What is the purpose of life?

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Re: What is the purpose of life?
Reply #30 - September 21, 2010, 11:35 AM

Quote from: IsLame on September 21, 2010, 10:59 AM
Evolutionarily I dont think there is a purpose, nor do I think our purpose is to reproduce.

Evolution has no intention or direction, we just happen to reproduce pretty well, so there happens to be a whole lot of us around.

We choose whatever we want to do with our lives & more likely than not, reproduce in the meantime. Sorry, not very poetic I know, but reality is a bitter pill to swallow sometimes..

well islame, even from a scientific perspective, the emergence of human intelligence and technology(esp bio tech) is a development deserving a footing on the same level as biological evolution uptil today on earth.

decisions made inside human craniums will have a major bearing on life on earth in the coming centuries and millenia (if we make it), so i don't think its fair to think of humans collectively as purposeless happenings anymore.

the mind will continue to have increasingly more control over matter
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Re: What is the purpose of life?
Reply #31 - September 21, 2010, 11:39 AM

Quote from: a.ghazali on September 21, 2010, 11:31 AM
If this is all an accident, as it can be claimed, then there really is no meaning to life. But we can put a purpose to it especially as we have evolved into highly sentient beings with such an array of emotions.

That purpose essentially should be to spread happiness to all including future generations. Service to man not service to an invisible being.

well, i hope neuroscience makes happiness a technological given at some point in the future. We need to think harder now, with ever more control over our own biology.
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Re: What is the purpose of life?
Reply #32 - September 21, 2010, 11:52 AM

Quote from: musivore on September 21, 2010, 11:32 AM
I spent years being caught up in the fact that we seem to be slaves to our genes..

Do you still believe this to be true, or do you think environment plays a huge role

Which at times can be just, or even more, powerful that genes in shaping how we think/who we are today?

I believe this to be true, as I would more in common with an agnostic/atheists than those who might be genetically similar to me (e.g. my Pakistani cousins).

I can also draw comfort from this, as I know I can to some extent shape my environment (unlike my genes) and turn it to something I would like it to be.

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Re: What is the purpose of life?
Reply #33 - September 21, 2010, 12:09 PM

I've just finished reading 'Genome' by Matt Ridley and I bow down to his knowledge on this (as I do to yours). He seemed to be of the view that Genes have relinquished a somewhat illusory level of control to the human brain, only insofar as the brain can add benefit to the reproductive capability of an organism. This tactic seems to have paid off and the evidence is everywhere for us to see. Mr Ridley continually cites studies of separated twins to remind us that, despite other influencing factors, we are still overwhelmingly slaves to our genes.

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Re: What is the purpose of life?
Reply #34 - September 21, 2010, 12:16 PM

Quote from: musivore on September 21, 2010, 12:09 PM
Mr Ridley continually cites studies of separated twins to remind us that, despite other influencing factors, we are still overwhelmingly slaves to our genes.

Hmmm, I'm still open to the suggestion, but am not (as yet) convinced by such ideas.

My argument against is that he has used selective bias when choosing which twins to examine, because I am sure there are far more separated at birth biological twins that do not share the same job, type of girlfriend, hobbies than those who do.

According to purists, this would not be the case.

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Re: What is the purpose of life?
Reply #35 - September 21, 2010, 12:25 PM

I understand how well read and intelligent you are, so I'll take your skepticism on board.

Either way, my original point was that looking at life as clearly and clinically as you do can be a bad thing for some people (it certainly was for me). It has served me well a little to push any such clarity to the back of my mind and to 'live it like I love it' (as Mr Tim Burgess once famously advised).

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Re: What is the purpose of life?
Reply #36 - September 21, 2010, 12:45 PM

Quote from: musivore on September 21, 2010, 12:25 PM
My original point was that looking at life as clearly and clinically as you do can be a bad thing for some people (it certainly was for me). It has served me well a little to push any such clarity to the back of my mind and to 'live it like I love it' (as Mr Tim Burgess once famously advised).

Yes, it certainly can be a good thing for helping along in life (just dont tell me its true )

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Re: What is the purpose of life?
Reply #37 - September 26, 2010, 08:08 AM

music.

At evening, casual flocks of pigeons make
Ambiguous undulations as they sink,
Downward to darkness, on extended wings. - Stevens
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Re: What is the purpose of life?
Reply #38 - September 26, 2010, 10:05 PM

Maybe matter wants to become sentient and it expands to attain that. Therefore since we are matter we decide what to do now that we've accomplished that. The universe evolving to awareness is beautiful enough to me.

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