# Why are we alive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 24, 2012, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931 "2012-05-24T08:59:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Latro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/41 "2012-05-25T14:49:07Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > But you’re not the only one trying to figure it out. Billions of people have for thousands of years. The total man/hours put into it is staggering and it still hasn’t been answered. Face it, it probably never will be. But it _has_ been answered. Several times in this very thread. But if you prefer to ignore it, you are welcome to ponder ‘the question’ for another 4 decades. Be sure to wear a frown, so people can see how deep your thoughts on the subject are. Maybe grow a beard as well. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/42 "2012-05-25T14:53:12Z")
> [@thepillar](#): > > Would you care to elaborate who these Old Ones are? The Old Ones are the pillars upon which um, n/m. **Could a mod please close this thread before more damage is done?** ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/43 "2012-05-25T14:57:57Z")
> [@Latro](#): > > But it _has_ been answered. > > Several times in this very thread. > > But if you prefer to ignore it, you are welcome to ponder ‘the question’ for another 4 decades. > Be sure to wear a frown, so people can see how deep your thoughts on the subject are. Maybe grow a beard as well. I was referring to the more general question of why there is something instead of nothing but I left out that part. My bad. I’ve thought about growing a beard but I think it would itch too much. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/44 "2012-05-25T14:58:53Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Of all the matter in the universe, only some small, truly infinitesimal quantity ends up being able to think and feel. The vast, vast majority of matter is in stars, rock, gasses or dust. Unthinking, insensate, simply existing. > > But you, and I and everyone else here, of all that insensate matter, have been lucky enough to have consciousness. We exist. We know we exist. And we get to see the rest of the universe and have some level of joy. …and experience misery, pain and despair. Call me ungrateful if you like, but it’s not a great gift because it is not all great. You just have to make the best of it… ---
**Author:** ![Latro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/45 "2012-05-25T15:02:08Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > I was referring to the more general question of why there is something instead of nothing but I left out that part. My bad. > > I’ve thought about growing a beard but I think it would itch too much. Ah, ok, I thought you were agreeing with **thepillar** that there has to be a point. There just _has_ to be. I’ve never gotten further than a week in growing a beard before the itch grew too much. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/46 "2012-05-25T15:14:51Z")
> [@thepillar](#): > > I think that the generally- allotted 5 to 7 decades is too short for one to finally figure out what the hell one is doing on a sphere that spins on its axis and around the sun. You woke up this morning and went to do whatever it is you do in the morning, instead of giving up and stepping out into traffic. Why? There is no such thing as “The Point” that is assigned to you-there are only reasons to do things based on reasons you did previous things based on reasons you did things before that. If you really need a “Point”, make one up. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/47 "2012-05-25T16:09:48Z")
> [@thepillar](#): > > A human being has organs which have specific functions: hands, the brain, blood capillaries, the heart, mouth, nose, digestive system etc. Each organ has its own “point” and works harmoniously with the rest. Just like a motor vehicle’s point, which consists of different parts fulfilling a specific task, is generally transportation, there should likewise be a general “point” for humans who like the vehicle have many parts carrying out different functions. The purpose of a human is to survive long enough to make more of its own, but that isn’t a very satisfying answer for a creature programmed to think it’s special. If vehicles were conscious and realized that their only purpose was to transport people, nothing more, they’d probably feel the same way. If you want a higher purpose, you have to create it for yourself because you weren’t born with one. And when you think about it, isn’t that preferable? Being born with an inherent higher purpose would lock us in to a particular path and give us less freedom to do what we want with our lives. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/48 "2012-05-25T16:21:32Z")
> [@Esox\_Lucius](#): > > The purpose of a human is to survive long enough to make more of its own That’s a popular position, but I think it’s better to just say nature has no sense of purpose at all. Survival of the fittest means that most organisms around do all they can to survive and reproduce. But behaviour and purpose are not quite the same thing. To say that it is _better_ for a species to be around rather than extinct say, requires a value judgement. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/49 "2012-05-25T17:17:30Z")
> [@thepillar](#): > > What’s the point of being alive when after a couple of decades we die. To put it succinctly, we’re here because we’re here. People say that that makes our existence meaningless, but I’ve come to the opposite conclusion, that the meaning of life is to give life meaning. That is, our existence is only meaningless if we make no effort to imbue our existence with meaning. Consider random sounds, there’s no inherent purpose. But outside of the context that we’ve created, language, music have no meaning either. > [@](#): > > Who/what is responsible for starting life on planet earth and who/what is it? While I am a Christian, and I have an answer for that that works well with that question, I don’t think that question is really all that interesting. The who isn’t nearly as important as the meaning we extract from it. Consider you’re in your car and you turn on the radio and you hear the most moving song you’ve ever heard. Does that change if you miss the name of the artist? All the name does is let you connect the works of the artist together, but whether God created us all or he doesn’t exist, what good does that do us? Instead, all that matters is the experience that the song created in you, just as all that really matters is the experience that existence creates in us. The same here, all that matters is what we learn and draw from our experience. > [@](#): > > Why did bring forth life on this planet? Why do artists make art? Why do musicians compose music? Why do dancers dance or actors act? Why isn’t the really the question to ask because it implies that creation is a means to an end. Creation is an end in and of itself. The greatest joy in creation is simply in creating. The joy of a parent seeing their child exist and experience life. The experience that art or music creates in the creator and in those who enjoy it as well. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/50 "2012-05-25T17:20:29Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > That’s a popular position, but I think it’s better to just say nature has no sense of purpose at all. > > Survival of the fittest means that most organisms around do all they can to survive and reproduce. But behaviour and purpose are not quite the same thing. To say that it is _better_ for a species to be around rather than extinct say, requires a value judgement. Interesting point, that I’m only partly grasping. From nature’s POV, I can see there’s no purpose, but from an individual’s, the desire for survival and sex are instinctive. When everyone is born with those inherent drives, doesn’t that suggest a purpose behind them? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/51 "2012-05-25T18:29:48Z")
> [@thepillar](#): > > What’s the point of being alive when after a couple of decades we die. Wait, I’m 40, does that mean I’m 2 decades past my expiration date? And I could drop dead any second? CRAP! There is no cosmic point to being a live. You just are alive. You can either come up with a point for yourself, or ride along without a point, or decide to end yourself as pointless. > [@](#): > > Who/what is responsible for starting life on planet earth and who/what is it? Nobody/nothing is _responsible_ for starting life on planet Earth. Life occurred because chemistry and physics provided the ability for matter to coalesce in interesting and complex ways, and energy sources from the Sun, lightning, cometary/asteroid impacts, and nuclear decay from the Earth’s core created an environment where chemistry and physics combined to allow more complex combinations. Once those combinations became complex enough, the replications proceeded, and the environment provided selection pressures that shaped the direction of change. Eventually, this lead to complexity we call “life”, and eventually, to complexity we call “human beings”. > [@](#): > > Why did bring forth life on this planet? Nonsense question. There is no subject to the sentence. I’m not speaking just grammatically (you dropped a word), but semantically. There is no thing/being/person/identity/subject that brought forth life, here or anywhere. Life occurred. > [@Lobohan](#): > > We are here because the laws of physics allow the evolution of sentient life. +1 > [@Gagundathar](#): > > Personally, I’m here for the pretty girls. +12 > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Who says there needs to be a point? Do animals care whether there is any “point” to their living? No, they simply live. > > “Why are we alive?” “Why” is a confusing word because it conflates two very different questions into one package that therefore sounds more profound than it is: “From what cause?” and “For what purpose?” Every observable event or phenomenon has a cause, but not every one has a purpose. So far as we know, living things exist because (very primitive) living things can emerge out of certain environmental conditions, and then they can reproduce and evolve. That does not imply any overall purpose to the whole business, nor to the life of any individual organism. Biological evolution, certainly, has no teleologies; it happens like water running downhill, and finding its channel this way or that. If a species finds a stable niche, it might continue virtually unchanged for millions of years like the horseshoe crab; there is no impetus for it to evolve “upward.” There are no [Evolutionary Levels.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EvolutionaryLevels) +1 > [@Imasquare](#): > > Yes but why do the laws of physics exist? Is it because of God? Then why does God exist? As **BrainGlutton** said, the question “why” conflates two questions. One is about the mechanism of causation, the other is the purpose of causation. But “purpose” has a built-in assumption. “Purpose” is a statement of _intent_, and the assumption is that there is an agent of intent. You can’t have intent without an agent of intent. The laws of physics exist because the universe exists and it came together the way it is. There is no purpose behind it, no intent, there is no agent of intent. There just is a universe that happened, in the same way that dust bunnies collect under your sofa. There is no agent of intent behind dustbunnies, no purpose for dustbunnies, they’re just the result of natural forces and happenstance. The question of “why is there something rather than nothing?” as filtered through this two aspect use of “why”, give us: a) The _mechanism_ of there being something rather than nothing is unknown, and probably unknowable. It reaches outside the universe itself, to “before” the universe. What that even means is incoherent. Alternate dimensions, “many worlds”, multiverse, universe is expanding but not expanding into anything… all those conceptual frameworks are presented by cosmologists and theoretical physicists to make sense of what the universe is and how it works, but right now there is very little way to even conceive of studying them in a scientific manner. b) The _purpose_ of there being something rather than nothing is a gibberish question without **first** demonstrating there is an agent of cause, an agent of intent. A circular argument is insufficient. Demonstrate that there is an agent of intent, and then we can begin to speculate about that agent’s motivations and desires. Basically, shit happens. That is not a judgement statement about the quality of events that occur, that is an existential remark. Shit (stuff, things, whatever) happens (it occurs). Shit has happened. Shit is happening. Shit will continue to happen. > [@](#): > > What’s the point of anything existing? There is no point. Things exist. You find yourself alive. Congratulations. How do you wish to spend your time? > [@](#): > > And how did it come to exist. Did the universe just create itself because the laws of physics allow that to happen? Pretty much. Shit happens. > [@](#): > > Then why do the laws of physics exist? a) The _mechanism_ for the laws of physics existing? Shit happens. Okay, that isn’t an explanation, there really isn’t one, other than “this is how things appear to work”. If they happened differently, then the universe would work different, or perhaps not be here for us to ask the question. b) The _purpose_ for the laws of physics existing? Shit happens. There is no purpose, no agent of intent. There just is a universe happening (and shit). [QUOTE=Esox Lucius] When everyone is born with those inherent drives, doesn’t that suggest a purpose behind them? [/QUOTE] Purpose from whose standpoint? Inherent drives serve a purpose for furthering existence by serving as a mechanism that perpetuates itself. Survival is encoded, because our ancestors with it were more likely to survive and reproduce than those without it. Same for sex. Sex provides a mechanism for shaking up genetic material, and thus is more flexible than asexual reproduction. An embedded desire for sex drives that reproduction to occur more frequently and more successfully. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/52 "2012-05-25T20:02:10Z")
> [@Esox\_Lucius](#): > > Interesting point, that I’m only partly grasping. From nature’s POV, I can see there’s no purpose, but from an individual’s, the desire for survival and sex are instinctive. When everyone is born with those inherent drives, doesn’t that suggest a purpose behind them? “Purpose” implies one of two things: either “ought to” or “created for” (possibly there are other interpretations, these are the most obvious ones I think). You’ve agreed with me that “created for” doesn’t apply here: nature doesn’t have a will. The fittest survive, the unfit die. Just like greedy people might be disproportionately richer; it doesn’t mean “greedy” is good unless we’ve already asserted that being rich is the (sole) purpose. So that leaves “ought to”. But I don’t think that applies either. Let’s say for whatever reason I’m far less randy than my ancestors and don’t care about getting laid. Why “ought” I? Why should I care about this? ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/53 "2012-05-25T20:53:40Z")
Just so you know I’m not abandoning this thread, I’m leaving for the lake right away,. But I’ll be pondering your post as I satisfy my survival imperative by fishing for my supper. Whether that’s “purpose” or not, I haven’t yet decided.😉 ---
**Author:** ![dataguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eada6e/32.png) [@dataguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dataguy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/54 "2012-05-26T00:33:27Z")
The purpose of life is to find a way to enjoy the gift of existence that has been granted to you. If you don’t feel that simple existence is a remarkable thing, maybe you should meditate on it a little more deeply. ---
**Author:** ![ruh-roh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ruh-roh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruh-roh)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/55 "2012-05-26T00:35:59Z")
I believe there are two schools of thought about the answer to your question. The first requires that you calculate any of the transcendental numbers ( for example Pi) out to a sufficient (very large) number of decimal places until you start to discern a pattern in the numbers. This will be a coded message. Decode the message and you will have your answer, built into the fabric of life. The second school of thought is that the answer is “forty-two”. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/56 "2012-05-26T01:46:43Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > A couple of decades? Has life expectancy suddenly suffered some kind of precipitous drop I was not aware of? Yeah! My grandmother is pretty far along into her 11th decade. She was born 12/17/1904, one year to the day after the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/57 "2012-05-26T03:02:25Z")
\*\*Why are we alive? \*\* Random chance. Everything else stems from that answer. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/58 "2012-05-26T05:13:05Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Wait, I’m 40, does that mean I’m 2 decades past my expiration date? And I could drop dead any second? CRAP! I’m 60, and that means I have even less time to l ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/59 "2012-05-26T05:16:24Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives. > > and boobs. I hardly drink, I don’t smoke, I’m not fond of guns, and I hate loud noises. Boobs, on the other hand, make it all worth while. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931/60 "2012-05-26T05:17:26Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > …and experience misery, pain and despair. > > Call me ungrateful if you like, but it’s not a great gift because it is not all great. You just have to make the best of it… Methinks some people in this thread need to get laid. Just sayin’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-alive/622931.md?page=4)