to post by TheWalkingFox

solid post

I agree, and don't understand the need for assigning a cosmic or godly purpose to existence.

Ultimately our "purpose" is gene replication and, after we die, inevitably becoming a food source for arthropods, worms, or microorganisms which consequently are ingested by bigger organisms only to later be captured and served at McDonalds

We have emotions, fears, thoughts, feelings, because we descended from organisms with emotions, fears, thoughts, feelings. All of which in some capacity contribute to our genetic fitness. Its truly remarkable, and for some, the desire for the existence of a supernatural being is merely a by-product of our imperfect brains, and the resilient memetic parasite, aka god.

The ultimate meaning of life is:

1. LEARN
   
2. Leave the universe a better place than you found it.
   

Thank you very much.

That is all folks, Gandhi has left the building.

reply to post by TheWalkingFox


See, if I had of written my thread in a more smooth manner just like you did, or in a more new age metaphysical type preach I could have gotten a boat load of stars. But instead I just said it plainly and harshly, and the response was that of utter rejection without the slightest consideration - exactly what I expected really. People are too predictable.

Good post BTW.

Life is the meaning.