Meaning Of Life?

Off Topic
1

Yea, I’m drunk…again.

The point of this is, though, is what do you think the meaning of life is.

I wish, more than anything, that I could believe in God as some folks seem to. The belief in some people is so strong that it gives me hope for what may come after…then, my logical side comes and says that there is no chance in hell.

Fact is, when it comes down to it, there are certain things that cannot be explained by logic. I’ve read about the fate of the universe (open or closed) and it does not seem like there is much hope for humans either way.

When it comes down to it, what is the meaning of life? What are we here for? I don’t want any Bible quotes , and I don’t want any bullshit answers. Every man must, at some point or another, wonder why we are here, and what our purpose is. What are your thoughts?

2

The meaning of life is nothing more than what you assign to it. It can be as mundane as a mammal reproduction or a grand as touching the lives of the largest number of people possible.

In related news, what is the meaning of chocolate?

3

There is no meaning. We’re just here and things just are. Feel better?

4

[quote]4est wrote:
The meaning of life is nothing more than what you assign to it.[/quote]

This sums up my opinion on the issue quite well. The great thing about this is that, at least in theory and not taking into account the role of conditioning, you can change your mind instantly and thus set a foundation for improving (or of course downgrading) your life.

I believe this would apply to religious people as well, at least to some extent, as the notion of God is per se intangible and inconceivable on a conceptual basis. Allocating God to the meaning of one’s life requires a certain amount of interpretation, the result of which will differ from person to person and can change with time.

5

[quote]4est wrote:

In related news, what is the meaning of chocolate?[/quote]

Chocolate can mean many things to many people. I personally derive no satisfaction from it. It does not give any value, meaning, or purpose to my dietary comings or goings.

Beer on the other hand…tis the Golden elixer of life!

6

[quote]malonetd wrote:
There is no meaning. We’re just here and things just are. Feel better?[/quote]

WORD!

I feel better, thanks.

7

Meaning of life??

Wasn’t that 42?

Claes

8

The way I look at it is what is the meaning of other animals on this planet like dogs or even ants or monkeys? Basically we ARE just another animal species, but what’s THEIR meaning? Yes I’m drunk too. goodnight.

9

The answers to the questions you seek, can be found, it just depends on how free you think.

10

I’d say, at the risk of sounding naive or sappy, that the meaning of life is to have something worth being proud of once it’s over.

Granted, this is pretty subjective - maybe you’re happy with working a nine-to-five for thirty years and then dying in your sleep in a recliner; maybe you’re not happy with anything less than complete and total world conquest. Either way, so long as you achieve that end, regardless of what anybody says at your wake, your life was probably one well lived.

11

Life is for living. Death is for dead people.

12

For me, the meaning of life is to contribute and grow.

I have seen many people take all through their lives, and they are not happy. They have flash cars and big houses, but they are only buying these things because it distracts them from the truly important things in life, such as family and spiritual growth. All the toys in the world won’t make you happy or complete unless you can be content without them. People who are truly happy tend to be those that give back to the community, those who contribute to something bigger than themselves with both time and money.

I also know 60 year old people who are still carrying the same baggage that they picked up at the age of 25. Or better yet, they still can’t get past bullshit from their childhoods. They have not addressed their mental and spiritual scars, and they do not grow, the same way that an unbalanced or injured physique does not grow. More importantly, I don’t want to have any issues that I pass on to my kids.

Yes, I am writing this from a cave on a mountain top.

13

Well if there is no god then life is just an accident. Our birth is an accident, our death is an accident and the period in between we call life is just an accident.

14

Great question, drunk or not. Someone once said that the unexamined life is not worth living (Socrates?), and while I would not go that far, knowing who and what you are, and where you are headed makes quite a difference in day to day happiness, as well as overall achievement.

IMHO: Life has the meaning you attach to it. The below outlines my take on this.

A great exercise is to imagine people whom you respect discussing you after you are gone. What would you like them to say?
Is the man they are describing you?

Another is to simply make a list of the things that make you happy. This is not a list of things like cars or other toys, but your personal situation with respect to the world and relationships with other people and organizations. Once you have your list, number them in order of importance to you. How many do you have? Do you have a plan to get the ones you lack?

Ex: Romantic love
Children
Financial freedom
Health / fitness
Friends
High level of achievment relative to your peers.

I have gone though this process, and it actually told me a few unexpected things about myself. I am not the nicest person you will meet. Often I am rather ruthless when it comes to acheiving a particular goal. But as I sometimes have to explain to people, there is a difference between friendly and nice. I’m friendly.

I have come to realize that for me, life means living the best life I can on my own terms, and maximizing my own happiness. The only limitations I put upon myself is that I will not use force or fraud to acheive my ends. Aside from that, all’s fair.

I think that to a large extent, this POV comes from believing that this life ia all we have. So far, it works for me, and very well.

The above is kind of rambling, but it is early on a saturday morning.

What is the meaning of life? Whatever the the fuck I say it is – It’s MY life.

15

[quote]Kliplemet wrote:
meaning, purpose etc are all human concepts and can’t be applied here[/quote]

I agree with this, but it dosent mean we shouldnt try to understand more about life and our existence though.

16

[quote]Mr. Moose wrote:
Meaning of life??

Wasn’t that 42?

Claes[/quote]

That is the answer, but what was the question?

17

[quote]Psnatch wrote:
Well if there is no god then life is just an accident. Our birth is an accident, our death is an accident and the period in between we call life is just an accident. [/quote]

I have gotten to the point where I let the God stuff pass mostly, but this is too pathetic. The attitude above leads all too readily to negativity. What if there is no God? And I mean not just no Christian / Muslim / Jewish God, but no prime mover at all? We are still not accidents. We are the end result of an incredibly long and complex chain of events. We have free will. Life is full of beauty. Whatever this is, it may not be specifically planned for, but it is no accident. Even if it is simply a manifestation of natural laws, it is not an accident.

18

[quote]hankr wrote:
Psnatch wrote:
Well if there is no god then life is just an accident. Our birth is an accident, our death is an accident and the period in between we call life is just an accident.

I have gotten to the point where I let the God stuff pass mostly, but this is too pathetic. The attitude above leads all too readily to negativity. What if there is no God? And I mean not just no Christian / Muslim / Jewish God, but no prime mover at all? We are still not accidents. We are the end result of an incredibly long and complex chain of events. We have free will. Life is full of beauty. Whatever this is, it may not be specifically planned for, but it is no accident. Even if it is simply a manifestation of natural laws, it is not an accident. [/quote]

For myself, I find some comfort in thinking that there is no god in the Christian/Muslim/Jewish sense. If there is no after-life, that means this life is not just a test to get somewhere else. Everything I do counts now. I try to do things not because I think it will get me bonus points with the “big guy,” but because they are the right things to do.

Don’t ask me what the “right things” are because I am still trying to figure it out, but I at least have a vague notion of what they are. Even that vagueness is a comfort in itself because it really forces me to think about the validity of my actions.

2 books that have influenced my thinking greatly are “The Moral Animal” and “Nonzero” both by a guy named Robert Wright. I would recommend them for any athiest who feels lost. Hell, I would recommend them to anybody, period.

Derick

19

Just ‘being’. Whatever you do with that, that’s what you’ll do.

20

A. The truth is out there.
B. We’re all going to die at some point.

[quote]4est wrote:
In related news, what is the meaning of chocolate?[/quote]

Its to keep girls from whining when they have their period.