The purpose of life??

[Buffy]

Who is having the "aim"?

We're all mad here,
Buffy

[sanctus]

Buffy, Im like your answer but it only shifts the problem, why do the genes want to survive (so nammy her answer isn't coherent to me)?

Now, nammy it seems that you look for an objectif reason of living I guess there is none, life can be seen (at least if you are atheist ) as just cause and effect over the past couple of billions of years (like the famous butterfly). So also pgrmdave's shifted question becomes meaningless.
But as others answered before me, there many subjective answers the one i like is "live so that when you are about to die you can look back on your life and be happy of what you have done". The advantage and the risk is that your judgements evolves as well so maybe I'm happy now about something I wont be anymore in ten years time.

[Buffy]

Originally Posted by sanctus

Buffy, Im like your answer but it only shifts the problem, why do the genes want to survive (so nammy her answer isn't coherent to me)?

Yup. And repeating Post 11:

Originally Posted by Buffy

Who is having the "aim"?

Its the egg! No question!
Buffy

[sanctus]

I have my personal subjective aim of evolution of mankind: being able to live an anarchy, ie evolve until the point where mankind's societies don't need anymore laws (neither written than implicit ones).

If this is the "universal aim" I let it decide the rest of mankind... As I said there are only subjective aims.

[Pyrotex]

Originally Posted by Nammy

you (I may be wrong) are confusing the word "purpose" with the word "function" , I on the other hand mean "purpose" as in "aim" (oh the limitaions of language). The "aim" of life may be anything you want it to be, but what is really the "final aim"? I mean what will life form have acheived in exisitng the way it is-is there any universal "aim" ("goal")?

Replacing "purpose" with other words or phrases doesn't get you out of your paradox.

There are no "aim" molecules in the universe; "aim" is linguistic.
Doubly so for "final aim".
There are no "function" molecules in the universe; "function" is linguistic".

Aim, function, goal all require an intelligent intention behind them. If the universe itself is not intelligent or goal-seeking, and if it contains no subset of atoms/energy that comprise an intelligent or goal-seeking entity, then it makes no sense to attempt to apply those words to the universe, or to Life, or to any particular subset of Life.

EXCEPT... for intelligent species of Life that CAN seek goals or final aims.

My purpose is to live a life worth living; a life that contributes love and reason to the world that I will eventually leave behind.

What's your purpose?

[Pyrotex]

Originally Posted by Buffy

...Its the egg! No question!

You just say that because YOU got some!!!

[Nammy]

Originally Posted by pgrmdave

Now, the question you seem to want an answer to is not "What is the purpose of life?", but "Why are we self-aware?".

If I did my subject would be just that (Why are we self-aware). I think I am unable to express myself clearly....I have been questioning the very "reason" as to why are we carrying on this charade of living. When every "live" thing dies at one point or the other, where will all this lead to? It seems meaningless to me that we are a result of evolution and will live along generations until extinction...in that case I am "self aware" but it is not providing any answers except the somewhat cryptic statement of Buffy.

[Nammy]

Originally Posted by Pyrotex

My purpose is to live a life worth living; a life that contributes love and reason to the world that I will eventually leave behind.

What's your purpose?

It's not a question of what my purpose is (I am well living that). Its just a radical viewpoint that I am currently reviewing-why should we keep reproducing and populating until extinction? Agreed, a 1000 years from now, humans will be much more evolved but to what "purpose"?

Anyway-I think I'll let it rest, just wanted to share this radical thought...
-cheers

[pgrmdave]

Your question is misleading though - it presupposes that life must have a meaning, a purpose. It's like if I asked why you joined the army? Or why dogs don't like to sleep? Or what the purpose of the number 4 is? Those questions all have hidden presuppositions (although not very hidden).

[infamous]

Originally Posted by Nammy

Many of us end up wondering-Why? What is the purpose of life?

It really all depends on from which angle one is observing. For the chicken, it is to lay eggs. For the human, it is to eat the eggs. And when the chicken stops laying them, it is the purpose of we humans to heat up the frying pan. This is when the purpose of life for the chicken is to run like the dickens................................Infy