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What's this life for?

What is the purpose of life? (sorry, I must warn any potential readers to run away, this is one of "those" blog entries...)

I am afraid that I am one of those with no defined faith, no purpose and find little to root me here in the world. I guess it would be comforting to think that somehow my life, like any other human life, has some sort of meaning, but I really don't think it does. I am not saying I am a Nihilist...I do think life has a value, and that there is a purpose, a meaning to be found. I am simply saying I haven't found it.

I guess it has been another of those days, in a monotonous litany of "those days". One of the days that makes me think "Why even bother, what's the point".

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Comments

Sharkull's picture

Did anyone think I could resist responding to this kind of post? :P

After much consideration (also as someone without a religious faith) I've come to a personal decision as to life's purpose. This is not a philosophical absolute conclusion (if this is what you're looking for), but something I can live with and it seems to fit well within a civilized society too.

Here it is, Sharkull's Meaning of Life:
The ethical pursuit of the fulfillment of your own values (this means everyone's detailed "purpose" is different, because individual values differ). If you want a family, that's fantastic. If you want to write poetry, have fun. If you want to cure cancer, I wish you the best of luck. (etc...) The hard part is setting valued goals... after that, it's just a matter of enjoying the journey in pursuit of them.

BTW,
In this context, I use the term ethical to denote a non-hypocritical interaction with society. Trading value for value with willing others, treating others the way you want to be treated... (i.e. practical wisdom for living in a community).
[edit]
Sorry for going a bit off topic here Kathy, but I find the Wiki on Social Contract to be a pretty good introduction to kinds of things I mean by "practical wisdom for living in a community":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_contract
[/edit]

If you're wondering where this concept came from, I'll tell you it started when I first read Terry Goodkind's heavily themed fantasy fiction which lead me to Ayn Rand's two masterpieces (Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged) and a few of her philosophy essays. I don't agree with it all, but she has some great ideas; one of which is that a human being is an end, not just a means to an end. She used this in the context of anti-communism (where the individual is meaningless, with only the collective having value and the individual is a slave to the needs of others...), but looked at from a different angle, I can see a broader picture. I believe that the whole concept of "Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" is based on the premise that the individual has the moral right to set their own path to walk...

Of course these concepts only pertain to living life, and have little to offer when you start to consider your own mortality (which is often the case when considering the meaning of life). I haven't considered this enough to have formed detailed opinions yet but I do have a couple ideas: there's a certain satisfaction that comes from "enjoying the journey" (in whole or in part) and then there's always the idea of a legacy. I still have a lot of work left to do on mine... (i.e. I have some goals yet to set and then achieve).

Lastly, finding an objective Meaning of Life is something that I don't think is really possible (at least not to any degree of certainty). I find that defining a subjective Meaning of Life is easier and sufficient for my "purpose" (pun intended Wink ).

I hope this helps Kath. Smile

Edit:
Obviously opinions may differ and everyone is free to disagree with me.
Smile

Thanks for the feedback, Sharkull. Smile

The social contract made for some interesting readng, as did your comment as a whole. I have more thinking to do, but mortality is surely one of the issues on my mind. Not out of a sense of morbidity, but more a necessity.

I can't say I have read any or Rand's work. I have read some of Marx, and while I cannot suscribe to communism as a political system, Marx had some interesting ideas about society and religion, and of course economics. I simply have to get to the library...I have a long standing feud with my library and I must rectify it. But that story is perhaps another blog post. Wink

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Total absence of humor renders life impossible.
Colette

ask 20 people and you'll probably get 20 different answers..
- if it's rhetorical, then you'll have to find you're own answer
- if it's philosophical, just consult the oracle..
- or wikipedia, whichever is closest to hand..!! :woot:
- seriously, though - does there have to be a point, as long as we don't hurt each other..

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..never mind the weather, just as long as we're together!

I guess there does't have to be a point, if we think about just enjoying "the journey". I think for me, I tend to be gloomy a lot, so that isn't always something I do.

-------------------------
Total absence of humor renders life impossible.
Colette

Sharkull's picture

kathycf wrote:
I guess there does't have to be a point, if we think about just enjoying "the journey". I think for me, I tend to be gloomy a lot, so that isn't always something I do.

I tend towards spending excessive amounts of time on activities of the "instant gratification" variety (TV, PC games ^^ , reading for pleasure...). I want to set longer term personal goals (delayed gratification) more frequently because I know there's a deeper feeling of satisfaction upon the realization of such goals... but, for whatever reason, that doesn't happen as often as I'd like. *sigh*

Edit:

kathycf wrote:
I can't say I have read any or Rand's work.

The two books of hers I mention are excellent (especially for someone interested in literature and philosophy...). Here's a link to an organization with details on her extensive work.
http://www.aynrand.org/
(I've had "The Virtue of Selfishness" for a couple years but haven't made it all the way through yet).

As for Terry Goodkind, his heavily themed work (with very similar philosophy) is set in the fantasy fiction genre and is a bit more entertaining read (IMO). If you're interested, I can help you pick which of his books to read (I've read them all many times).

My education had been my primary goal up until my health really started limiting my activities. For Goodkind, you gave me a list several long months ago in my HF blog. I saved it in notepad. See, I am very conscientious. Laughing out loud However, I still need to clear up something with my library. *blush*

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Total absence of humor renders life impossible.
Colette

Sharkull's picture

Maybe a certain Elf can provide some "insider" tips on dealing with your library? Wink

Giovanna_del_Arco's picture

You should contact some of the people I gave you links for a while back.

I think they could provide you with some perspective relative to your own religious preferences.

~~~
Giovanna

Giovanna_del_Arco's picture

Public libraries have a tendency to employ *far*-less-than-perfect librarians.

~~~
Giovanna

Giovanna_del_Arco's picture

Giovanna_del_Arco wrote:
You should contact some of the people I gave you links for a while back.

I think they could provide you with some perspective relative to your own religious preferences.

BTW, tell them I sent you.

~~~
Giovanna

Giovanna_del_Arco wrote:
Giovanna_del_Arco wrote:
You should contact some of the people I gave you links for a while back.

I think they could provide you with some perspective relative to your own religious preferences.

BTW, tell them I sent you.

~~~
Giovanna

I will look into it, and will let them know. I assume your name on those sites is the same as here?

re: libraries. Well, it wasn't just the librarian, I was at fault too. And in some strange way it all becomes Jackson Pollock's fault. (yes, strange) Smile

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Total absence of humor renders life impossible.
Colette

Giovanna, I was wondering which site specifically takes members... Is it the Henge of Keltria site?

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Total absence of humor renders life impossible.
Colette

Strider978's picture

Giovanna in the future please use the 'edit' option to avoid triple posting, it helps keep the forum looking cleaner.