DR_DEATH:
You're operating under the baseless assumption that we had to have a purpose.

You people always with your simple "one size fits all" answers to everything. Don't you ever get tired of that? You believe one thing, then you try to shove it down everyone's throats. I am asking you to kindly not post if such is your inclination. This question, with just about any other philosophical question, does not have an answer with only one size, face, form, color, smell, texture, or anything. The answer to this question cannot be experienced in only one way.

The definitions of purpose that we are looking at are:

1.) The object toward which one strives or for which something exists; an aim or a goal: “And ever those, who would enjoyment gain/Must find it in the purpose they pursue” (Sarah Josepha Hale).

2.) A result or effect that is intended or desired; an intention.
-(http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=purpose)

The first definition itself is a clear indication that each individual human being has a different purpose, based soley on definition. Imagine that! This automatically means that every biased answer that has been posted thus far is wrong :thumbsup: This, of course, is only one way to tackle this issue.

The second definition states that purpose is intention. This can mean that if there is such a thing as God, then he has a plan for us all. If you don't buy into faith, then this definition of purpose simply alludes back to the first definition.

Another take that I personally have on this issue is that purpose is so dynamic that attempting to classify purpose is the same thing as trying to find an electron's location and velocity at the same time. As far as I know, this isn't possible (I apologize to all the quantum physicists/gurus out there. Please condone my ignorance and simply correct me without flamming, thanks :)) For one tiny instance of time, a fork may be serving the purpose of feeding someone. For another tiny instance of time, it may be serving the purpose of stabbing someone in the fact. For yet another tiny instance of time it may be serving the purpose of assisting in the cutting of a piece of meat. The way I see it, purpose is relative and circumstantial. If you are yelling at someone right now, that currently is your purpose. If you are loafing around right now, then that is your purpose at that given moment. Every millisecond of your life you are serving a purpose. It may not be the same purpose at the previous millisecond of your life, but still a purpose. This, of course, is my biased answer, but please note that I'm not trying to shove this belief down anyone's throat :thumbsup: I'm simply stating that which I have observed.

Well, I think the answer lies in Fermi's Paradox somewhere. Simply put, all things being equal, the entire galaxy should have been colonized several times over, given exponential expansion. There should be evidence of intelligent life *everywhere.* Yet we have detected absolutely nothing intelligent beyond the boundaries of this planet. Nor any sign of life at all, even. How can this be? It is simply not possible. You should be able to close your eyes and point to somewhere in the sky and find an artificial structure, evidence of large-scale warfare, etc. But there's nothing. Yet, given the number of stars and planets, it's just not possible that we're the only intelligent life ever in the galaxy. Something more fundamental is at work here.

Some good reading:

http://www-personal.engin.umich.edu/...say/essay.html
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?art...mber=1&catID=2
http://home.tiac.net/~cri/1998/alien.html
http://faughnan.com/setifail.html
http://www.transhumanism.ndtilda.co.uk/Fermi.htm

Nobody really knows what the heck is going on. I think the answer lies outside metaphysics, philosphy or religion. I don't know if we'll ever know. All I do know is that there is definitely a missing variable in the human equation.

So what really happens if we just keep surviving? To what goal do we want to survive as a speices for anyways?

Do we one day transcend the current boundaries and restart in a brand new one? Or do we actually not have a comsic purpose and just excist a finite time and fade away?

I can't think of an answer that isn't more than a little fantastic. I've thought something along the lines of your question--that the Universe is an incubator, and intelligent species successful enough to thrive on an interstallar scale either trascend or are brought to transcendence--or we are inside a pocket that makes intelligent life invisible to us, and perhaps makes us invisible to them as well. Arthur C. Clarke once said that sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, so anything is possible, no matter how unlikely. And with that missing puzzle piece of the paradox I mentioned, even Occam's Razor can't really reduce the problem to Earth as the sole container of intelligent life in all the history of the Universe.

(For the uninitiated, the Razor is popularly described as "All things being equal, the simpler solution is the more likely of the two," although it's a bit more complicated than that in practice.)

have any of you seen the EcoSphere they sell it at Brookstone, it's a glass sphere with shrimp and an algae plant and water and some pebbles, it sits on your desk and u can see it grow everyday. it is a self contained ecosystem. they are cool, when i grow up and have a big desk i'm gonna get one. I think im gonna get the really big one, it's like um earth sized.....

It's not very rational to say that the answer lies outside of metaphysics, because metaphysics essentially encompasses everything... I think. :thumbsup:

We humans may be the way the universe becomes aware of itself. We are not just humans in the sense that cats are cats. We seem to alone possess the self-awareness that includes all that is know to us.

How can you tell that a cat is not self aware?

The typical test of self-awareness would be: place a mirror in front of the creature, and see if it reacts differently to the image than it would to a picture of another member of the species. Dolphins are seen as self-aware because they can recognize themselves in this way; some species of apes can do the same. Cats can't - they can't make the connection between an image and a creature; but that can be caused by the fact that they need vision *and* smell to identify someone...

I believe the solar system, not just earth , exist for man. We are the pinnacle of matter and life. Strangely this is echoed in the creation story. Religions capture truths poetically. Likewise religious morality does mirror Stoic morality.

....people are 'better' than animals cause we think we are....

we are here for one simple purpose, to live. We exist because somehow our genentic make up was superior to others so we evolved into what we are now. We were created by either chance or some higher power depending upon what you believe. Our purpose, like every other living thing, is to ensure the survival of our species and to improve upon our way of life. Because of our higher intelligence over other creatures we have been able create much more than other animals.
If bears were the animals with the superior intelligence I'm sure they would be asking the same question.
However, intelligence causes us to over analyze many things and in our quest to learn more about the everything around us we fail to realize that our simple purpose is simply to live.

I dont entirely agree . . . . Its more a question of stupidity than awareness. Many stupid people (myself included!) have at one time or another gotten a fright from there own reflection.

You may not have found a cat clever enough to recognise itself in the mirror . . but it is 'self aware' when it cleans itself is it not? More than some humans I suspect!

Life
 

whats the meaning of life?

There is no meaning of life. You are alive. Live with it. Live life.

The meaning of life, the universe and everything is... 42

Actually, with the inflation and all, it would be around 46.

i say 47, feels right

WRONG!
That's the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything!

if you believe in evolution then you shouldnt wonder why/if something was meant to be, but understand that it is because it continues to be.
i.e., it survives, so it will survive.

the more time you spend wondering about the meaning of your life, the less meaning your life will have.
or something :D

I could be all depressing about it and say that the meaning of life it to pass on your genes to the next generation or I could be a little nicer and say the meaning of life is to improve life for others or I could be even nicer and say the meaning of life is to have fun and enjoy living. Personally, I think it is a combination of all of the above.

usually i like to sum it up as:
the purpose of your life is to serve as an example to another.

The meaning of life is whatever you want it to be, which is to say, nothing.

"Life is a search for the truth; and there is no truth."
-Chinese Proverb

the meaning of life is ..............................?

to be satisfied with how you've spent your time here

To answer that question, put it in a framework. Was life created, or accidental. If it was created, it was, in theory, created for some purpose. This would be the meaning of life. If it is accidental, there is no inherent meaning. You provide meaning for yourself.

the meaning is... ... ...whatever you make your life mean.

Re: Life
 

First define "meaning." Then define "life." Then talk to me.

If your question translates into "Why are we here?" I'd say that question is up to us to answer.

A line from a teleplay that's always stayed with me. In Kurt Vonnegut's "Between Time and Timbuktu," astronaut Stony Stevenson has a conversation with God; Stony tells God that he feels as insignificant as mud. God answers, "If you want to feel the least bit significant, think about all the mud that never got a chance to sit up and look around."

Amen

IF life is a game
 

what is the object?

are there rules?

how do we know who won?

Maybe it's a game of solitaire, and you get to make up the rules. There's no real winning, only the game and the pleasure of playing it. Or maybe you only know if you won when you cross the finish line.

I think the biggest myth we live with is that there is somewhere to get to in life. Like if you have enough money, success, happiness, you will have "won." I think each of us is here for a different purpose, and it's up to us to discover/invent what that purpose is.

I think you will have won if you can say that you've enjoyed your life. Sure my life has had some interesting twists and turns, but all in all, I can say I've enjoyed it.
The rules to the game of life are, as lurkette said, made up as you go along.

what is the object? no one knows

are there rules? no one knows

how do we know who won? no one knows

the life of the game is SORRY, where you have to step on other people to win.

I'd like to think of it more as charades, while we're all just trying to understand each other with our limited means of communication.

Absolutely.
People often pose the question: "What's the meaning of it all?"

That question of course contains one implicit unfounded assumption. What makes you so sure that there is such a meaning?

Life is what you make of it. Don't take it too seriously though...you're not getting out of it alive.

The game at life....Id really like to kno what the rules are as well...After all how can you cheat if you dont kno the rules?

If life is a game, I want the wheelbarrow. :D

I think life is just one test after another. Pain and struggle heaped upon pain and struggle. Nothing you can't handle, just enough to make you realize that you are stronger than you thought. Occasionally you find love, or a beautiful view, or a beautiful idea. The way i see it, life rewards the brave, the persistent, and the lucky.

ahhh. time for one of my favorite quote

"yeah, but people just suck at life cuz they don't know the cheat codes."