What is the purpose of life?

[DiscoDan]

This is something that has been bothering me for quite some time now. I've been trying to think it through the best I can, and yet I can come up with nothing.

For the nitpicky out there (ie, me), let me rephrase the question slightly: What purpose should every person adapt in order to produce the optimal result for the maximum number of people?

The first answer that popped into my mind was, "Create the most amount of happiness for the most amount of people." This answer, however, caused me great distress. To me, this invariably led to the solution of each individual choosing to be drugged until death. This way, we would all literally be happy every remaining second of our lives. This solution is clearly not optimal.

This led me to the conclusion that happiness is two-dimensional: one dimension is degree of happiness itself, and the other is length of overall happiness. So while, in the case of drugging, we would maximize degree of happiness, we would simultaneously be minimizing length of happiness. However, I have not been able to come up with a solution that can maximize both at the same time.

For example, take two different people. One just got back from two straight days of wandering a blistering desert without access to water. The other is a typical citizen of a first-world country. When you offer both individuals their first glass of water the following day, clearly the first individual will have a much greater degree of happiness than the second. However, it's also clear that the second individual will have had a much greater length of happiness, as surely wandering a blistering desert for two days without water is a trying experience. In fact, no matter what scenario I come up with, I am always forced to choose between length of happiness OR degree of happiness. In the end, it is always a zero-sum game.

Some new 'purposes' I have been fiddling around with as a fix are compassion and education/knowledge. These seem to be less zero-summy, can be clearly defined (one-dimensionally), and generally lead to a good outcome for most. Anyone else have any ideas?

[Angela]

Originally Posted by DiscoDan

What purpose should every person adapt in order to produce the optimal result for the maximum number of people?

Well, DiscoDan, if you ask me (and you did), I think when you start talking about what every person should do, the thing you create most is resistance! Which is something I don't think you're interested in creating, so much.

From your post, it sounds like what you are interested in creating is happiness for as many people as possible, right? Maybe a more powerful approach would be to begin with what YOU are willing and able to do to generate happiness for as many people as possible -- and to let go of "shoulds" altogether.

Just my thoughts.

[torilink]

I believe our purpose here is one of unfurlment or expansion.

[DiscoDan]

Originally Posted by Angela

Well, DiscoDan, if you ask me (and you did), I think when you start talking about what every person should do, the thing you create most is resistance! Which is something I don't think you're interested in creating, so much.

From your post, it sounds like what you are interested in creating is happiness for as many people as possible, right? Maybe a more powerful approach would be to begin with what YOU are willing and able to do to generate happiness for as many people as possible -- and to let go of "shoulds" altogether.

Just my thoughts.

I appreciate the comments, but this was certainly not my intent. The reason why I'm looking for what people should do is so that I myself can adopt such a philosophy. This, of course, has no bearing on my expectations of anybody other than myself.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by DiscoDan

The reason why I'm looking for what people should do is so that I myself can adopt such a philosophy. This, of course, has no bearing on my expectations of anybody other than myself.

Got it. And I think what each person should do is what (s)he is inspired to do. I think that's the path to optimal results for everyone as a whole, actually: each person following her own breath.

Are you inspired by compassion and education/knowledge as driving values for yourself? If so, I think you've nailed it. If not, keep looking. It sounds to me from your post that there's a deeper value trying to inspire you, one that underlies both compassion and education/knowledge. What do you think?

[DiscoDan]

Originally Posted by Angela

Got it. And I think what each person should do is what (s)he is inspired to do. I think that's the path to optimal results for everyone as a whole, actually: each person following her own breath.

Are you inspired by compassion and education/knowledge as driving values for yourself? If so, I think you've nailed it. If not, keep looking. It sounds to me from your post that there's a deeper value trying to inspire you, one that underlies both compassion and education/knowledge. What do you think?

Well, for me personally, working toward becoming more compassionate and more knowledgeable brings about some kind of... inner tranquility, I guess? It definitely feels like I am doing something that I am supposed to be doing.

However, I find it necessary to think carefully about what it is I am inspired to do for two reasons. First, there are many who feel inspired to kill others for petty reasons. While I certainly do not suffer from such explicitly destructive inspirations, I want to be absolutely certain that my inspirations do not lead to similar destructive outcomes, even indirectly. Second, I want to make sure that the philosophy I adapt produces the greatest possible good for myself and everyone around me. I do not want to waste my life following one ideology when a different one would have produced better results.

[Maguru]

I'm just thinking aloud and writing thoughts I would normally keep to myself but I thought, "well, what the hell, I'm anonymous." Anyway, it seems the majority follow the phylosophy of the 'pursuance of happiness by doing good works and deeds' and this is our purpose in life.
However, I have been toying with the idea that supposing the opposite was true? It is possible (even though it's off the wall) that our purpose could be to kill, destroy and experience sorrow. If this was so, then what purpose would this serve?
What happens following death and destruction? What do we do as a human race? We rebuild and rebirth. I just wonder if we stopped pursuing happiness and the good things, and replaced them with some pain and suffering instead, the world might be a better place?

[Erock]

Right now, I'm more inclined to agree with Smarky then the Steve Pavlina speed purpose approach. Basically we are a part of the ultimate manifestation of consciousness. We all play are little role, do what we do, live our lives, just like Smarky was saying grass is just grass, it's purpose is to be grass.

The question though, that we can tackle because we are intellectual humans (I'm assuming we are. Haha I know this board does not accept assumptions), is whether this ultimate manifestation has any purpose. That is the real question.

So in summary, you know what you are supposed to do. Just live your life, be DiscoDan. That is the easy part. Realize that you have this part down. The hard part is tackling the question, is the world evolving into something? Is there a finish line? Is there some meaning to life?

Erock

[Smarky]

Ah yes, but i think the whole point is, is that question even relevant?

You have to much living to do to worry about this question. Life is too short to spend it on some quest for unattainable concepts.

You have two basic answers, life has a meaning, or it doesn't. Whatever the answer your life is the same. If it has a meaning then you obviously don't need to know it to fulfill it, if it doesn't then you just want to enjoy the experience of being alive while you can.

I think at some level we find it difficult to let go of the idea of finding meaning, but honestly it's just not important, find what is meaningful for you and then enjoy that, everything else is just details, that may be answered someday, that may not. Still not important.

We don't know what happened before this, we don't truly (out right certainly) know what will happen after, but do we need to know how a watch works to tell the time? If nature can fulfill it's purpose be simply being and we are a part of nature then why are we to be different? We fulfill our purpose by being alive, whatever the purpose ultimately is, we all have to much living to do, to spend our time figuring out how this watch works. It's true meaning perhaps will become clear to all when the last breath is taken or perhaps not, such is the dilemma of the human race.

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - Harold Whitman

"People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life.... I think what we’re really seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our innermost being and reality, so that we can actually feel the rapture of being alive."
-Joseph Campbell

[John Hill]

I guess everyone would feel that finding happiness must be on top of the list as a main purpose in life and I think reaching your dreams is the way I look towards fulfilling my purpose.

Finding my purpose lead to to consider is money everything, since without it, it is difficult to find purpose or happiness.

John

Attracting People.com

[Steven Moros]

I believe that you are on the right track, but are uncertain of where to direct your energies, on yourself or on others.

I think that you must choose a purpose that will make 'you' happy, and if you focus on other people's happiness, you will incur nothing but resentment. You are not responsible for other people's happiness, only your own.

All the best
Steven

[Max Power]

The purpose of life is........................To output thought into dense physical reality. The trick is to choose which thoughts should become your reality.

Max