The Meaning of Life

You're born and then you die, then there's that bit in the middle, that oh so succulent life, which you make the most of, I don't search for a meaning of life, I don't believe there is one.
My theory is we were created by the right fusion of chemicals from Stardust.

I try to enjoy life, I don't like being mature, I'm only 16, I have 2 maybe 3 more years to enjoy being immature before being exploited as a mature adult.



Well as mature as I can possibly be......:D
 
Godspeed said:
I'm only 16, I have 2 maybe 3 more years to enjoy being immature before being exploited as a mature adult.
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Ha! Just wait until you go to college, you'll realize you still have a good 4 or 5 years of immaturity left :D

Anyway, my personal belief is that the 'meaning of life' was a concept invented by humans and therefore controlled by humans. So the meaning of life is whatever one defines it to be. It can be different for everyone and always be correct.

My personal meaning in life is to just be happy. There's no point in living if you can't live a little, right? :P
 
fireZ said:
Ha! Just wait until you go to college, you'll realize you still have a good 4 or 5 years of immaturity left :D

Anyway, my personal belief is that the 'meaning of life' was a concept invented by humans and therefore controlled by humans. So the meaning of life is whatever one defines it to be. It can be different for everyone and always be correct.

My personal meaning in life is to just be happy. There's no point in living if you can't live a little, right? :P
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BOOYAH! :lol:

That is the best way of putting it, be happy and live a little.
 
I agree that each individual has his or her own goal and aim to accomplish in their own lives, I have a few of them myself. But I believe there's a deeper meaning to the question: why are we living? I would never answer "To work hard and love my family", because then the question goes round in circles. Why is your family living? Why were their families living?

What is the point to life?
 
There doesn't, but surely we are here for some reason or another. Everything happens for a reason. If a glass breaks, why did that happen? I knocked it over. If something has disappeared from my home, what happened? I misplaced it. If my car runs out of petrol, why did that happen? It used up the petrol and now needs a re-fill. Do you see what I mean?
 
Godspeed said:
Why does there have to be a point?
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If there is no point in life then why live at all. It would be much better if we were all dead. So would you rather be dead or alive. But if you were to choose life, why do you choose it instead of death? Why life over death? An age-old question.
 
Juke said:
If there is no point in life then why live at all. It would be much better if we were all dead. So would you rather be dead or alive. But if you were to choose life, why do you choose it instead of death? Why life over death? An age-old question.
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Even if there was a point, would you be satisfied with it if you knew? What if you didn't like the meaning of it all?
I don't know the meaning of life, but as far as I'm concerned, my life isn't something I want to get rid of anytime soon, I doubt knowing the meaning would make me any happier, and if there was no meaning it wouldn't effect me, because life is a gift in my opinion.

I don't want to know the meaning if there is one, I continue to live because suicide is stupid and no one has killed me. :lol:
 
Godspeed said:
Even if there was a point, would you be satisfied with it if you knew? What if you didn't like the meaning of it all?
I don't know the meaning of life, but as far as I'm concerned, my life isn't something I want to get rid of anytime soon, I doubt knowing the meaning would make me any happier, and if there was no meaning it wouldn't effect me, because life is a gift in my opinion.

I don't want to know the meaning if there is one, I continue to live because suicide is stupid and no one has killed me. :lol:
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LOL. Good point. So what, right? If that's how you want to live than no one can stop you. As for me, I prefer to know it no matter how ugly it is or maybe it's something that keeps me ticking? Nah, I'm pretty tired of living actually but there's something that pushes me forward or keeps waking me up everyday. That or it's not my time yet lol.
 
Interesting topic right here. I'll have to say that for me, the meaning of life is to contribute to the world, the people, and everything we believe in. To help people succeed in life, not just mine, is one of my motives in life. By doing so, I am able to say that it makes me feel content...happy, even. I choose the person I can and want to be, and that is also what makes me strive to be a better person. To learn something new everyday and to further seek knowledge about something is also my definition of the meaning of life.
 
OMG, Phenom, you live in Preston! :confused:

Anyway ... meaning of life. Hoo boy, what a question!

There seems to be a lot of nihilistic posters here. That's quite worrying.

Question: do I think there is an objective, total, complete meaning of life that applies to every single human being on this beautiful planet?
Answer: No.

Question: do I think that humans 'invented' a 'meaning of life' and have the power to create themselves as they wish?
Answer: yes.

Your meaning of life applies only to you. Think of it like this: in this life, after an infinitely huge amount of previous incarnations, at the moment of your birth, God presents to you in your subconsciousness a book. It is a nice book. It is also empty. Completely. No writing, expect for the cover which has your name on it. Your life is your own book -- it is, as Tidus would see it, a story. And you write as you go along. Now, unlike modern-day Word Processors, you can't go back in your life and change things you don't like. That means that you write your own life as you go along, and correct things as they happen.

Your life is yours to write. However, what gives it purpose are morals and ethics. In this sense, I believe that no person should cause suffering to another and that we should strive to be truly happy and contribute to the happiness of others.

The nature of all human beings is 'Gentleness'.

:)
 
Kether said:
OMG, Phenom, you live in Preston! :confused:

Anyway ... meaning of life. Hoo boy, what a question!

There seems to be a lot of nihilistic posters here. That's quite worrying.

Question: do I think there is an objective, total, complete meaning of life that applies to every single human being on this beautiful planet?
Answer: No.

Question: do I think that humans 'invented' a 'meaning of life' and have the power to create themselves as they wish?
Answer: yes.

Your meaning of life applies only to you. Think of it like this: in this life, after an infinitely huge amount of previous incarnations, at the moment of your birth, God presents to you in your subconsciousness a book. It is a nice book. It is also empty. Completely. No writing, expect for the cover which has your name on it. Your life is your own book -- it is, as Tidus would see it, a story. And you write as you go along. Now, unlike modern-day Word Processors, you can't go back in your life and change things you don't like. That means that you write your own life as you go along, and correct things as they happen.

Your life is yours to write. However, what gives it purpose are morals and ethics. In this sense, I believe that no person should cause suffering to another and that we should strive to be truly happy and contribute to the happiness of others.

The nature of all human beings is 'Gentleness'.

:)
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Me? Live in Preston? *Gasp* You lie. I must disagree with you on "gentleness" being the nature of all human beings, though. I don't see much gentleness in the world.
 
I guess you have a point there, Mark. There's really that much gentleness around because we are surrounded by fools that think they can rule the world.

However, on the bright side...take a much closer look at the children. You'll see lots of gentleness there. Well, you know what I mean.
 
Mitsuki said:
I guess you have a point there, Mark. There's really that much gentleness around because we are surrounded by fools that think they can rule the world.

However, on the bright side...take a much closer look at the children. You'll see lots of gentleness there. Well, you know what I mean.
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True. Perhaps our nature when we're born is one of gentleness. Then it all depends on how we grow. Depends on who brings us up, and on things that happen. Perhaps those things have an effect on what our individual "meaning of life" is, too.
 
Yes, you hit the spot right there. I completely agree. How we grow up and the likes, as well as our experiences, defines what we would normally define what our meaning of life is.
 
Mitsuki said:
Yes, you hit the spot right there. I completely agree. How we grow up and the likes, as well as our experiences, defines what we would normally define what our meaning of life is.
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Absolutely, and that's why the Meaning of Life doesn't have a single answer. It's down to each individual. For some people it might be to spend their life with someone, for others it may just simply be survival. It could be anything to anyone.
 
Right from Wikipedia: The Meaning of life



Survival and temporal success<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
* ...to live every day like it is your last and to do your best at everything that comes before you<o:p></o:p>
* ...to be always satisfied<o:p></o:p>
* ...to live, go to school, work, and die<o:p></o:p>
* ...to participate in natural human evolution, or to contribute to the gene pool of the human race<o:p></o:p>
* ...to advance technological evolution, or to actively develop the future of intelligent life<o:p></o:p>
* ...to compete or co-operate with others<o:p></o:p>
* ...to destroy others who harm you, or to practice nonviolence and nonresistance<o:p></o:p>
* ...to gain and exercise power<o:p></o:p>
* ...to leave a legacy, such as a work of art or a book<o:p></o:p>
* ...to eat<o:p></o:p>
* ...to prepare for death<o:p></o:p>
* ...to spend life in the pursuit of happiness, maybe not to obtain it, but to pursue it relentlessly.<o:p></o:p>
* ...to produce offspring through sexual reproduction (alike to participating in evolution)<o:p></o:p>
* ...to protect and preserve one's kin, clan, or tribe (akin to participating in evolution)<o:p></o:p>
* ...to seek freedom, either physically, mentally or financially<o:p></o:p>
* ...to observe the ultimate fate of humanity to the furthest possible extent<o:p></o:p>
* ...to seek happiness and flourish, experience pleasure or celebrate<o:p></o:p>
* ...to survive, including the pursuit of immortality through scientific means (see life extension)<o:p></o:p>
* ...to attempt to have many sexual conquests (as in Arthur Schopenhauer's will to procreate)<o:p></o:p>
* ...to find and take over all free space in this "game" called life<o:p></o:p>
* ...to seek and find beauty<o:p></o:p>
* ...to kill or be killed<o:p></o:p>
* ...No point. Since having a point is a condition of living human consciousness. Animals do not need a point to live or exist. It is more of an affliction of consciousness that there are such things as points, a negative side to evolutionary development for lack of better words.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Wisdom and knowledge<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
* ...to master and know everything<o:p></o:p>
* ...to be without questions, or to keep asking questions<o:p></o:p>
* ...to expand one's perception of the world<o:p></o:p>
* ...to explore, to expand beyond our frontiers<o:p></o:p>
* ...to learn from one's own and others' mistakes<o:p></o:p>
* ...to seek truth, knowledge, understanding, or wisdom<o:p></o:p>
* ...to understand and be mindful of creation or the cosmos<o:p></o:p>
* ...to lead the world towards a desired situation<o:p></o:p>
* ...to satisfy the natural curiosity felt by humans about life<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Ethical<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
* ...to express compassion<o:p></o:p>
* ...to follow the "Golden Rule"<o:p></o:p>
* ...to give and receive love<o:p></o:p>
* ...to work for justice and freedom<o:p></o:p>
* ...to live in peace with yourself and each other, and in harmony with our natural environment (see utopia)<o:p></o:p>
* ...to protect humanity, or more generally the environment<o:p></o:p>
* ...to serve others, or do good deeds<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Religious and spiritual<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
* ...to find perfect love and a complete expression of one's humanness in a relationship with God<o:p></o:p>
* ...to achieve a supernatural connection within the natural context<o:p></o:p>
* ...to achieve enlightenment and inner peace<o:p></o:p>
* ...to become like God, or divine<o:p></o:p>
* ...to glorify God<o:p></o:p>
* ...to experience personal justice (i.e. to be rewarded for goodness)<o:p></o:p>
* ...to experience existence from an infinite number of perspectives in order to expand the consciousness of all there is (i.e. to seek objectivity)<o:p></o:p>
* ...to be a filter of creation between heaven and hell<o:p></o:p>
* ...to produce useful structure in the universe over and above consumption (see net creativity)<o:p></o:p>
* ...to reach Heaven in the afterlife<o:p></o:p>
* ...to seek and acquire virtue, to live a virtuous life<o:p></o:p>
* ...to turn fear into joy at a constant rate achieving on literal and metaphorical levels: immortality, enlightenment, and atonement<o:p></o:p>
* ...to understand and follow the "Word of God"<o:p></o:p>
* ...to discover who you are<o:p></o:p>
* ...to resolve all problems that one faces, or to ignore them and attempt to fully continue life without them, or to detach oneself from all problems faced (see Buddhism)<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Philosophical<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
* ...to give life meaning<o:p></o:p>
* ...to participate in the chain of events which has led from the creation of the universe until its possible end (either freely chosen or determined, this is a subject widely debated amongst philosophers)<o:p></o:p>
* ...to know the meaning of life<o:p></o:p>
* ...to achieve self-actualisation<o:p></o:p>
* ...all possible meanings have some validity (see existentialism)<o:p></o:p>
* ...life in itself has no meaning, for its purpose is an opportunity to create that meaning, therefore:<o:p></o:p>
o ...to die<o:p></o:p>
o ...to simply live until one dies (there is no universal or celestial purpose)<o:p></o:p>
o ...nature taking its course (the wheel of time keeps on turning)<o:p></o:p>
o ...whatever you see you see, as in "projection makes perception"<o:p></o:p>
o ...there is no purpose or meaning whatsoever (see nihilism)<o:p></o:p>
o ...life may actually not exist, or may be illusory (see solipsism or nihilism)<o:p></o:p>
o ...to contemplate "the meaning of the end of life"<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Other<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
* ...to contribute to collective meaning ("we" or "us") without having individual meaning ("I" or "me")<o:p></o:p>
* ...to find a purpose, a "reason" for living that hopefully raises the quality of one's experience of life, or even life in general<o:p></o:p>
* ...to participate in the inevitable increase in entropy of the universe<o:p></o:p>
* ...to make conformists' lives miserable (see nonconformism)<o:p></o:p>
* ...to make life as difficult as possible for others (i.e. to compete)<o:p></o:p>
 
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