What do you think human purpose is?

[il prescelto]

Originally Posted by Hazeleyed Honey

Originally Posted by il prescelto

Originally Posted by Hazeleyed Honey

Each and every one of us needs to find our own purpose. The purpose of life is to have a life of purpose.

The statement "the purpose of life is to have a life of purpose" is absolutely meaningless, because you're defining something in terms of itself. It's like you asking me what a dog is, and me telling you that a dog is a dog. I can go on as long as I want, by saying "a dog is a dog, which is a dog, which is a dog, which is a dog, etc." I haven't really said anything useful though.

If something has a purpose it means there is some desired result you should try to achieve. So by definition, the purpose of life is to have a life of purpose, because the purpose of anything is to find that purpose.

So when you say "the purpose of life is to have a life of purpose, and that purpose is conquering myself", that's equivalent to saying "the purpose of life is conquering myself". If everyone has a different purpose in life, you get a bunch of statements like "the purpose of life is X", "the purpose of life is Y", "the purpose of life is Z", etc. where X,Y,and Z are all different. But then you have a contradiction, so either you conclude that life has multiple purposes, or your initial statement that "the purpose of life is to have a life of purpose" is wrong.

All you can really say is that, in life, you would like to conquer yourself.

Makes sense to me. 
That statement basically means that the purpose of life is to lead a life of purpose - and that each depends on each individual to find their purpose - whether it is one thing or many. Doesn't just have to be in the singular form. Hence, to each and every individual, you come to find that purpose on your own for what it is for you, whether it is a general motto or more personal and direct to your own circumstances. Once you discover that purpose, then its means is to give life meaning. Hence, as for my purpose, I take the general motto is just to live life and conquer the self. 

So life has multiple purposes?....
...not sure if you even read my response

The question "what is the purpose of life" implies that there's just one purpose in life, and that somehow it's a characteristic of life itself, not of the individuals living life. So you're answering a different question, as is pretty much anyone in this thread that claims we all have different purposes in life.

..and of course the statement basically means that the purpose of life is to lead a life of purpose, the statement IS that the purpose of life is to lead a life of purpose...lol

 

[balloonoboy]

Loaded question indeed.

I don't think we have a purpose other than being. The clever creatures we are, we had to forage for food and build communities, and somehow profit from that foraging. And then we started getting even greedier and needed more and more until we ourselves were our own worst enemy. A big stretch, of course, but that's basically the gist of it.

Honestly, I want to go back to just being and not having to do so much more that requires effort and energies of which I do not care to expend.

I think once we all go back to just being and living instead of trying to prove and one-up everyone else or somehow make it to this successful place in the world and in our lives that means absolutely nothing when we're gone, then we can start to really understand our purpose.

Ironically, a lot of people wish to quiet that voice in our head that both prohibits and encourages this though of just being.

 

[hazeleyed honey]

Originally Posted by il prescelto

So life has multiple purposes?....
...not sure if you even read my response

The question "what is the purpose of life" implies that there's just one purpose in life, and that somehow it's a characteristic of life itself, not of the individuals living life. So you're answering a different question, as is pretty much anyone in this thread that claims we all have different purposes in life.

..and of course the statement basically means that the purpose of life is to lead a life of purpose, the statement IS that the purpose of life is to lead a life of purpose...lol


You are looking into the question differently than some of us are. Asking what is the purpose of life doesn't mean it should be interpreted as just one purpose in life. Is there really just one purpose that we need to find in our lives? What about looking at it from the perspective of self-growth? From a developmental growth point of view, should that "one" purpose remain relevant as part of growth and for the remainder of your life, or can one outgrow a purpose and find the next purpose in their life? 
As I previously mentioned, my personal general purpose is to conquer the self, but there are many other multiple purposes within that and aside from it that I find give meaning to my life and existence. 

 

[kaycurrency]

-insert "smoking weed while running a red light" scene from BELLY here-

 

[af1 1982]

The circle of life

 

[dior paint]

I honestly didn't look at this from an individual perspective. When I say human purpose I'm speaking of us as a whole.

Anyone can make up what their own individual purpose is.

 

[il prescelto]

Originally Posted by Hazeleyed Honey

Originally Posted by il prescelto

So life has multiple purposes?....
...not sure if you even read my response

The question "what is the purpose of life" implies that there's just one purpose in life, and that somehow it's a characteristic of life itself, not of the individuals living life. So you're answering a different question, as is pretty much anyone in this thread that claims we all have different purposes in life.

..and of course the statement basically means that the purpose of life is to lead a life of purpose, the statement IS that the purpose of life is to lead a life of purpose...lol

 Asking what is the purpose of life doesn't mean it should be interpreted as just one purpose in life.

It definitely should, since that's what the statement means.

I'm just looking at it from the correct perspective. The question is "what is the purpose of life?", so yes, that implies that there's a single purpose and that it's somehow a property of life. It shouldn't depend on the individual.

If you want to talk about what you want to do in life, that's a perfectly valid topic, but that's not what the OP asked for.

 

[cor23ey]

You can create your own purpose, but as you learn while getting older it will continually change...

Therefore, you'll never know the real purpose, because its forever changing

So whatever you think now is wrong

 

[troymcclure]

to be the best human I can be

 

[mf doomer]

To create.

 

[grandtheftbike]

To survive and maintain our existence for as long as we humanly can

 

[gllahone84]

Originally Posted by dadecounty11

No one knows the answer, and no one will ever know the answer.

I use to read so many existential books but now I'm more into the biographies of people who I felt lived a life worth being written about in the first place. Life is too mysterious for me, and too short once you put it all into perspective.

 

[mo matik]

As prescelto has said, when people respond to this question with "purpose is to find purpose" they are answering a different question. That is individual purpose.

Consider the purpose of our existence as a species. Consider the nature of this world we live in, and the decisions it pushes us, as the only rational thinkers on the planet, to make. Consider the struggles and trials of human life in society, the balance of what is good and what is bad (and why?), discipline and hedonism. Consider growth and age, maturity and your development as a person through life. Consider of our nature as humans, (our psychology) especially in groups, and how our environment and what we are exposed to can affect us. Consider the current state of the world today and the massive inequality, and whether or not man has proven himself to be proper to lead others when left to his own judgment. Is there a set way by which humans should live? Does all this have purpose?

 

[nloc]

its a tough question and I think no one will ever know for sure. On the other hand though this Matrix scene really sparks some thought to " human existence"