Friends getting religious

[Pete]

Exactly. But when you declare your entire journey to be without purpose, why would you seek a destination?

Firstly, it's not so much declaring a lack of purpose as recognizing a lack of predefined purpose.

But to answer your question... If you want something but don't have it, it makes sense to seek it.

To really spell it out:
- I feel a desire to have a purposeful existence.
- I don't believe that the purpose of my life is predefined by an omnipotent intelligence.
- I wanted a purpose, was not given a purpose, so I chose a purpose.

 

[S.A.M.]

Firstly, it's not so much declaring a lack of purpose as recognizing a lack of predefined purpose.

But to answer your question... If you want something but don't have it, it makes sense to seek it.

To really spell it out:
- I feel a desire to have a purposeful existence.
- I don't believe that the purpose of my life is predefined by an omnipotent intelligence.
- I wanted a purpose, was not given a purpose, so I chose a purpose.

Why did you want a purpose?

 

[Pete]

I don't know. Why do I like chocolate biscuits?

 

[S.A.M.]

You tell me. I'm curious to know how atheists justify their need for a purpose. To what end?

 

[Pete]

You tell me. I'm curious to know how atheists justify their need for a purpose. To what end?

For something to do. Because the alternative isn't useful.


I think my first answer is still best. I don't know why people feel the need for purpose, any more than I know why people feel the need for chocolate. I could speculate about both, if you really want.

 

[Enmos]

I'm curious to know how atheists justify their need for a purpose. To what end?

I'm curious to know how theists justify their need for a god. It's just another method of subscribing to a, in the case preset, purpose.

 

[S.A.M.]

I don't know why people feel the need for purpose, any more than I know why people feel the need for chocolate. I could speculate about both, if you really want.

Please do.

 

[Pete]

Here's some evolutionary speculation (that's what you wanted, right?)

Curiosity about purpose is a useful trait. Wondering what use a stick is, for example, leads to giving it a purpose as a hitting, poking, reaching, digging, or throwing tool. So, the urge to find a purpose for things in general might be a natural result of evolution. The urge to find a purpose for oneself seems to be a reasonable consequence.

 

[S.A.M.]

So there is a purpose to needing a purpose in a purposeless universe?

Curious

 

[Lori_7]

Here's some evolutionary speculation (that's what you wanted, right?)

Curiosity about purpose is a useful trait. Wondering what use a stick is, for example, leads to giving it a purpose as a hitting, poking, reaching, digging, or throwing tool. So, the urge to find a purpose for things in general might be a natural result of evolution. The urge to find a purpose for oneself seems to be a reasonable consequence.

or you might just be trying to kill some time.

 

[(Q)]

Are you declaring that its not?

No, YOU are declaring there is purpose.

 

[phlogistician]

You tell me. I'm curious to know how atheists justify their need for a purpose. To what end?

Who says atheists need a purpose?

Still stuffing straw men, SAM?

 

[scifes]

The purpose of life is to get better???

purpose is to get better ..
you can't have a purpose if everything is alright with you..then there would be no need for change---->purposeless..

Irrelevant.

if you say so.

People live because they don't want to die.

exactly..
die is worse..hence live is better..

so we have purpose..

i agree it's an animalistic purpose for those who have it only, but it's enough for them to hang to..

 

[Lori_7]

i'm pretty sure i know some folks whose purpose is to get worse.

 

[scifes]

i'm pretty sure i know some folks whose purpose is to get worse.

lol, they do that because it makes them feel better..

 

[phlogistician]

i'm pretty sure i know some folks whose purpose is to get worse.

As in, less mentally stable?

 

[Lori_7]

lol, they do that because it makes them feel better..

As in, less mentally stable?

i was thinking along the lines of self-destruction, so i'm not sure mental instability would apply if the intent was some form of passive aggressive suicide. then there's some who just don't seem to be content without some bullshit drama going on in their life. is that mental instability? i don't know. :shrug:

 

[iceaura]

Can't we start a bit smaller, with the purpose of the nearest tree or something?
”
Of course. But its like coming across a brick in your path and arguing that such obvious symmetry must have a creator then looking at the universe and declaring that its obviously random.

Now what? Who exactly is seeing the necessity of a creator in "obvious symmetry" of what exactly, and how does that apply to finding the purpose of an entire universe without even discovering the properties of its context, if any?

I don't think you can come up with a "purpose" for, say, the nearest tree, river, etc - beyond what it does anyway. And your apparent argument that the universe must have a purpose because some people think they need purposes for themselves is frankly bizarre.

Not to mention that projecting the psychological needs of humans unto the fundamental operating structure of the entire universe is breathtakingly arrogant. It's a very big world out there.

 

[Pete]

So there is a purpose to needing a purpose in a purposeless universe?

Curious

Who says the universe is purposeless? I certainly find it useful.
A purpose can be given to a thing, regardless of its original designed purpose or lack of one. Haven't you ever used a knife as a prying tool, or a stick as a poking tool?

 

[Pete]

More speculation about the need for purpose, this time psychological:

A Theory of Human Motivation
This is a real classic, which is covered in some way in just about all university programs (even engineering!).