We all have postulated and conceived ideas and opinions on this topic. I would like to have the Straight Dope on this without the religious, political, economical or philosophical rhetoric. Does it really matter if we co-exist on earth or elsewhere? Who’s up for the challenge?
You do not have a ‘purpose’ in the same way that a tin-opener is designed for one purposeful use, although many creeds and faiths provide what many people find to be an emotionally satisfying view to the contrary. If you take away these various synthetic creeds, a fair statement of the only purpose you have in life is this: to fulfill your potential, and to help others to do the same. Works for me.
There is no purpose. Or rather, you find your own.
Moderator’s Note: There is no factual answer for this, so I’ll move it from General Questions, our forum for questions with actual answers, to Great Debates, our forum for questions that never actually get answered.
This belongs in another forum, perhaps GD. Does it matter? Matter to whom? If we weren’t here, it certainly would not matter to us. Perhaps Voltaire had it right. Our purpose is to do our duty.
Oops. I am in GD. My apologies. Clicked the wrong forum.
But that’s like saying “What’s a prime number? I want the Straight Dope on this without the mathematical rhetoric”.
Questions like this are what philosophy (and theology, I guess) are for.
“The purpose of all life is to seek perfection.”
– NamTar, Farscape
Does your life have a purpose? If so, how did you arrive at it?
Life is pretty damn big; it’s bigger than any or all of us and it just is. It doesn’t require an excuse. Whatever meaning or “purpose” you ascribe to your own life is up to you.
The tin-opener analogy is interesting. Someone did design the tin-opener in order to enable opening cans. To carry it to living beings: Who designed us and what did they want us to do? Christianity does seem to have a direct answer for this.
A few possible answers.
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To glorify God and keep His commandments.
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To survive long enough to procreate so life in general can continue.
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To have a good time.
The true purpose of life.
To make Your nearest happy.
(and take/force the humanity forward).
In this order.
The meaning of life is 42.
The purpose of life is simple, Win.
There is no meaning or purpose except for what you give it.
Reproduction.
As any fool would know.
I also think 42 is IT even though it is not prime.
Life just happens. What separates humans from the “lower” animals is that we sit around worrying about it.
To me the purpose of life is to get as high as often as possible, get laid as often as possible, and leave a good-lookin’ corpse. You can supply your own purpose.
What… like make sure your funeral parlour rouges your face, sticks on your toupeé straight and applies the lipstick?