I posted this as this question surfaced from a thread but it was not discussed because it would make that thread off optic. It really got me thinking. Everything on Earth has a purpose. What do you think is the purpose for your existance? (I am not trying to follow up with a post that will say "your purpose is to believe God which I think does not make sense). I am open to all ideas...
I purposely post this
- Thread starter Pammy
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purpose? i dunno if i have one.
maybe it's best decribed by my qoute:
To me it suffices to wonder at these secrets and attempt humbly to grasp with my mind a mere image of the lofty structure of all that there is
maybe it's best decribed by my qoute:
To me it suffices to wonder at these secrets and attempt humbly to grasp with my mind a mere image of the lofty structure of all that there is
Are you saying that every single animal on this planet is here for a specific purpose?
That everyone has one reason why they were put here and they must find that?
That everyone has one reason why they were put here and they must find that?
I must question your premise. How is it that everything has a purpose? It's not that I don't believe that many things, particularly life, on Earth are interrelated but I just don't see an over-riding purpose to everything. Perhaps you could explain in more detail.
~Raithere
well,
I could see how a person could think that they have a purpose in life. There are certain things that i always felt i was kinda, meant to do. It just always seemed inevitable. So maybe i've found my purpose in life. This is not to say that everyone is automatially born with this. Why would you think everyone has a special purpose, asides from out of religious beleifs?
to say that every cat, dog, ferret, mule or salamander out there has a purpose? like what? asides from reproduction.
I could see how a person could think that they have a purpose in life. There are certain things that i always felt i was kinda, meant to do. It just always seemed inevitable. So maybe i've found my purpose in life. This is not to say that everyone is automatially born with this. Why would you think everyone has a special purpose, asides from out of religious beleifs?
to say that every cat, dog, ferret, mule or salamander out there has a purpose? like what? asides from reproduction.
The purpose of our creation is obvious: to reach our utmost goals of belief, knowledge, and spirituality; to reflect on the universe, humanity, and God, and thus prove our value as human beings. Fulfilling this ideal is possible only through systematic thinking and systematic behavior. Thought will provoke action, and thereby start a "prosperous cycle." This cycle will produce more complex cycles, generating between the heart's spirituality and the brain's knowledge, and thereby develop ever-more complex ideas and produce larger projects.
Carrying out such a process calls for strong belief, consciousness, and understanding. People with these characteristics can realize and analyze the unreflective lifestyles of others. Such people think, do what they believe to be right, and then reflect upon their behavior, thereby continually deepening their thoughts and acquiring new ideas. They believe that only those who reflect deeply are productive, and that the pain and suffering they endure makes their belief stronger and more acceptable.
They live a life of reflection by observing creation every day, sometimes reading it like a book or embroidering their minds with the wisdom they acquire. Believing that the universe was created to be "read" and understood, the purpose of our creation must be nothing but that.
On its own, existence is the very bounty that leads us to a prosperous path of bounties. Given this, we should appreciate its value. Since we were created, as was a whole universe of bounties, we must use these gifts and benefit from them.
To reach this goal, we must use our willpower, a voice heard by the All-Powerful One, and develop our abilities and skills to their furthest extent, thus proving ourselves to be willful beings. Our duty is to reflect upon our place in life, our responsibilities, and our relationship with this vast universe. We should use our inner thoughts to explore creation's hidden side. As we do so, we will begin to feel a deeper sense of our selves, see things differently, witness that events are not what they seem, and realize that events are trying to communicate something to us.
Carrying out such a process calls for strong belief, consciousness, and understanding. People with these characteristics can realize and analyze the unreflective lifestyles of others. Such people think, do what they believe to be right, and then reflect upon their behavior, thereby continually deepening their thoughts and acquiring new ideas. They believe that only those who reflect deeply are productive, and that the pain and suffering they endure makes their belief stronger and more acceptable.
They live a life of reflection by observing creation every day, sometimes reading it like a book or embroidering their minds with the wisdom they acquire. Believing that the universe was created to be "read" and understood, the purpose of our creation must be nothing but that.
On its own, existence is the very bounty that leads us to a prosperous path of bounties. Given this, we should appreciate its value. Since we were created, as was a whole universe of bounties, we must use these gifts and benefit from them.
To reach this goal, we must use our willpower, a voice heard by the All-Powerful One, and develop our abilities and skills to their furthest extent, thus proving ourselves to be willful beings. Our duty is to reflect upon our place in life, our responsibilities, and our relationship with this vast universe. We should use our inner thoughts to explore creation's hidden side. As we do so, we will begin to feel a deeper sense of our selves, see things differently, witness that events are not what they seem, and realize that events are trying to communicate something to us.
Sidestepping such animals as dophins and some primates, the human animal is unique in that it can question if it has a reason for existence. The fact that it asks the question does not mean there is an answer though. I myself feel that anything having awareness then has a choice, to continue the only purpose of a life form, to make more life forms, or to rise up and have greater purpose by affecting the rest of the universe, albeit in a small way. This happens regardless of whether the person thinks they are guided or not. I have seen the remark that we are in a sense the universe's evolution into a form to become aware of itself. And perhaps if our awareness as a species grows even more into some sort of supra intelligence, ie trillions of individual thoughts all merged as neurons of a greater mind, then this would be true.
As for a purpose in the universe as a whole, there doesn't seem to be some goal to reach. It is not a machine to do anything. It just is.
As for a purpose in the universe as a whole, there doesn't seem to be some goal to reach. It is not a machine to do anything. It just is.
I am not talking about your purpose or your aim in life. I meant the purpose why you are created.
Every animal is part of a food chain. Ie the fish is food for the bird. The frog is food for the bird because fish does not provide all the niutrients. The bird is food for the tiger etc etc. Of course in reality it is much more complex than that. In fact I have even watched a documentary where a certain kind of fish eats only the weeds in the ocean. Anyway, you get what I mean..
Reproduction is their aim so that they don't die out. But not their purpose.
oooooohhh, right right right. perhaps i misunderstood you.
now i have to think about it.
now i have to think about it.
You say that there is no purpose (it just is), but where is it that everything has a purpose except us? Even the tiniest hair on a flea has a purpose, why don't we have one? However i respect your viewpoint because until I can find a purpose, I may also have to accept that we just are just because I don't know. (by the way for those of you who do not think I'm schizo, I have asked God but I have not got the answer. Or God may have shown me the answer but I haven't realised it.)
maybe at this point we really don't have one. do humans really fit into things the way other animals do? I hesitate to call us special, but we are the only animal that could totally destroy all other animals(well, most of them).
at this point the direction this planet takes is dependent on humans. so maybe that's it:bugeye:
at this point the direction this planet takes is dependent on humans. so maybe that's it:bugeye:
You say everything has a purpose, but perhaps it is your searching for everything to have a purpose that leads you to that conclusion? You have pointed out many things that seem to be placed for another's use, but likewise there are things that exist that seem to have no set place in the world, and yet they exist.
Your example here can be taken two ways...the fish was placed there to eat the weeds, or the fish developed preference for this weed, or tolerance for the weed if it tastes bad to others, simply because the weed was available when other food wasn't. Which is correct? Ockam's razor says the one that doesn't require extra entities is. So there is no placement of the fish there, it simply evolved the specialized diet.
But search on. Like I said in my first post to you, you have to find what's right for you, otherwise the belief is worthless.
Your example here can be taken two ways...the fish was placed there to eat the weeds, or the fish developed preference for this weed, or tolerance for the weed if it tastes bad to others, simply because the weed was available when other food wasn't. Which is correct? Ockam's razor says the one that doesn't require extra entities is. So there is no placement of the fish there, it simply evolved the specialized diet.
But search on. Like I said in my first post to you, you have to find what's right for you, otherwise the belief is worthless.
Now here I agree with you, but the purpose you talk of is one we set for ourselves. And right now I think we as a species are wandering a bit, arguing with each other over exactly which direction to go. Self purpose certainly exists, and we as a self aware species, and dominant species, owe the rest of life here to figure it out soon. Life may exist elsewhere, but it's best to treat what we have as the only source.